Pacific Northwest Elopement Photographer | North Cascades, Washington State Adventure Elopement | North Cascades Elopement Photographer
Fun-loving couple, Karson and Alex had their dream elopement this past summer in beautiful North Cascades National Park, Washington State. The Pacific Northwest is a stunning location to have an adventure elopement with its dramatic, mountainous landscapes and ever-changing weather!
Karson and Alex live in Tennessee and knew they wanted big mountains and an even bigger adventure for their special day, so when they saw me in the North Cascades for a shoot the year prior, they knew that it matched everything they were imagining! These guys reached out to me last year to begin planning and we originally planned to have their wedding on July 2nd, but in typical PNW fashion, it rained non-stop, and all of the cards lined up so we were able to postpone their elopement until the following day, July 3rd!
This was my first elopement I was able to shoot this year due to COVID and we could not have picked a better spot! I was so excited to get back out in nature to capture their love story. These two met a few years ago through mutual friends who now live in Australia. Their friends had planned to serve as their wedding officiants but unfortunately were unable to travel in the pandemic so I ended up stepping in at the last minute!
For the big day we selected a full eight mile hike up in the Cascades and met in the late afternoon (thanks 9pm sunsets!!) of in the trail head parking lot. Karson and Alex came prepared with instant coffee, hiking poles, and some special teddy bears that had been passed down through Alex’s side of the family; complete with their own little wedding outfits!
I normally don’t hike with poles but they sure came in handy as we ran into multiple snowy patches on the hike up. In a lot of ways it was a great metaphor for marriage and the occasional bumps in the road you may encounter on your journey. However, when you make it up to the peak it’s all worth it, I mean just look at that view!
We ended up running a bit behind and were losing our light, so we picked a different spot on the mountain for the ceremony then we had originally planned. The clouds were dancing around and constantly shifting in shape and size every few minutes - it was MAGICAL. I think it might just be my favorite park I've shot in all year.
Once we found the perfect elopement location, Karson changed into her dress and Alex worked on his vows which he hadn’t finished yet! Pacific Brides (an incredible hair and make up artist!!) had given Karson a super cute updo to hike in which we were easily able to let down for the ceremony itself, giving her a whole different look!
After exchanging their own vows, Karson and Alex were officially married! We started our four mile trek back down the mountainside, stopping to pop some champagne along the way. At that point we had lost most of the sunlight and pulled out some headlamps to take a few stunning night portraits. We closed out the night with coffee in the back of their rental truck and looked up at the thousands of shimmering stars.
These free-spirited adventurers are the BEST people. They’re sweet, fun, and very passionate about their jobs teaching young students. They had a blast on their special day and just radiated joy. When I first delivered the gallery to them they confessed, that they were so caught up in the moment they might have forgotten to purposely smile throughout the day, but that was definitely not the case, as you can see from all of their photos below! They didn’t have to “purposely smile”, they just truly had the best dang time!
Thinking about an outdoor elopement in the North Cascades or Washington State? What about a Pacific Northwest adventure wedding? We can make it all happen. Shoot me an inquiry below and let’s get this national park party started!