Abigail & Anthony
The Couple and Their Decision to Plan a Seattle Courthouse Elopement & Adventure Wedding
Some stories aren’t meant to happen all at once. They unfold in chapters.
Like it did for Abigail and Anthony.
Their first chapter was a Seattle courthouse elopement filled with city lights, signatures, and the feeling that everything was about to begin. The next was quieter and more intimate. A day for just the two of them in a cabin, along the Pacific coast, and beneath a November sky.
And across both days, there were so many other chapters, too. Little pockets of time that belonged entirely to the two of them.
These two didn’t go into their elopement following a template of what a courthouse wedding or even an adventure wedding should look like. Instead, they flipped the script and made both days completely their own. And that was exactly what made their two-day elopement so special.
Why They Chose to Have a Two-Day Courthouse Elopement & Adventure Wedding
When Abigail and Anthony first booked their elopement, we had planned for one day in Olympic National Park. But about two months before their wedding, they decided to add a second day in Seattle for their courthouse ceremony.
Separating the legal part of getting married from their vows and adventure gave them the freedom to make each day feel completely their own. One day was about becoming legally married; the other was about creating an experience they could slow down an enjoy.
And I loved that they didn’t feel like they had to choose between a courthouse wedding and an adventure elopement. They simply made space for both, creating two very different days that somehow felt completely connected.
Day One: A Seattle Courthouse Wedding After Dark
On our first day together, Abigail and Anthony did something I had never done with an elopement couple before: they chose a late evening ceremony time. That meant by the time we started taking photos, there was no daylight left. We moved straight from blue hour into complete darkness, using only the ambient light in their hotel room, streetlights, flash, and the city itself to tell the story of their first day.
We began at their hotel, photographing the quiet moments inside their room before they left for the courthouse. Then we walked over to the courthouse, where they signed their paperwork and stood in front of the judge to make their marriage official.
One of the things that was important to Abigail and Anthony was keeping both days as private as possible, which meant no guests or additional vendors. However, getting married in Washington state requires two witnesses, and since I was their only witness, we needed one more. Thankfully, the courthouse has a solution for this exact situation and one of the courthouse staff members became their second witness. This means even if your guest list is just the two of you, you can still get married and have a private experience. Learn more about how to elope in Washington and what you need to know when planning your own Washington elopement.
After their courthouse ceremony, we found our way to a secret rooftop overlooking the city. With the lights of Seattle glowing around us, the whole thing felt a little like a scene from La La Land.
It was also a reminder that Washington isn’t only about mountains, forests, and coastlines. There is so much beauty in the cities, too.
Day Two: An Olympic National Park Adventure
An Intimate Morning at the Cabin
Day two of their elopement looked completely different from day one, but Abigail and Anthony still found a way to make it feel entirely their own.
They wanted to begin the morning slowly, with photos that felt intimate, playful, and a little more like their everyday life together. So we started with one of their favorite morning rituals: cereal for breakfast. They eat it together at home before work every day, and on this morning, they did exactly the same thing.
From there, they danced together in the living room before settling into something a little more intimate. During the planning process, Abigail and Anthony had mentioned wanting to create some steamy photos together, and when I saw Abigail’s veil, I knew I wanted to incorporate it. We used the softness of the fabric and the darkness of the cabin to focus on their hands, their touch, and the way they moved together.
In a way, these intimate moments in the living room felt like its own little photoshoot within the larger story of their wedding day. But it wasn’t about performing for the camera. It was about giving ourselves the time and space to create something together, and to document a side of their relationship that might not have otherwise existed in their wedding gallery.
Reading Letters on the Dock & a Personalized First Look
And then came one of my favorite parts of the day.
Before getting dressed in their wedding attire, Abigail and Anthony went down to the dock behind the cabin to read letters from their daughter. She had made them friendship bracelets as a gift and written a letter for each of them to read on their wedding day.
When they came back inside, Abigail still wanted to have a first look, but she also wanted Anthony to help her zip up her dress. These two moments don’t usually happen at the same time, so we had to get a little creative.
Rather than choosing between the two, we figured out a way to do both. Anthony kept his eyes closed while I guided him toward Abigail and helped him find the zipper of her dress. He got to help her get ready without seeing her, and then, when he finally opened his eyes, they still got to have their first look.
There was no big setup or elaborate reveal which made their start to the day feel more personal to them. I also loved that they didn’t feel like they had to follow the usual way of doing a first look or getting ready together. We just found a way to make the experience work for them, and it became something that felt completely their own.
A Blue Hour Beach Ceremony
Once they were ready, we made our way to the coast to exchange their vows.
By the time we arrived, blue hour had settled over the landscape. And because this was a November day, the rain eventually came, too. So we leaned into it.
We photographed their vows beneath the darkening sky, then moved into portraits with flash and lanterns as the rain continued around us.
But even after everything we had already done, Abigail and Anthony weren’t ready for the day to end.
Pizza, Cake & a Candlelit First Dance
We drove back to Port Angeles, and stopped to pick up dinner on the way home.
Back at the cabin, they ate pizza and cake, and then set up candles throughout the living room for their first dance.
And then, somehow, we found ourselves taking even more intimate photos by candlelight.
Looking back, it felt like we had five different photo experiences happening across these two days. But it never once felt like a photoshoot. It simply felt like two people creating an elopement day they wanted to experience together.
Your Wedding Doesn’t Have to Follow a Typical Structure
I think that’s what made Abigail and Anthony’s Seattle courthouse elopement and adventure wedding so much fun.
When you hear “courthouse wedding,” you probably already have an idea of what that looks like. The same goes for an adventure elopement. But the two don’t have to be separate ideas, and your wedding doesn’t have to follow one particular formula.
For Abigail and Anthony, the courthouse was simply where they made their marriage official. The rest of their wedding could be whatever they wanted it to be. They could eat cereal together in their cabin, read letters from their daughter, share private moments, exchange vows on the coast at blue hour, eat pizza and cake, listen to records, and end the day dancing together by candlelight.
None of those things were there because they were part of a traditional wedding timeline. They were there because they were part of their life together.
And when they leaned into the fun, creative process of making the day their own (while still remembering that this was ultimately a day for the two of them to experience together), that’s when the joy really radiated from them, and allowed us to create art together.
Meet the couple & the best Seattle Courthouse wedding photographer everrrr!!! 🙂😘
Meet The Best Seattle Courthouse Elopement Vendors:
Photographer: Henry Tieu Photography
More Seattle & Olympic National Park Elopement Inspiration
Ready to plan your own Seattle Courthouse elopement and adventure wedding?
I know I’ve said this before, but I feel incredibly lucky to be invited into someone’s life. To witness. To photograph. To stand quietly at the edge of moments that will become part of their story forever.
I know that requires a level of trust that’s difficult to put into words. To let someone stand close enough to witness a chapter while it’s still being written.
And for that, Abigail & Anthony, thank you for trusting me with your two-day elopement experience.
Their story is a reminder that there isn’t one right way to get married, and that your wedding can be built around whatever and whoever is most to you. Whether that means making things official at a Seattle courthouse before heading into the mountains, or doing something you’ve never seen done before, but are holding onto quietly in your heart, the world is full of possibilities.
If you’re dreaming up a Seattle wedding (or wedding anywhere in the world for that matter), I’d love to hear what you’re imagining and help you plan the story you’ll get to tell for years to come.
Meet Your Wedding & Elopement Photographer
I’m Henry Tieu, a dad and the photographer behind these honest, meaningful, and artful images of weddings and elopements across Washington and around the world. Since 2018, I’ve documented more than 200 celebrations across six continents. My work has been featured by Junebug Weddings, Brides, The New York Times, Green Wedding Shoes, Dancing With Her, and Sony, and recognized with international awards. But more than anything, I care about creating photographs that help people feel their memories both now and years from now.
