What happens when you bring together an oboist bride and an oboist photographer — a “fuck it we ball” good time that includes whale watching and a shortcut hike to their ceremony at God’s Thumb.

Sara and Josh first traveled to Oregon and God’s Thumb exactly five years ago to the day before they came back and sealed the deal by eloping at sunset overlooking the Oregon Coast.

Sara’s an oboe player like me, and Josh has a ton of martial arts experience (like, black belt level). He’s resilient and kind, and would stop everything for a friend in need, while she’s funny, inviting, and dependable.

The two of them together, plus their officiant and BFF Mitchell, exuded the most fun, badass, goofy, and do-it-for-the-plot vibes. So much so that after their coverage ended and the sun had long-since set, we spent several hours chatting it up on their Airbnb’s front deck, overlooking the ocean.

Their day spanned a picturesque Airbnb (with the most awesome private property shortcut to God’s Thumb), whale watching with one of my favorite whale research groups from my park ranger days just about 45 minutes south at Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area.

Here are a few highlights from their day, but trust me, you’re going to want to scroll down for more.

Getting Ready & First Look Near God’s Thumb

The whole day was kismet, and it started out with their cliffside Airbnb just north of Lincoln City that coincidentally had a shortcut trail through their private property to God’s Thumb.

The cute cottage charm and somewhat minimalist decor really leant itself to focusing on Sara and Josh’s personalities, joy, sparkle, and intentional-yet-flexible attitude. Their first look happened right on the deck overlooking the ocean.

Some of Sara & Josh’s details:

Whale Watching

I immediately knew who I would entrust Sara and Josh with for their whale watching adventure. Carrie Newell and her team are fantastic, and Carrie takes groups down to Baja every winter for gray whale calving season. In the summer months, she runs whale watching tours to show off the gray whales that call the Oregon Coast home, instead of migrating all the way up to Alaska for feeding. They used to be called “resident” gray whales, but local whale naturalists are moving away from that. Maybe we should call them “snowbirds”?

Within minutes of crossing the bar in Depoe Bay, we were greeted by a whale and a horde of California Sea Lions at the mile buoy offshore.

Laundromat & Lunch

This is one of the things I love about when couples get intentional. They aren’t just going through the motions of a wedding day — they’re adding in activities and details that are truly theirs. Sara and Josh spent a significant amount of time here on their first Oregon trip, and came to know the manager who operated the laundromat and neighboring diner (which they never got to try 😩).

Ceremony at God’s Thumb

Full disclosure: I do NOT advise eloping at God’s Thumb in the summer. That’s especially true if you don’t have the best Airbnb for a shortcut, avoiding the insane parking situation and steep hike (from 60-90 minutes down to about 25, without most of the incline).

Summer brings throngs of people, making privacy difficult. I think we had a total of 60 seconds at the top without another visitor there. This spot on this day was so important to Sara and Josh, so they were happy to deal with the crowds.

I don’t think I’ll do another summer elopement at God’s Thumb unless folks book this Airbnb. It truly is an absolutely game-changer.