Leah & Matt
Location
Yosemite National Park
Shoot Type
Elopement
Most Exciting Moment
When a black bear crashed their wedding picnic!
Leah is from Ireland, and Matt is from the midwest. They met and fell in love in California, while working together at Google. It was love at first sight for Matt, but it took Leah a couple years of being friends before she realized her feelings for him. Their relationship was built on a foundation of friendship, which I think is always such a special way to begin a relationship.
After deciding to get married, they decided they wanted to begin the next stage of their life together in Ireland. So right after this elopement, they hopped on a plane back to Leah’s home country! But, before they left, they decided to elope in one of the most beautiful places in the world- Yosemite National Park.
I’ve been coming to Yosemite for years to climb. In 2014, I saw a couple get married in front of El Cap. I remember thinking how awesome it would be if your job was to photograph couples in love, in gorgeous places like this. So I credit Yosemite with inspiring me to do what I do today.
We began the day by meeting in a meadow, where they made it official. Then they had a picnic, where we were surprised by a wedding crasher- a small black bear! We were able to scare off the bear, but not before it ate their wedding cake! It was definitely one of the most memorable elopement experiences of my life. We drove up to Taft Point for sunset photos, and finished the day watching one of the most beautiful sunsets of my life.
Yosemite has an otherworldly beauty. It’s probably my favorite place in the world, and to be able to photograph Leah and Matt’s elopement there was something I’ll always remember.
“We are so grateful to have found Mary as our wedding photographer for our elopement in Yosemite National Park. Her photos are absolutely breathtaking thanks to her artistic talent, incredible eye for lighting, and knack for capturing the moment. She took time to get to know us and was very down-to-earth, genuine, and flexible, making us feel relaxed and comfortable on our special day.
Mary was 100% dedicated to capturing the magic of the day no matter what variables were thrown our way. For example, when a brown bear crashed our wedding picnic, Mary didn’t hesitate in helping us scare it away and made sure we arrived at Taft Point overlook in time for sunset photos! :)”
