Wild Elopement in the Palouse Highlands, Washington

Okay you guys! This blog post is so late in coming, because hello wedding season. We shot this beautiful styled elopement back in March, and it was featured on Intimate Weddings! But I loved this morning so much, I had to have my own blog post for it too.

We first visited this quiet, sleepy state park a few minutes down the road from the much more popular Palouse Falls years ago, and fell in love with the windswept hills & cliffs overlooking the confluence of the rivers below. We designed the picnic set up after the idea of what someone might plan if they had already been through a big, traditional wedding once before. So often, I meet folks and they tell me they would have done everything differently about their wedding. They always speak wistfully about how they wanted to elope, and wanted something so much simpler and informal. I decided to try and bring the simple, uncomplicated, and untraditional to life for this shoot.

One thing we always kept in mind while dreaming up this shoot is that I wanted it to feel like an actual elopement, as opposed to a larger-than-life styled shoot. While planning a shoot purely to be fanciful inspiration is always fun, I’m hoping these images aren’t just one more image on Instagram that looks impossible to replicate, but is something that feels attainable, feels  within reach for folks beginning their wedding planning adventures and are wondering if a big wedding isn't for them.

Toni from Artifact Rentals helped me pull together the dreamy, boho picnic elopement vibes I was hoping for, the bouquet made by Rose & Blossom was just jaw-dropping, and the gem of a makeup queen Alexi Sage was such a trooper about the ridiculously early call time. I got some crash courses in charcuterie boards from my foodie friends, and Don & Julia, two wonderful wedding photographers in their own right, agreed to model for me, given that I paid them in pancakes & lots of coffee for the long haul of a drive out to the park at 5am. The drizzling rain and overcast skies really pulled this whole shoot together into something wonderfully moody & real, and I am so in love with the result.

Film Scans: The FIND Lab

Table Runners: Linen Lark

Ribbon: Hey It’s OH so Pretty

Florals:  Rose & Blossom

Hairpiece: The Fawn & The Sparrow

Ring: Sweet Jane Designs

Hair & Makeup Artist:  Alexi Sage

Painted Table Art: Ashytn Pudden

Rentals:  Artifact Rentals

Diptych of a styled elopement shoot in Lyons Ferry State Park by Forthright Photo
A close up photo of a charcuterie board by Forthright Photo
Diptych of a styled elopement shoot in Lyons Ferry State Park by Forthright Photo
Diptych of the bride in a styled elopement shoot in Lyons Ferry State Park by Forthright Photo
Diptych of a styled elopement shoot in Lyons Ferry State Park by Forthright Photo
Triptych of a bride and groom picnicking in a styled elopement shoot in Lyons Ferry State Park by Forthright Photo
Closeup photo of a couples' hands joined by Forthright Photo
Photo of a bride and groom sitting by the river in a styled elopement shoot in Lyons Ferry State Park by Forthright Photo
Diptych of a bride and groom in a styled elopement shoot in Lyons Ferry State Park by Forthright Photo
Close up photo of a bouquet in a styled elopement shoot in Lyons Ferry State Park by Forthright Photo
Diptych of a bride and groom in a styled elopement shoot in Lyons Ferry State Park by Forthright Photo
Photo of bride and groom in a styled elopement shoot in Lyons Ferry State Park by Forthright Photo
Photo of a bride and groom in a styled elopement shoot in Lyons Ferry State Park by Forthright Photo
Photo of bride laughing in a styled elopement shoot in Lyons Ferry State Park by Forthright Photo
Collage of bride and groom walking in a styled elopement shoot in Lyons Ferry State Park by Forthright Photo
Diptych of a bride in a styled elopement at Lyon's Ferry State Park by Forthright Photo
Black and white photo of bride and groom embracing in the rain by Forthright Photo
Diptych of a bride and groom embracing in the rain by Forthright Photo
Black and White photo of a bride and groom laughing in the rain by Forthright Photo
Black and white wide landscape photo of a bride & groom walking in the rain at Lyon's Ferry State Park by Forthright Photo
Photo of bride and groom standing on a cliff in a styled elopement at Lyon's Ferry State Park by Forthright Photo
Photo of bride and groom standing on a cliff in a styled elopement at Lyon's Ferry State Park by Forthright Photo
Black and White photo of bride and groom standing on a cliff in a styled elopement at Lyon's Ferry State Park by Forthright Photo
Photo of bride and groom standing on a cliff in a styled elopement at Lyon's Ferry State Park by Forthright Photo

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

Share this story

Portfolio

Multicultural Destination Wedding at Waimea Plantation Cottages, Kauai Hawaii

Portfolio

Alpine Elopement in Mazama, WA

Portfolio

Foggy Fall Mountain Mount Rainier Elopement