3 Tips for Choosing Your Oregon Elopement Attire
When eloping out in nature, it can feel difficult to choose what to wear. You are probably feeling torn between wearing traditional wedding attire and wanting to stay comfortable during your adventure elopement. As an Oregon elopement photographer and someone who eloped myself, I’ve got three helpful tips as you decide on what to wear.
1) Proper Footwear is a Must
Seriously, for your safety, leave the heels and traction-less dress shoes behind for your elopement. Whether you are exploring the Oregon Coast for your elopement or chasing waterfalls for a Columbia River Gorge elopement, you need proper hiking boots with good traction. Twisting an ankle or suffering a fall on your elopement day is far from ideal. Trust me here, you will have so much more fun if you are wearing appropriate shoes.
Pro tip: You don’t have to stay in hiking boots the entire elopement day. Many couples will hike to a location in hiking boots and then change into traditional dress shoes for their ceremony and portraits. Options abound!
2) Choose Attire You Can Move In
One huge mistake I see couples make when it comes to their elopement attire is choosing clothing that is difficult to move in. Especially if you are planning to do any hiking or sitting during your elopement, make sure you are wearing something that allows you to do that.
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Pro tip: To test out your elopement attire, make sure you try sitting in it (even on the ground) and lift your knees up like you would if you were climbing up stairs or something higher. If that is impossible or uncomfortable, you may want to consider something else!
3) Make Sure Your Clothes and Accessories Won’t Totally Annoy You
Sure, the cathedral length veil and huge train look beautiful in the store when you are trying everything on… but the day of it can feel like a different story! And while long trains can be accommodated with a bustle, things like long veils are harder to manage (TBH, I don’t think I’ve met a bride that wasn’t totally annoyed by their veil being crooked, falling out, or catching on every passing object).
So as you decide on these details, it’s important to think ahead to how windy your location tends to be, how much walking you’ll be doing, and what activities you want to include in your day. If you think something like a huge veil or dress train would interfere, it may be better to go without.
Pro tip: If your heart is set on having a veil, but you want one that won’t annoy you, look into cape veils! They attach to your dress’s shoulder straps so it’s never crooked and never pulling on your head.
Your Elopement Photographer
As an elopement photographer, I help the couples I work with to scout the perfect elopement locations (like in the Columbia River Gorge, on the Oregon Coast, and in Bend and Central Oregon), plan the timeline and activities of their day, get gorgeous photos documenting their elopement story, and more. Basically, I’m here to help. You can learn more about my Oregon photography packages here!
