Laurel McConnell Photography

Gavin and Susan’s wedding day to-do list read like this:
1. run 5k wedding day run
2. get married
3. watch for the green flash as the sun sets
4. bonfire on the beach and star gazing
Their September wedding (yes, September! I’m still writing about September!) was set in the lush Olympic National Park, at the Kalaloch Lodge in Forks, Washington. A sweet little rustic property with scattered private cabins, Kalaloch is a favorite in the summer, but also in the winter for romantic evenings, as the coast is stormy and foggy and makes for great cuddle weather. The day they got married the sun was shining, the wind was blowing, and everyone was smiling.

Surrounded by their closest friends and families, folks came from everywhere to enjoy the weekend. They had cute little welcome bags and bouquets of flowers waiting in each guest room. The bags had everything you’d need: trail mix, a map of the surrounding forest, daytime cloud watching guide, nighttime star gazing guide, and some Vitamin C mix (awwww!). The day was so laid back and fun, the ceremony was so sweet and intimate. No chairs here- guests stood close. And I mean CLOSE!

We loved chasing the birds…

Here everyone was waiting, watching the sunset, hoping to see the mysterious green flash as the sun hits the horizon. Never saw it….
Isn’t this the cutest idea for a slideshow: Gavin and Susan sent each of their friends a huge picture of themselves. Their assignment was to take a picture of themselves holding Gavin and Susan’s picture, wherever they were. I have to say, there were some mighty creative locations in that slideshow!

After the party died down, the hard core folks hiked down to the beach to build the world’s largest bonfire. What a great way to end your wedding day celebration- around a huge warm fire, built just for you, by all of your friends. With all of your friends, as the full moon is straight up above and the waves are crashing on the shore. (and the wind is brrrrrr blowing!)

According to the welcome packet that Gavin’s dad put together about the sky, this day was the Autumnal Equinox and the moon was to be a waxing gibbous moon. It was so bright outside, even in the middle of the night! Here are a couple of super neat shots we did with our (nearly frozen!) camera on the tripod. The exposures were so long that in the first shot, you don’t even see the water, just the moon shining on the waves. In the second shot, you can even see the stars- remember this was shot in the middle of the night in the pitch black! It amazes me what the camera can see that our naked eye can’t!