Born and raised in California, some of the world’s most famous coastlines, and, let me tell you… the Oregon Coast wins.

One of the places along the Oregon Coast where I’ve photographed the most elopements is Oswald West State Park. Just a few miles south of the iconic Cannon Beach, this piece of land has nearly everything you could want from the Oregon Coast.

Mossy forests.

Sandy beaches.

Plunging cliffs.

Even a waterfall… yes, a beach waterfall.

Oswald West is the perfect choice for an elopement, whether you’re spending all day adventuring and celebrating, or just catching a sunset ceremony like Natalie and Brad.

The feature of Oswald West that captures most eloping couples’ imagination is the stunning set of cliffs at Elk Flats.

If you’ve spent any time on Pinterest or Instagram searching “Oregon Coast Elopement” or “where to elope in Oregon,” you’ve likely seen pictures of this spot… in fact, that may be how you found this blog post…

It’s not hard to understand why people choose to spend part of their elopement day at this spot… it’s so so so gorgeous. I freaking love it there, and I’d like to take a few sentences to dazzle you with fun natural history facts about this spot…

Ok, so, obviously, cliffs are rocks. But not all rocks are created equal. Some of the cliffs along the Oregon Coast are more stable than others. For example, the cliffs at Cape Kiwanda are made of sandstone and frequently erode and tumble into the ocean (for that reason, they’ve put up fences to keep people safe).

The cliffs of Oswald West are made of a much harder igneous rock called basalt. Specifically, it is part of the Columbia River Basalt Group, which stretches from Idaho all the way out to the Coast. Lava flowed from anywhere from around 16.7 to 5.5 million years ago. The hot spot (a plume of magma creeping up through the earth’s crust) that these flows came from is the same hot spot that is currently located underneath Yellowstone National Park. To me, this is crazy cool and interesting.

Some of the other areas of Oswald West that you may want to use for your elopement itinerary are: Short Sands Beach, the Old Growth Trail, or Cape Falcon.

Natalie and Brad had a gorgeous vow exchange at sunset, and as the sun went down, we took some lovely lantern portraits. Lantern elopement photos certainly had their trendy moment on social media, but I still find them quite enchanting.

A note on wedding trends– while it is nigh impossible to completely ignore and disavow elopement trends in this day and age, please do not let them completely steer your entire plan. Ever look at your parents’ wedding pictures and think to yourself “what were they thinking?” Well… some trends age well, most don’t. You know what WILL age well in your elopement photos? Images of you and your person having the time of your life because you planned a day that felt authentic to YOU.

All in all, if you’re wondering where to elope on the Oregon Coast, consider exploring Oswald West State Park as an option. And, if you would like help navigating the elopement planning process, please feel free to reach out.

Oregon Coast Elopement Photographer

I reside in Central Oregon, specifically Bend, but I travel all over the PNW for elopements. Even down the California coast as well. Many of my favorite elopement spots, and most frequent road trips, are along the Oregon Coast. The hike that made me fall in love with Oregon was, in fact, in Oswald West State Park.

I moved to the Pacific Northwest years ago and have since utilized my background in ecology, outdoor guiding and nature education to plan elopements for nature-loving folks. I believe, in my obviously biased mind, that this background offers a unique approach to elopement planning and photography.