Surprise... We Eloped 🤍

The best days rarely go according to plan.

Hi friend! Welcome back to the Big Adventure Club.

Surprise... we eloped 🤍

After nearly eight years together, Anders and I finally got married.

There were a lot of reasons we chose to elope. Family dynamics, finances, and honestly... neither of us wanted to spend months planning a wedding.

We wanted a day that felt like us.

Once we had everything packed into the car and left Bend, I thought the hard part was over.

Then, about two hours into the drive, my phone lit up with weather alerts.

Thunderstorms.

Not just a chance of them, a forecast calling for lightning every few seconds during the exact time we were supposed to say our vows beside an alpine lake.

Thunderstorms are incredibly rare in this part of Eastern Oregon.

Of course they decided to show up on our wedding day.

For the next hour, we sat in the car refreshing weather apps, looking at maps, and trying to figure out if there was any way to salvage our original plan.

Eventually, we made the call.

We canceled the backpacking ceremony we’d been dreaming about.

Instead, we shifted everything to sunrise on the Alvord Playa.

It wasn’t the day we’d planned.

But somehow...

It became exactly the day we needed.

My bouquet of wildflowers somehow survived two days in the desert heat.

The curls I’d done before leaving Bend somehow lasted through two nights of camping.

I got ready at 3 a.m. with nothing but a tiny mirror, a headlamp, and the pitch-black quiet of the desert around me.

Instead of celebrating afterward with grilled steaks and a Newport Market OMG brownie, we celebrated two nights before.

And then the sun came up.

The desert turned pink. And gold.

The mountains glowed.

Looking back at the photos, you’d think we’d planned to get married on the playa all along.

Funny how life works sometimes.

I spent so much energy worrying about our original plan falling apart.

Instead, it made space for a day we’ll never forget.

This was only part one of our wedding celebrations. Next up is celebrating with our families this weekend, followed by a camping weekend with our friends.

I wouldn’t change a thing.

A few weeks ago, I shared all the unconventional “wedding rules” we decided to break, and why choosing a celebration that felt like us mattered so much more than following tradition. If you missed it, you can read it here.

Adventure has taught me this lesson over and over again: the best days rarely go according to plan.

Trails close. Storms roll in. Routes change.

You can spend all your energy wishing things had gone the way you imagined...

Or you can stay open to what the new plan might become.

Sometimes life asks you to let go of the picture you had in your head.

And every once in a while, what you find instead is even better.

I hope the next time your plans fall apart, whether it’s on a trail or somewhere in life, you remember that sometimes the detour becomes the story you’ll tell for years.

💙 If you’re looking for the exact backpacking gear I use, you can find all my favorites here.

Chat soon,

Lauren (@laurensbigadventure)