Karina & Austin decided to step into marriage this summer in a beautiful elopement on the Black Beach in Silver Bay, Minnesota.

The Black Beach is a scenic beach in Northern Minnesota. The iconic black sand is formed by taconite tailings from a nearby ore plant. The dark beach is in beautiful contract to the red stone cliffs surrounding the beach, and the moody color scheme makes this location a perfect place for elopements; but the best part? It's completely free!

When Karina & Austin reached out for me to capture their wedding, I couldn't contain my excitement. As a Minnesotan born-and-raised, I've always dreamed about shooting a wedding on the Black Beach. When the day finally came, my wonderful husband (my go-to second shooter) and I got up early and did the three hour drive from the Twin Cities to Silver Bay. As we got closer, we started to get worried about the weather. Although the forecast said there would be no rain that day, we know how unpredictable the North Shore is, and the sky was looking quite cloudy. Turns out, we were correct--it started to rain soon after the couple arrived! Luckily I had brought my trusty clear umbrellas, and we took plenty of portraits between the rain showers.

We took portraits in front of the red cliff on the south side, as well as on top of the northern cliffside overlooking the beach (shoutout to Karina for trekking up the trail in her heels), and the photos turned out so dreamy. We did the family portraits in front of the picturesque red cliff, and the ceremony started soon after. Right as the ceremony began, the sun peeked through the clouds--a sweet gift to warm the group.

After the ceremony, we headed to the Duluth Rose Garden for some more portraits. The elegant flora of the garden was the perfect touch for these pictures. Once we were done, the couple headed off to a nearby restaurant to meet up with the rest of the party and celebrate their union.

As a bucket list wedding, this day was truly a favorite of mine. It couldn't have been better--even the rain was a touch of good luck for the lovely couple.