Vantage, WA Elopement | Central Washington Elopement Photographer

This was my first styled elopement where I chose the location, found the couple, and picked out the decor and wedding clothes. It’s tricky to plan a winter elopement in Washington, because the weather can be so unpredictable and it can be super wet and cold! This location is where my husband and I frequently go to escape the rain and go climbing! It’s usually dry and sunny and the unique landscape is pretty spectacular for Washington state. Because of this, it was a no brainer to have the elopement in Vantage.

I got to our meeting spot a couple hours early to make sure I had everything setup by the time my couple got there. I kept checking the weather like a hawk, because it seemed like the forecast was changing every hour that day. From cloudy to sunny to rain, and then back to cloudy. Just as I finished getting everything set up, my couple, Mark and Katie, arrived. A few minutes later the wind and rain came. It was so defeating! We had to decide whether to continue with the styled shoot setup or pack it all up and try for another day. While we were figuring out what to do the wind completely wrecked my styled table setup (candlesticks, flowers, cute boho baskets, champagne glasses, chocolate, etc). One of my baskets that I had gotten on a trip to Senegal actually blew from the table and off the cliff we were on! The candlesticks blew over every time I set up them back up and my flower arrangements were a lost cause. It was a bit of a nightmare for me because I had tried so hard to make it pretty! I said “screw it, let’s just do the shoot and if everything gets soaked at least it will make for ridiculous photos”. In the end, the rain stopped and wind died down after we finished up photographing the picnic setup. I am SO thankful the weather improved and we had a blast for the rest of the evening! We explored around the location and ended the shoot with pizza. Even though it was a bummer to not be able to get images of the full styled setup, it was definitely worthwhile and we all had fun.