Moroccan Riad Intimate Wedding
When Ellie + Justin had told me they wanted to get married in Morocco, I was so freaking stoked. That place has been at the top of my list to visit for some time and no better way to do it than with a couple of rad individuals. I knew with how fun their engagement session was that the wedding would not disappoint. It surely did not. This wedding was wild. It all started with the flight out to Morocco. I was supposed to fly down to LA to meet up with Ellie + Justin and fly out with them and their families together. I booked a separate one-way ticket to LA from Seattle with a 4-hour layover, which I figured would be plenty of time to walk over to the international terminal and meet up with them. Of course there is a delay the one time I actually need to be down there by a specific time. Delayed 4 hours due to a flight attendant recognizing some sort of sulfur smell only to eventually figure out it was due to the construction at Sea-Tac and they were pouring concrete at the gate next door *me face palming hard*. So I missed the flight with them to Morocco and had to immediately figure out some way to get to Morocco quickly because catching the next flight out on the same booking would get me in a day later. Thankfully I was able to book a couple different flights that got me there only 12 hours later (the following morning). It was the most stressful flying experience of my life.
Seeing the riad we stayed in for the first time was so cool. The amount of detail and craftsmanship blew my mind. After a delicious breakfast and a quick nap, we ventured around the area to explore and potentially find somewhere for Ellie + Justin to hold their ceremony. I give them major props for being so relaxed with their planning. It wasn’t until Justin was getting ready on the wedding day that we decided we would have the ceremony on the rooftop of the riad (which actually worked out so perfectly).
After shooting way too many epic portraits at the riad, we all went out to dinner and despite a couple of spots being fully booked, one was able to find a table big enough for all of us. We ate, we drank, we laughed, it was a great time. The following morning we woke up at sunrise and ventured around the town. During the day and into the night the streets are so busy but come early morning, it’s a ghost town. I was super stoked on how those portraits came out despite just wandering around and not having a solid plan. It worked out really well!
We came back to the riad, got breakfast and began packing up. We were leaving the riad to head out to the desert and stay at this tent site in the middle of nowhere. Before leaving, I made sure to buy a couple rugs and poofs. It was pretty rad to go through that whole buying experience there.
After we got to the next location, we unpacked bags, rested a bit before going out on a few camels around sunset for some final portraits before I left back for Seattle. These photos were epic. Couldn’t have asked for it to go any better. The guides were super cool with letting Ellie + Justin take control of the camels and wander off from everyone else. We had such a beautiful golden sunset too. It was one of those times where everything was going right. I can’t thank Ellie + Justin enough for including me in their plans and letting me document all of it. A trip I will never forget. Hope you enjoy looking through all the photos!
