Brianna and Daniel had an intimate southwest elopement at Inn of the Turquoise Bear in Santa Fe, New Mexico. They were married in a private ceremony on a beautiful fall day, surrounded by only their immediate family, in beautiful Santa Fe, New Mexico at the lovely Inn of the Turquoise Bear. September is one of the best months to get married to the love of your life in New Mexico because of the gorgeous colors from nature and the perfect outdoor temperature. The day they chose to elope was also their 7 year dating anniversary.

Brianna and Daniel’s love story is absolutely incredible. I wanted to share her words from their fabulous wedding website:

“Daniel was raised in Atlantic Highlands, NJ. Always a little Indiana Jones at heart, he had a knack for making an adventure out of anything, anywhere, anytime. He loves the outdoors, doggies, and playing games.

Briana was born and raised in the San Luis Valley, CO. Always the bookworm, most of the adventures she went on happened between the pages of a book. She loves storytelling, the outdoors, and playing games.

So, they had a lot in common when they met at Adams State University in the spring of 2011.

They were both pursuing degrees in Anthropology and had signed up for the same Linguistics class. Briana was an outspoken student who sat in the front row and was a consistent ten minutes late to class Every. Single. Day. Daniel sat in the row behind her; he was a little more reserved, always on time, and found Briana's classroom antics to be - charming?

But he never thought to speak to her and she never really noticed him until...

Briana started an internship at the Luther Bean Museum on campus where Daniel already worked. It was his job to show her the ropes. She thought he was cute, and he thought she was colorful. There may have been more flirting than actual work going on, but it was obvious from the start there was something special between them.

When it came time to go their separate ways at the end of their shift (or so Briana thought) she mentioned not wanting to go to her next class. Daniel agreed that he didn't feel like going either, and when she asked him what class he had next, she was shocked to discover they had already spent half the semester sitting less than ten feet from each other. And she never even noticed. Smooth.

In an attempt to gracefully recover, Briana invited Daniel to move up into the empty seat next to her so she'd never fail to notice him again. He didn't. At least, not right away. Uncharacteristically running late one afternoon, himself, Daniel showed up to class after Briana and found it impossible to avoid the puppy eyes she gave him until he took the seat beside her. So, maybe she twisted his arm a little bit, but he never moved back to his old seat and she spent the rest of the semester doodling notes and obnoxious stick-figures in the margins of his notebooks.

It was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

They became friends. Shared interests and introduced each other to a few new ones (turns out Briana had a secret adventurous side, too). Spent time together playing games, watching movies, listening to music, and watching a few plays (turns out Dan can appreciate Shakespeare). They helped each other move a few times (because Briana had a truck and Daniel was sturdy), and missed each other over the summer months when Daniel returned to New Jersey. It was adorable in that sappy romantic comedy kind of way.

And they might have stayed just friends if Briana hadn't (in completely typical, blunt Bri-style) told Daniel she wanted to kiss him. Always on the look out for a new adventure, Daniel knew when the opportunity presented itself, and, cool as any charming rogue, shrugged and said, "We could try it." Famous. Last. Words.

We've been adventuring together, ever since.

September 14, 2011 - Our adventure began.

April 1, 2015 - Daniel proposed on a cruise to Mexico. (Yes, it was on April Fools because Dan likes to dance close to the fire.)

Daniel had done a fairly excellent job of keeping the engagement under wraps until he was ready for the big reveal. Unfortunately, for him, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes was one of Briana's favorite novels growing up, so she knew he was planning something big. She just wasn't prepared for jumbotron-over-the-pool-in-the-middle-of-the-day-in-front-of-tons-of-people big.

Champagne and strawberries, and a lovely photo shoot with a delightful photographer followed. That night, the Dellossos and their soon-to-be daughter-in-law celebrated the engagement with a fantastic meal at one of the ship's amazing restaurants. The next morning, the ship docked in Ensenada, Mexico and after a complimentary champagne brunch, the whole family spent the day touring the coastal city.

It was an amazing weekend cruise and a beautiful surprise from the wold's kindest and loving man.”

Daniel and Brianna’s intimate elopement was absolutely amazing. The Inn of the Turquoise Bear was the perfect wedding venue location to celebrate with their immediate family.

The Inn of the Turquoise Bear elopements include their fantastic wedding officiant, bouquets, boutonnieres, champagne, two keepsake champagne flutes for the wedding day toast, and a petite two-tier wedding cake in addition to their one hour cake & champagne toast reception and fabulous location (this is for their two top options — La Boda Entantado Wedding Package and Vida Encantadora Elopement Package).

Brianna and Daniel had amazing travel-themed elements in their beautiful wedding details. I also loved that they wore fresh floral Hawaiian wedding leis. “Wedding leis symbolize the love that a couple has for one another as well as the love of everyone who is there to witness the event and the spirit of aloha that presides over the ceremony.” (https://www.flowerleis.com/info/when-to-give/wedding-leis/).

I absolutely loved capturing Brianna and Daniel’s intimate southwest wedding at The Inn of the Turquoise Bear in beautiful Santa Fe, New Mexico. Scroll through to see more from their fabulous day!