North Bend Styled Elopement

Zoe and I arrived at the trailhead to a dusting of snow while it was still dark outside. The one thing that was visible was the cloud cover. There was a heavy fog everywhere. Our plan was to hike two miles to an overlook and take photos at sunrise, but I was beginning to wonder if it would be worth the time, considering we could get the same foggy images where we were.

We strapped on micro spikes to our hiking boots and headed out anyways. Daylight was an hour away, regardless. After hiking a while, patches of blue sky were visible between the trees every once in a while, and when we reached the last bend in the trail, golden light was spilling onto the snow.

The trees were enchanting. They had wind-blown snow stuck to one side of every trunk, and the branches bowed from the weight of the recent snow. The fog was still thick, but moving. Maybe we’d have a view within the hour.

Zoe quickly changed out of her hiking attire to her formal dress. She brought the perfect dress to contrast the snow and stayed warm by wearing her hiking pants underneath it! Right before we needed to wrap up the shoot, the clouds gave us a glimpse of the view we had earned. Next time I hike here, maybe I’ll be graced with seeing the mountains I know are behind those clouds!

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