A Santa Barbara Courthouse + Beach Wedding

The year 2021 was a big Courthouse wedding year for me! Our fair Santa Barbara Courthouse attracts couples from all over the world who want to have their wedding in this beautiful town but still want to keep things relatively simple, and I think 2021 in particular had couples impatient for their big weddings, unsure about future pandemic restrictions, just wanting something low-hassle but still stunning. And this is the place.

I have tons of weddings to share, and still may yet, but you can tell from the get go why this is the one I’m sharing today. This couple had a gaggle of pups at their ceremony, and the star was their own handsome Rhodesian Ridgeback, Jin! Only about a year old at this point, he was already the picture of strength and goofiness - two of my favorite things about this breed. So we may have let him steal the show a few times.

And he wasn’t alone! This dog-loving family brought along three other other much smaller pups, and I was so impressed that they all looked at me during the family photos, and that they got along without issue!

After the lovely afternoon ceremony and family photos at the courthouse, this couple wanted to go somewhere adventurous and fun for part 2 of their wedding day photos, so off we went to Hendry’s Beach, our off-leash dog beach, for sand, silliness and sunset! The shoes came off, the lace wedding dress train gathered sand (my favorite), and Jin made some friends while the newlyweds got a few dog-less portraits as well.

I love offering a 2nd stop after courthouse weddings because often the small guest lists of these ceremonies leave the couple with actual free time on their big day, to spend their first moments as newlyweds doing something they love, like visiting the beach! Santa Barbara has so much to offer, and there are so many nearby options, from the Mission and downtown, to beaches and parks. Like with my engagement sessions, I think it’s nice for the couple to have a variety of backgrounds to choose from when picking photos to print for cards, home decor or photo albums. (Plus you can give more gifts and they won’t look like they’re all from the same place!)

Congratulations to Kelli & Erick, and thank you for the dog-filled adventure!