Over the past couple of years, I've photographed more and more elopements— I absolutely love that they are becoming more popular! For Harry (he/him) and Sara (she/her), eloping was an easy decision. Sara said, "We joke that eloping is a family tradition. Harry's parents and grandparents eloped and my grandparents eloped, as well. Harry gets a kick out of telling people that we had as many people there as was legally necessary. We're also both incredibly awkward and the solitude of eloping allowed us the freedom to be our authentically weird selves without worrying about what others would think. I joke that we had to elope because we couldn't justify an eight-minute-long first dance to the classic "Get Low," which is what Harry was reciting when we would break out in funky moves."
"We were originally looking to elope in Europe, but you know, money. And covid. And time. Love is patient, but we are not. We could not wait to be husband and wife, so we decided to look at affordable alternatives that would allow us to push up the timeline while also honoring the safety precautions in place due to the pandemic. We decided that the Gorge might be a nifty option. Plus, I love the outdoors (hiking, running, kayaking, etc.) and Harry is big into fantasy. The Gorge seemed like the perfect backdrop to fit both those interests! I remembered seeing treehouses and cabins available to rent when researching potential staycations, so I checked availability, and the Looking Glass had a single upcoming date open: a random Thursday in April, two months away. So we went for it!"
In the afternoon on that random Thursday, we drove up a winding gravel road through hillsides covered in spring wildflowers, ferns, and lush trees to find the Looking Glass treehouses peeking out of the canopy above. Soon Sara, Harry, and their officiant Luke joined us and they unpacked the cars in the rain, taking turns holding umbrellas for each other. Sara put the finishing touches on their cakes and they danced while they helped each other get dressed. "Dancing goofily with Harry helped to ground me throughout the day and relieve stress. It's something silly we do (poorly) at home, in our kitchen, waiting for coffee, etc., so it helped me stay focused on him and us and just have fun."
Sara DIYed several things for the wedding— she painted the small "we eloped" sign based on a picture of Red River Gorge and made TWO wedding cakes. "Sara is a home baker and wanted to give it a go, which she mildly regrets because it was hella stressful to transport (and the kitchen still hasn't recovered)." One cake was "hers," and incorporated some of her favorite flavors, and the other was "his," including dragons (painted by Harry) hoarding their treasure! Inside Harry's cake were mini red velvet cookies— a throwback to the first time Sara and Harry ever met when he offered her a red velvet sandwich cookie and she was too aghast at him interrupting a conversation she was having with another patron to decline even though she hates red velvet.
"We also tried to honor our meeting place (Luke's Coffee) by bringing a beautiful pour-over and a bunch of our favorite coffee cups (how can one decide??). But SOMEONE forgot our coffee beans, leaving us with nothing but a bunch of empty mugs (and hearts). Luke, our extroverted hero, raced over to the next campsite to ask those cabin dwellers if they had any coffee to sacrifice to a newlywed couple. In awe, they gave him a bag, which was the perfect complement to our breakfast-for-dinner "reception for two" after."
"Our wedding is brought to you by etsy. We tried to support as many independent sellers as we could while throwing this shindig together in a matter of weeks." They included a glass ring box shaped like a D20, champagne flutes and cake servers that featured dragons, HP-themed pajamas, as well as vow books so they could display their personalized vows in their home after the wedding.
"My earrings were birds and Harry's tie bar was a fish. When I asked Harry for his last name while adding it to my contacts before we started dating, he blurted out, "FOGLE MEANS BIRD IN GERMAN," which was more information than I needed. I started calling him "Harry Bird" after that. My maiden name is "Fisher," so we decided to incorporate that into our wedding, as well. Interestingly, we were watching my favorite movie (Ever After). and noticed a quote in which Danielle asks Leonardo Da Vinci, "A bird may love a fish, signore, but where will they live?" and he responds, "Then I shall have to make you wings." Even more fascinating is that this same riddle is uttered in Harry's favorite musical— Fiddler on the Roof! We definitely did not take that as a sign... (We did. We did take it as a sign. We're cheesy like that.)"
"Our officiant was the impeccable Luke Gifford. He owned the coffee shop where we met— Harry worked as a barista and I frequented there during grad school to "work" (aka wonder when Harry would waltz in). Luke, his wife, and another member of the staff were waiting impatiently for us to get together. As Luke noted during his speech, he texted his wife the first time Harry sat down at my table excited that it was finally happening! Luke is a good friend to us both and we could not have imagined a better person to marry us!"
"Our flowers came from Jeanie Gorrell Floral Designs— she did a fabulous job capturing the wildflower, bohemian, woodland fairy vibe I was after. I wasn't super particular about which flowers were included with the exception of delphinium. Harry's nanny's name is Delphia, but because we were eloping, she wouldn't be present. We still wanted to honor her in some way... plus, the pops of blue were gorgeous!"
Venue: Looking Glass Treehouse through Canopy Crew // Officiant: Luke Gifford // Photography: Sarah Katherine Davis // Videography: Joyce Barbour // Dress: Maggie Sottero via High Vibe Bride on Poshmark // Florals: Jeanie Gorrell Floral Designs // Sara's Boots & Socks: Dillards // Hair Piece: David's Bridal // Engagement Ring: Joe Rosenberg // Earrings: VRjewels on Etsy // Sara's Band: LoveRingDesign on Etsy // Vest, Pants, & Shirt: Murano // Harry's Boots: Steve Madden // Tie: The Tie Bar // Tiebar & Harry's Band: TheRomanVintageShop // Vow Books: StudioTenebris on Etsy // Glass Ring Box: GLASSOBJECTSstore on Etsy // Dragon Ring Box: DRATAR on Etsy // Hangers: TheReadheadDesignShop on Etsy // Champagne Flutes, Cake Knife & Serve: FellowshipFoundry // PJ Bottoms: BridalPartyRobeShop on Etsy // Sweatshirts: MyPartyTees on Etsy // Gum Paste Flowers: SugarFlowersByShaile on Etsy // Moth: SweetpeaSugarArt on Etsy // Ladybug Sprinkles: SweetSugarPearl on Etsy // Cake Topper: designLeeStudio // Candy Crystals: sweetniks