A Modern Elopement at Boojum Tree Hidden Garden in Phoenix, Arizona

Adrienne King (29 and a teacher) and Nikki Zimmerman (28 and a teacher) met in kindergarten. "We were raised in the same northern Michigan town and became friends in high school. Playing basketball on the same team is where our friendship started, and over the years it was undeniably something more," Adrienne says. "After distance, time and different paths were unable to separate us, Arizona became our home." Although their family and friends knew they were engaged, Adrienne and Nikki kept their elopement a secret. They were married in the presence of their 6-year-old son, Nolan, in an intimate outdoor ceremony at Boojum Tree Hidden Garden in Phoenix, Arizona. Nolan, who walked Adrienne down the aisle, took his ring bearer and bridal escort duties seriously. "He was extremely attentive during the ceremony, and he was a little too close at times—we had to ask him to step back and stand by his Mama Nik," Adrienne says. He just wanted to know everything that was happening." A nod to Adrienne's love for purple, she and Nikki outfitted their emotional affair in earthy shades of eggplant and plenty of candlelight. "The ceremony itself was very sweet, simple and full of love," Adrienne says. "The best part of it being an elopement ceremony was that we could create it to be what we wanted." —Meghan Overdeep