Portland Oregon Elopement Photography
Portland Oregon Elopement photography is something I have been wanting to get into, so I decided to take a little trip out to Portland with my wife Katie to scout out some beautiful locations. As humans we love routines and comfort. I decided it was high time we said, “fuck comfort,” we are going to live the life of our choosing.
Defaults are preselected options that we live out of. They are something that is usual or standard in our lives. Defaults can be patterns that we have fallen into because there is a benefit to doing so. The default palette in a home may be 15 year old furniture, original paint, no upgrades and so forth. The benefit of keeping these defaults is that you save money by not spending money, and you don’t have to think about changing things, you can simply focus on the more important things in life. The drawbacks to keeping things the exact same way is that you may grow bored of things looking the exact same.
Portland Elopement Adventure: Get Out of Your Comfort Zone
We recently actively started to clean out some of the clutter in our lives and we got our walls painted a much lighter color. That decision caused us to want to make each room as amazing as possible. Now when we sit in our living room on our new couch with a sexy grey palette and a minimalist look, we feel so cozy and at peace. I’m not saying you have to spend money to break out of your defaults. Sometimes the default is living a sedentary life. This is my call for you to get up off your ass and go do something. Go for a hike, go fishing, hunting, just go take a walk dude. Break the cycle of dormancy and bust out of that zone of comfort.
Simplicity of an Elopement
If I really think back to my wedding day and am honest with myself about whether I would have done things differently, I most certainly would have. If I could redo my wedding today I would definitely have a Portland Oregon elopement (or somewhere else on the west coast). It is so epic out there and everything just seems so much bigger in scale. Katie and I somewhat planned our wedding day based on defaults. We thought, well our parents are paying for this. Let’s want to make sure they are happy. It seemed like a large party with a lot of people that our parents knew. We had some of our Homies there, but it was definitely an older crowd. Let me pause. My wedding day was amazing. We got married at Pretty Place overlooking the amazing mountains with family and friends surrounding us. I have simply grown to appreciate the simplicity and intimacy of an adventure elopement in a place like Portland, Oregon.
Portland Oregon Elopement: How To Plan
If you are having a Portland Oregon elopement or just visiting the area, there is so much to do while you are there. So what is so special about Portland? Why would you choose to specifically have a Portland Oregon elopement? Portland is located about an hour and a half from the Oregon coast where beaches like Cannon and Indian Beach are on protected land that is absolutely gorgeous. Films like The Goonies and Kindergarten Cop were filmed in the area. Yes, we sought out One-Eyed Willy’s treasure, in case you were curious. The beaches have giant rock outcroppings that the raging waves crash against, never looking the same as the time before. It simply makes you feel alive. The consistency and randomness of it all is something beautiful to behold and to meditate on.
Where to Adventure
There are also trails nearby with super tall evergreens with lush fern laden forests that look straight out of Jurassic Park. There are signs to be aware of cougars on the trails. Wait, cougars at the beach? What universe have I stepped into? It was mind blowing to be on a forested trail, feel like you are in the heart of the mountains and to hear seagulls passing over. The beaches are super close to Portland Oregon including an amazing nude beach that we totally got wild on. There are volcanoes covered in snow by Lake Trillium. The entire Columbia River Gorge area has an endless number of waterfalls where you can get your beak wet. These are massive falls including the quintessential Multnomah Falls.
Where to Eat
If you grow weary of all the adventuring, there are loads of places to grab a beer, a coffee, or just some delicious food. Cibo was definitely a standout for us. I’d never cut a pizza with scissors until that night. Here are some bullet points of the must hit attractions while you are there. Links are clickable, so if you are planning to go to Portland, you will want to check out all of this stuff…
Portland Oregon Elopement: Day 1
- Cannon Beach
- Indian Beach
- Ecola State Park ($5 for entrance, but well worth it for the trails)
- Grab a beer and a burger at Public Coast Brewing or Pelican Brewing while you are in the Cannon Beach area
Portland Oregon Elopement: Day 2
- Columbia River Gorge Area (you can go literally anywhere and have an amazing time)
- Multnomah Falls
- Latourell Falls
- Wahclella Falls
- Rooster Rock State Park
- Collin’s Beach in Rooster Rock State Park (Totally Nude Beach). Remember when I was talking about getting out of that comfort zone? This was one of our favorite things we did the entire trip. It is absolutely freeing to bare your ass (and your junk) in nature for all the world to see. Google Maps this place.
- Bridge of the Gods. Walk or drive over to Washington.
Below is a shot of me baring it all. Tell me that shit doesn’t look like fun!
Portland Oregon Elopement: Day 3
- Mount Hood Area
- Tamanawas Falls/Trail 3.6 miles roundtrip
- Trillium Lake (rent a canoe and paddle around the lake with the giant Mt. Hood in the background). It’s pretty spectacular!!
- Mount Hood Brewing Company. The food is great, the beer is tasty, and the view of Mt. Hood is incredible!
Portland Oregon Elopement Eats
- Cibo – Serving gourmet wood fired pizza and one of the best places we ate in Portland.
- Lardo – The best lunch we had. The pork shoulder sandwich will change your life.
- Fairlane Coffee – The vanilla latte was by far the best cup of joe we had in Portland.
- 10 Barrel Brewing Company – Amazing beer and food. The nachos were insane. Put all the meats on there with some cheese. Magnifico.
- 50 Licks – Ice Cream
- Yama Sushi – Grab some amazing Sushi then cross the street and get you some 50 Licks Ice Cream.
Portland Oregon Elopement: Day 4 or 5
Once you have had the opportunity to see all the amazing locations Portland has to offer, plan out your perfect Portland Oregon elopement day. I think the move for an elopement is to plan a trip to an amazing destination and stay for about a week. Explore everything the area has to offer, hire a Portland Oregon elopement photographer well in advance and plan for them to capture your elopement around your 4th or 5th day there. Oh, and have sex…Lot’s of it, and when doing so make sure to make it about connecting with the person and not just getting your rocks off. If you are in the Asheville North Carolina area and want to explore my recommendations for Asheville, check out this article. How to Plan the Perfect Asheville Elopement. Cheers y’all.
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