From Sparks Lake to Smith Rock: Amber and Gabby’s Epic Bend, Oregon Elopement

Amber and Gabby’s intimate elopement was a celebration of love and adventure at one of their favorite places: Bend, Oregon. With a small guest list, they chose Sparks Lake for their serene ceremony, surrounded by mountain views. Their reception, held at an Airbnb overlooking the striking red rock of Smith Rock State Park, featured a five-course tasting meal and a sunset dance. They made a nostalgic stop at Dutch Bros, where they first met, and ended with a romantic hike and moonlit photos at Smith Rock. Get all the details below.

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About This Small Wedding & Elopement Adventure

Photography by Emilee Setting Photo

“Amber and Gabby knew they wanted to have a small wedding, under 20 people. They also knew they wanted to elope to their second favorite place in the world that they’ve traveled to, Bend, Oregon. They knew they wanted a diverse wedding day with time to explore. They had their ceremony at Sparks Lake overlooking the mountains. They held their reception at an Airbnb, overlooking the beautiful red rock of Smith Rock State Park. In between the ceremony and the reception, they actually stopped at Dutch Bros for coffee in their wedding attire. This is where they had first met, when Amber got coffee from Gabby, and Gabby had written her phone number on the lid. For their reception, they had a five-course tasting meal and danced in the glow of the slowly setting sun for their first dance. Finally, we took some more solo time to go to Smith Rock State Park to hike around and explore. We ended with taking photos of the moon together and listening to their favorite music.” [Emilee, the photographer]

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Planning Your Elopement in Oregon

“Luckily, a lot of locations near Bend, Oregon, don’t require a permit unless there is a group of over 75 people. So for the ceremony at Sparks Lake, we didn’t need one! The same applies to Smith Rock. And of course, there’s fencing around the trails, it’s important to stay on them so no one hurts regrowth areas.

Bend is really beautiful, and there are a lot of ‘no hike’ locations as well as breathtaking ones that are just a few miles away. If you want a ‘no hike’ location, it’s smart to elope here in the fall. We get around 4 million tourists a year, and many of them come in Summer, making the no hike locations extremely popular. For wildflowers, July is the best month, and getting out and doing a hike will be the best way to see them while still avoiding crowds. Smith Rock, where the couple took their portraits, is also less busy in the Fall. However, crowds die down a ton during sunset, which is always an amazing time for beautiful photos anyway.” [Emilee, the photographer]

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About the Couple

“Amber and Gabby were incredible to work with. Their main priority was to take in every moment of the day. They didn’t want to rush through anything and planned a quite relaxing day. Some elopements are very adventurous, which is super fun, but this couple really aspired to be able to relax somewhere beautiful with their friends and family.” [Emilee, the photographer]

Memorable Moments

From the photographer:

“Personally, my favorite moments were them taking in the day slowly. Dancing in the sunset right at their dinner location and just enjoying each other and their guests. It was a perfect blend of alone time and time with guests. After dinner, we went to do portraits at Smith Rock. We brought a speaker and ran around through sunset all having fun together, and capturing candid moments.”

Final Words of Advice

“One of my favorite tips that I like to get couples, is that vacation rentals can be a really awesome way to enjoy a beautiful space in privacy. Whether you go with an Airbnb or any other vacation rental agency, there are a ton of options on stunning private land. It’s imperative to check with the host and make sure they’re okay with your wedding plans. However, this can be an ideal way to spend time out in nature somewhere really beautiful without fighting for views and parking with other people.

I think adding an intimate reception on private land is an amazing choice for a variety of different couples eloping. Whether you want to camp on private land or host something small with guests, there are even properties with so much acreage that you can hike in your own rental backyard. Some have rivers, waterfalls, tall trees, mountain views, you name it. Gabby and Amber did just that with their Airbnb, only leaving twice their entire wedding day for a ceremony, and sunset portraits.” [Emilee, the photographer]

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Photos From This Wedding Adventure