I am so happy to share this September wedding photography collection from this sweet celebration with two brides on the Oregon coast. While I am primarily a photographer based over the state line and further south on highway 101, I had traveled many times to the Brookings area with a camera.
This time it was my great honor to travel just a little more than a hop, skip, and a jump from Trinidad in Humboldt County to Harris State Beach for a sunny day spent with two people in love. Originally from Corvallis, this couple proved that a destination celebration of your love does not have to mean too incredibly far away.
But it almost didn't happen...
When they first reached out to me with their wedding date, they loved the images on my website and had also seen the destination engagement session portraits I had taken for their friends, another lesbian couple, who had traveled to Sequoia Park and College Cove beach in Eureka and Trinidad from another area in Northern California. I'm always happy to know how far my work reaches after I send it out into the world. It's truly incredible.
However, even though they were almost a year out and early in their planning phase, I was already booked.
Fall tends to be some of the best weather along the coast in far Northern California and Southern Oregon. Those who know this tend to pick this time of year to have their outdoor wedding, be they at the beach or further inland at a vineyard. That makes August through November the busiest for wedding photographers as we scramble to edit all week then travel and shoot on the weekends.
Thankfully because these two were planning more of an elopement style wedding and were determined to have me be their wedding photographer, they let me know that they were flexible to change their wedding date to another one I was still available for.
This might be one of the best things about not reserving a date or a wedding venue prior to booking your photographer. You can go with the person you really want to take your wedding pictures and let the other details work themselves out. They always do.
Not to be outdone by their friends who had two locations for the engagement pictures they had seen, Brittany and Kayla spent some time hiking and exploring around the coastal areas of Curry County to find their own special spots prior to their wedding day.
We started their wedding coverage right away in the scenic, and on that day quite windy, parking lot at Harris Beach State Park. I had never been there was instantly blown away and not just by the wind. Harris Beach has very striking rock formations on the southern side that you can see as you start walking down the ramps that lead to the sand.
Once we got to the shelter of this unique formation of beach rocks, the intensity of the wind subsided. It was later in the day and the light that was coming through the cracks in the boulders made them glow from the inside.
We captured all of their planned wedding family portraits at this time in addition to their individual bridal pictures and portraits with of the the bride's son. I was so taken with Kayla's reddish hued hair in it's side braid style and how it played their rich fall color palette.
Her flower crown in oranges, burgundy, and red brought out the deep purples and pinks in her bridal bouquet that included blackberry vine runners with berries in the same shades. I had two weddings last year use blackberries in their decor flowers and the smell they impart is out of this world at a late summer or fall wedding.
Brittany's button up shirt was custom made for her by a friend and also had gorgeous jewel tones in it's tiger pattern. The eyes of the tiger were perfect reflections of the blue sky above and all around us. All of the details they decided on were so beautiful for their day.
After a very lovely short wedding ceremony given by a local officiant and a few tears, we were off again across the sand to sign their marriage certificate, pop a bottle of champagne, and say goodbye to the family members who would be meeting the brides later for their reception dinner.
We spent about fifteen minutes driving further north on the Oregon Coast Highway until we reached our second location, a secret beach with a waterfall hidden behind a winding tree lined trail. It was a decent incline down to the bottom but the views upon coming out of the trees was jaw dropping.
The rocky coastline is what makes the Pacific Northwest so dramatic and this beach had all the drama. Every direction you turned held an equally beautiful backdrop for taking the more intimate couple's portraits and we were for the most part, completely alone.
With the tide going out and my assistant watching the ocean for us, we were able to stay safe and for the most part, pretty dry while we explored the entire length of the beach. They held hands, snuggled, and danced while the light glowed around them and a much more gentle breeze swept around loose tendrils of hair.
This is a collection of my favorite moments from their day and I hope you will enjoy seeing them.
It breaks my heart when couples ask if I am willing to do photos at a wedding where either the couple or their guests fall under the LGBTQIA+ umbrella. I suppose this is the main reason why I try so hard to share these weddings, even if it means losing followers and receiving bogus reviews. Pride means visible.
Read these brides' review of Carrie Mayfield Photography here