February 17, 2023

Secret Beach Elopement on the Oregon Coast

A beautiful adventure elopement featuring Samuel H. Boardman Scenic Corridor in Brookings, OR.

Of all the places to elope, this couple selected an isolated stretch of the Oregon Coast. Brookings, OR is hidden away as the last town on the Oregon Coast before the California border. The nearest airport is 3 hours away or you can roadtrip down the 101. By picking this tucked away gem, you get an experience with less crowds and the most epic section of the Oregon Coast.

These two had a wonderful timeline packed with experiences and special moments. They really took the time to incorporate meaningful moments and keepsakes for a truly incredible day.

This elopement is also featured on Wandering Weddings. Check it out here!

Kind words from the couple:

Miki is reliable and her communication is beyond! She responds quickly and is very thorough, she will check the sunrise/sunset/tides/crowds/parking/etc. unique to your day. She is very enthusiastic and passionate about her work. Not only is she a fantastic photographer but she helped craft our whole elopement day. She listened to what our vision was and she had her own ideas and she was able to emphasize what is important to us, the couple. She is very knowledgeable in the area we had our elopement (Brookings, OR). Miki is also very active on Instagram-with her posts and stories, we felt like we knew her before we met her in real life! No awkwardness, we immediately felt comfortable around her on the day of our elopement!

Delivery: We received our sneak peaks the following morning after our elopement and we were astonished! Then we received our full gallery a little under 2 months!

Overall experience: We want to elopement again with her! 11/10 would recommend on your very own elopement!

Getting Ready

They started the day with a slow getting ready morning. Getting a cute vacation rental is perfect for your getting ready photos and gives you a chill space to start your day. The whole point of eloping is to avoid the stress and this is a great start. It also gave me an opportunity to document all the accessories they picked for their day (and dang, did they put some thought into them).

First Look

The easiest way to do a first look is at your getting ready location! This simplifies the logistics when it comes time to go to your first outdoor location. It also gives you privacy to feel your emotions without an audience.

Vow and Gift Exchange

Next up on the timeline was exchanging vows and gifts. They actually ended up exchanging vows privately at the vacation rental and during their ceremony with the officiant. They were amazed at how many pieces of the vows they missed the first time and really enjoyed getting to read them twice during the day. They also took the time to get meaningful wedding gifts for one another. All these events created a great transition into the rest of the day.

Ceremony in Samuel H. Boardman Scenic Corridor

The Wright Officiant came out to Brookings, OR to officiate. They opted to “seal it with a shot” for their unity ceremony. The waves crashed below as they reread their vows and said “I do.”

Secret Beach Hike in Brookings, OR

My personal favorite for elopement activities is a good hike. We wrapped up the day with this stunning beach hike and had the beach almost entirely to ourselves. This popular beach is a steep but short hike. It is only safe at certain tides so make sure to be aware of the waves (or even better, make sure your photographer has experience at the location). It is a small and popular space so it isn’t uncommon to run into other couples getting their photos taken or large groups of people enjoying the beach. Make sure to plan your events around the possibility that there won’t be much privacy or space for photos.