Every Pacific Northwest couple plans around the same question: will the mountain show up? Kate and Perry chose the Crag Rat Hut in Hood River partly because, on a clear day, Mount Hood rises right behind the ceremony area. On their wedding day, it stayed behind the clouds.

They still have their big Columbia River Gorge views on film. That’s because of a session we shot the day before at Rowena Crest, a place that meant something to Perry long before it meant something to us.

The day before at Rowena Crest

Rowena Crest Viewpoint sits high above the Columbia River on the Oregon side of the Gorge, with the famous Rowena Loops winding below it. Perry grew up in Washington, just across the river. Standing up there, he was looking back toward home.

The sky was clear. Kate wore a short white dress, Perry wore his green suit, and we had the river, the cliffs and the stone overlook all to ourselves. Those are the wide, sweeping Gorge shots in their film, and none of them came from the wedding day.

Why a day-before session is worth it in the Pacific Northwest

• It’s insurance against the weather. Mountains and clouds don’t follow a wedding timeline. A second day doubles your chances of clear views.
• You can go somewhere the wedding day can’t. Rowena Crest is about a half-hour east of Hood River. That’s an easy drive the day before and a hard one between the ceremony and dinner.
• Pick a place that means something. The best locations aren’t just pretty. Perry’s connection to this stretch of the Gorge is what makes those shots feel like theirs.
• There’s no rush. Without guests waiting, you can relax, laugh and actually enjoy being in front of the camera.

Why they chose the Crag Rat Hut

The Crag Rat Hut sits in the hills above Hood River, surrounded by pear orchards and forest. It feels less like a wedding venue and more like a cabin in the woods with everyone you love. It’s small and intimate, and that changes how a wedding day works.

Friends and family helped set out the chairs for the ceremony. Kate and Perry are avid board gamers, so the tables had games on them for guests to pick up and play. It’s the kind of day where nobody is a spectator.

Kate got ready right inside the hut, with her details laid out and her people around her.

A first look, the other way around

Most first looks have the groom waiting with his back turned. Kate and Perry flipped it. Kate waited among the trees, red book in hand, and Perry walked out to meet her.

Right after, they read private vows to each other with the orchards and hills behind them. Saying them before the ceremony gave them the time and quiet that a crowd of guests never would.

The street, the orchard and the road

Kate had a clear picture of how she wanted her day to look, and it wasn’t all postcard views. Some of their favorite portraits happened on a quiet orchard road and walking between the rows of pear trees.

Later, we found a dip in a busy road with Mount Adams on the horizon behind it. Between passing cars, Perry dipped Kate right in the middle of the lane. It’s one of our favorite frames of the year.

The ceremony

Kate came down the hut’s wooden stairs to a ceremony on the stone patio, with the orchards and hills falling away behind it. The clouds covered Mount Hood, but nobody in that crowd was looking at the mountain.

A reception that felt like a backyard party

Toasts happened inside the hut, then everyone moved outside to dance on the patio as the sun went down over the valley. Later in the night, Kate changed back into the short dress she wore at Rowena Crest. By the end, the whole crowd squeezed together for one last photo under the string lights.

Planning a wedding in Hood River or the Columbia River Gorge

• Don’t count on the mountain. Plan for the views you want, but have a backup way to get them.
• Book a session the day before. Pick a spot within an hour that means something to you.
• Make room for your people. At a small venue, letting friends and family help is part of the day, not a chore.
• Bring what you love. Board games, a favorite road, a book of vows. The details that are actually you make the best film.

Watch Kate and Perry’s full wedding film. Planning a wedding in Hood River, Portland or anywhere in the Pacific Northwest? See our wedding videography pricing or watch more films on our Love Stories page.

MMEshots films weddings across Texas, Virginia, Washington DC, Maryland, Florida and the Pacific Northwest. Love stories that feel like you.