Stylized Elopement in Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest

This shoot may have been the beginning of truly finding ourselves and our passions in this business. My soul felt alive with creativity and purpose capturing this scene in the forest with these two lovers. I am not sure that Greene Team Media will ever be the same again - but before I jump in to that, let’s back up a bit.

Nearly 4 months ago I was in the peak of wedding season in Wisconsin. I was happy and BUSY but my soul was yearning for more. I had always dreamt of capturing elopements within incredible scenery like I had seen all over Instagram. This was not a dream to help my social media feed look better or to go viral - elopements create for a unique opportunity to really know your bride and groom and to partner in creating true art that tells their very specific story.

If you didn’t know, I am a very emotionally driven human who desires genuine, purposeful connection in all that I do. I guess you can say that working in the traditional wedding space was not meeting my emotional needs as a photographer. I wanted something deeper, more authentic, with space and time to feel and be present. THIS was why I wanted to start our business in the first place - to meet people, hear about their specific + unique love story and to make this partnership built on mutual trust and respect to create incredible art that they can hold on to forever.

Anyways, I was yearning for more within the photography industry and I thought maybe, just maybe, I would find that emotional connection to my art and to others through adventure elopements. Here is where we get to the fun part.

I was chatting about this idea with my mom one day and about how it was pretty unlikely that I make it in the elopement space if I don’t have any elopement content to show potential clients. So we started to brainstorm ways we could capture real love and adventure elopement content before having elopement clients. This is where our idea came for the mountain elopement in Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest! My dad’s side of the family built a cabin off of Mountain Loop Highway in the 90’s for our families to enjoy for generations to come - sounds like the perfect spot to host a stylized shoot!

We asked a few of my recently married cousins if they would be interested and willing in modeling for us (think of it like a vow renewal, right? :) near the family cabin! Now the wheels started to turn - how are we going to make the most of this trip out to the mountains? We decided we would have one couple (Darby + Jonathan pictured below) model for us near the cabin in the mountains and our other cousin Megan and her husband, Ben, could model for us on the coast to capture something completely different!

So the planning began! All the way from Wisconsin I had to decide the creative direction for each elopement shoot and figure out how it was all going to come together in the end. I ended up researching and buying dried floral bouquets and boutonnieres from a shop on Etsy called theflowerpatch - they were PERFECT, I highly recommend! Going with a dried bouquet and boutonniere meant that I wouldn’t have to worry about keeping the flowers fresh in different climates and weather changes - aka stress free! I chose a bouquet and boutonniere combination that featured a darker red, orange, and yellow color scheme - this one would be perfect for our mountain views and evergreen trees. Darby ended up having a spare wedding dress from Lulu’s that she didn’t end up wearing for her own wedding that turned out to be perfect for this shoot! For Jonathan, we borrowed a blazer from another cousin in Seattle and the rest of his outfit is what he wore on his wedding day. Simple yet so beautiful - it was the perfect combination for these two lovebirds.

The plan was to have snowy trees and empty mountain roads for our shoot and while we found a snowy weekend to be there, the spots we chose for the ceremony and river photos were located a few hundred feet in elevation lower than where all the snow was sticking. Personally, I think it was perfect and I am glad we didnt have the snow on the trees. There is something about the moody forrest road surrounded by evergreens and light only coming from above that gives me all the feels.

It was FREEZING cold out there that day but Darby + Jonathan were CHAMPS in the rain and wind. We shot for about an hour total and in that short time we made some true magic. Both Tyler and myself were able to practice location scouting, shooting in completely different scenery than we are used to, and experimenting along the way. This was an invaluable experience that helped us grow, learn, practice, plan, experiment, invest, and so much more.

We care so deeply about providing a quality experience and product for our clients that we paid for this entire trip with our hard earned money just so we can show you how much we care - no sponsors, to partnerships, just us and our passion to grow and serve. We are practicing new techniques, pushing our boundaries, and always working to elevate our client experience to our future couples.

This is why I feel that this trip and this shoot has changed the way I see Greene Team Media and what we are all about. I believe I found my true passion being out in the wilderness with space to feel deeply and connect authentically.

Out here, with you and your person, is where my heart feels so alive.