Things to Consider

1. Is your doggo “crowd friendly,” i.e. is your dog comfortable with a lot of noise and being in a new place with lots of strangers moving around?
2. Does your doggo listen and obey commands OR does he/she just want to run all over the place and be wild (which can be adorable but not necessarily at a wedding).
3. Do you want your doggo to stand up front with you during the ceremony OR do you have a handler that will walk your puppers up and then be responsible for him/her?

Here is a great article written by the AKC (American Kennel Club) that goes into more depth about having your dog at your wedding: 12 Tips on How to Include Your Dog in Your Wedding. Say YES to the Pet!

Dogs are a great addition to any wedding, but you must be realistic AND prepared. I have never had anything go wrong when there is a dog at the wedding, but that is because all of the couples below were completely organized with timing, handling, feeding, potty breaks, etc. My best suggestion is to assign someone to be your dog’s handler — someone you trust and someone who knows your pet well. After you have that in place, you should be good to go. Be prepared for lots of chuckles and smiles when your doggo comes running down the aisle to you for lots of scritches.

Click here to Contact Me about your wedding with your pup, and enjoy the gallery below of weddings I have officiated with dogs.

Discovery Park is a 534 acre natural area park operated by the Seattle Parks and Recreation. It is the largest city park in Seattle, and occupies most of the former Fort Lawton site. Situated on Magnolia Bluff overlooking Puget Sound, Discovery Park offers spectacular view of both the Cascade and the Olympic Mountain ranges. As a result, the site is one of breathtaking majesty. Discovery park also includes two miles of protected tidal beaches as well as open meadow lands, dramatic sea cliffs, forest groves, active sand dunes, thickets and streams.

Whether it’s spring, summer, winter or fall, you can get married surrounded by nature and you won’t even have to leave the city! Check out the beautiful photos below captured by Rick Takagi Photography. In addition, you can read more about my elopement services here – Small, Elope or Last minute Wedding.

• You want a small, intimate wedding with just close friends and family
• One or both of you have been called on military deployment
• Seattle is your vacation destination, and you want a perfectly planned, short-notice destination wedding
• Going to the courthouse to get hitched is just too impersonal

I can help you plan the perfect Pacific Northwest elopement, hassle free!  My services include the following:

• Unlimited communication before, during and after your wedding
• Sample ceremonies for you to choose from, which will be our starting point for your personalized ceremony
• A guide to writing your own vows
• A draft of your ceremony for review
• My services to officiate your ceremony at your location
• Skip the courthouse!  I am a licensed notary, and I will take care of all the paperwork and the running around that goes with it.  (Please note: there is an additional $67 fee for the actual marriage license that goes to the county auditor.)
• Afterwards, filing paperwork with the county courthouse
• Please note: Travel fees may apply outside of Seattle

Following are some of the fantastic locations we went to in 2018:

Snoqualmie River

Snoqualmie Falls

Kayak Point

Franklin Falls

Washington Park Arboretum / Lower Woodland Pond

Enchant Seattle

Skykomish River

Kirkland Marina Park Pavilion

Franklin Falls trail

Washington Park Arboretum/Pacific Connections

Whether you live in Seattle or are traveling from out of state or out of the country, I can help you plan the perfect elopement!  Contact me today for all the details.

In our initial consultation we decided on a mid-week early morning elopement with Franklin Falls as our destination.  The trail is beautiful and well groomed with tall evergreen trees on every side.  The Snoqualmie River runs parallel to the trail and creates a soothing sound of rushing water below.  It is a fairly short hike and very enjoyable.

On the day of the wedding, we all met in North Bend, which is a short drive from the trail head to the falls.  We drove up in a caravan with their photographer, Jeanne Phinney Photography  and me in one car and the couple in the other.  They brought along their hair and make-up artist, Shannon Mercil, as an additional witness and to do touch-ups along the way.

Bianca and Tony both brought wedding clothes to change in and hiked up the trail looking lovely.  Bianca also had a flower crown made along with a gorgeous bouquet from Woodinville Florist.

It was a pleasant surprise to arrive at the falls and see  that we were practically by ourselves.  This location can get uncomfortably busy in the summer.  Even though it’s less crowded in the fall, weekdays are still best if you want to have the falls to yourself.

We began with some fun pictures in front of the falls and then had their sweet ceremony.  They shared a few tears but mostly they were both smiling from ear to ear.  Jeanne took some more pictures and then we hiked out.

When we arrived at our cars, Bianca and Tony produced a cake they had brought with them.  Jeanne took some fun pictures of them eating cake and having a little toast.

Below are some great photos of Bianca and Tony’s waterfall elopement.  Enjoy!

Elopement Concierge was loosely developed  in 2012 when Washington passed Ref 74 for same gender marriage.  The Seattle wedding industry experienced a huge increase in weddings that year with dozens and dozens of couples traveling to Seattle, WA to enjoy marriage equality.  Many of my couples didn’t know a thing about Seattle.  As a native of Seattle, I was able to share epic location ideas for the ceremony.  In addition, couples made special requests for flowers, cake, champagne, hair/make-up, and photography.

Even though Elopement Concierge casually began in 2012, it has grown into something that I am deeply passionate about and proud of.  I love helping couples experience the glamor and excitement of a large wedding but with a small wedding cost.  We will begin with the location or venue and add services provided by a hand-picked team of vendors.  I will, of course, craft a ceremony you will love and remember.

Is this you:

• You want to elope or have a very small wedding with just family and a few friends
• You have 10 days to put together something really special and you don’t know where to begin
• You are traveling from out of town and can’t wait to get married in Seattle, but you need help with a great location
• You want to add a few extras such as flowers and photography to your wedding day but don’t know who to call

I can help you with all of this and I’ll even advise you on how to get your marriage license.  I am a licensed notary and can take care of that part too! (Visit this page: Washington State Marriage License to find out more).

Please enjoy a few of the locations I have suggested for my couples.  If you are coming to Seattle or you already live here, I would love to hear from you.  Elopement Concierge is here to help with all your elopement or small wedding needs.

Space Needle

Volunteer Park Conservatory

Sorrento Hotel

Discovery Park Lighthouse & Beach

Snoqualmie Point Park

Franklin Falls

Lower Snoqualmie Falls

Be sure to check out my Small, Elope or Last Minute Wedding page for more information!

Franklin Falls is about a 90 minute drive from Seattle and then there is a little hike into the falls.  We decided to meet halfway and then caravan to the trail head.  Once we got out of the city and close to our destination we discovered some great photo opportunities and took time to stop and capture some beautiful shots of the couple.

We arrived at Franklin Falls and set out on the trail.  It was so beautiful with Northwest evergreens all around us.  The trail is very well maintained and there is a river running below all along the trail.  What an incredible little hike.  We stopped along the trail to get more photos of Vanessa and Roxanne, and their excitement grew every step of the way.

We arrived to the falls and there was only one other couple there.  So we basically had the falls to ourselves.  The ceremony was lovely and afterwards Vanessa and Roxanne popped a bottle of champagne that they had hiked in with to celebrate with their friends.

All in all I would highly recommend this little day trip for your Franklin Falls Elopement.  It’s well worth it and not far from Seattle.  I hope you enjoy the fabulous photographs that Jeanne Phinney Photography captured for Vanessa and Roxanne!

The rose garden at Woodland Park is an exquisite place to get married.  In June, the gardens are in bloom and full of color and romance.  Janee and Raheem exchanged their vows amongst dozens of varieties of roses with beauty all around them.  They were beaming and their family looked quite happy even though there was a tiny bit of raining coming down.  It was romantic, intimate and everything they had hoped for.

Please enjoy the following photos of Janee and Raheem’s rose garden wedding courtesy of Jen Sanders Photography.  Flowers courtesy of Metropolitan Market, Queen Anne.

Be sure to check out my Small, Elope or Last Minute Wedding page for more information!

The Pike Place Market at Christmastime is fantastic!  It is so festive with all the sites, sounds, and smells of Christmas.  After finding a great parking spot we set out to find the perfect spot for our Seattle Pop-up wedding.  The courtyard at the Inn at the Market came to mind and everyone followed me as I kept my fingers crossed.  This spot ended up being the perfect location for our Seattle Pop-up Wedding.

The courtyard was decorated with Christmas trees and lights.  It was open yet intimate, festive yet private.  We tucked ourselves into a nice little spot among the trees and had our ceremony.   The ceremony was intimate and lovely, and we even had some shopkeepers peeking through their windows as Alyssa and Jesse exchanged their vows.  After the ceremony we all headed back to the Fairmont Olympic Hotel where the couple was staying and finished with some more shots inside this grand hotel.

On a side note, Alyssa requested that I customize one of the bouquets I offer on my website to include her favorite lavender colored “ocean song” rose.  With only one week to go before the wedding, my go-to florist, Metropolitan Market was able to accommodate Alyssa’s request.  Her groom, Jesse, also got a matching boutonniere.

I couldn’t be more happy with the way this wedding unfolded.  All in all, we visited three locations, had a Seattle Pop-up Wedding and the couple got their wish of having a lovely photo to share with their friends and family for Christmas.  I hope you enjoy the pictures below provided by Jeanne Phinney Photography.

“My fiance and I are looking for a last-minute officiant for our wedding.  We’ve actually been wedding planning for over a year but kind of put off getting an officiant until this last minute.  If you are available for this date please let me know!”

Well, I wasn’t available and I’m not sure if any of my trusted colleagues were either.  Couples, if you are beginning the planning process, please book your officiant early.  It has been my experience over the past nine years that based on the popular engagement dates below, January is the heaviest booking month in the industry.  In fact, most of my high-season Saturdays (May-October) will be booked by early February. I would like to share a few facts with you  regarding booking your officiant:

Although weddings take place year-round, 76% of weddings occur during the Summer and Fall months.  In fact, 25 dates make up 50% of all weddings in 2015.  (You guessed right, they are all on a Saturday!).

Most popular dates to get engaged:

Christmas Day, Valentine’s Day, Christmas Eve, New Years Day, December 20th (Saturday before Xmas), December 13th (2 Saturdays before Xmas, New Years Eve, December 19th (Friday before Xmas), December 23rd, and Independence Day.

Check out this easy rule of thumb:

Based on the average 13-month engagement, most couples search for the majority of their vendors 7-9 months prior to their wedding

In summary:  Book your officiant early!  I would hate to get your call in July for an August wedding like the bride above and have to say, “I’m sorry, I’m not available.”

Data based on WedInisights, industry data from WeddingWire

We decided to start with the ceremony in the woods and then take the couple down to the river and falls to capture some moments in this beautiful natural setting. What follows are the amazing pictures from that day — including the couple opening a gift that their sister in Germany sent to me to be opened after their ceremony. Thank you Barbara and Timo for contacting me to be your officiant and help you plan your Snoqualmie Falls Wedding.  The day was magical!