Short Sands Beach Wedding | Oregon Coast Elopement

Here are some words from Jamie about her experience working with her as her Oregon elopement photographer team.

In three words how would you describe you’re experience?

•  It was like a fairytale! We’d describe it as joyous, intentional, and full of love.

What made you decide on your final location?

• We kept the original ceremony location we had found on a trip of ours the year prior, but we chose our first dance/adventure location based on a recommendation from Lumalia!

What was your favorite part about your locations?

• We went into our planning with the intention of having our ceremony among as many natural, earthly elements that we could think of, and we can’t think of more beautiful examples than our two locations on the Oregon coast! It was like something out of a really great fantasy movie.

Did you have any special or unique items or elements to your day?

• It’s hard to describe succinctly; it all felt so unique and intentional! All of the details came together, and Sam + Kyle were there every step of the way to capture each special moment.

What were some of your favorite moments from the wedding (or anniversary celebration) day?

• Our ceremony reading by our good friend Rachel, our creek crossing and knot tying, Brian’s arrow(!), celebrating with friends on the beach, the surprisingly gorgeous weather on the coast in October(!), our first dance on the cliffs of Elk Flats, and our evening with friends.

What is your favorite part about your photos now after your wedding (experience)?

• The quality feels unreal, so many great shots to choose from! Having both Sam + Kyle on close-up and wide lenses made a huge difference in the range they were able to capture. And even though we lucked out with excellent weather and lighting, the editing and photographers’ choices of angles were fantastic.

Is there anything you wish you would have had or done differently?

• I (Jamie) would have chosen to do my hair myself rather than hire a stylist for the occasion (lots of $, and I wasn’t totally satisfied in the end), and I can see the hanging straps on my dress in some of my photos (definitely didn’t realize those were hanging out all day! Thank goodness for those cape sleeves.)

What fears did you have before your wedding (experience)? How do you feel about them looking back?

• We feared for the weather, having all of our numerous specifics and plans go awry, and timing of everything. Looking back, there were some elements that went awry, but nothing terrible, and the timing did get off slightly which resulted in less time at our second location before sundown. But all in all, we couldn’t have asked for better memories (or weather!)

Any advice you’d give to other couples?

• We wanted everything to be incredibly symbolic, intentional, and unique to us, and even though we don’t regret any of it, the planning of each detail was pretty stressful for many months. Simplify where you can! If you have the opportunity to work with Celebrate Again to photograph your experience, don’t hesitate. They were incredibly accommodating for our unusually quirky ideas, and by the end of the day, felt like friends.

How do you feel about eloping or having a small wedding or anniversary celebration now that its over?

• We chose to have a small elopement with just 11 guests and then celebrate with 50 others at a reception in our hometown a few days later. We’re so glad we had a small wedding on the coast exactly as we wanted it. In hindsight, we would have pushed our reception out a bit further and spent more time alone between our two events, but it worked out just fine as it was. So grateful for the whole experience!