What makes people decide to have an Oregon Coast elopement along Samuel H. Boardman Scenic Corridor? For Kylee and Joel, it was a simple conversation:

“We were eating potato wedges, chicken strips, and mac and cheese at a grocery store deli after a SUPER stressful week/month/summer. This was our first “real” meal together in a while. Kylee looked at me and asked, ‘can we be married already?’ And I said, ‘let’s do it.’ “

When we were dating we imagined that we’d probably run away and get married (if we got married) but once we were engaged we felt pressure to have a wedding. We started planning but it always felt like anxiety and pressure until we had this deli date and decided to elope – the anxious feelings instantly changed to giddiness and happiness.”

Kylee and Joel are both insanely goofy and silly and it totally showed, with their wedding party (their dogs, Apple and D.O.G.) running around the beach like lunatics. They love hanging out in nature, camping, and drinking beers with friends around the campfire. It made perfect sense for them to go on an “elopement tour” of sorts, from their home in Sandpoint, ID, through Oregon, down through California, into the deserts of Arizona, and back up to Idaho. Along the way they camped, hiked, saw national parks, and, oh yeah, got married ;-). We made our way down to an unmarked beach that is quickly becoming one of my favorite spots on the southern Oregon Coast for their ceremony after getting ready at their campsite at Harris Beach State Park.

GETTING READY

Kylee and Joel got ready at Harris Beach State Park in their kickass camper before their coast elopement. We also made sure to get their doggos ready and primped too!

CEREMONY

We headed down to the beach at an unlisted location only known mostly to locals – you can’t beat the location for an Oregon Coast elopement.

After their ceremony, we decided we weren’t quite done, so we made our way to a local bar in downtown Brookings, OR, where the bartender served as a marriage license witness. Since they wore their wedding attire, people naturally were curious. “Did you just get married?”, people would ask. “Yep! We eloped!”. “How cool is that?!” was their usual response. Coincidentally, in the sushi bar that’s attached to the bar (naturally), a couple overheard while they were, get this, on their 20th elopement anniversary dinner date. It just goes to show that you should wear your wedding finery as much as possible on your wedding day, because Kylee and Joel got their meal paid for.

“AFTER PARTY”

Elopements like these make any sort of negative stress totally worth it. What an amazing and intimate way to start the rest of your life together. I’m so incredibly thankful every day that Kylee called me up and said, “Hey, we wanna elope to the Oregon Coast, you down?” <3