We have a really exciting wedding day to share with you all today as well as some really amazing insight for those of you that are looking to host a larger wedding celebration on the beach in between Ventura and Santa Barbara.

First we’ll share a bit of the flow for Noelle & Tyler’s personal day and then we’ll chat about that special beach that they got married at! We were able to come up with a really wonderful plan for their day that allowed for some top tier backgrounds for really no cost at all – which, when looking for a venue to host you on the beach, can be tough to come by along the Montecito / Santa Barbara coastline there.

We started the day getting ready at their individual “getting ready houses” – Noelle and the bridesmaids had a beachy Airbnb nearby in Carpinteria and Tyler was hosting the boys at a family friends house on the other side of town. Needless to say, their wedding party brought THE ENERGY as you will be able to tell from their gallery below. Both locations served as perfect spots for them to share some sweet + fun moments before the celebration begins! I would of course be remissed if I failed to mention how lovely it was to have their sweet husky Aurora floating around us as we floated through their getting ready section. We have two huskies at home as well, so it truly felt like I had a little buddy with me throughout the day!🥹 (Please bring your furry family members to your wedding day – we would love to meet them + give them pets.. excluding that one furry Uncle)

After getting into their wedding day attire, we planned to meet at Carpinteria Bluffs Nature Preserve in Carpinteria for their first look, wedding party photos, and some family photos. First arriving with just Noelle & Tyler, we separately strolled down to a beautiful spot on the mesa that we picked out for their first look. After sharing some sweet words + tears, then exchanging intimate vows with each other, we had some fun with their friends and family throughout the preserve. We really loved utilizing the stunning backdrop of the Santa Barbara mountain range and found plenty of shady spots under the eucalyptus grove which was definitely preferred for the mid-afternoon time of day. There were options to pop over to the coast at this location as well, but we were trying to be efficient with our time because we still had to get these two married! Also, if you’re paying attention, this was the first free + beautiful location for their day that is super accessible from the parking lot. We only had to walk for about 5 minutes on a flat trail to get to the spot we landed. Several laughs and hugs later, we headed out for the second location which would be the ceremony site on the beach, literally 5 minutes away.

The secret beach site is not entirely a “secret beach”; however, it is a secretly free wedding venue we have found out. Santa Claus Lane Beach at the edge of Carpinteria + Montecito just so happens to land itself in a somewhat of a “no-mans-land”. Being that it is at the edge of both Ventura and Santa Barbara county, it ends up being in sort of an “unincorporated area” meaning that (for the sake of this blog post) no one really manages the permits or beach there. Noelle & Tyler had devotionally tried for months to try to attain the proper information and permits to have their wedding on the beach here, but the city basically told them to just go for it because no one really claims that beach under their county’s permitting agency.

SO, long story short, this beach is one of those weirdly amazing hidden gems where you can basically have the Santa Barbara beach wedding of your dreams for free. And trust us, we know how expensive those venues are just to host you + your loved one’s toes in the sand in front of their property – Thousands, if not tens-of-thousands of dollars. Santa Claus Lane Beach offers up those same backgrounds on a beautiful beach and all you need is a bunch of friends willing to help show up early to set up! Also, the train schedule could be helpful as the Amtrak does pass by the beach there. This is also the same exact beach that Rincon Beach Club uses for their weddings. We’ve shot several weddings at the Rincon Beach Club venue over the years and it is a perfect place to come back to for a reception, there is no doubt about that. However, if you’re looking for an option that doesn’t cost upwards of $30,000 – this may be the option for you!

We had a stunning ceremony down on the beach, adorned with sweet memories, family, and loved ones.. and of course RoRo the husky. 😉
This beach truly is one of our favorite beach locations too. The balance of the dramatic mountainscape cascading down into the big blue Pacific there is just simply a scene you dream of for your wedding day. The way the beach is set into the landscape really allows for a magical atmosphere and quality of light as the sun starts to dip down more and more. Every day here seems to have a bit of a different essence to them, but each equally dreamy. As much as it is technically a public beach, people are typically very respectful of ceremonies happening and Rincon Beach Club seems to keep it pretty clean from their regular ceremonies as well. There are some access points that are easier to cross the tracks too, so let us know if you’re looking for more info on the specifics and we would be so happy to chat with you about this magical Santa Barbara beach venue.

To finish off the day, after having some fun down on the beach, we all hopped in our cars and headed back down the coast to Topa Topa Brewing on Colt Street for their reception! What a fun + easy idea! Plenty of room to host any number of guests. It can be a very lowkey venue if you’re looking for a chill place to party, yet fully scalable to any size of celebration. We could really see the potential that some solid decor, lighting, and DJ could add to your reception if you had the budget to jazz it up after saving on the beach ceremony site. However, if the vibes you’re bringing is really all you need, just keep it simple with Costco pizza, a cake made by the two of you, and some tasty beers like Noelle & Tyler did! Hey, sometimes that is truly what sounds the absolute best on your wedding day, so do what feels good to you!

As much as this wedding may be very budget-friendly, we were really impressed with how well-done it all turned out when everything was said + done. It truly did feel like a really beautiful day and a wedding celebration that everyone had a blast at. Really, at the end of the day, this day is about the two of you sharing some love committing yourselves to each other, getting some family + friends together, and celebrating in WHATEVER WAY YOU WANT! I don’t know who needs to hear this, but it is your day – make it however you want! We will be so stoked to celebrate through your day with you and give you any insight that we can along the way, but we will always encourage you to add your own personal flavor + do what makes sense for you two as a couple!

If you’re beginning the planning process and potentially getting discouraged adding up the cost of every detail of the day, maybe think about having a free beach wedding in Santa Barbara! We would be so happy to help you with any info you may need regarding planning a wedding day similar to this and of course we would be so honored to be your wedding photographer on your special day! It truly is a magical landscape to host your wedding, especially with the bluffs being only 5 minutes away, you could really pack some magical locations into your day without having to spend nearly any time driving from place to place. I’m sure there’s some additional options in Carpinteria for the reception to follow as well, but for this couple in particular Topa Topa was calling their name! We’ve even done one where they hosted the reception at Lyons Park in the foothills of Carpinteria and that was really nice! They have a great indoor-lodge space there and with a bit of style, you can really make it into something stunning!

Please feel free to reach out if you’d like some more info on this beach or are interested in having us be your wedding photographers on your special day. We would be so happy to connect with you and help plan your perfect day! We hope you enjoy looking through some of our favorite shots from this lovely wedding celebration! 🙂