When K inquired about her elopement, I was immediately in. K&C wanted to create an adventure elopement experience, starting at a cabin along the river in Index, Washington with room to explore the nearby Cascades with their two close friends.
We chose a few hikes, with the goal to remain flexible to choose a few days before their October date depending on the weather conditions. When we got closer to the date, the forecast called for oscillating rain throughout the day, so instead of aiming for a big, all day hike, we decided to go for a shorter hike and dessert picnic. Index is an amazing entry point to several incredible hikes in the Steven’s Pass area, with peaks like Index and Baring slicing into the sky.
The day started early at the cabin. K was getting ready upstairs, and C had some time to finish his vows they would later exchange privately during the first look. C also showed me another unique piece of their day- 1000 cranes folded by them and their family members. These cranes had been sent from around the country to represent the love and support of their family, while still being able to have the intimacy and privacy of an elopement.
Once K was mostly ready, she was called down to help do C’s “makeup.” As the story goes, K had given C a haircut the night before, but in the midst of everything taking place, had missed the clipper guard sizing…leading to a rather uneven trim on either side. Thankfully, mascara ended up being a successful fix to fill in the more “sparse” spaces!
After fixing his hair, C went outside to wait for their first look. K donned her beautiful dress, and headed down to the river to meet C.
The magic of watching K emerge from the forest to the river bed with the sunlight behind her was tangible. C and K immediately embraced, and walked to the river’s edge to exchange vows. It was filled with laughter, tears, and occasional thumbs up and finger guns…which would be indicative of the entire day.
The whole day was filled with moments of laughter, tears, and often a mixture of both due to laughing entirely too hard. We carried a small dessert picnic up to a lake beneath the beautiful mountain peaks. While rain was on the forecast, we ended up timing things just right to enjoy a sun break during their intimate ceremony. After the ceremony, cupcakes were enjoyed (and smashed into the faces) of all. C and K listened to small toasts lead by their friends from the log extending into the lake- cueing more laughter and tears.
After a relaxing time at the lake, it was time to head back with enough time for posing…and more opportunities to check out the beautiful mushrooms along the trail.
When we got back to the car, we returned to a playlist of high school classics, singing along at the top of our lungs to those “classic hits.” The next top was coffee at the local road side coffee stand and Big Foot monument. Index, Washington is home to a recent hit documentary about and many documented sightings of the elusive Pacific Northwesterner.
Once we were fully caffeinated, we headed to a road side chapel that K’s mom had suggested a few photos at. During a “dramatic” re-inacting of the ceremony, a $20 bill fell out of the shared bible- making this whole story even more entertaining.
After the afternoon shenanigans, it was time to head back to the cabin and change into more comfortable clothing for the evening. Flannels were on theme as we fought to prepare a fire. We all took turns being the “hero” for the evening while charcuterie was passed around.
The evening ended with a casual first dance under the stars- in sweatpants, flannels, and beers in hand.
It was truly an amazing elopement, filled to the brim with adventure, laughter, love, and beauty.
