Ogunquit Maine Elopement by the Beach: Kate + Drew

Wedding dates changed, plans scrapped and started over…and then started over again, guest list cuts, honeymoons moved, and whatever else you can imagine has been quite the story this year. It has tested so many of us and forced people who like to have a plan (oh, hi) to be more fluid, more go with the flow and even more adaptive to the wild ride of a wedding day than ever before.

And through it all, I still manage to have the most gracious couples find and book me for the newly laid plans. People like Kate and Drew who never thought that they’d have to cancel a wedding in one state to bring it to another or that their plans would come together last minute, but who nevertheless saw that oh so important part of being married as the ultimate goal and shrugged their shoulders at the rest of the concerns so they could elope by the sea.

It was perhaps one of the busiest weekends in beautiful Ogunquit Maine with it being the last hurrah before kids head back to online school and the water gear and bathing suits take a rest until next year so no matter where you went on the beaches, you were sure to have at least some sort of crowd!

I messaged Kate a few times and made sure she knew that this would be the case with their plans to marry by the beach and double-triple checked that it wouldn’t bother her to have people in the background or onlookers while they said their vows and took photos but they were good with the plans as long as their immediate families were there and the weather held up enough to celebrate!

So while I’d never photographed a wedding in such a crowd of people who weren’t technically invited to the wedding before, I was truly excited for the unique story it would end up telling. I always make it a point to photograph the day as it happens and not let myself or what I may think the couple wants to shift the plans but I made a point to do that even more on their beautiful day because they were so unconcerned and seemed to genuinely relish in the fun of having a bunch of people cheering for them as they said I do!

I knew I couldn’t remove people from the background while working on a very busy beach (although I did tell one topless guy in a verrrry tight shorty short bathing suit who had a really long lens that decided to be their photographer to back up because I found I was having to work around HIM to get images – nope. No sir, you and your tiny bathing suit will not make this more complex) but I went with it. I photographed the reality of the world happening around them because really, this was their day.

It was fun, it was laughter, it was dealing with forgotten marriage certificates at the last minute, and a dress that busted a strap right as they said I do. It was strolls along the sidewalk with faces covered with masks and sunglasses to protect from the virus that has changed our world.

It was the bagpiper that Kate’s mom surprised them with that brought her into the ceremony (who had been hanging out with Drew and his family accidentally simply by where they all stood to wait) that Drew just thought was a nice guy doing a nice thing for his bride. By the way, the shock and double take he did when he realized at the END of our time together and long after the bagpiper had left, was so funny I almost snorted.

It was love in a place the two of them feel happy in, a place full of memories, a place they hope to one day call their home. And it will now always now be the place they said the vows that will last them a lifetime.

Kate, Drew and your families, thank you for inviting me and being so set on making sure I was your photo girl for the day. I loved getting to meet you and share in the special relationship you two share. I wish you all the best and I hope to see you again soon!!

Ogunquit Maine Elopement Photographer: I AM SARAH V Photography
Hair + Makeup: Salon Loka
Earrings! : Forged For All (I posted about a friend who made awesome earrings on my IG stories and Kate saw it and fell in love!)

Maine & New Hampshire wedding photographer, I AM SARAH V Photography, photographs events for wildly in love couples seeking an NH & Maine wedding photographer with a photojournalism & cinematic approach. You can see more of my work online at www.iamsarahv.com or on Instagram. I photograph many locations including being an Ogunquit Maine elopement photographer and I would enjoy photographing your day too! If you’d like to contact me directly, please email me at hello@iamsarahv.com