There’s something otherworldly about the Oregon Coast. Maybe it’s the way the mist clings to the cliffs in the morning or how the waves carve infinite patterns in the sand…

On the day you get married, every moment should feel just right–from the foods you eat and the guest list you create to the microwedding photographer who captures every moment in the wedding venue you choose. 

When Whitney and Levi envisioned their eventual small wedding day, they both dreamed of something that felt like stepping into another world—a dreamy, mythical forest where love and spring collided. 

From the moment you get engaged–and sometimes even long before–you’re surrounded by a whirlwind of wedding content. Nowadays, we have unlimited access to inside peeks at weddings of all kinds–from luxury celebrity weddings to the ultimate compilation of DIY weddings.

With so many talented wedding and elopement photographers out there, I’ll be the first to say it can feel hard for soon-to-be-married couples to choose their perfect-fit wedding photographer and the right micro wedding or elopement photography package for them.

When it comes to planning a micro-wedding–especially in a scenic spot like Oregon–the venue can make or break how you experience and soak in your day. 

I know what you’re thinking–Isn’t a micro-wedding or small wedding venue just the location where you have your wedding?

A few years back, a woman named Piper caught a glimpse of the cover photo in a Seattle Brides Magazine. In the photo, a bride and groom stood on opposite floats of a float plane in full wedding attire, bobbing up and down in a remote lake in the North Cascades.

If you’re a soon-to-be-married couple out there eager to plan your wedding, you’ve probably already run into several conversations about the type of wedding you’ll have. Will it be a big wedding with a large guest list? A smaller, more intimate event? What about something just for you two–maybe a secluded elopement only including a few guests to stand by your side? 

The blunt truth about the word “wedding venue” is that it usually throws people (couples included) for a loop. For most people, when they hear “venue,” it conjures up images of traditional weddings–great halls, large churches, or event spaces created to fit hundreds of people inside.

When couples choose to include creative wedding vendors and professionals on their wedding day, it elevates their experience. I know—I started this blog with a bold claim. But after ten years as a micro wedding photographer, I’ve had plenty of opportunities to watch wedding days unfold.

Every wedding day, every feeling, and every experience I’ve captured for soon-to-be-married couples has been beautifully unique. But for as different as these days and experiences are, the best ones have all had something specific in common: for their day, the couple chose their priorities and unapologetically stuck to them.

If you found yourself swooning over the stunning Oregon Crook Point wedding between “Dancing with the Stars” pro Koko Iwasaki and choreographer Kiki Nyemchek, know you’re not alone. 

Koko and Kiki Iwasaki shared their vows in late July in front of 100 guests in a dreamy, forested spot right on the Oregon coastline.

A wedding day is often flooded with certain expectations. Maybe it’s a venue big enough to hold all the guests you invited. Even if you don’t know them all that well. Perhaps it’s a scripted ceremony in front of watchful eyes (even if some were more voyeuristic than celebratory).

In my time as a wedding photographer, I’ve captured all kinds of days for all kinds of couples. Two-person elopements, intimate weddings with a guest list of 30, enormous weddings with 150+ people, and everything in between. 

Every luxury elopement looks and feels different for each couple. And truthfully–that’s kind of the point. Luxury elopements do not fit in a singular box–they make you and your partner feel alive, in love, and understood. 

They are a collection of moments that are all yours. Unfolding precisely in ways that make you feel simultaneously bursting with joy and grounded in peace. They are for you and your partner to feel aligned, celebrated, and overcome with love.

What’s the first thing that floods your mind when you hear the word micro wedding? As a luxury elopement and micro wedding photographer who’s spent the last several years documenting these celebrations, I’ve come to realize that there’s some confusion surrounding microweddings.

For a moment, close your eyes and drift softly into your imagination. Try to picture this: A long, wooden wedding table somewhere in a wooded forest, all your favorite flowers whimsically draped in every direction like something out of a fairytale you read as a child.

For all the soon-to-be-married couples out there, I have one blunt but important thing to say: No matter how you choose to get married, remember that you control the guest list. 

On your wedding day, whether you’re opting for a larger destination wedding venue with a handful of loved ones or a smaller but luxurious venue with just a few close folks by your side, it’s important that everyone who’s with you is just that–with you.