La Push beach. You literally cannot go wrong with it.

An Olympic Peninsula Elopement at La Push.

 

I love the beach. But La Push is different than say, Cannon Beach in OR. There are more sea stacks there, and on a sunny day the light plays with you as it goes behind the wall of rocks but then surprises you again as it shines through the holes that the ocean as slowly carved out for you. It’s nature way of playing “peek-a-boo” with you.

However, on Nicholle and Sean’s day of their elopement, the sun decided to stay behind the clouds and let a lovely drizzle of rain be our friend that day. I met up with them at 7:30 am at the trailhead for Second Beach. It was just barely light out enough that you could see the trail. It was so raw and fun going out in the wilderness with them.

Climbing over rocks and driftwood, praying I wouldn’t slip and fall.  This is a common occurrence up on the Olympic Peninsula But being one of only 3 witnesses to this love story, this is the kind of wedding that makes me jump out of bed in the morning.   After the it was all said and done and their gallery was sent off to them.

I did a little Q&A Nicholle so she could give me feedback and advice for other brides wanting to do this same kind of thing. The following is for YOU, the future bride reading this. I hope it is eye opening and helpful!

Why did you choose the outfits that you did? I found an inexpensive dress online because I knew I was going to trash it during our ceremony (which surprisingly, it didn’t get too trashed, I’m shocked).

But having something that was also flowy was at the top of my list because I knew it would be easier to hike in and then when we got to the beach would add to the already stunning scenery. Sean wore a blue suit and nothing beats a blue suit and he wanted it to pop off the grey of the PNW.

What about the details about the planning and big day? What was important to you to have?: Planning the elopement was fairly simple. We asked our mutual friend to perform the ceremony because she knew both of us so well and it was like to have someone we both loved and trusted to bring us together.

But I also asked my best childhood friend to be our witness. We had our Elopement on the Olympic Peninsula on a Thursday and then we held a reception on Saturday to make sure our families were included in celebrating our marriage. (That was a lot more planning but turned out perfect!).

We wanted to get married on the mountains but it would have been difficult to plan for because we didn’t know what the weather was going to be like in February. So we decided a stunning PNW beach wedding at La Push would be proper and more to our aesthetic.

Why did you choose to get married there?: I love the ocean. Salt water is home to me. Besides the fact that Sean loves everything, he loves Second beach. We have hiked it a couple times now and each time it such a beautiful experience. Now we will have the greatest memory there to always remember!

Tell me about the ceremony (how did it go? anything special): It went perfectly! I was hoping for rain and that is exactly what I got. The random dogs who found us on our hike back to the car made for a great story. They literally followed us all the way back to our car and they were posing for pictures with us. The energy was so warm and comforting.

Ok, I got to ask, how was it having me as your photographer?: Having you as my photographer was one of the best choices of the whole experience!! You were so friendly and not worried about the rain. You were patient when we had delays. I felt like I knew you for years and you were there to celebrate our marriage.

You captured our personalities in your photos and I swear your pictures turned out even more beautiful than it looked in real life, but that is just how it felt, super beautiful (if that even makes sense).

I am so grateful that I found you and I couldn’t imagine using any other photographer. Even my mom was asking me if you would just take pictures at parties or family reunions haha she loved your pictures that much.

I advise you to anyone who is looking for a photographer.

Lastly, do you have any advice for other couples getting married and wanting to have an elopement? Do whatever you want to do! Don’t worry about what other people are expecting of you. It’s not worth the stress. Also remember it isn’t about a wedding, it is about a marriage. Oh and get married in the rain!!

Make sure to check out my other journal entries here.

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