A Fun and Emotional Bodega Bay Elopement
Howdy!
If it so happens that you have stumbled on this page because you’re looking for offbeat, non-traditional and downright creative photography for your Bodega Bay Elopement and Wedding, then you have definitely come to the right place!
We’ve moved to Sonoma County and This particular location is right at the top of our list of places to shoot at as we feel it fitS our style of photography so well.
Feel free to get in touch with some information about your day, including the vision you’re hoping for and all that jazz, and we’ll get back to on what we can offer! Do try and send as much as you can as we LOVE hearing all about those juicy wedding deets.
In the meantime, feel free to have a little peek at some of our very recent WEDDING AND ELOPEMENT Work below (and on our portfolio and gallerIES too) to see if what we do floats your boat. We really can’t wait to hear from you!
ANd For Our move up north in 2026 and 2027, we’re trimming $500 off our Elopement and Wedding rate.
Highlights from recent work at Bodega Bay – not a Bodega Bay Elopement or wedding (yet!), but a taste of our style.
Why Getting Married at the Bodega Bay is the Dream Elopement location
A Bodega Bay Wedding is especially good for couples who would rather spend the day exploring than sitting through a five-hour reception. Start with coffee and a walk along the coast, say your vows somewhere with the Pacific doing its thing in the background, disappear for portraits, then go eat something excellent and drink something cold. As a Bodega Bay Wedding Photographer, that’s our kind of wedding day too. We’re here for the windblown hair, muddy shoes, ridiculous landscapes, happy tears, and all the stuff that happens when you stop trying to make your elopement look like everyone else’s.
Wedding Photos around the Bodega Bay, Bodega Head and the coast
Bodega Bay is basically a giant natural backdrop. You’ve got the harbor on one side, rugged Pacific coastline on the other, windswept beaches, rocky cliffs, sea stacks, grassy bluffs, and fog that occasionally decides it would like to be part of the photos too. Bodega Head is especially good for portraits, with trails winding around the headland and huge views in pretty much every direction. The main loop is roughly 1–2 miles, so there’s plenty to explore without turning your elopement into an accidental hiking expedition.
For a Bodega Bay Elopement or Bodega Bay Wedding, we love being able to move between completely different landscapes in one afternoon. One minute you’re wandering along a grassy bluff with the Pacific behind you, the next you’re scrambling down toward the beach. As a Bodega Bay Wedding Photographer, that variety is gold. The coast is moody, unpredictable, windswept and occasionally gloriously chaotic – and thankfully, it doesn’t care much about looking “perfect.” Neither do we.
The best time of year for a Bodega Bay Elopement
If you want the best combination of sunshine, warmer temperatures, and slightly less coastal chaos, late summer through early fall is hard to beat. August, September, and October tend to bring some of Bodega Bay’s nicest weather, with September often being the sweet spot. The fog can still roll in because, well, this is the Northern California coast, but that’s part of the fun. One minute you’ve got blue skies and ocean views, the next everything looks like the opening scene of a very cool horror movie.
Spring and winter have their own appeal too, especially if you’re into moodier skies, dramatic waves, and having more of the coastline to yourselves. As a Bodega Bay Wedding Photographer, we actually love the unpredictability. A Bodega Bay Elopement doesn’t need perfect weather to look incredible, and a Bodega Bay Wedding in the fog can be downright spectacular. The trick is dressing for the coast, embracing whatever the Pacific decides to throw at you, and letting the weather become part of the story rather than something to fight.
Do you need a permit for a Bodega Bay Elopement or Wedding?
If you’re planning a Bodega Bay Elopement on public land, the short answer is: possibly, and you really don’t want to find out the hard way on the day. If you’re getting married at Bodega Head or elsewhere within Sonoma Coast State Park, California State Parks requires a special event permit for weddings, and permits can also be required for professional photography. The rules can vary depending on the exact location, guest count, setup, and what you’re planning, so it’s worth checking with the park before locking everything in.
The current North Coast Redwoods District fee schedule lists a $200 non-refundable filing fee, with special-event fees starting around $200 for up to 50 people, $300 for 51–100 guests, and $400 for 101–150. If you’re serving alcohol, that’s another $50–$150 depending on the size of your group, and ranger monitoring, if required, runs around $105 per hour. So, as a rough starting point, a small Bodega Bay Elopement could be looking at around $400 in basic permit fees before any extras, which is great value for money given the locations.
For a Bodega Bay Wedding, things like catering, alcohol, vendors, larger setups, or anything that interferes with normal public access can also trigger additional requirements. And yes, your photographer counts as a vendor when you’re using a state park location. As a Bodega Bay Wedding Photographer, we’d much rather spend the day chasing ridiculous coastal light with you than discovering there’s a ranger waiting to shut down your ceremony. Check the permit situation early, get the paperwork sorted, and then you can concentrate on the important stuff: getting married, eating something excellent, and letting the Pacific Ocean do its dramatic thing in the background.
CAMERA-WIELDING WEIRDOS, 80s kids, AND MEGA NERDS who’ve been glued at the hip since the MySpace days. We ditched the 9-to-5 grind to snap couples smoochin’ – and honestly, it’s the best damn thing ever. If you’re after some traDISH pics, you might wanna keep looking, ’cause we’re definitely not your cup of tea.
WE MADE IT.
