You’ll have to look twice when looking at Athena and Alex’s elopement location! Yep – you’re seeing it right… Oregon! One look at those ocean waves and the vibrant tropical florals by Anderson Florist and your heart takes you right to Hawaiian paradise. These two had some of the most playful yet beautiful water photos, although our favorite moments have to go to sweet Brody for being the most adorable audience to what turned out to be a magical vow exchange.
How did you meet?
Craigslist. LOL, no but really.. I (the bride) was uprooting from my home on the central coast of California to central Oregon and was in search for a place to rent. I came across Alex’s quirky ad and 3 months later, we were housemates, and just a couple months after that, inseparable lovers. I should mention, Alex was a single, full-time father at the time to a wonderful 2 yo boy named Brody. I fell completely in love with the BOTH of them!
What is your proposal story?
Two and a half years later, we took a family vacation to Hawaii. After one long day of beaching and eating, Alex took us on a short hike by the Maka Pu’u lighthouse down to a private beach. As soon as we got to the beautiful beach, with not a single person in sight, Alex got down on one knee and said so many beautiful things that I will never remember because I was in complete shock. A real actual surprise! I was especially surprised when someone came out of the bushes with a camera and started photographing us in our moment full of tears and ugly cry-face smiles. I said YES! Meanwhile, our little Brody now 3 1/2 yo, has no clue what’s going on and is frolicking in the shallow water near by.
Tell us about your attire choices.
Our engagement session was a complete surprise to me, so I had absolutely nothing planned out as far as attire.
What were your favorite parts of the day?
Massage is my jam! Like hands down my most favorite thing of all time is going to get a massage. I’ll never forget that earlier in that day, Alex(who never goes to get massages, EVER) decided that he needed an hour getaway for his massage appointment. I was so shocked that he was getting one and didn’t include me! Turns out, he was so extremely nervous and desperate to relax and that was the only thing he could think to do for himself. Also, during his proposal when the photographer came about, ALL I could think about was my crazy salty messy hair!
Do you have any advice for couples planning their weddings now?
Eloping is the way to go! If traditions are not of most importance to you or your family, then by all means – elope! The beautiful thing about eloping is that you can alter it in so many different ways that is just the right fit for you and yours. Take time to research, and source your goods. DIY whenever possible! When it comes down to the time-crunching end, it is what it is and just roll with what you’ve got and know that so long as you have a wonderful photographer, as we did, everything will be beautiful!