An elopement in Portugal between Sintra and Arrábida

Reyna and Alex decided knew that an elopement in Portugal would be the best way to bring all their wedding dreams come to life. They wanted a surrounding that felt untouched and wild, and they wanted to say their vows on a cliff overlooking the Atlantic. Portugal was the best choice.
Reyna and Alex felt like old friends from the moment I received their first email - a beautiful, carefully written, heartfelt account of their plans and their dreams for the elopement. Finding a photographer that truly understood their vision and whose work they admired was one of their top priorities, and their vision for the images was very clear. Throughout the process I constantly felt like we were creative collaborators, and the end result you see here is their doing as much as mine. Because they wanted untouched nature as a backdrop, we chose the wild coast of Serra da Arrábida, just south of Lisbon, as the spot to exchange their vows. We didn't have a super clear plan of where to go because they wanted the day to feel spontaneous, so we drove through dirt roads and explored the paths until we found the perfect spot. They also wanted to try and reach the beach by the end of the afternoon, but that plan didn't work out as the cliffs are very steep on that part of the coast - we gave up after a while and decided to go to Sintra on the next morning instead. We met at sunrise to walk to Praia da Ursa - an equally steep hike, but one way more manageable. The beach was completely empty and Reyna and Alex had it all to themselves.

Every single detail of their elopement felt like a work of art. As I saw them walking through narrow dirt paths that crisscrossed the fields of wildflowers overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, them dressed in vintage pieces carefully collected over time, it was as if I got to see their presence beyond the limits of time - their past, present and future selves connected, walking hand in hand on their wedding day.

Film Scans: Carmencita Film Lab