Coastal Wedding with Family on the Oregon Coast

Melissa & Tom

Double exposure with bride and couple standing on natural bridge during their coastal wedding photos

The Couple and Their Decision to Plan a Coastal Wedding

When it comes to deciding whether or not to plan an elopement or an intimate wedding, you don’t have to choose. You can have the best of both worlds if that’s what you want!

Melissa and Tom’s vision for their coastal wedding was centered around having an intimate experience with their family and friends. The couple envisioned their day taking place on the coast, but they didn’t have an exact location in mind. In fact, they didn’t even know exactly how many people they wanted to invite. They just knew that they wanted a coastal wedding that was a relaxing experience for everyone.

The first time we hopped on a call, we started talking about location options. The couple is from Washington state, so I shared beach locations from both Washington and Oregon. Ultimately, they decided to go with the Oregon Coast because it allowed them to be closer to so many small towns with activities that their guests could enjoy.

Melissa and Tom’s Coastal Wedding on the Oregon Coast

Melissa and Tom’s coastal wedding day started with getting-ready moments to help ease them into the day. The bride and groom each got ready in separate cabins with only their moms and immediate family members surrounding them. Because their two cabins were just a short drive apart, I was able to easily go back and forth between the two taking photos of each one of them.

The couple then met up at a private overlook by the ocean for their first look and private vows before joining the rest of their loved ones for a ceremony on the beach.

After the ceremony, everyone went back to the venue for a charcuterie lunch reception with amazing views looking over the ocean! This mid-day break was so relaxed and low-key and gave everyone the chance to gather together and enjoy the afternoon while talking and playing card games.

After Melissa and Tom cut their cake, the three of us went out for sunset adventure photos. We hiked to a nearby cliff where we took adventure photos and the couple shared a few private moments together before heading back to the beach to end the day with s’mores around a campfire with their friends.

One of the things I loved most about Melissa and Tom’s coastal wedding was the thought that went into the details and their guest experience. The theme of their day was wildflowers and bees and, not only did they have flower arrangements everywhere, but the paper they used for their wedding invitations had flower seeds in them. The guests could water the invitation and watch flowers grow, just like they had watched Melissa and Tom’s love grow over the years.

Henry’s Planning Tip: You Can Have a Coastal Wedding with Guests AND a Private Adventure Elopement

When it comes to choosing between an intimate wedding or a private elopement, you don’t have to choose one or the other. You can have the best of both worlds and have private time for you and your spouse, but also share moments with the really important people in your life.

Just because you’re thinking about an elopement or an intimate wedding doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice one or the other. You can plan a day just like Melissa and Tom that includes both.

Throughout the planning process, these two held true to their top priority which was making sure they had time for themselves. They didn’t want to go through their wedding day feeling like they were catering to everybody else, so by keeping that at the very top of their priority list, it helped remind them of what was important.

When planning an elopement or intimate wedding, it’s very normal for plans to change part way through. At one point, Melissa and Tom decided to add more guests to the list which resulted in changing their timeline. But, they did not forget that their number one thing was their time together. By keeping this in mind, we were able to build their timeline in a way that included important moments with their guests as well as sunset time for just the two of them.