If you envision your elopement day with family, then you should plan an intimate wedding ceremony near Mt. Baker. This elopement at Bagley Lakes in the North Cascades was a beautiful example of how your day could look. There are so many reasons Mt. Baker is one of my favorite locations in the Pacific Northwest for elopements. Its accessibility for your guests is one of them!
Unlike other areas of the North Cascades which are ideal for longer hiking elopements, Mt. Baker has a concentration of trails which almost everyone can do.
D&T’s elopement is a great mix between adventurous excursions and a sweet family wedding ceremony among the mountains. We planned their entire North Cascades wedding in only a month, so it also shows how fast you can plan a beautiful elopement!
Their elopement took place at the end of August. In my opinion, August is the ideal month for a Mt. Baker elopement just due to the weather and how long the snowpack sticks around. By August, the snow is finally gone and the weather is predictably warm and mild.
The day of timeline and activities for their intimate wedding ceremony near Mt. Baker
For their full day elopement, this was the general flow of activities:
Getting ready in their Glacier area cabin
First look with family
First look as couple at Horseshoe Bend
Artist Point ceremony with family
Picnic and champagne
Sunset hike and portraits
To start the day, everyone got ready together in D&T’s cabin. They rented a beautiful place near the town of Glacier, which has a lot of great accommodation like this. I really recommend finding an open and bright place like this for your elopement day, as it makes such a great backdrop for getting ready. Even with only a month to search, they were able to find and book this place.
If you’re including family in your elopement, a really heartwarming activity is to have a first look with them as well. We did this before their first look as a couple, and the reactions make for great memories.
You’ll also love: Best national parks in Washington for elopements
For their first look together, we drove down the road to a scenic point called Horseshoe Bend. This is one of my favorite areas in the park and is really easy to get to. We had T walk ahead of us on the trail until we were in a good spot with no people around. There in the trees, they had their first look.
Nearby wildfires left a smokey haze across the horizon, but it created an interesting pinkish light. We continued up to Artist Point, where their families met us for their intimate wedding ceremony near Mt. Baker. With the mountains around them, they all sat down for a picnic and portraits there, enjoying the views and sunshine.
At this point, we continued up the trails without their family as the smoke was clearing up a bit. We explored under the soft pink light and blooming lupins, enjoying the now mostly empty trails. To end the day, we watched the sun set on Mt. Shuksan and Mt. Baker with dusty pink and blue hues from the smoke.
With only one month to figure everything out, these two nailed it!
Also check out: 9 do-able trails near Mt. Baker for your elopement
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