Reagan and Noah’s story with me started in Phoenix, where I photographed their engagement photos. When they later asked if I would come to Oregon to photograph their wedding, I was so very thrilled. I had never been to Oregon, and it was one of those states I still needed to check off my map. If you know me, you know I absolutely LOVE to travel. Getting to go somewhere new with a couple I already knew? Of course I said yes.
They booked early, which gave us time to secure flights without adding an extra travel fee for their wedding. I can’t promise that will work out for every destination, but it did for Reagan and Noah, and I was happy we could make it happen.
From Phoenix engagement photos to an Oregon wedding
One of my favorite things about photographing an engagement session before a wedding is getting to know the couple before the wedding day arrives. I already knew Reagan and Noah were laid back, and I had a feeling their wedding would be the same way.
There’s something special about being invited along for both parts of the story. We started with their engagement photos in the Phoenix landscape I know so well. Then I got to pack my bags, head to Portland, and photograph them on their wedding day in a setting that looked completely different.
A morning surrounded by Portland green
The morning began at an Airbnb where everyone was getting ready. Outside, the Portland forest looked soft and hazy, almost like something out of a Twilight movie. I’m used to photographing outdoors in Arizona, where the desert has a beauty all its own, so I was taking in every bit of that green.
That was one of the things I was most excited to photograph. Oregon gave us a very different backdrop from the one we had for their engagement session in Phoenix, while Reagan and Noah still felt just as comfortable and easygoing in front of my camera.
Their ceremony at Hoyt Arboretum
Reagan and Noah held their wedding ceremony at Hoyt Arboretum in Portland. Being there among the trees was stunning. The green absolutely did not disappoint.
They were also surrounded by so much of their family from Iowa. That’s what I love about wedding days: a place can take your breath away, but the people gathered there are what make it your day. Reagan and Noah had both, a beautiful forest setting and the people they wanted beside them.
I had expected a relaxed day with these two, and that’s exactly what it felt like. It was such a joy to photograph their wedding after getting to know them here in Phoenix.
Yes, I travel for weddings
I’m a Phoenix wedding photographer, but Phoenix isn’t the edge of my map. Traveling is something I genuinely love, and Reagan and Noah’s Oregon wedding is the kind of experience that reminds me why. I got to follow a couple’s story from their engagement photos at home to their wedding in a place I had never visited before.
If you’re planning a wedding outside Arizona and would love to bring a photographer you feel comfortable with, I’d love to hear about it. You can explore my wedding photography and tell me where your plans are taking you. The earlier we talk, the more time we have to work through the travel details together.
Reagan and Noah, thank you for inviting me to Oregon and trusting me with both your engagement photos and your wedding day. What a beautiful state to finally check off my map, and what a lovely reason to go.