Sunrise Hike & Crater Lake Elopement

Meredith & Chris emailed me one day and said, “Will you help us elope at Crater Lake National Park?”

“We had an amazing trip to Oregon early last year so we thought it would be great to make a return trip and have our wedding ceremony at Crater Lake, since we were unable to make it there during our last trip.” – You can’t top that. Except for maybe their proposal story. To put it simply, Meredith, said, “We were hiking in Denali National Park and Chris proposed in a dry glacial river bed where we had seen a grizzly bear earlier that day.” You had me at the words glacier and grizzly.

We planned on spending the entire day with each other, and started out the day with a pre-sunrise hike at Crater Lake. Meredith and Chris said their vows JUST as the sun was cresting over the caldera rim. We literally caught the sunrise just as Chris said, “As I stand with you here at sunrise.” Don’t mind me, I’ve just got goosebumps over here.

CEREMONY

After their ceremony, we hiked back down and had brunch at Crater Lake Lodge. Did I also mention we enlisted the receptionists to be their witnesses?

BRUNCH / “RECEPTION”

We weren’t done yet. We made a 45 minute car ride to a nearby waterfall, the third tallest in Oregon.

AFTER PARTY


Meredith and Chris are down to earth, warm-hearted, and so kind. Chris particularly is subdued, but once in a while I caught a quick clever joke that made me laugh. They fit each other perfectly and have the same sense of humor. I can just imagine them making dinner at home, laughing at the jokes they share while preparing food (while they love trying new restaurants, they also love to cook at home).

Congratulations on your Crater Lake elopement, Meredith and Chris. I’m so glad I was able to help pick up flowers, surprise cakes, and be there to capture the moment you two said, “I do.”