When Shelbie and Avery reached out about their Umpqua National Forest elopement plans, I was ALL IN.

I could tell almost immediately that these two were my kind of people. They are laid-back, adventurous, completely in love—and they chose to say “I do” on their 10-year dating anniversary. Yep. High school sweethearts. 🥹

It doesn’t get much sweeter than that.

A Sunrise Elopement in the Umpqua National Forest

Because their elopement was taking place in August, we decided on a morning timeline to beat the summer heat. It turned out to be an absolutely perfect choice.

The sunrise light was incredible, and the early morning gave us beautiful soft light along the river and plenty of time to explore the surrounding landscape without rushing.

Shelbie and Avery stayed at the Steamboat Inn, which was such a beautiful and scenic home base for their Umpqua National Forest elopement.

And these two chose to keep their wedding day incredibly intimate.

It was just the two of them, plus me.

No big wedding party. No crowd. No pressure. Just two people who had already spent ten years choosing each other.

They even helped each other get ready that morning, which made for some of my favorite photographs from the day. There’s something incredibly sweet about watching a couple take care of each other during those quiet moments before their ceremony.

Then they headed down toward the river to exchange their vows privately.

The morning light filtering through the trees was so beautiful as they stood together near the water and promised forever to each other.

Afterward, we explored.

They snuggled, kissed, laughed, wandered through the forest, and took in the incredible scenery around them. And can we talk about Shelbie’s veil for a second?!

I mean, COME ON. 😍

Absolutely gorgeous.

Exploring Toketee Falls

Of course, no Umpqua National Forest adventure would be complete without exploring some of the area’s incredible waterfalls.

We made our way along the trail to Toketee Falls, where we were able to take in the waterfall from the overlook. The view was absolutely stunning and gave us another completely different backdrop for their elopement photographs.

This is one of the things I love most about adventure elopements. Your wedding day doesn’t have to happen in one location.

You can explore.

You can stop for photographs when you see something beautiful.

You can hike to a waterfall, wander along a river, eat cake in the back of your SUV, and pop champagne when the mood strikes.

And that’s exactly what Shelbie and Avery did.

Cake, Champagne & a Whole Lot of Fun

After exploring, these two fed each other cake in the back of their rental SUV and popped champagne to celebrate becoming husband and wife.

It was fun, relaxed, completely untraditional, and so them.

Honestly, these two were so chill that I had an absolute blast spending the day with them. Their elopement never felt like a photo shoot—it felt like I was tagging along on an incredible adventure with two friends who happened to be celebrating ten years together by getting married.

I am so incredibly happy for Shelbie and Avery as they begin this next chapter as husband and wife.

It was such an honor to capture this rad little day for them, and I hope these photographs always bring them back to the feeling of that morning—the river, the mountains, the waterfalls, the champagne, and the beginning of forever. ❤️