oregon coast photographer
I met up with Joslyn and her mom, in Astoria, for half of her senior portraits. I’ve known this beautiful human since she was born (I met her Mama when she was pregnant with her). I used to babysit her when she was little, and have photographed her several times before, so this was easy and natural for both of us. The weather was great and allowed us to walk around on the riverfront and in the downtown area, before getting too hot. We even stopped at the food trucks to get some breakfast!
I’m not normally this excited to re-blog something, but here we are. River and Levi eloped three years ago and I love sharing the photos from their wedding day! Although I blogged about it shortly afterwards, my website crashed between then and now, so their anniversary seemed like a good excuse to post them again!
The couple had planned a larger event, at their home in La Grande, but with a baby due that same week, they decided to just elope instead. As a wedding photographer, River LOVES elopements, but it took a little convincing to get Levi on board. Little did he know, River had a few surprises in store for him. She had arranged for Levi’s best friends to surprise him at the cutest little A-frame (she told him to come over and help me unload my stuff…having no idea his friends were actually at the house). She also invited all of their closest family and friends to the ceremony and Levi had no idea, until he walked around the corner, to head to the ceremony spot.
Levi is a cryer and I adore that about him. He cried when he was surprised by his best friends and then again by the guests at the ceremony. He also cried multiple times throughout their vows. River, on the other hand, is a nervous/emotional laugher. So, one of them was crying and the other was laughing and it was the most adorable thing ever.
Levi’s sister read a poem, while River’s sister performed the ceremony. The kids were involved too, of course, as family is so important to them. Their oldest was in charge of the rings and although their middle (youngest at the time) was a little pre-occupied with getting her fruit snacks open (and asked for help in the middle of the ceremony), she made a special point of telling her Mama how beautiful she looked! That baby bump? Yeah, he’s 2.5 years old now!
Pretty much everything was DIY for this elopement, but you’d never know by looking because River is crafty as heck. She made her floral crown, her bouquet, the ribbons, etc. She found her dress, which was absolutely perfect for her vintage style, as well as her baby bump, at a local thrift shop for $60. The only alteration she made was removing the long, puffy, chiffon sleeves that were attached to the short, crocheted sleeves.
