Sunrise Elopement at Crater Lake National Park

Alisha & Donald’s sunrise elopement at Crater Lake National Park was a dream come true. Not just because we had one of the most breathtaking sunrises I’ve ever seen. Not just because exploring an island within a crater in an exploded ancient volcano in Oregon is one of the coolest things ever. And not just because chasing waterfalls, stargazing, and goofing off are the three most fun activities. But because Alisha and Donald are truly special people, full of kindness and laughter and thirst for adventure.

Their elopement love story

When asked how they met, Donald and Alisha could say they “ran into each other.” They literally met while running. Sparks flew, and Donald called his friend later that day and said, “I met my future wife today.” If that isn’t the most romantic thing you’ve ever heard, shut up! Later, he cheekily set an alarm on Alisha’s phone for 5pm entitled simply, “Kiss Donald.” With a huge grin on her face, she obliged on their elopement day with a big smackaroo. They also challenge each other to plank for 3 minutes each day- and their wedding day was no exception. They live and run in West Virginia with their 4 cats (talk about dream clients.)

Elopement Ceremony at Sunrise

When the couple asked me at the end of the night what my favorite part of the day had been, I knew. Their sunrise ceremony on the rim, of course. Every sunrise comes with a chance of clouds, so when the skies were clear and the red fireball sun started coming over the rim, I was literally jumping up and down with excitement. It was the convergence of everything a photographer could want. Stunning scenery and golden light. Their vulnerability to bare their hearts so openly and share their emotions. And plenty of time to get all the angles to truly capture what it felt like to be there. their sunrise ceremony was the BEST. We even spotted some Clark’s Nutcrackers – which A&D later called “Chuck’s nutcutters.” which is what I’ll be calling them from now on.

Crater Lake Elopement Photographer

Our heroes chose to invite no guests to their elopement so that they didn’t have to pick favorite friends and hurt others’ feelings. So it was just me, them, and our wonderful officiant on the rim that day. When Jimmie told a well-timed That’s What She Said Joke during the ceremony, I was unprepared, and I choked up laughing. I tried not to disturb them, but they all checked if I was ok. I squatted behind 4 blades of grass to hide myself while explaining “I’m just choking.”
And that’s when Donald hit me with:
“That’s what she said.”
I fell over.
My legs went up.
And I farted.

I thought I was far enough away to distance my new favorite people from my mistake. But alas. After the ceremony, I sheepishly admitted what I had let out. Jimmie, in kindness, said he hadn’t heard it. But then Donald, with his southern west Virginia accent, simply said, “I did.” Oh boy did I turn red. Later, when reminiscing about their day, Alisha said their day had been perfect. “I wouldn’t change a thing”, she said. I would change 1 thing..

Best Elopement Officiant in Oregon

Alisha and Donald chose Officiant Jimmie to marry them, because I told them to. Well, let me explain. Jimmie has a reputation in the elopement world of being unstuffy, professionally unprofessional, and wildly funny. He was everything and more: a cheery instant-bff even before sunrise. He conducted a meaningful handfasting and even supplied the newlyweds with ring pops after the ceremony. In return, Donald gave Jimmy a pair of STIHL suspenders as a nod to his profession. We popped Jimmie’s sunrise elopement at Crater Lake cherry too – it was his first time at this stunning elopement location in Oregon. I recommend Jimmy ten times over for any elopement in the PNW – if you’re nice to him, he will even hold your light stand!

Wizard Island Elopement Photos

Boat tours to Wizard Island, the volcano shaped island inside crater lake, have been closed for years. When Alisha and Donald booked me more than a year ago, we hoped and hoped and hoped that it would re-open. I visited Crater Lake in 2023, and it was still closed. But luck was on our side, and just a few months before this August sunrise elopement at Crater Lake, we booked our tickets. Hands down, this was one of the coolest places I’ve ever gotten to explore, and it was a dream come true to do it with these newlyweds. We had lunch at the top, and then took a few epic Wizard Island elopement photos around the crater rim. Since there was nobody else around, I put on their favorite song for them to dance to. On our hike down, Donald made sure I turned off the music because we didn’t want to be “those people.” If you know, you know.

Waterfalls in Crater Lake National Park

Our day consisted of many short hikes, and in all we hiked over 9 miles with almost 1800′ feet of combined gain. We even got to take a dip in Crater Lake from the shore of Wizard Island. At the shore, I got creative with some double exposures of their sunrise ceremony combined with the turquoise waters. After that big adventure, we hiked a mile through the woods to one of Crater Lake’s waterfalls. The lush valley was just what we needed after a hot day in the sun. They ate my custom elopement anti-hanger trail mix in the forest. And then, because these two are ultra runners, they went for a run together. On strava, the trail was vaguely heart-shaped. Alisha’s long time rule has been that piggyback rides are for married people ONLY. Now that they’d tied the knot, it was time for a piggyback victory lap! We ended the night with stargazing at the rim, and then collapsed in pure exhaustion.

Congratulations Alisha and Donald and may happiness and laughter prevail in all your future adventures together!
-Lucy Schultz

Want a National Park Elopement like theirs? Contact me!

Alisha and Donald received over 900 photos and 19 gifs just 5 weeks after their 14-hour elopement day. I specialize in planning, executing and photographing epic National Park Elopements all over the American West and the world. See my elopement location resource guides here and learn more about eloping in Crater Lake here.