September 4, 2018
Wow! Where do I even begin? These photos make me feel like a giddy school girl but Helen and Eric’s elopement in the Olympic National Park is what dreams are made of when it comes to being an adventure elopement photographer. Sure, I’ve photographed several elopements, but from start to finish, Helen and Eric’s elopement left us all on cloud 9 because they put their wedding day experience at the top of their priority list!
I love to ask my couples what the inspiration behind their wedding day is – the answers vary between location, details, the people and memories. For Helen and Eric it was about their time in Washington. “After living in Washington for a few years and moving away last year, we wanted to get married in a place that had a lot of meaning to us, and we knew it was going to be somewhere in Washington. When we lived in Washington, we enjoyed hiking, backpacking, and being outdoors. The idea was to have a simple and minimal wedding, with immediate family and a few close friends. The mountains, trees, and scenery would be the backdrop so that we didn’t have to worry about decorating. We wanted our families to understand why we loved Washington so much, and we knew a wedding in Olympic National Park was the best way to show this – with the beautiful mountains, trees, lakes, beaches, and the summer weather. “
Congratulations Helen and Eric! Your adventure elopement is one I’ll remember for years to come. It was an honor to be part of your special day and I wish you years of love and adventure. Keep scrolling to see their vision unfold!
In addition to having the views of various parts of the Olympic National Park serve as their background, Helen and Eric wanted to go on a hike to start their wedding day! We decided on Mount Storm King and let me tell you, it was absolutely breathtaking. The hike was a bit challegning, especially for Helen as she hiked in her wedding dress, but she’ll tell you that was one of her favorite parts of the day! “…it was also fun wearing my dress with hiking boots! I got so many questions, funny looks, and well wishes as we were hiking in our wedding gear.”
Oh hey…a little behind the scenes of ME!
There are so many ways to have an adventure elopement but these two opted to hike in which meant carrying up everything and getting ready in the woods in true MMP fashion.
This right here. This moment. THIS is what your wedding day is about – the love you have shared and the future you are promising to each other. Helen and Eric wrote their vows and shared them privately at the top of Mount Storm King overlooking the most beautiful lake. There aren’t many times I am at a loss for words but I definitely was in this moment…and may or may not have been trying to hide all the happy tears! After the most beautiful vow exchange, we headed over to Marymere Falls – a quick little hike from the bottom of Mt. Storm King!
After taking in the views by themselves, it was time to head over to Hurricane Ridge to meet up with Helen and Eric’s closest friends and family for their intimate wedding ceremony!
What made your wedding stand out from the crowd?
“We wanted to keep our wedding small and minimal, we knew the wedding was going to be different from the usual/traditional wedding. Since our families were taking the time out of their schedules to fly out and attend our somewhat remote wedding, we wanted to make it more of an adventure/vacation rather than just attend our wedding. Our families flew in a few days early and got to explore the park, they saw the rainforest, the beaches, did some hiking, and we saved Hurricane Ridge as the last point of interest… for our wedding ceremony!”
Well hello there! The deer in the Olympic National Park, especially at Hurricane Ridge are quite friendly and will likely crash your wedding. Kidding, of course!
Dress & Accessories | BHLDN
Flowers | Sofie’s Florist
Suit | Suitsupply
Interested in having me document your Olympic National Park Elopement or Intimate Wedding? Email me today for information and to reserve your date!
To see more elopements photographed by MMP, click here!
Megan Montalvo is an Adventure Elopement Photographer based out of the Olympia and Tacoma Washington. She offers Wedding and Elopement photography to surrounding PNW destinations such as Mount Storm King, Lake Crescent, Hurricane Ridge, Mt. Rainier, Lake Quinault, Snoqualmie, Snoqualmie Pass, Cle Elum, Suncadia, Leavenworth, Ruby Beach, Cape Kiwanda, Canon Beach and the San Juan Islands.
Welcome to the blog! I’m a small-town Florida girl and Army wife relocated to the Seattle Suburbs, documenting love from one coast to the other. I live for a good PNW mountain breeze, sweat pants, and local eats. Let's be friends!
CATEGORIES
comments +