Romantic Cliffside Elopement in Etretat, Normandy

Marina and Danislav's intimate elopement on the chalk cliffs of Etretat, Normandy, with a custom Olga Kiseleva gown and golden sunset photography.

By Elena Moretti | Published 30 November 2018

Romantic Cliffside Elopement in Etretat, Normandy

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Marina and Danislav exchanged vows on the dramatic chalk cliffs of Etretat, one of the most breathtaking natural settings in Normandy, in the North of France. Photographed by Eugenia Ziginova during a golden August sunset, this intimate elopement captured the raw beauty of the Normandy coastline from beach to clifftop.

Photography

Eugenia Ziginova

Venue

Etretat Cliffs

Region

Normandy, France

Couple

Marina & Danislav

Couple Portraits

A couple walks hand-in-hand along a pebble beach at the base of tall white chalk cliffs, likely Étretat in Normandy. The woman wears a flowing blush pink maxi dress and the man wears a white linen shirt, khaki shorts, and black-and-white sneakers. The shot is a wide portrait taken in soft, bright natural light with a film-style airy palette. The overall styling is casual and relaxed rather than formal.

A couple sits together on a white blanket on a clifftop overlooking the sea, in what appears to be an engagement or pre-wedding portrait session at the cliffs of Étretat in Normandy, France. The man wears a white button-down shirt and khaki shorts, while the woman wears a teal skirt and has a light grey fringed blanket draped over her shoulders; she leans affectionately against him from behind. A bottle of rosé wine, a glass, and what appears to be a small cheese or snack are arranged on the blanket, styling the scene as a casual clifftop picnic. The shot is a medium portrait taken at golden hour with warm, soft backlighting, and the iconic chalk arch rock formation is visible in the soft-focus background.

Couple on Etretat chalk cliffs woman in teal dress man in white shirt with dramatic white cliff arches and sea behind

A collage of six engagement or pre-wedding session photographs featuring a couple at the Étretat chalk cliffs on the Normandy coast of France. The woman wears a teal/turquoise dress and a yellow straw hat in several frames, while the man is dressed in a white linen shirt and khaki shorts. Shots include a close-up detail of the couple clinking rosé wine glasses alongside a baguette on a blanket, a portrait of them kissing with the white cliffs visible in the background, a relaxed picnic scene on the clifftop grass with a bottle of wine beside them, a wide shot showing the couple standing at the cliff's edge with the iconic Étretat arch formation visible, a solo portrait of the man leaning against the cliff face on the pebble beach, and a seated back-view portrait of both on the beach with the woman in a floral light-colored dress. The overall palette is warm, airy, and soft with golden-hour light throughout, and the style is romantic and natural.

Eugenia Ziginova followed Marina and Danislav from the beach up the chalk path to the clifftop, where the wind pulled at the Olga Kiseleva gown and the English Channel stretched out behind them. They moved through three locations as the light shifted: the shadow of the left cliff, a rocky platform halfway up with the sea visible below, and finally the high ridge where the town, the water, and the opposite cliff all fell into frame. The last images came at sunset, back on the sand between the towering arches, the sky turning copper and rose above them.