Crissy Beach intimate wedding San Francisco

zoelarkinphoto

5 years ago

Crissy Field intimate beach wedding San Francisco by Zoe Larkin Photography

Enjoy this intimate San Francisco beach wedding! Angely and Vincent’s ceremony was held in the tucked-away location of the Crissy Beach Cypress Grove. This little-known San Francisco beach location is a super special wedding spot, located close to Crissy Field. You are overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge as you say ‘I do!’!

What makes this intimate wedding even more special is that it was a leap year wedding! After initially thinking of a summer wedding, Angely and Vincent decided to wait for this special date.

The Crissy Field Cypress Grove has the perfect balance of being somewhat secluded and set back from the path – but also easily accessible for the groom’s elderly grandparents.

Want info on engagement photography at Crissy Field? I’ve a whole guide on that, linked below!

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How to find the Crissy Beach Cypress Grove

If you’re looking for an outdoor spot to get married that overlooks the Golden Gate Bridge, you can’t go far wrong with Crissy Field South Beach/ East Beach area.

A cute little deck area makes the perfect aisle. The cypress grove adds a sense of drama, plus there are benches nearby for guests to chill before everything kicks off.

As of the time I’m writing, the Cypress Grove doesn’t have its own pin on Google Maps, so you can click this link if you want to see exactly where this spot is in relation to the Crissy Beach Parking Lot (opens in Google Maps).

It’s only about a 7-minute walk.

Map location for the Crissy Beach Beach Parking Lot

It is a simple process of obtaining a permit from the Parks Conservancy and making sure you stick to the rules. You can obtain the permit for your wedding within the Golden Gate National Recreation area at this link.

Looking for other locations in and around San Francisco for an intimate wedding ceremony? Check out my guide, linked below!

About the couple

This awesome couple, Vincent and Angely are Bay Area natives who have been living in Minnesota since 2012. In their first year orientation group at college in Southern MN they were paired in the same buddy group – no doubt as they hailed from the same area.

It proved to be the start of something beautiful – and their love story blossomed. They hit it off straight away – and were in the same writing class and lived near each other. Meant to be…

Skip forward a few years later and they moved to Minneapolis more recently for work. They decided to return to their native Bay Area for their wedding because of its natural beauty and ease all their close family. Logistically it made sense, as one of Vincent’s grandmothers is in her nineties!

The three words that Angely and Vincent would use to describe themselves as a couple are: silly, authentic and adventurous.

A wedding with the Golden Gate Bridge in the background – and some intense wind! | Photography by Zoe Larkin Photography

The lovebirds got officially engaged at the end of March 2019. It was a long-time, mutual decision rather than a surprise proposal. After having discussed the decision to get married, the couple drove an hour south, back to the bench they sat on during their first date. And that was when the deal was done!

They soon weighed up their options and got to planning their leap year 2020 wedding!

Planning & executing their wedding vision

Angely and Vincent wanted to remember the feeling and truly be in the moment. They prioritized being in nature and their venue also had to be accessible.

Families also played a large part in getting their wedding day at Crissy Field. Angely’s parents brought the chairs for the ceremony. Speaking of which, they had a special ring-warming ceremony in which the ring is passed around all guests, each of whom bestows a prayer or blessing on the marriage.

They held their reception at an Airbnb – a great way of doing things on their own terms in their own time. A non-traditional wedding afforded Angely and Vincent to make their day truly their own.

Wedding details

The couple brought some beautiful personal touches to their day, and sourced much of their wedding swag from Etsy. They DIYed their wedding too, which allowed them to inject more of their personalities into the day. The couple opted for silk flowers which can be used as home decor in the years ahead.

I love the fact that Angely wore Hunter boots under her wedding dress! There are special bridal boots you can buy that even have a small chunky heel.

Angely wore Hunter wedding wellington boots on her wedding day! | Photography by Zoe Larkin Photography

Having an absolutely badass officiant Lauren Snead rounded off an awesome wedding vendor team.

Things don’t always go according to plan at a DIY wedding but the trick is to roll with it. Loved ones may be late, the wind may be ferocious, but the sense of love and kindness remains.

Angely had a big smile on her face the whole time, and we made everything work seamlessly in the time we had.

Yes, you can have a beautiful, magical wedding day without spending a small fortune.

Chilling on the bench beneath the beautiful San Francisco cypress trees | Photography by Zoe Larkin Photography

Thank you!

Thank you to Angely and Vincent for choosing me as their wedding photographer – and for allowing me to share their story here. I truly appreciate and love all the couples that have let me be part of their wedding days.

With a truly intimate wedding like this one, I feel that even more!

If you’re planning a wedding in the San Francisco Bay Area you can learn more about my services at this link.

For more information about Zoe Larkin Photography’s elopement photography services, check out the info linked below:

In the meantime, be sure to pin the graphic below to your Pinterest wedding planning board!

Spot the unicorn when you hover over any image on this page =)