Natalie and Matt moved to Oregon not along ago, after they got engaged they knew they wanted to have a small and intimate ceremony that included just their family followed by a small reception at an Airbnb. I was totally on board and so excited. Plot twist, about a month before the wedding they emailed me and had a change of heart, they wanted to focus on each other, and elope just the two of them with their sweet pup Scotty. Being new in the Oregon area they didn’t know exactly where, I told them to check out Hug Point near Cannon Beach. It is one of my favorites and I knew it would fit exactly the vibe they were wanting to achieve. YOU GUYS- they went on a lil date to the location and sent me photos along the way. They were hooked. This got me even more excited that they were putting in so much of their personal time to make sure it was perfect for them.

They had the most sweet and intimate ceremony with myself, my assistant (that helped SO much with their pup), and their officiant. Speaking of officiant- she gave them an idea to pick up a rock along the way and write a word on it that meant something to them about their marriage. After they wrote their word, they ran to the ocean and threw it in. I had never seen anything like it before. It was such a cool moment to see them include their surroundings in their ceremony to unite it all.

The beach was clear and peaceful, not another person in sight. They spent the day getting ready together, grabbing pastries at a local bakery to eat after the ceremony and best of all…doing what was perfect for THEM.

I think my favorite moments from the whole day, was first off, when their pup Scotty ran off with Natalie’s shoes in his mouth! He literally ran circles around us with one shoe in his mouth! Secondly, trying to get to the little waterfall, you have to go around a big cliff rock thing, welllll the tide was pretty high, so we had to time it JUST RIGHT without getting soaked! So at the count of three, we all RANNNN and we all just about died laughing! Lastly, I asked Natalie + Matt if they wanted to have their “first dance” at the beach, and they were all about it. So I asked what song they would want, and they picked Harvest Moon by Neil Young. I played the song, and left the phone on the ground by where they were dancing. Such a special moment!

Also- ya’ll….Natalie is a wedding photographer, I was so honored and humbled when she asked me to shoot their elopement. If i could relive this day over and over again I would. Natalie and Matt, thank you SO much for letting me be apart of your special day.