we eloped!

August 22, 2021 | Maui, Hawaii

Alison & Andrew

The Wedding

We've been engaged since January, 2018…

Originally we had planned on getting married on August 8th, 2020. (8-8-2020 has a nice pattern to it.)

But then: Covid!

So, we rescheduled for August 21st, 2021. (8-21-21…still nice!)

But then: the venue went out of business!

At that point we had planned our wedding twice, and decided we’d wait to see how things would shake out before we tried again.

In the interim, we planned a vacation for just the two of us in Maui.

As the trip got closer, we were beginning to realize that maybe we wouldn’t be able to have the wedding we’d been planning anytime soon. “Maybe we should just elope while we’re in Maui…” we joked.

And then, 18 days before we were to leave: “Maybe…we should elope while we’re in Maui,” we agreed.

Excited that it just might work, we set into action planning our wedding for a third time. We lucked out and found a photographer who could coordinate the whole thing. He showed us pictures of a few of his favorite locations, and when we told him which one we really liked, he told us, “that location doesn’t really have a name. It’s a cliff right off the highway,” which we thought was fantastic! We already had a lot of the pieces from the first couple times we’d planned the wedding–the dress, the rings, a clear sense of what we liked–and we were able to pull together the rest. (Though, Andrew’s last minute-decision to get a new suit, to better coordinate with an ocean setting, made for some excitement, as supply chain issues meant he had to piece together a suit from stores in 3 different cities.)

And then, on 8-22-21, we met our officiant on the side of the highway, and walked out to the cliff. During the ceremony, Tropical Storm Linda rolled in, almost like a nod to the Portland weddings we’d originally planned. So we exchanged our vows in the rain, on a cliff, on the side of the highway, in Maui.

It was a very different ceremony than we’d originally planned, but ultimately it was perfect. Alison married Andrew. And likewise, Andrew married Alison.

We’re looking forward to when we can eventually celebrate our marriage with everyone. But for now, it’s just the two of us (plus Archie), and we’re officially the family we’ve been for a long time. And that’s pretty great.

Photos

  • A beaded wedding dress hangs from a tree, wafting in the breeze
  • Alison, in a painted silk robe, holds the dress while standing in a red clay parking lot infront of the rental car.
  • Alison, in a painted silk robe, holds the dress while standing in a red clay parking lot while looking off into the horizon.
  • Andrew stands by the open trunk of the jeep, buttoning his left shirt sleeve.
  • Alison, in her wedding dress, tying her hiking boots
  • Andrew and Alison see eachother in their wedding clothes for the first time.
  • Euta, the officiant, smiles at the camera while holding a conch shell, and two leis
  • Euta stands with the ocean to his back, barefoot, and infront of a small rug, while blowing into the conch shell.
  • While Euta blows the conch toward the ocean, Andrew and Alison walk into frame holding hands.
  • Holding hands and standing on a small rug, Andrew looks at Alison during the ceremony.
  • Andrew and Alison stand closely together under an umbrella andrew is holding in his left hand. Euta looks at them with his hands held together and speaking.
  • Andrew and Alison look at each other, beaming, while Euta stands next to them smiling as well.
  • Andrew and Alison lean on one another, their forheads touching, while Euta blows the conch. The ocean and clouds behind them.
  • Euta holds paperwork that Andrew is signing while Alison holds onto his left arm.
  • Andrew and Alison stand together on a cliff, the grey-blue ocean crashing on rocks behind and below them.
  • Andrew leans toward Alison's left ear, holding onto her waist. She holds onto his and smiles.
  • A close-up of Andrew and Alison just about to kiss. Their eyes closed.
  • A slightly distant close-up of Andrew and Alison kissing with the grey-blue ocean out of focus in the background.
  • Andrew and Alison stand together in a red clay field with patches of yellow dry grass, mist rolling in, and green shrubs in the further background. They hold hands. Andrew looks at Alison, smiling. Alison looks at Andrew, smiling, while holding the train of her dress up with her left hand.
  • Andrew and Alison hug, Andrew's hands around her waist, her hands around his shoulders, their forheads touching. In the background are more cliffs, and further back the ocean.
  • Andrew and Alison hold hands, looking at one another, smiling, as they walk toward the camera on a red clay path through tall yellow grass.
  • Alison stands alone on a rocky bluff, a feild of yellow grass in the background, and green trees and hills in the further background. She holds her dress up with her left hand, allowing the light to shine through the train. She looks off into the distance to her right.
  • Andrew stands with his hands in the pockets of his dark blue suit, the buttons on the jacket all undone, and smiles while looking toward the right edge of the photo.
  • Andrew and Alison walk away from the camera, downhill, on a path with short yellow grass. Andrew is slightly ahead of Alison, holding her hand.
  • A distant shot with Andrew and Alison in the midframe. They stand in the mowed area of the field, cliffs and the ocean to their left, red clay pathways to their right. They hold hands and stand a little far apart, looking at one another.
  • A distant shot with Andrew and Alison in the midframe. They stand in the mowed area of the field, cliffs and the ocean to their left, red clay pathways to their right. The hold eachother close and kiss.
While Euta blows the conch toward the ocean, Andrew and Alison walk into frame holding hands.
  • A beaded wedding dress hangs from a tree, wafting in the breeze
  • Alison, in a painted silk robe, holds the dress while standing in a red clay parking lot infront of the rental car.
  • Alison, in a painted silk robe, holds the dress while standing in a red clay parking lot while looking off into the horizon.
  • Andrew stands by the open trunk of the jeep, buttoning his left shirt sleeve.
  • Alison, in her wedding dress, tying her hiking boots
  • Andrew and Alison see eachother in their wedding clothes for the first time.
  • Euta, the officiant, smiles at the camera while holding a conch shell, and two leis
  • Euta stands with the ocean to his back, barefoot, and infront of a small rug, while blowing into the conch shell.
  • While Euta blows the conch toward the ocean, Andrew and Alison walk into frame holding hands.
  • Holding hands and standing on a small rug, Andrew looks at Alison during the ceremony.
  • Andrew and Alison stand closely together under an umbrella andrew is holding in his left hand. Euta looks at them with his hands held together and speaking.
  • Andrew and Alison look at each other, beaming, while Euta stands next to them smiling as well.
  • Andrew and Alison lean on one another, their forheads touching, while Euta blows the conch. The ocean and clouds behind them.
  • Euta holds paperwork that Andrew is signing while Alison holds onto his left arm.
  • Andrew and Alison stand together on a cliff, the grey-blue ocean crashing on rocks behind and below them.
  • Andrew leans toward Alison's left ear, holding onto her waist. She holds onto his and smiles.
  • A close-up of Andrew and Alison just about to kiss. Their eyes closed.
  • A slightly distant close-up of Andrew and Alison kissing with the grey-blue ocean out of focus in the background.
  • Andrew and Alison stand together in a red clay field with patches of yellow dry grass, mist rolling in, and green shrubs in the further background. They hold hands. Andrew looks at Alison, smiling. Alison looks at Andrew, smiling, while holding the train of her dress up with her left hand.
  • Andrew and Alison hug, Andrew's hands around her waist, her hands around his shoulders, their forheads touching. In the background are more cliffs, and further back the ocean.
  • Andrew and Alison hold hands, looking at one another, smiling, as they walk toward the camera on a red clay path through tall yellow grass.
  • Alison stands alone on a rocky bluff, a feild of yellow grass in the background, and green trees and hills in the further background. She holds her dress up with her left hand, allowing the light to shine through the train. She looks off into the distance to her right.
  • Andrew stands with his hands in the pockets of his dark blue suit, the buttons on the jacket all undone, and smiles while looking toward the right edge of the photo.
  • Andrew and Alison walk away from the camera, downhill, on a path with short yellow grass. Andrew is slightly ahead of Alison, holding her hand.
  • A distant shot with Andrew and Alison in the midframe. They stand in the mowed area of the field, cliffs and the ocean to their left, red clay pathways to their right. They hold hands and stand a little far apart, looking at one another.
  • A distant shot with Andrew and Alison in the midframe. They stand in the mowed area of the field, cliffs and the ocean to their left, red clay pathways to their right. The hold eachother close and kiss.

Video

Registry

We’re so grateful for all the love and support. If you’re interested, we created a wedding registry on Blueprint.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact us.

Thanks for helping us make our house a home!

Visit our registry

Special thanks to...

Our Families

For supporting us in our constantly changing plans, for being understanding when we told them we were going to elope on vacation, and for keeping our wedding secret long enough for us to announce it!

Archie's Care Team

Christina, Paul, Maria, Oliver, and Lexie, for taking care of Archie while we were in Hawaii.

Our Team

Even though this was the third wedding we’ve planned, we still pulled it together in just over two weeks, which wouldn’t have been possible without the amazing people that helped us put it all together.