*THIS LOCATION IS NO LONGER AVAILABLE FOR ANY SORT OF SESSIONS OR ELOPEMENTS DUE TO A WILDFIRE IN 2017. THE AREA IS CLOSED INDEFINITELY.
When I was contacted by Jose & Adelaida that they were going to be traveling from Florida (my second couple to travel from there) to get married at Wahclella Falls I was so excited. Last year when I did the styled shoot my goal was to get some real elopements or even engagement shoots in the Waterfall Area of the Columbia River in Oregon. Washington is beautiful but I have to say it’s not known for its waterfalls like Oregon is in this specific area. I was so honored when they told me that they wanted me to document their small Wahclella Falls Wedding with their immediate families as their witnesses!
What makes Wachlella Falls perfect for a wedding is it’s only a mile hike in and minus a few places it’s a pretty easy hike in then you get these awesome places right in front of the falls for photos. The only downside about Wahclella is because it’s a pretty easy hike it’s also very popular! So when we started planning Jose & Adelaida’s we talked about the time of day and I figured since it was Monday if we started as early as we could we should be fine with the crowds & the light not being too bright and sure enough we were, we had a few random hikers but we never had anyone in our shots and we pretty much had the falls to ourselves the entire time (even during the ceremony). But as we were leaving mid-morning it was getting pretty busy and we passed lots of people as we were leaving, I’m so happy we started early.
Even though the couple was doing a small Wahcella Falls wedding they still wanted to do a first look so Jose started hiking in first with his dad, brother and cousin and Adelaida came a few minutes later hiking in with her mom & Jose’s mom and actually hiking in her beautiful wedding gown!
We did their first look at the bridge right in front of the falls and capturing Jose’s reaction of seeing Adelaida in her dress for the first time was perfect! Right after their first look, we went right into their ceremony with their officiant Alan in an area near the falls but back a bit so I could capture it in the background but not get my lens wet while shooting. This is one the biggest issues with shooting at any waterfall is the spray from the water gets all over your lens so you have to keep a dry cleaning cloth with you at all times to wipe away the water and clean your lenses.
After their ceremony, we said goodbye to their officiant and went right into getting photos with their families then it was time for their official bride and groom portraits! Because we had such a wet cold winter and spring the water and the falls were flowing pretty hard and the water was still pretty high. We pretty much stuck with to a few areas around the falls for safety reasons and sadly couldn’t get down right in front because it was just so wet I didn’t want them to slip and fall in their fancy wedding attire. But that being said we weren’t limited to beautiful photos. I seriously had a hard time limiting this blog post to not include their entire gallery, it really turned out better than I could have ever imagined!
I am so excited for Jose & Adelaida to see their photos and for their friends and family back home in Florida too since all they have really seen are the few sneak peeks I have shared on Instagram or Facebook! I am actually heading back to Wahclella Falls again in September for another elopement so I can’t wait to be back there again! Congratulations to Jose & Adelaida your wedding was seriously a dream to be part of thank you for trusting me to document it and enjoy your photos!
Location: Wahclella Falls
Officiant: Your Personal Ceremony
Flowers: Dearhouse Collective
Bridal Gown: Brides of Florida
Groom’s Attire: Express
***THIS LOCATION IS NO LONGER AVAILABLE FOR ANY SORT OF SESSIONS OR ELOPEMENTS DUE TO A WILDFIRE IN 2017.
THE AREA IS CLOSED INDEFINITELY!!!!
ADD A COMMENT