A Winter Wedding at Skamania Lodge in Washington

I met Carra and Dillon after their original plans of a wedding on a cruise ship in the tropics fell through and they were in search of a photographer who would capture their new vision of a Valentine’s Day seaside elegant wedding. Meeting Carra I immediately fell in love with her infectious laughter, excitement about her wedding (despite her original vision falling through), and her easygoing manner. Carra is also the definition of perseverance, as just weeks prior to her wedding she underwent a pretty major surgery and yet continued to put together the most beautiful wedding despite the biggest storm of the year blowing in on the night prior!

Portland and the surrounding area that is the Columbia River Gorge isn’t exactly equipped for any serious amount of snow. In fact, usually just a little skiff of the white stuff can shut the city and roads down for days so when a larger-than-normal snow and ice storm crashed into the gorge Carra and Dillon found themselves cut off from the rest of the world up at Skamania Lodge with both access roads closed! I grew up in Spokane, WA which gets a fair bit of snow, and know the value of a 4X4 vehicle, so when the winter storm warning was announced I wasn’t concerned that we wouldn’t be able to get up to Skamania Lodge for Carra and Dillon’s wedding, but on Saturday when both highways out to the gorge were shut down, I must admit, Dom and I started to panic a bit.

Brainstorming like mad, we started researching any backroads that might make it to Skamania, finding one forrest service road which came from Mount Saint Helens. We threw out a desperate call for help on social media for anyone who had a lifted 4X4 that might make the service road crossing, but no luck. We then called anyone we knew who had snowmobilles and might be willing to let us borrow them to cross the 20-miles of snowed in backroads, but again this was a no-go. In a last-ditch effort, I called up a few of my friends who had cross-country skiis and prepared for a through-the-night skiing trip to try to get to the lodge, but while our friends had the skiis we couldn’t find any boots to fit and unfortunately a men’s size 12 ski boots were just not going to work!

Not admitting defeat, we decided to wake up at 3am the morning of the wedding and drive out to Mount Hood, taking the back road into Hood River. Crossing the Bridge of the Gods at 5am, the toll boot attendant re-iterated that the highway was closed on the other side of the river, but we just had to give it a shot. Crossing into Washington we found Highway 14 open and snow-free with a sign saying the road was closed, but no barricades or blockages up to prevent us from driving past the one sleepy state trooper car pulled off the side of the highway. Driving closer and closer to Skamania we just couldn’t believe after all of my hair-brained ideas, that getting to the wedding was ending up this easy! The highway was plowed and in our Jeep, completely safe to drive!

We pulled into the Skamania parking-lot at 6am and I shot a text to Carra who replied instant cries of joy hearing we’d made it! After a brief nap in the car the sun came up and we met Dillon in the lodge, saying hi to his and Carra’s pups before driving over to the amazing tree house that the girls were staying in. Walking into the room, cheers of excitement broke out from Carra’s beautiful bridesmaids who were just finishing doing hair and makeup. None of Carra’s other wedding vendors ended up being able to make it out to the wedding, so some improvisation in the form of hair, makeup, officiant, and music were made, but through it all Carra’s beautiful smile, ringing laugh, and easy going style kept everyone enjoying this magical day!

Dom went back over to Dillon’s room and photographed the guys getting on their wedding garb and I got to relax with the girls in the cozy treehouse until it was time to brave the snow for some epic portraits.

Carra and the girls were tough and even went outside without their winter shawls for a portrait on the treehouse balcony and were just constant giggles and happiness even when the cold wind blew Carra’s veil in a swirl of mountain snowflakes.

Packing up and driving over to the main lodge, we finally got word that a few key guests, Dillon’s mom being one of them, also had made it over Mount Hood and were retracing our path over the mountains and were going to make it up!

Carra and Dillon decided to postpone their ceremony start for an hour as we waited for the guests to battle their way up the mountain and Carra and her dad shared a tender first look which left them both drying their eyes from tears!

Dom and I spent the extra hour milling about and getting to know Carra and Dillon’s family and also taking detail photos of all the amazing decor Carra and her bridesmaids had put together! To honor her original vision, Carra had strings of pearls lit by candlelight and sprinkled with pops of Caribbean color with wood flowers. Her aisle was adorned with blue and white fabric and driftwood she and Dillon had collected from the coast themselves and which created a wave-like effect as the dim light from the fireplace flickered over the shells and sand dollars scattered about.

As the final guests arrived, Dillon and the groomsmen took their places at the head of the walkway and one by one Carra’s bridesmaids and honorary flower-woman walked down the aisle.

Carra was escorted by her father and as they stepped through the doorway, Dillon’s eyes lit up upon seeing his bride for the first time. Their officiant was zoom-ed in which made for some comic relief as guests on the zoom call accidentally un-muted themselves and created the classic zoom meeting hilarity. Dillon and Carra’s easygoing manner however easily stole the show right back as their obvious love for one another filled the air. Short and sweet vows were exchanged and as they shared their first kiss as husband and wife the guests cheered and clapped. Dillon and Carra made their way back down the aisle and celebrated with wedding party and family portraits in the foyer which provided some much-needed protection from the growing storm outside.

Returning to the reception, a delicious meal was served, toasts were made and Carra and Dillon shared their first dance as live music from their band was broadcast over another zoom call, this time without any distractions interrupting the beautiful guitar and vocals.

Carra and her dad shared a dance which had everyone crying and Dillon and his mom smiled and swayed as they laughed and chatted during a dance of their own.

Carra is a master-baker and made some of the cupcakes which were scattered in tiers around the various dessert tables and Dillon made everyone laugh as he smashed a bit of cupcake into Carra’s mouth during the “Cake” Cutting.

A make-you-own candy-bag station had the guests filling little to-go bags with treats all monogramed with Carra and Dillon’s Valentines Wedding Date, and they even had a little S’mores station where you could roast your own marshmallows!

By far the most popular reception activity was the photo-booth which was aptly decorated with two backgrounds- one full of hearts for this beautiful and momentous Valentine’s Day, and the other with a beach scene!

As the sun began to get low Carra, Dillon, Dom and I braved the mountain wind to get some epic snowy Gorge bridal portraits and were surprise-attacked by some friends who started a mini-snowball fight! The evening wrapped up with Dillon and Carra making their way back to their treehouse where they snuggled up together by the fire and relaxed, soaking in the splendor of a wedding day which conquered all barriers.

This week Carra and Dillon are relaxing in the warmth of the Hawaii Sun and I wish them the most perfect honeymoon by the sea!

Take a look at some of the highlights from their wedding below, and be sure to drop them some love in the comments at the end!