Ryan & Shelby Badowski // Elopement Hilton Head Island
I am beyond excited to share pictures from a very special day this May! I'm not exaggerating when I say that this elopement was just the coolest in every. single. way.
Even though Shelby and Ryan’s destination wedding in Hilton head didn’t go as planned, it was even more beautiful than it ever could have been in the first place! Here are a few things that made this day so perfectly and uniquely incredible... it was just the two of them, their parents and siblings all staying in a stunning modern house on the beach with a private backyard and pool. His mom did the flowers and all of their sisters helped Shelby get ready, helping her do her hair & her nails and documenting all the fun moments on their phones. Ryan’s sister married them in the backyard, they walked down the aisle to Justin Bieber’s song “confirmation”, they decided the morning of to write their own vows, and let me tell you we were all crying. They popped champagne and we walked out on the empty beach and took pictures until the sun set. Shelby rocked her custom DIY denim jacket with her wedding dress & didn’t care one bit about running around barefoot in the sand. Her dad cooked an incredible filet mignon dinner for all of us (it was unreal) and their cute pup Moses was running around all day stealing alllll the attention! Their siblings shared stories, made toasts, and they danced the rest of the night away as one big family. The night ended with Shelby and Ryan jumping in the pool together all dressed up!
Shelby and Ryan met and started dating early in college in Michigan after they were set up by multiple friends. Immediately these two hit it off and the rest was history. I had never met Shelby or Ryan before their wedding day since it was a destination wedding for them, but I knew from multiple conversations on the phone and over text that Shelby had communicated that she was a Christian with me. However, I had no context for their story until this moment as they eloped and made their vows. After Ryan shared his vows, talked about falling in love with Shelby and made promises to protect and love her forever, Shelby shared the story of how Ryan has shown her his love. Shelby spoke of how after they had been dating for some time, Ryan was away and when he came back home he shared how he had been saved and decided to put his faith in Jesus and become a Christian. Shelby did not understand his decision and through tear filled words as she shared the story, she talked about how she was angry at first and how she thought his decision to change was selfish because it was potentially going to break them up. Little did she know at that point, she said, that Ryan’s newfound commitment to his faith was the most selfless thing he could have ever done for her and for them. Through time and continuing to show her this selfless love, Shelby too realized her need for Jesus and became a Christian! Now these two had the opportunity to share this story and how their relationship grew in so many ways after they experienced such heart changes with their families who sat and watched them make their vows to each other - so amazing. I know I am butchering their story by trying to share it, but their words were some of the most intentional, bold, and gospel filled vows I’ve ever witnessed. All I could say was wow, what an honor to witness this story & these two become husband and wife!
I’m taking all the cues from these two for the future because they had one of the sweetest, most fun, authentic, meaningful, beautiful, and intimate wedding days I’ve ever been a part of! Cheers to the new Badowskis!
