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weddings and elopements

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pacific northwest riverside wedding | washington adventure wedding photographer

September 25, 2017

kati + joe's riverside wedding | adeline farms in woodland, washington | washington adventure wedding photographer

From Kati's very first e-mail, I knew we had to work with her and Joe for their wedding. They are truly some of the sweetest, most amazing people we've ever met. Throughout the planning process, she trusted me with every bit of advice, timeline help, and detail that pertained to wedding photography. Their wedding was a perfect mix of stunning scenery, gorgeous details, and real, raw emotion between the two of them and their entire community. These two are so treasured by their people and it was amazing to witness the connection they had with each person involved in their wedding day! Every detail was so thoughtful, and I could list quite a few, but I have to mention the NRS strap around her bouquet representing their love for river rafting - the activity that brought them together in the first place! Plus - she made a "that's what she said" joke during the ceremony...a girl after my own heart! We had so much fun with their wedding day and are truly thankful to have been a part of it!

kati + joe's riverside wedding | adeline farms in woodland, washington | washington adventure wedding photographer | the hearnes adventure photography | www.thehearnes.com

Venue: Adeline Farms, Woodland, Washington

Bride's Dress: BHLDN

Paper Goods: Tie That Binds

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The Hearnes Adventure Photography is run by Abbi and Callen Hearne, a husband & wife wedding photography team with an emphasis on adventure. They live on the road as full-time nomads in their big white van, allowing them to serve a large portion of the western US including California, Utah, Oregon, Washington, Arizona, Colorado, and Wyoming. They believe love is the greatest adventure and strive to create photos that are epic, romantic, true, and timeless.

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pacific northwest treehouse wedding | washington adventure wedding photographer

September 16, 2017

jena + kyler's treehouse wedding | outdoor reception under the stars | washington adventure wedding photographer

I honestly think the best thing about being a wedding photographer is the fact that you get to be present for people's most sacred moments. Even after 3 years and nearly 30 weddings, I still find myself fully emotionally invested in each couple on their wedding day. When I think back to Jena + Kyler's wedding, I am reminded of the sweetest bond between father and daughter as Jena and her dad walked around the treehouse deck he spent months building for her, the beautiful emotions Kyler's mother showed when she danced with her son, and the incredible love between bride and groom, worn openly on their faces the entire day. I have to start with the beginning - when Jena first e-mailed me she described their wedding on the land she'd grown up on, and told me her dad was building the ceremony space in the trees and clearing a grassy overlook for the reception. I was amazed, and the progress photos were beautiful, but nothing could have prepared me for how gorgeous this homemade venue would truly be! Jena got dressed surrounded by her closest friends in the cottage she was raised in. She and Kyler had their first look on the deck, followed by an emotional first look with her father in the woods. Their ceremony was perfect - it truly reflected their love for each other, their families, and most importantly, their love for God, all of this up in the tall trees with a mountain view behind them!

We had so much fun with their reception, which included a fly-over 4-plane formation as a surprise to Kyler, delicious cheesecake, and dancing under the twinkly lights as the sunset over the valley. Jena's dad, never one to miss an oppertunity to love on his daughter, recorded a song he had written for her when she was three for their first dance. He even added a few verses about Kyler as a surprise to her! There was not a dry eye in the forest. We managed to steal Jena and Kyler away for a few sunset portraits down on the overlook and then capped the night with a fun group photo and a send-off in their subaru! It was such a beautiful day, Callen and I left feeling thankful for this incredible job. The next day, we met them at Mount Rainier National Park for a day-after session, so be sure to keep an eye out next week for that blog post!

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las vegas elopement + zion national park wedding portraits | utah adventure wedding photographer

September 8, 2017

megan + zach's las vegas elopement | sunset wedding portraits at zion national park | utah adventure wedding photographer

las vegas elopement at the neon museum | bhldn bride | sunset wedding portraits at zion national park | utah adventure wedding photographer | the hearnes adventure photography | www.thehearnes.com

I honestly don't even know where to start with Megan + Zach's incredible whirlwind of a wedding day, but I will preface this story with this: Megan is a complete boss, one of the most badass brides ever, and gave me her blessing (and encouragement!) to share the full story of their day, so here we go! I'd be remiss if I didn't start with the fact that Megan (and Zach) and I actually went to high school together! We went to a huge school and I was pretty anti-social (I like to think I'm over that phase) so we didn't spend time together but always knew each other. When I started doing photography professionally, I remember Megan always commenting that we were going to shoot her wedding one day and I was so psyched when they got engaged and she reached out immediately! Side bar - it's one thing when strangers love your work, but when someone you grew up with has loved your work since you were a newbie photographer and then hires you to shoot her wedding, it's really really special. So, we got to planning and threw around a bunch of different ideas - she was pretty much game for anything as long as we did portraits in a National Park and they could include their families and closest friends. After a lot of ideas, they were really drawn to Zion National Park and decided they'd elope in Vegas then drive to Zion for photos! It ended up being such a fun week for them and their guests to get to explore such a fun city, and then we got to escape to Zion for peaceful, beautiful sunset portraits. BUT - everything didn't quite go as planned haha.

Since their wedding was between Dreema + Jay's Yosemite session and Jena + Kyler's Washington wedding, we opted to fly me out instead of drive to Vegas. I arrived in Vegas the morning of their wedding and took an Uber straight to their ceremony site where we planned to meet up. After a few minutes at the venue, I got a text from her maid of honor with news of what might be every bride's biggest fear (short of a runaway groom I guess): Megan had woken up with a horrible stomach virus and was pretty much throwing up all morning. My heart broke for her! My mind started turning with alternatives - I could delay my flight back and we could try tomorrow, or we could skip out on the Zion trip, or do sunset photos somewhere closer to Vegas, but then I got a text that they were on their way and Megan was going to try to tough it out! I'll be honest (because she told me to), she didn't quite look like she was ~glowing~ when she got there haha. BUT, she rallied, drank a ton of water, and survived (thrived!) through the ceremony and on-site portraits despite the 100 degree temps and full sun. Thankfully, we had some time before we needed to head to Zion - which Megan insisted we were still doing no matter what - so everyone ate lunch, relaxed, and Megan got some meds in her that really helped! Within an hour she was ready to road trip so we headed out to the park! One fun thing - the drive was only 2.5 hours, but we went through three states AND entered a new time zone! As we were getting closer, Megan and Zach were marveling at the rock walls in the Virgin River Gorge and I got giddy thinking of them seeing Zion.

As we drove into the park, Megan's eyes were glued to the windows. They were both blown away. I always say watching a couple experience a new park for the first time is one of my favorite parts of my job! We ended up hiking to one of my favorite overlooks in the park and had one of the dreamiest sunset sessions ever. These two are so adorable with each other and we all had a great time hanging out. We stayed until the sun was long gone and left Zion with huge smiles on our faces. I love that these two will get to return to this amazing place and always be reminded of their amazing - and eventful! - wedding day. I am so thankful for their friendship, all of their amazing guests for making the day so great, and their huge amount of trust in me to create something beautiful for them on their wedding day. I'll end with this - a quote from Megan's instagram when she posted one of the photos: "Over the course of planning our day I'd randomly get the reoccurring question; "Won't you regret not having a wedding?" So here is my answer for those who care to hear it. I got to fly to Las Vegas, get married at the famous Neon Museum, and then this. This view and this human took away every doubt I could possibly have. Zion was like a dream or a postcard, and was hands down the most beautiful thing Zach and I had ever seen. @abbihearne was right. Eloping was the best decision we ever made. Not only do we have zero regrets, but now we have the bad ass pictures to show for it."

megan + zach's las vegas elopement at the neon museum | sunset wedding portraits at zion national park | utah adventure wedding photographer | the hearnes adventure photography | www.thehearnes.com

Ceremony Venue: The Neon Museum Las Vegas

Portraits Location: Zion National Park, Utah

Bride's Dress: Jacinda Gown from BHLDN

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intimate yosemite wedding at glacier point + the redwoods | destination wedding photographer

September 1, 2017

lin + earvin's intimate yosemite wedding | sunrise ceremony at glacier point | reception at the redwoods in wawona | yosemite adventure elopement photographer | destination wedding photographer

lin + earvin's intimate yosemite wedding | sunrise ceremony at glacier point | reception at the redwoods in wawona | the hearnes adventure photography | www.thehearnes.com

Man, I don't even know where to start with these two. Lin + Earvin are some of the coolest, most down-to-earth people we've ever met. I also can't make it three sentences without mentioning how amazing Lin's mom is...she treated me like her own kid from the moment I met her!! We started their wedding day with their first look at Glacier Point just before sunrise. Lin, being the chillest bride ever, hoped out of the car in one of Earvin's button-up shirts and quickly changed into her wedding dress in the Glacier Point parking lot while her mom + maid of honor held up blankets as a make-shift changing room. There might have been a few nerves as we walked down the path to meet her groom, but the second she made it to Earvin they didn't care about anything else in the world. These two were amazing to photograph because they just enjoyed each other the whole time. It was almost like I wasn't even there! After their first look, we hiked around Glacier Point together taking portraits before their ceremony. Being the rock climbers that they are, they asked me if we could do some photos out on the infamous diving board and I gave them my typical shpeel, explaining that it's definitely dangerous but I won't stop them from doing anything they choose to do, and I will definitely take photos :) They opted to go for it and I must admit, while my heart was beating out my chest the whole time, I am so glad they did! That being said, I'm pretty sure the highest-pressure moment of my wedding photography career was when Lin was getting out to the diving board (in her wedding dress!!) while her mom watched. But, her mom is a saint and instead of killing me afterwards she hugged me and was stoked on the photo when I showed her a preview!

Their early morning ceremony was absolutely beautiful, an intimate affair with close family and friends at the Glacier Point Amphitheater followed by a few hours off for everyone to enjoy the national park before their reception that evening. It was fun hearing different family members say something along the lines of "so that's why they chose Yosemite" after taking in the amazing view. There were even a few hang gliders that launched right after their ceremony! It was awesome. Their reception was at The Redwoods in Yosemite, a really cool little venue in Wawona. One of the awesome things about The Redwoods is they also have a bunch of vacation rental cabins around the venue, so everyone stayed in Cabins nearby and didn't have to travel far (once they got there!). Their reception was gorgeous and touching, including their amazing first dance that impressed everyone! We ended the evening with some sunset portraits on the river nearby. I think it was the first time we've ever shot sunrise and sunset with the same couple :) When Lin + Earvin first reached out to us about shooting their wedding in Yosemite, they mentioned how much they loved Callen's night photography...Callen ended up taking some really rad long exposures of the stars at Glacier Point the night before their wedding as a little gift from us. I don't think they know about those yet, so surprise Lin and Earvin :) I hope you love them!