My Elopement Day at Hug Point, Oregon Coast

In case you’re wondering about the name change of my brand (I’m officially Natalie Secrest Photo now, woohoo!)… It’s because I GOT MARRIED!!

Matt and I only really had two “must haves” for our wedding day: we wanted to be surrounded by a lot of nature and to really make sure we could keep the focus around just the two of us saying our vows to each other. After we got engaged, we drove out to the Oregon Coast and fell in love with Hug Point. Something about the rugged coastline with trees and beautiful cliffs just felt right.

On the day of our elopement, we spent the day relaxing, writing our vows to each other and hanging with our pup. We met up with our photographer and our celebrant in the evening (Dawn with Dawn Photo and Emily with Rooted and Wild: best duo ever!) and spent the evening running around in the sand. Everything felt like a whirlwind. Almost like an incredible dream. As soon as I took Matt’s hands and really soaked in what was happening, I burst into the happiest tears (more than once). It just felt so surreal in the best way possible. I have never felt as present as I did reading our vows to each other with my bare feet in the sand. We celebrated by dancing to Harvest Moon, eating little desserts we had bought at a local spot in Cannon Beach that day, and exploring all the little nooks and caves along the coast. We also wrote our intentions for our marriage on rocks and threw them into the ocean together. Our pup, Scotty, definitely tried to steal the show (he even ran off with my wedding shoe a couple times…) but I wouldn’t have had it any other way. I loved our day so much.

Being a bride myself now has given me a whole new perspective. It’s really inspired to me to empower couples to slow down in their wedding planning. To really take the time to visualize how they want to have their day go without all the pressure of how things “should be”. There’s no need to do things any certain way because of outside influence. I am here to tell you that you can truly do it however you want! And I would love nothing more than to support you in whatever that is!!

HUGE credit to the best team:

Photographer: Dawn Photo

Officiant: Emily Sterling with Rooted and Wild

Flowers: Small Yard Flowers

Dress: Dreamers and Lovers