January 8, 2024

California Ranch Western Elopement

Their cowboy love story

To start, Belle & Jeremy decided to elope at a California ranch for their western elopement. It is is called Kingston Ranch, and they eloped on a beautiful weekend in May. They are cowboys at heart, and decided to do an all out western theme for their elopement. Belle & Jeremy have been together for over 3 years, and they knew they wanted their special day to be unique to them. They are natives to Las Vegas, so they decided the ranch would be a perfect location for them. It is just outside of Sandy Valley, Nevada, right over the border to Mesquite Valley, California. This ranch was so special. There were so many animals there: horses, dogs, turkeys, goats, sheep, and birds.

Kingston Ranch in California

Picture this, you drive down a long road that no one else is on for miles upon miles. There are mountains and desert as far as the eye can see. On this mysterious road you continue driving on, there is a private ranch to the right. You pull up, the gates open, and you drive in. There is an open field of horses, dogs roaming free, a small pond sparkling in the light, turkeys, another open field of horses walking freely, and a hangar with a landing strip. This is a very special ranch, with a lot of history too.

The history of Kingston Ranch

Further, the conception of the ranch was for the purpose of homesteading in 1925 by a man named Hart Reynolds. The name Kingston Ranch was coined from C. L. Kingston. He was a traveler who frequented the Santa Fe Trail. This trail ran through Las Vegas, up and over the Mountain Springs Pass, and through the mountain range west of Sandy Valley. Kingston trailblazed a cutoff through the western edge of Sandy Valley and down to the south end of the mountains. Therefore, it became commonly known as the Kingston cutoff. In addition, the tallest mountain peak to the west became known as Kingston Peak. While there is a lot more interesting history, like how the airstrip came to be, I will leave it to their website to fulfill the rest of the story: http://kingstonranch.com/wp2/about/

Their elopement day

Their elopement took place at the gorgeous time of golden hour. We incorporated the whole ranch and explored different locations for them to use on the property. We started taking photos on the airstrip, which created awesome perspectives for the photos with the mountains far away in the back. Then, we added the horses into the photos. Belle & Jeremy enjoyed time with the horses, Belle was horseback riding, Jeremy was petting them as she rode, and it was magical. The golden rays of the sun came down on them with the horse, and it was such a special moment in the midst of the desert nature.

They said their vows on the field with the light shining down on them. It was so peaceful and beautiful with the landscape. They truly enjoyed how low key and down to Earth the whole experience was. No noise, just the focus being on each other.

Moments like these make me feel like everyone should be eloping in nature. The true power of the moment being quiet, focused, full of love, and in a beautiful spot on this wonderful Earth, is truly unparalleled.

Finally, at sunset, we moved onto the second field of horses. They stood by the horses, let them be, and enjoyed the time together. The mountains in the distance turned a bright pink, as the sunset reflected on them. This was a view that I could never forget for the rest of my life. Their portrait together, with the horse, and the pink mountain range behind them, truly felt unreal.