“You can go your own way” – the song says. And that applies to weddings too. Because why not do something fun and memorable for your wedding, break with tradition, and set sail (literally) on an ocean of possibility? That’s what Paul & Ashley did when they decided to downsize their large wedding to one on their favorite sport, paddle boards.
from the photographer: “Paul and Ashley Hazlebeck got married on got married on paddle boards in Mission Bay (Bonita Cove). They love to paddle board together, and Mission Bay is one of their favorite spots to SUP. Bonita Cove is a calm area of Mission Bay, so that helped with the whole getting married on a paddle board thing. Additionally, Bonita Cove has a picturesque background of sail boats and a bridge and is surrounded by cute little charming houses. After the ceremony followed a reception in Mission Bay.”
from the couple: “Due to Covid, our original plan of a huge 300 person wedding was not possible. We did not want to put off become Mr. & Mrs., so we moved our wedding date up from 10/24 to 8/28. Since we had to do something different, we decided to go all out and do something really fun and special to us and get married on paddle boards with just our immediate family surrounding us in kayaks. I loved how fun our wedding is and how we got to get hitched out on the beautiful water and do something untraditional. Although we missed our friends and family who could not be with us, it was such a beautiful intimate day we got to spend with our immediate families. I think our elopement helped us focus more on each other and less about all of the traditional aspects a lot of couples feel pressure to produce. We would definitely do it again; it was the best day ever.”
Ashley: “Paul asked me to marry him at one of our favorite spots near our college town, Montaña de Oro State Park. A secret trials leads you to a stunning sandy spot on a cliff overlooking the ocean. That day he took me to the spot of our first date and first kiss, so it was a fun day full of beautiful memories.”
“We met at college (Cal Poly SLO). Paul was the Bible study leader for the dorm that I was a Resident Advisor in. When I wanted to connect a student to the study, I asked the womens leader for the mens leader’s number. (Paul always jokes and says luckily it wasn’t his co-leader’s phone number that she gave me.) That’s how we met, but we remained friends for almost 2 years, when we randomly ran into each other about every day for a week. We thought since we kept running into each other we might as well hang out. We went on a hike, and that was that :)”
Photography: Heather Anderson Photography / Florist: With Flourish / Venue: The Dana / Hair: Blush and Adore / Makeup: Taylor Haupt Makeup / Videography: PSmith Photography and Videography
