Chelsea & Todd's Elopement at Ukimido Pavilion, Nara
Chelsea and Todd eloped at Ukimido Pavilion in Nara Park, March of this year, in one of the only ceremonies I know of that shares its guest list with a herd of wild, sacred deer.
Chelsea had one clear request when she first reached out: she wanted nature, and she wanted deer. Not a garden dressed up to look wild, but the real thing, the kind of place where the landscape does not perform for the camera, it simply exists, and you are lucky enough to stand inside it for an afternoon. Nara was the obvious answer. Its deer are not a photo prop; they have wandered the park freely for centuries, considered messengers of the gods by the shrine that borders it, and they move through the grounds with a kind of unbothered confidence that no styled shoot could fake.
We began at Chelsea and Todd's hotel, in the quiet, unglamorous part of the day that I love most: steaming the dress, laying out the details, the two of them getting ready in the same room, stealing glances rather than a formal first look. There is a particular kind of nervous energy in a hotel room before an elopement, quieter than a wedding day, more private, and it always shows in the pictures.
From there we walked into Nara Park itself, toward Ukimido, the small hexagonal pavilion that seems to float over its own pond at the edge of the park. It is an unassuming structure, wooden, weathered, built for looking out rather than being looked at, which is exactly what made it right for Chelsea and Todd. They did not want a grand backdrop competing with their vows. They wanted water, pine, and deer grazing somewhere in the middle distance, and Ukimido gave them all three without asking for attention in return.
What I keep coming back to from that day is how little performance there was in it. Two people who wanted to be married in a place that felt alive, not arranged, standing at the edge of a pond while the park went on with its own quiet business around them.
As a Japan based, bilingual photographer who has also shot for British Vogue, I get asked often whether an elopement here has to mean cherry blossoms and a temple courtyard. Chelsea and Todd's day is my favourite kind of answer: Japan has room for a wilder, quieter version of the same story, if that is the one a couple actually wants.
Vendor credits
Photography: Sofia Hiramatsu
If you're dreaming of the same
Chelsea and Todd, thank you for trusting me with a day that was entirely, unmistakably yours. If a quieter elopement, deer included, sounds like the story you are after, I would love to hear from you.
For more inspiration on where to say your vows, have a look at the best places to elope in Japan.