- 3 min read

Forest Elopement Wedding at Hoyt Arboretum | Portland, Oregon

Grace & Jardin

An Intimate Portland Elopement

I was so honored to be the Portland elopement wedding photographer that Grace and Jardin choose for their forest wedding at Hoyt Arboretum.

Grace and Jardin met shortly after high school, when they both began attending Clark College. A mutual friend, brought their two friend groups together and that gave them the opportunity to get to know each other.

They were engaged around Christmas in 2017. The two knew it would be a long engagement, as Grace would soon head off to grad school in Indiana, advancing her career as an opera singer. Doing the long distance thing is never easy, but after 3 years they came back together in Portland and then the pandemic hit. While not an easy time for anyone, the one easy silver lining for them, was so much time together after so much time apart.

Grace and Jardin had a truly touching, intimate and personal wedding ceremony. Rev. Elizabeth starting the ceremony with a moment of silence for the loved ones that could not be with them. Included in those people was Grace's Dad, Jaime. In his honor, Grace's sister, Elizabeth, stood to read a poem from his favorite poet James Whitcomb Riley, titled "Her Beautiful Hands". This is an excerpt from the poem:

...When first I loves, in the long ago,

And held your hand as I told you so--

Pressed and caressed it and gave it a kiss

And said "I could die for a hand like this!"...

Next in the exchange of their vows, Grace promised to love him unconditionally with complete abandon, and Jardin promised to protect, honor and care for her. Even their foodie loving side came out in their vows, as Grace committed to always being his taste tester, and Jardin agreed to always share his plate. They completed the commitment to these words by exchanging rings.

To also commemorate the day, the couple chose to blend glass crystals that would later be fired together and be a symbol of this day and a piece of art in their home. Grace's were green and Jardin's were blue. Pouring them into the brown glass represents the two of them coming together to create something new, their unique strengths and qualities coming together while still maintaining their individual integrity within the relationship.

The couple wanted to spend as much time during their short wedding as possible with their guests, so they opted to take a few photos together on the day of their elopement, but then also plan a post-wedding portrait photography session so they could just focus on each other. Post-wedding sessions are a great way to really connect with your new spouse away from all the business of the wedding day. Pre-wedding sessions are very common in other cultures. The couple-to-be married wears their wedding day clothes and choosing a fun adventurous location to go take photographs, then these images are commonly on display to great the guests as they arrive on the day of the wedding.

Grace and Jardin were kind enough to leave a review on Wedding Wire about their experience working with me, this is what they said:

"Cambrae was a blessing for our wedding experience from start to finish. She was so flexible and accommodating and a joy to work with. We had a wonderful time with our shoots and we LOVE our photos. She did such wonderful job and we can't recommend her enough. She is professional, organized, proactive, and an excellent communicator. If you get the chance to work with her, do it!"

Grace and Jardin ordered some beautiful large premium prints to decorate the walls of their home. This is such a great way to enjoy your photos and relive the love and feeling of your wedding day for many years to come.