Elopement + Adventure Wedding Photography in the Pacific Northwest + Beyond

Portland Forest Micro Wedding

Real Elopements + Weddings

June 4, 2025

If you’ve ever perused the social media accounts of many Pacific Northwest elopement and adventure wedding photographers, the numerous images depicting mountains, waterfalls, hiking trails, and other seemingly “you gotta work to get there” locations might lead a person to believe that the only way to elope here is to drive a long way to a rural trailhead and hike 5+ miles into the wilderness. However, I want to assure you right now that this isn’t true!

First of all, there’s plenty of accessible trailheads and viewpoints across the PNW that require little to no hiking. You don’t have to be a seasoned backpacker to get married here!

Second of all, many of the towns and cities here actually have gorgeous outdoor spaces right in the middle of them. Portland, OR is my home base, and it’s teeming with stunning parks that have acres of accessible nature spaces and trails. This means you can have an elopement day surrounded by nature, right in the city.

Enchanting Forest Vibes Within Portland City Limits

One of my personal favorite places in Portland for elopements and small weddings, as well as just recreation, is Hoyt Arboretum. This spot has miles of trails through various tree groves and open spaces, as well as beautiful spots that you can drive right up to. One of the most well-known areas of the park is the Redwood Forest and Deck, which is reservable through Portland Parks + Rec for weddings and elopements. There’s also the Wedding Meadow (neighbor to the Redwood Deck), Steven’s Pavilion, and The Stone Circle – all of which are also reservable.

When Kelsey (she/her) and Jordan (she/her) reached out to me, they had already gotten their reservation for both the Redwood Deck and Steven’s Pavilion. This is great, because these spots are extremely popular, and the Parks department has a structured and limited reservation process. So if you’re considering Hoyt Arboretum for your own wedding, I highly recommend keeping an eye out for when wedding reservations open each year (usually in early January) and getting yourself in line as early as possible.

A Memorable Intimate Wedding Under Redwoods

Back to Kelsey + Jordan: They were traveling from Texas, and so it was important to them to have someone local to the PNW to help them with the planning for their ~20 person micro wedding here in Oregon. I was able to be their “feet on the ground” and support them through finding other local vendors (don’t miss the vendor list at the bottom for some AWESOME folks), providing tips for where to access different parts of the park, and how we could structure the day so they could use and enjoy the spaces they reserved in the best way possible.

As we approached their wedding day, I asked them “What’s your vision at this stage? What are you most excited for?” And their answer was essentially that they wanted a relaxed, fun day that felt “more like a small and intimate party” where they got to celebrate their lives together with their closest loved ones. And that’s exactly what we did!

Some of my favorite moments and details from J+K’s micro wedding:

Upon arriving at the Airbnb they were getting ready at, finding the couple working to remove so many fun temporary tattoos from an evening of shenanigans the previous night 🌈
Kelsey and loved ones laughing while hanging lights at the pavilion for the reception later.
Kelsey’s face when she first saw Jordan walking down the trail to the ceremony site.
Their nephew running to grab and hold Jordan’s hand as she walked down the aisle (and insisting on continuing to hold her hand during the early part of the ceremony 🥹).
So many happy tears, all day.
Quiet time for J+K to be alone together, exploring the trails between the Redwood Deck and the Pavilion as they walked into their reception.
The most delicious pizza from KCK Pizza Truck.
J+K asking me to take a photo with them to include in their album 😭
The moment J, K, and K’s mom saw the painting by Nic Martin Live Event Painter recreating a scene from their ceremony.
Everyone very enthusiastically playing Dutch Blitz (a special family past-time that absolutely needed to be included in the day).
The most joyful, Pride-filled, flag-waving send off 🏳️‍🌈

And as always, below you’ll find a high level timeline of their day, so you can get a feel for what a full-day intimate wedding at Portland’s Hoyt Arboretum Redwood Deck and Steven’s Pavilion can look like!

Example Timeline for a 7 Hour Portland Forest Micro Wedding

2:00 PM: Photographer arrives at Airbnb

Start with some detail and getting ready photos of K + J separately

2:45 PM: Leave for Hoyt Arboretum

3:10/20 PM: Arrive at Redwood Deck

4:00-4:20 PM: Ceremony

4:25-5:25 PM: Group photos at Redwood Deck

5:30-6:30 PM: Couple explores trails between Redwood Deck and Steven’s Pavilion, taking portraits along the way. Family heads to Pavilion for appetizers.

6:45-7:15 PM: Dinner

7:30-9:00 PM: Toasts, shoe game, first dance, open dancing, dessert, and other reception festivities and fun!