Wedding Photography ~ Black Butte Ranch, OR

While most of my weddings are in Santa Cruz, Monterey, Carmel and the Bay Area, once in a while I get the opportunity to travel! This wedding was located at Black Butte Ranch near Sisters, Oregon, an took me beyond my usual range. First of all, it's an 1800 acre private resort community and insanely GORGEOUS. Anyone who knows me knows I love mountains, and I arrived to find a picture perfect valley surrounded by dramatic snow-capped peaks. 

There were forests, lakes, streams full of trout, and views that went on forever. The cabins and main reception hall had authentic rustic decor, and everything was perfect. The only thing making us nervous was the weather. Here's how that story played out:

As the bride was getting ready and putting on her gown, the wind was starting to howl and the raindrops were getting bigger. They had planned for an outdoor ceremony, but it was looking like we'd be resorting to plan "B." But even the large tent was shaking and rumbling with every gust.

The bride & groom previously told me they were flexible about doing a first look. We could have done the portrait session either before OR after the ceremony. But, the sky suddenly cleared and the sun came out just in time, so we jumped on the opportunity. I positioned the groom in an open field, and the bride followed to tap him on the shoulder. We managed to pull off an epic first look, couple's session, and even their wedding party photos before the rain drops started crashing down again!

We thought the ceremony would inevitably be in the tent, but the sky cleared once again. The chairs were quickly dried off with towels, and it was just as they'd imagined. Clouds rolled in and out, but the rain held back the rest of the day to allow for dancing, camp fires and s'mores in the beautiful, natural setting.