Elaine Way – Seattle Wedding Officiants

Waterfall Elopement

October 31, 2017/0 Comments/in Destination Wedding, Elope or Last Minute Wedding, Elopements, Most Recent, Small Wedding /by MissElaine

One of the things I love about elopements is that the sky is literally the limit as to where, when, and how I get to help couples create something magical for their special day. Just because it’s a small wedding doesn’t mean you have to go to the courthouse. Couples who want something special contact me for ideas and suggestions. Sometimes they want a beach, sometimes they want a park. Bianca and Tony expressed an interest in having a big wedding feel for their elopement. This is what they shared with me:

“We were originally planning to have a destination wedding in February. We decided we didn’t want to wait to get married so we were going to get married at the court house. I felt a little disappointed because I wanted flowers, a dress, and pictures. We looked up eloping in Seattle and found you!”

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!

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Elopement Concierge

November 2, 2016/0 Comments/in Destination Wedding, Elope or Last Minute Wedding, Elopement Concierge, Elopements, Last Minute Wedding, Seattle Wedding, Small Wedding /by MissElaine

Welcome to Elopement Concierge!

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

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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 Elopement

October 7, 2016/0 Comments/in Elope or Last Minute Wedding, Most Recent, Small Wedding /by MissElaine

Vanessa & Roxanne contacted me in May to discuss having an “epic falls wedding” at Snoqualmie Falls. In other words, they wanted to be right down in front of the falls to exchange their vows. What they didn’t know is that it isn’t that easy to get down to the base of the falls any longer. You can do it but only if everyone is a gymnast, including the photographer, and you have some sort of utility ladder. So instead, I recommended Franklin Falls around the same area for their June elopement. They liked the pictures I shared with them and we began to plan their Franklin Falls elopement.

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!

Seattle Wedding Officiants, Franklin Falls Elopement, Elope Seattle, Small wedding, Elaine Way, Jeanne Phinney Photography

Rose Garden Wedding

August 10, 2016/0 Comments/in Seattle Wedding, Small Wedding /by MissElaine

Janee and Raheem contacted me from California in March inquiring about a good spot for their Seattle June elopement. I love it when I get inquiries from out of town because I am a Seattle native and always have great ideas for ceremony spots for out of town couples. Their guest count was small — they had invited less than 10 people, which is a factor when I choose a ceremony location. I originally suggested a sweet spot among the trees at Volunteer Park in Seattle’s Capital Hill neighborhood. I refer to this particular spot as a “Woodland Cathedral” because the trees are tall and wrap around a small group for an intimate outdoor ceremony in a forest like setting. A few months into our planning, however, Janee advised me that their numbers had now grown to 20 people! The original spot was just too small for 20 people. So I shifted gears a bit and came up with the Woodland Park Rose Garden. They were thrilled with this idea and got on board with me to re-direct their plans to their rose garden wedding.

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.

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

Seattle Pop-up Wedding

January 19, 2016/0 Comments/in Destination Wedding, Most Recent, Small Wedding, Small Wedding Packages /by MissElaine

Alyssa and Jesse contacted me from Ohio in early December regarding their destination Seattle wedding. They had never been to Seattle and were not sure about very much other than the fact that they wanted a nice shot at Kerry Park. They hoped to capture a nice wedding shot there so they could make copies to send to friends and family for Christmas. We met at Kerry park and got the shot but the weather was cold and windy so we headed out in my Kia to scout a location for a Seattle Pop-up Wedding . First stop Pike Place Market!

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.

Seattle Wedding Officiants, Elaine Way, Seattle Wedding, Elope Seattle, Seattle pop-up wedding.

Book Your Officiant Early!

November 18, 2015/0 Comments/in Destination Wedding, Large Wedding, Most Recent, Same-gender Marriage, Seattle Wedding, Small Wedding, Wedding Planning /by MissElaine

In this post I will explain why it is so important to book your officiant early. This is a note I received from a bride last July:

“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!).

Snoqualmie Falls Wedding

September 4, 2015/0 Comments/in Destination Wedding, Most Recent, Small Wedding, Small Wedding Packages /by MissElaine

Last December I was contacted by Barbara and Timo from Germany regarding their Washington State destination wedding. We e-mailed and Skyped for several months and I learned that they wanted a woodsy, bohemian feel for their August ceremony. Based on their wishes, it was easy for me to recommend a Snoqualmie Falls Wedding at the Salish Lodge and Spa. Barbara and Timo also wanted the ceremony photographed so they could share these memories with their families back home in Germany. I brought in my dear friend and colleague, Jeanne Phinney of Jeanne Phinney Photography to help me plan a creative timeline for the ceremony and photography. About half-way through the process the bride e-mailed me a picture of her dress and asked if I could match her dress to a wedding bouquet. I sent the photo to my go-to florist, Molly Snowden at Metropolitan Market and she created a lovely bouquet that matched Barbara’s dress perfectly. Timo got a matching boutonniere too!

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!

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Small Seattle Elopement

June 22, 2015/0 Comments/in Last Minute Wedding, Seattle Wedding, Small Wedding, Small Wedding Packages /by MissElaine

In May I was contacted by Yi via my Seattle Wedding Officiants Facebook page regarding a small Seattle elopement she needed help with. She and her fiance Binyan did not have a location and wanted to pull something together in two weeks. She had a small group of about 15 friends which is the perfect number for a small Seattle elopement.

We met for my free consultation and I shared some nice ideas with them that would provide a lovely backdrop for their early summer wedding. As I was dealing out options like cards in a deck (I have quite a few tricks up my sleeve), they mentioned that they had a friend who had offered his rooftop deck at his downtown Seattle condominium. I said, “wait a minute! A downtown Seattle rooftop?” I could hardly contain myself. Being a native of Seattle I have seen some pretty sweet views from atop Seattle’s tall buildings. You simply cannot go wrong from any rooftop in downtown Seattle, and this rooftop just happened to be 40 stories up with a 360 degree view of our fabulous city. I immediately suggested we scrap my ideas and use theirs instead.

These small elopements are so much fun for me. I collaborate with my couples to pull together some wildly fun and imaginative plans for their special day. A small wedding can feel like a big wedding when you get to Skype the ceremony to your family back home, add an hour of photography courtesy of Jeanne Phinney Photography, 15 of your best friends, and sushi from I love Sushi. Enjoy!

Fairmont Hotel Seattle Wedding

March 17, 2015/2 Comments/in Most Recent, Seattle Wedding, Small Wedding, Small Wedding Packages, Uncategorized /by MissElaine

Paul and Susan contacted me just after the first of the year to brainstorm ideas for their small wedding. After some thought they decided on a small Fairmont Hotel Seattle wedding. I love the Fairmont! I actually worked there when it was the Four Seasons Olympic as a hotel Concierge. This hotel is luxurious with an over-the-top attention to detail.

Paul and Susan’s group was small, consisting of Paul’s daughters and their husbands, me and our photographer, Jeanne of Jeanne Phinney Photography. Metropolitan Market provided Susan’s lovely winter white bouquet with a matching boutonniere for Paul. They reserved a beautiful corner suite for the ceremony and a small celebration afterwards. Later they all went to the Georgian Room for dinner. Talk about an elegant way to celebrate an intimate wedding. Jeanne captured some lovely moments between Paul and Susan before, during and after the wedding. Congratulations Susan and Paul!

Space Needle Observation Deck Wedding

March 5, 2015/0 Comments/in Most Recent, Seattle Wedding, Small Wedding, Small Wedding Packages /by MissElaine

Serena and Michael contacted me in December to inquire about a Space Needle Observation Deck wedding. They explained to me that they had enjoyed their very first date there approximately two years ago. They now wanted to come back and celebrate their nuptials with their blended family on Valentine’s day.

I have officiated several weddings on the observation deck and it’s never a dull moment. You can always guarantee you will have wedding crashers but they all have the best intentions. Who wouldn’t want to be visiting one of Seattle’s favorite icons and have the opportunity to suddenly be in the middle of a wedding? If you have a Space Needle Observation Deck wedding expect a lot of cheering from people you have never met before in your life!

Just because you are eloping doesn’t mean you have to fore-go the extra touches

Seattle Wedding Officiants is proud to offer photography and flowers for small weddings under 20 people. Serena and Michael requested two hours of photography so they could get some family photos AND of course the cherished “first look” photo, which was done at Peace Garden. Side note: That’s the family in the background of their first look picture pretending to be paparazzi. I arrived an hour before their ceremony and brought a beautiful customized bouquet for Serena and matching boutonniere for Michael. In addition, I provided a smaller boutonniere for Serena’s son and wrist-let for Michael’s daughter (flowers provided by Metropolitan Market).

This small group had huge smiles from beginning to end. In fact, right after I pronounced Michael and Serena husband and wife at the top of the needle, their 7-yr-old son burst out in tears and exclaimed, “it’s too exciting.” Congratulations Serena and Michael and lots of love to your new lovely family!

Enjoy the following photos by Jen Sanders Photography.