Andrew and I got married!! Surprise! We’ve thought about an elopement since the very beginning – before we even got engaged, really. Ever since I got into lifestyle family photography I’ve been drawn to the sweet intimacy of a small wedding, and frankly Andrew’s already had a big, traditional wedding; this just felt right for us.

So on a Tuesday in September, with a misty beach behind us, we got married.

We didn’t mean for it to be a big surprise or anything, but sometimes with something so important you just want to hang onto it for yourselves for a bit, you know? Really let all the emotions sink in. Even when Andrew and I got engaged, we held onto the news for a few weeks before we announced it publicly. Plus it’s nice to be able to tell people in person and share those little moments of joy. It prolongs the celebrations and makes it feel really special!

Anyway, it was really important for us to be able to control our own narrative and plan our wedding the way we wanted it. And for us, we wanted something simple, intimate, and joyful. We knew we wanted to have our family by our side and stay as COVID-friendly as possible. So an elopement sounded perfect for us!

Four months later, we made that happen.

WHY OREGON?

To be honest, Oregon was a fully random choice. Andrew and I knew we wanted to get married somewhere beautiful, where we felt alone and at peace. We looked all around the globe (literally!), from villas in Greece to the Grand Canyon, but ultimately we fell in love with the quiet coastline of Oregon. Was it easy to get to? Not really. Had we ever been there before? Also nope. Did it have sentimental value? Not at the time, but it does now!

But our photographer knew the area really well so we felt at ease, and that was that! We rented a huge house in Seaside, Oregon and flew our immediate family out to the coast.

GETTING READY (PART ONE?)

I carry stress around with me everywhere I go, and the one thing I didn’t want was to be overwhelmed on my wedding day.

I wanted to wake up late, maybe do a quick workout, eat a delicious and massive breakfast, and hang out with my family. And that’s exactly what we did! We started the day like it was a lazy Sunday (even though it was a Tuesday, but you know the feeling I mean), and it was the best.

MY FAVORITE PART

After breakfast Andrew and I snuck away for a few hours to just be by ourselves and soak in the day. We drove down to Arch Cape and wrote our vows together on a beach. We didn’t let the other know exactly what we wrote, but we made sure they were similar length and followed a general structure that Andrew had found and laid out. I think this might have been the highlight of the whole week? Looking back on it makes me laugh and it gives me the same feeling of taking a full, big, happy breath; rejuvenated, joyful, and alive. Actually, we loved this part of the morning so much that we scrapped our ENTIRE elopement game plan and moved our ceremony down to a new location on the morning of our wedding. Just keeping everyone on their toes!

GETTING READY (PART TWO!)

Ok ok back to getting ready! Since we weren’t having bridesmaids or groomsmen (the beauty of an elopement!), we just had to worry about ourselves. Selfishness for the win.

Andrew ate pizza, watched The Goonies, and played Liar’s Dice with my brother and our dads in the living room.

I did my own hair and makeup with my mom and sister in law in the upstairs bedroom.

Dogs were everywhere (duh) and it was very “us”.

CLOTHING DETAILS

I’m not a particularly traditional bride but I somehow stumbled into a borrowed/blue situation a few weeks before the elopement. My Something Old was a ring from my great-grandmother, my New was…well, everything, my Borrowed was a pearl necklace that my best friend Amy leant me from the women in her family, and my shoes were my Something Blue!

I wore a dress from Made With Love that was a stress and a half to pick and purchase, but that I love so freaking much.

Andrew wore an olive green suit from Indochino that was also a stress and a half to order! See? It’s not just women that struggle with wedding problems!

We both added sentimental touches to our outfits because that’s who we are. I wore a custom hand-painted leather jacket with the phrase “jackpot” on the back. That’s something Andrew and I have said about each other since our first date. Andrew had his suit jacket custom embroidered with our initials, and his pocket square was a memento from an early Tuesday Night Rager (aka what we called our date nights)!

THE ELOPEMENT ITSELF

The ceremony itself was so perfect* it makes my heart sing every time I think about it. But because of the rush of adrenaline and joy, admittedly it’s a bit of a blur. (This. This right here is why I cannot recommend a videographer enough! But I digress!)

Here are the things I remember:

My parents walked me down the beach and I learned I don’t know how to hold peoples’ elbows.

My veil stayed on! Was v worried about that.

The sun was soft and cast a lovely pinkish light but it was 200% reflecting directly in my eyes the entire time I walked.

Andrew took a photo of me at the “altar” and I can’t wait to get it developed.

My brother officiated. (I did his, so it was only fair!)

We recited our vows. We laughed and Andrew cried.

Binny ate a lot of sand and Dempsey was ready to leave the entire time.

The rings fit! I thought for sure my stressed out sausage fingies were going to be too big for the ring, but hallelujah they slid on without friction!

And then suddenly we were married?? We sealed it with a high five and a kiss, and then we drank champagne with September playing in the background.

*I’m not going to harp on the bad, but just so we’re on the same page the word “perfect” is all relative. There were definitely bumps along the way and things I would do differently. And if there’s one thing I’ve learned it’s that no matter how simple, small, or carefree the wedding? There will be shit that goes wrong. But hopefully those are just little details that don’t matter. The perfect part is that we got married. And we were, and are, happy. Full stop.

WEDDING PORTRAITS

Our photographer and videographer stole us away for a quick couples’ session immediately after the elopement. I was running late (obviously) so we didn’t have a ton of time before the sun was fully set. The two of them knocked it out of the park and I don’t even have words to describe how thankful we are for them.

I’ll let the photos speak for themselves.

POST-ELOPEMENT PARTY

I could not have asked for a better end to the night! We got home from our couples’ session and our families had grilled burgers and hot dogs and set up a whole spread in the kitchen. I dumped about a pound of sand out of my dress getting into my sweatpants, and then headed back downstairs to unwind. I had tequila, Andrew had beer. We took some gummies and played some games. It was so much fun.

I’m really glad we did it this way. Kudos to the couples who can go from full on anxiety and adrenaline to partying the night away with all of their besties, but that was just not in the cards for us.

Obviously we are AMPED to party with our friends and family in June!!! We love a party! And we’re excited and thankful that we’re able to do that. But Andrew and I are pretty sensitive people and it was just really nice to be able to celebrate our elopement quietly at first. Now all we have to focus on for June is having a good ass time, and I think that’s a challenge we’re both ready to take on!

(Also no we don’t have any photos because we had our photographer put down the camera and hang with us – she kicked our butts in a game of Pit!)

VENDORS

Here’s the time that I get to gush about all of our vendors!!

FLOWERS:

Our were by the phenomenal Lynsea at Coy and Co (@coy_and_co). She was recommended to me from a friend in the industry and we could not have been happier. Coy and Co is a fully sustainable and eco-friendly, female-run shop in Portland. Lynsea made my bouquet as well as the dried flower boutonnieres for Andrew, Matt, and Dempsey, and Binny’s hand-sewn flower collar. We gave her little to no direction – we showed her a few photos and said “Sam hates the color red” and then just let her run with it. She. Killed. It.

After the wedding we sent our flowers to Lacie at Framed Florals in Brooklyn (@framedflorals). We knew we wanted to save them rather than let them just die, and Lacie was the perfect gal for the job. We even got a few pendants to give to our family as gifts, so our flowers get to live on as family heirlooms!

PHOTOGRAPHY:

Our photographer was the effervescent, encouraging, and beyond capable powerhouse Lexxi Smith (@lexxismithphotography). I met Lex at an adventure elopement workshop in Hawaii (we were roommates!) and our friendship was inevitable; we are cut from the same cloth. Lexxi is creative, hilarious, and so damn real. Plus her work is freaking stunning and we had no doubts that she would be the perfect person for the day.

VIDEO:

Our videographer was a late addition to the team but I cannot imagine our day without her. We found Jenna Logan (@jloganfilms) through Rachel Epperly Film and Photo (@rachelepperlyfilmphoto) and it takes a very certain person to be able to jump into a wedding with just a few days’ notice, but Jenna was the perfect fit. She was calm, observant, easy, and had a quiet confidence that charmed the pants off of my whole family. As someone who has shot video professionally, I simply cannot speak more highly of the admiration I have for Jenna’s whole vibe and approach to video – she blew us away.

So that’s the SOAP elopement vendor team! And weirdly I was the opposite of “me” in this whole wedding planning process. I kind of just let our vendors do their thing, without micromanaging. We trusted them completely, even though we had no themes, no wedding colors, and no decor. All we wanted was something simple and joyful, and our team was on board from the beginning to help us maintain that integrity. They did their thing and made our day beautiful.

Other vendors to note:
Dress @madewithlovebridal /#mwlrosey
Earrings: @untamedpetals
Leather jacket: @onceuponalauren
Ring: @bestkeptjewelry
Veil: Tony Federici 
Wings: Made With Love
Shoes: Lulus
Invitations: @sesameletterpress
Tattoo: @reclamationink
Tattoo design: @danibydsgn