Welp, we were finally doing it. We had been looking forward to this week for months and it was finally time for us to elope to Santa Barbara to get hitched!  My mother keeps telling me I cannot call it an elopement because it was not a secret, but I don’t know what else to call it other than a weddingmoon or a wedding for two. It was quite literally just the two of us and let me tell you: it was AHmazing.

We packed our four suitcases {yes, we were only going for a week, shush.} and headed to DTW to fly into LAX on April 19th. It was both of our first times heading to California and we had decided that we would take the train from LAX to Santa Barbara. Let me tell you, do not make the assumptions when planning your travel arrangements. Because the Amtrak station was called LAX, I had assumed that it was at the airport and, my friends, that was not the case. After a 30 minute cab ride to Union Station, we were ready to board the train.

I was SO happy we had decided to take the train because Union Station was absolutely gorgeous! Gah, this architecture and stained glass windows … I was in love.

Taking the train was awesome and I would totally recommend it! Our two hour ride in business class was nice and comfy AND I had an electrical outlet right next to me to charge my iPhone and Kindle Fire. I was thrilled.
When we arrived into downtown Santa Barbara, we then caught a cab and headed to the Bacara Resort and Spa for our week long weddingmoon {happy, Mother?}. We had a gorgeous partial ocean view room and we were SO happy to see the sweet orchid arrangement from my Dad and Step-mom and my VS giftbox from my sister.

My sister calls our step-mom, Nancelia {her name is Nancy}, so I got a kick out of the misspelling of her name on the card. And so, Mancelia was born!

Aww. So sweet. Thank you, Bimmy!

And then we received a knock on the door and in came champagne and chocolate covered strawberries. So. Happy.

As we were still on East Coast time, we were up bright and early the next day and decided to tour the resort. We just threw on some sweats and flip flops — it was early, we weren’t going to run into anyone just yet, right?

Pure happiness.

After we walked around the resort, we decided to take a walk and scout for our ceremony location. Again, we’re wearing flip flops remember. Poor, poor idea.

But, my God, Santa Barbara is stunning {note: technically, the Bacara resort is in Goleta, CA}.

Yes, that is correct. We hiked up this mountain in our flip flops. LW almost bit it twice.

We came back, had breakfast and decided it was time for some sunshine and Coronas. What we did not anticipate was the fact that it was the week of Easter, and therefore, Spring Break. The resort was at max capacity with families and so we made the {BEST} decision to rent a private cabana that afternoon. LW was just happy because he was able to watch the hockey play-offs on the cabana TV. The Red Wings lost to Boston, but we still managed to have a decent day. 🙂

As our ceremony was set for Tuesday, we headed into downtown Santa Barbara on Monday morning to obtain our marriage license at the Court House. As we waited for our driver, we took some shots of the exterior of the Bacara. Just stunning!

If I had known this Court House was as gorgeous as it is, we may have just said our vows here! People drive to SB from all over Southern Cali just to get married at this facility. Again, INCREDIBLE!

And, of course, a selfie after getting our marriage license. 🙂 Believe it or not, this was really the last of the portraits we took on vacay. I had HIGH ambitions of documenting EVERYTHING we did, but truthfully, we were too busy living in the moment to keep pulling out the camera.
BUT, with that said, our wedding images should arrive in early June and I’ll be sure to share my faves from the overly talented Amelia Lyon. I cannot wait!