Wild & Moody: Oregon Coast King Tides Elopement

“We see ourselves enjoying it to the fullest…Mother Nature, do your best!”

Amanda and Nadine are both kind, caring, and supportive. And they knew they didn’t want to spend their wedding day stressed and worrying about everyone else, like is often the case with two people who work in the vet tech industry and are getting their PhD in health promotion. This day, they deserved to have the focus entirely on them, their relationship, and their love for each other.

Day One: Intimate In-Home Session

There are so many reasons why multi-day adventures give you a deeper wedding experience. Imagine spending a half day before your big elopement adventure relaxed, enjoying each other’s company, experiencing your destination, while still having it intentionally documented. That’s exactly what Amanda and Nadine did before their king tides elopement.

These ladies flew into Oregon a few days early to enjoy the coast and their lodgings outside of Coos Bay. We linked up at a favorite lodging spot of mine for some intimate “in-home” portraits and connection. While the wind whipped outside and the tide came ever inward, A&N stayed plenty warm.

Day Two

Details & Setting the Scene

One very important guest for the day was their daughter, Nessa. With her outgoing personality, the day was never boring, and teetered into “so-sweet-you’ll-get-cavities” territory. She helped her mom, Amanda, get ready in between trips to the shoreline to collect shells from the incoming tide.

High Tide & Ceremony

Amanda and Nadine wanted to have their ceremony first-thing. Why waste time? I designed their king tides elopement timeline to have the ceremony coincide with near-high tide, for maximum wave impact. We made our way to a nearby gem where locals know the best king tide waves happen on the Oregon Coast.

The tides and storm were both showing off as they read their vows to each other.

Nessa was in charge of infusing their rings with good wishes and intentions. She thought real hard, and held them tight. Then proceeded to do the sweetest, most unprompted thing:

Instead of giving the rings to her moms, she grabbed each of their hands and put on the rings herself. We all struggled to keep it together as we watched Nessa carefully, softly, and so lovingly slide the rings onto Amanda and Nadine’s hands.

A Mushroom Luxury Elopement Picnic Fit for Foragers

Nadine, in particular, is obsessed with foraging for mushrooms. This time of year in Oregon is prime time for many types of edible and inedible (though beautiful) mushrooms, including chantarelles, amanita muscaria (the well-known red tops with white spots), lion’s mane, chicken of the woods, and so many more.

Jinny from Beyond the Sorrel curated a picnic that was fit for fairies and foragers. On the walk to the picnic, Amanda and Nadine collected additional real mushrooms and arrived at the table with their hands full. We took a moment to arrange the mushrooms among the decor as if they’d always been there.

Beach, Lighthouse, and BnB

The rest of our day was spent briefly at one of my favorite Oregon Coast beaches, then swinging by a decommissioned historical lighthouse, then heading back to Baypoint Landing for some snuggles.

My top tip for couples eloping on the Oregon Coast November-May: be prepared for cold and/or windy weather with your wedding attire. Amanda and Nadine ran around amongst the sea stacks of the beach, got sandy, and climbed basalt outcroppings, but weren’t able to do so for long: wind gusts were topping at about 25-30mph and it made for cold brides.

The evening wound down like it should have, with everyone feeling a combination of calm, present, silly, goofy, connected, and focused. Exactly the way Nadine and Amanda described how they wanted to feel on their elopement day, all the way back on our first discovery call.

“There is no reason to look at any other photographers. Sam is absolutely the BEST out there! She helped us plan our dream elopement and made it even more amazing than either of us could’ve dreamed. We live in Oklahoma and had never been to Oregon but knew that’s where we needed to go for our big day. Sam took our vision and found exactly what we were wanting without us ever seeing it. She made the entire process so flawless and zero stress and SO MUCH FUN from start to finish. Not only did she make our day special but she also included our young daughter in the day and made it her best day ever too. She still talks about Sam to this day. Her intention to your vision and your day are unmatched. We felt as if we were the only people in the world the whole day. Oh and she has an amazing coat if you get cold! It was also a massive comfort as an LGBTQ+ couple in the current world that she is so warm, inviting and caring. There really is no one better out there, she has the biggest most compassionate heart and has some amazing stories to tell during your day! I would relive that day every day if we could.“

Co-curate an elopement adventure that’s rooted in equal parts presence and adventure, whether that’s on the Oregon Coast, Alaska, or the Highlands of Scotland.