Intimate North Cascades Mountain Elopement

Intimate Elopement in the North Cascades with a Camper Van and Pup

Beautiful, elegant elopement and wedding dresses for adventurous brides

How To Include Intimate Details For Your North Cascades Mountain Elopement Day

I got so damn excited the minute I received the initial email inquiry from Alex and Adam, especially about their vision for bringing their camper across the country for their adventure wedding so it’s not just a day of getting married but actually a week of “MarryMoon”. The couple actually named their camper “Big Booty Judy”, how awesome is this haha.

Two weeks before their elopement, the West Coast was on fire. We got hit quite hard from all the wildfires and life was rough. I remember receiving emails from Alex and Adam while they were camping in Albuquerque. Yes we were all feeling scared and uncertain about all this craziness. Can the couple still travel West? Can we have an experience-filled day when the world around us continuously (and totally not pun-intended) throwing flames at us? One thing I do know for sure is whichever direction the couple chooses to go with, I would be behind them 100%.

Alex and Adam took it one day at a time and so did I, we continued to follow the news to see whether the fire would die down in order to make a more firm decision.

Three days before their North Cascades mountain elopement date, we had rain. Call it miracle, call it luck, call it manifestation, call it whatever you want to call it. All I could think of was the couple themselves. I think I said this a lot in my blog posts but truly, a wedding day is just like life and marriage, there will be ups and there will be downs. It’s not always about what happens to us, it’s all about how we handle obstacles together. And I cannot ever forget how these two handle this little hiccup. In the end, we are very fortunate to get the best weather for their adventure elopement in the North Cascades mountains.

Meet the couple & the best North Cascades Mountain Elopement Photographer everrrr!!! 🙂😘

North Cascades Mountain Elopement photographer and couple

Cute camper for an adventurous mountain wedding in Washington

Intimate and Dramatic All At Once: Why North Cascades Is The Best Place For Mountain Elopements in Washington

One thing I love doing is looking back at my couple’s initial email to see whether their elopement happened the exact way the couple shared their vision with me or was it a total different direction yet more stunning and meaningful.

“We’re thinking a small / easy to moderate hike to a spot is fine. If we can camp close by and get pictures with the camper that’d be great! But if not, we can drive from wherever and then hike. In my mind I see a pretty lake, or maybe a waterfall (but I really like the lakes), and trees or mountains or both. You know, just all the things! That’s not too much to ask, is it?? Bruce [their dog] will ‘walk’ me down whatever aisle we have, and he’ll act as our ring bearer, too.”

I remember reading their email the first time and I couldn’t stop smiling, and now re-reading that put a smile on my face all over again. How Alex and Adam approached elopement is quite common.

Couples come to me because they want to elope, because they have some sort of vision, but in the end, they don’t have anything concrete in place. From reading about their story and their vision, I found this gorgeous hiking trail in the North Cascades National Park and proposed the plan to Alex and Adam.

Knowing we want some mountains and tree, I knew North Cascades National Park would be the most ideal location since North Cascades has more glaciers than any other U.S. park outside the state of Alaska (according to National Geographic). Spending hours on research, I fall more and more in love with how North Cascades National Park (so so so underrated) has all kind of beauty: old-growth forests, snow-topped mountains, rivers, valleys, alpine lakes, lush meadows, and so, so, so much more. It is so diverse that although I have photographed here so many times before, each time, it’s a brand new experience.

So yeah, I am more than happy to share that we brought 100% of their vision to life. If anything, we brought it but also elevated the whole experience with the secluded campsite I found for the couple as well as this breathtaking of a mountain trail.

Washington Mountain Elopement with dog at North Cascades National Park

Click to see more North Cascades National Park Elopements

Click here to see more of best mountain hiking trails to elope in Washington State

Alex and Adam

I miss you both dearly. Your adventure elopement was truly one of the highlights of the year for me. The way you allowed me in to photograph you, the way you gave me all your hearts, the snacks you packed for me too 😭😍, thank you so so so much.

This is not goodbye, rather, it’s the beginning of a friendship and I just know it!!! I cannot wait to welcome you back to Seattle for more mountain hiking adventures, or simply coffee 🙂

When we began the hike, it felt like we had our own personal guide, and when unexpected things popped up, he wasn’t phased.

From the very beginning, he was the ‘man behind the curtain’ in the whole elopement. He was as involved as a wedding planner and took on so much more than just being the amazing photographer. Through multiple conversations, he researched and narrowed down locations for us based on criteria that we wanted, without us ever being able to see the actual places. During the crazy fires, he was available to calm nerves and be ready to adjust if needed. All while having multiple other couples to work with at the same time, we never felt like he wasn’t giving us his full attention. The day of flew by, and the timeline he provided was invaluable. He’s so tuned in to his craft, that we didn’t even know he was capturing the day.

When we began the hike, it felt like we had our own personal guide, and we enjoyed so much the time to get to know him and appreciate the journey up. It really made everything so much more comfortable feeling like he was just another friend along with us. And when unexpected things popped up, he wasn’t phased. He is comfortable directing or redirecting, and knows exactly what/when/where things need to be done, without being pushy. We appreciated the direction and calmness that he so naturally gives. After we received our album, we were breath taken and so thankful to see moments captured that had already started to fade in our memories – there was just so much from that day! He really was able to tell the story of the entire day through his pictures of us. When we look at the pictures, we are instantly taken back to the mountains, to that day. We’re so thankful we were able to work with him, he was absolutely the key to our elopement – and will be happy when we can give him a REAL hug when we visit Washington again. I wish we could get married all over again with him!

Alex & Adam

North Cascades mountain elopement