Jason + Lacey

An Intimate Elopement in The Gorge near White Salmon, WA

What happens when two weeks before your wedding your venue has to cancel on you? That is a question I would hope no couple ever has to face, but in this crazy 2020 summer it is a situation that all too many couples are finding themselves in. Well, when life gives you lemons as they say… you call your photographer! Haha, no but in all seriousness I feel so very privileged that when Jason and Lacey were faced with the monumental task of completely re-planning their wedding in two weeks that they trusted me enough to lean on me for support and guidance.

It is in situations like this that the relationships I have the pleasure of developing with absolutely wonderful people such as Jason and Lacey are forged in fire. If we weren’t friends through their wedding experience already, this situation might have been a much more formidable challenge! As it were, Jason, Lacey and I hit it off from the very first time I met them, sitting in the sun at a picnic table outside Salt and Straw where within the first thirty minutes of spending time with them we were fast friends. They had found me through another company that I lead shoot for from time to time and when they discovered that I have my own photography business they contacted me directly to see if we were the perfect fit. Normally when I do meet and greets they last about half an hour to forty five minutes, but I’m pretty sure we ended up spending almost 90 minutes chatting when we first met, me asking Lacey about a thousand questions about her horsemanship (she’s one of those super amazing barrel racing girls!), getting to know Jason’s crazy Real Estate schedule and drooling over their romantic vineyard wedding planned for the summer of 2020.

Later that year we planned their engagement shoot at Cooper Mountain where we messed around with smoke bombs creating really unique portraits among the tall golden grasses of the nature park. Seeing these two love on each other in front of the camera just made my heart sing and I couldn’t wait to photograph their wedding!

Jason and Lacey were to be married at Jacquot Family Vineyards in Washington and right up through all the craziness of March, April, May, June and even July it looked like they were going to squeak by with a green light for their gorgeous celebration. However, as the countdown to their wedding day grew increasingly close to single-digits, new state-wide restrictions in Washington wrecked havoc on their plans.

We shared a surprisingly calm phone conversation as soon as they found out the news and I threw out some options for elopement locations here in Oregon that I knew from some of my adventure engagement shoots. We had narrowed it down to two locations when Jason mentioned that their wedding license was for Washington state. Dumbfounded, I had to look it up online as I hadn’t ever considered, silly goose that I am, that marriage licenses are state-specific! Confirming with their officiant that this is indeed the case, a slight bit of panic crept in on me as I realized that I had zero locations to offer them on the Washington side of the gorge. It seems silly, but I guess I just never venture over the river for my shoots!

Lacking the needed time to get an Oregon Marriage License, I set aside a half-day to do some exploring in Washington! I took a gander at google earth and found what appeared to be a few promising locations on the Washington side of the gorge near White Salmon. Loading up my jeep with plenty of water I drove out to do some location scouting!

Lacey’s 88 year old great grandfather was dead-set on being the person to walk her down the aisle, so my ultimate goal was to find a location that was fairly flat and could have easy drive-in access for him and the few other elderly guests who would be in attendance. Jason and Lacey were expecting about 20-30 guests so I also wanted to find a place with enough parking to fit about 10-15 cars as just a pull-off by the road probably wasn’t going to cut it. Lacey loved the idea of an epic Gorge view as well, but was a little nervous about the gale-force winds that can sometimes rip through that area, so it would be amazing to find a place which had at least a bit of shelter from the wind, as well as some shade in case the 90-degree heat wave we were experiencing continued.

Driving off to my first “google-map” location I found a VERY bumpy dirt road which led to a little clearing with a gorgeous view. The wind was absolutely ripping however, and as I walked around, about a hundred small and sticky burrs attached themselves to my shoes and dress so I knew I had to keep looking. Driving further up, I found another location which had some drive-able access to a beautiful overlook but again there was a ton of wind and this location lacked any parking aside from the shoulder of a very small and windy road, definitely not safe or ideal for the amount of guests Lacey and Jason were expecting.

Going back to the drawing board, I took a look at the map and saw a cute little lake which had a day-use area next to it that I thought could be a gem of a spot so I headed further up the highway to check it out. The lake ended up being quite beautiful, but it was also very close to the highway and didn’t have the best view of the gorge as it was lower down and just off the river. I decided to see where the small road which exited the day-use area went and drove up and into some farm land. Most of the property up here was all privately owned but then I saw a little white van with a couple of elderly men chilling in lawn chairs next to what seemed like a big open lot stretching out toward cliffs which overlooked the gorge. I parked and inquired as to the property and the gentlemen sunning themselves said it was federal land, so was open to use! Walking down toward the overlook I noticed that as this was set back a bit, the wind was WAY less here and there was a remnant of a road which seemed to provide fairly flat access to the overlook.

Walking around, no burrs were sticking to my shoes and I saw some tall pines which were casting a very nice shadow over a little flat patch of ground. Lifting my eyes from the flat patch I could see stretching behind it the gorgeous river, a vineyard in the distance and Mount Hood shining in the late afternoon sun! I’d found it! The perfect location! I excitedly took a few videos forJason and Lacey hoping they would fall in love with it!

They ended up visiting the location twice and concurred it would be an ideal spot, so a new plan for their wedding was born! August 8th came extremely fast and when Dom and I drove up, Jason and his dad were already there ready to start putting together the arch which would frame their ceremony.

There are so many moments in my work where I feel so incredibly lucky to have a job where I can make a positive impact on other’s lives, but I must say, what came next will forever be on the top of my list. When Dom and I got out of the car and met Jason’s dad, he made it a point to express just how much it meant to him what I’d done to find this location for Jason and Lacey. He kept saying “Who does that!? Nobody does that!” making me laugh and turn a little red. He expressed that this is his last child to be married and the fact that I was willing to put in the time to find such a gorgeous place for them to celebrate their union meant the world to him. This acknowledgment was absolutely incredible and I must admit, I was a little choked up as we drove down to choose the exact location to place the chairs, arch and wine barrels which would frame Jason and Lacey as they shared their vows.

Jason’s dad brought a weed-eater and trimmed some of the longer grass where the chairs would go and pick-axed out a few rocks to make sure the arch would sit level as Jason changed into his suit in the back of the pickup.

Lacey arrived and although the wind was a bit stronger on this day than on the days we’d visited prior, her perfectly curled blonde locks were standing up incredibly well and she looked like an absolutely bombshell as she walked toward Jason for the first look.

Hugs and laughter flowed through both of them as they saw each other for the first time in all their wedding splendor and we escaped down into a little ravine which was more sheltered from the wind as we took a few bridal party portraits with their 4 wedding party members.

As cars were moved from the ceremony location and a final sound check was done by the DJ (who had brought a tiny and very quiet generator to run the sound, how cool is that!?!) the officiant took his place under the floral and antler decorated arch and invited the processional to begin.

As the music played and each of the wedding party made their way down the aisle-way, Lacey approached and took her great grandfather’s arm. Gently leading her toward her future husband, I could see the tender love he had for his granddaughter and imagined what a proud moment this must be for him. Handing her over to Jason and taking his seat the ceremony began.

Their ceremony was sweet and touching with personal vows from Jason and Lacey who had confided in me earlier that they were a bit relieved honestly to only have this small intimate group of family to say their vows in front of. As they were announced husband and wife and shared their first married kiss, the sun sparkled on the vineyard across the river and Mount Hood’s everlasting snowcap gleamed in approval.

Beaming and congratulations all around, we set up a little table for the marriage license signing to make it all official. We enjoyed family portraits as the sun settled behind a little hill and the cliffs of the gorge started to turn to a red-orange fire to illuminate the August evening. I stole Jason and Lacey for a few more portraits in the ceremony area and then Dom, they and myself drove down the road a bit to an overlook Jason and Lacey had picked out for their last sunset portraits.

Lacey navigated the long pathway to the overlook expertly in her heels, and Jason helped her cross the little chasm over to a cliff face which provided the most stunning backdrop for their final portraits. As we laughed and made our way back to the cars we spoke about horses and their mini-honeymoon in the San Juan Islands which they would enjoy over the upcoming week.

It was an evening to remember, and as we drove away I left with my heart and memory cards full of the love and beauty that this couple embodies. Jason and Lacey, thank you for your friendship and trust. I can’t wait for our next shoot where I get to meet your horse Lacey, and I feel like the absolute luckiest person in the world that I will get to spend another magical evening with you next year at your big celebration at Jacquot Vineyards! All my love, Kate.