The Paddle Boarding Bride

To say that some people love standup paddle boarding is an understatement. We’ve seen people being proposed to while paddle boarding as well as a couple who actually got married on their SUPs. Like anything else people love to incorporate their passion with their soon to be life partner and what better way than to combine the two in your wedding photos.

*All photos were shot by Janalyn Yanover at Horizon Photography

The Love for SUPing

If you don’t already know Isle Ambassador Mandy Burstein then you aren’t familiar with her love for standup paddle boarding and specifically her love for SUP Yoga. Mandy makes a living as a Yoga Instructor and offers various classes in SUP Yoga, Private Instruction, Corporate Yoga and anything else that involves Yoga. She defines her jobs as a part-time mermaid and full-time Zen Girl which she spends lots of her time on an Isle paddle board.

Trash the Dress

Trash the dress is a common photography trend where brides “trash” the bridal dress by ruining it and getting it wet, dirty and even destroying it at some points. We asked Mandy whose idea was this and if she ruined the dress in the process which she responded with –  “It was my idea! I thought it would be the perfect chance to have fun splashing around in the Pacific ocean and have one more moment of "wedding bliss" combining all my favorite things (yoga, SUP, etc) before saying goodbye to the dress once and for all.” “Ruining the dress was the point! It was so much fun and totally worth it!” Some might wonder what the guests were doing while this was happening but Mandy informed us that this shoot was a different day of the wedding. The two of them got married at La Jolla Cove and she wanted to do the shoot in the ocean right in front of where they said I DO. The swell was surprisingly big that day and totally caught them off guard but decided to go for it! “I was trying to focus on not drowning! Once the dress got wet, it weighed an extra 10 pounds, so it kept pulling me down. I was able to practice my favorite yoga poses and play with a few small waves on the way in. Meanwhile, my husband was doing his own thing, having a blast, catching waves right and left on his surf board while I tried to not die! haha ;)”

Paddle Board Yoga for Brides

Mandy had such an amazing experience with this shoot that she now offers Zen Bride Packages for anyone saying “I Do”. She wants to help women come into their big day with positive energy swirling around and have a stress-free wedding of their dreams. We’ll elave you with Mandy’s recommendation on doing a shoot like this – “I would recommend it to anyone. It was so much fun practicing acro yoga, SUP yoga, and paddling around out there in the ocean. We got so many comments from people on the beach, everyone ran up to take pictures with us, it was a blast and another fun way to connect us and express our love as a newly married couple.”