An Intimate Ceremony at Mount Rainier National Park
Imagine spending a full day celebrating your love in the shadow of Mt. Rainier, surrounded by wildflowers and family. Laura & Michael did just that! They had a sunrise-to-sunset experience, from the morning glow to the twinkle of string lights at blue hour. Celebrating, laughing, spending the day with their closest loved ones, and living their dream of a Mt. Rainier micro-wedding.
Celebrating Love Among the Paradise Meadow Wildflowers
Laura & Michael are high school sweethearts, and were together for 12 years before getting engaged! Laura had visited Mount Rainier before, but Michael had not yet. They both knew this would be the perfect place to celebrate their love and visit WA for the first time together. When they first reached out, they already had a vision for how they wanted their day to look. They wanted some private time at sunrise, to elope in the morning, and have a reception dinner with their guests at their AirBNB.
A Casual Morning Adventure Session in Paradise
Laura & Michael knew they wanted some time alone to adventure on their day, since they both love hiking and are big mountain people. They started off the morning with a casual session in the Mount Rainier Paradise meadows (always staying on-trail, of course)! We saw a ptarmigan, a deer, and tons of beautiful wildflowers. They meandered through the trails as the morning light poured over the mountain and valleys.
Including Family in Your Mount Rainier Micro-Wedding
Having their loved ones present was extremely important for Laura & Michael. We made sure to find a ceremony location that was easily accessible for all their guests! After their morning adventure session, we hiked back to the parking lot to meet up with their guests. In attendance were their parents, their siblings & respective spouses, and their close friend to officiate. They got ready separately in the parking lot with the help of their guests, and hiked to their ceremony location in two separate groups. They had a first look moment in real-time as Laura’s Dad walked her down the aisle (trail)!
How Many Guests Can We Have at Our Mt. Rainier Micro-Wedding?
Mount Rainier National Park has pre-designated ceremony locations within the park. Each ceremony location has different rules regarding how many permits can be issued each day, which days of the week permits will be issued on, and the maximum group size limit. Your group size is the total amount of people present. This number includes the couple, guests, photographer, officiant, and any other vendors who are present. Yes, babies count as one person!
To maximize how many ceremony locations you can choose from, try to limit your total group size to 12 people. If you can keep it under 8, even more ceremony locations will be available to you! However, there are still lots of stunning ones that allow up to 12 people.
Hoping to include more folks than that? Don’t worry, there are still options for you, too! There are also Mt. Rainier ceremony locations for up to 15, 24, and 30 people. Any more than that, and you’d be limited to a campground amphitheatre or a wedding venue outside the park.
How to Time Your Mt. Rainier Micro Wedding for Wildflower Season
The wildflower season at Mount Rainier will vary year-to-year, and ultimately depends on the snowpack and how quickly it melts. Usually, your best bet for Mount Rainier wildflowers will be mid-July through mid-August. For lower elevation locations and South-facing slopes, aim a bit earlier in that window. For higher elevation locations and North-facing slopes, aim a bit later.
Please do not pick the wildflowers at Mount Rainier National Park. Leave them be for other visitors to enjoy! Click here to learn more about why protecting wildflowers is so important.
Check out this PNW Wildflower Map to see when wildflowers are typically blooming around WA!
Making it a Full Day Mt. Rainier Micro-Wedding Experience
After their on-trail ceremony, they took family portraits on the mountain, and explored the trails. Afterwards, it was time to take a short break to relax, re-coup, and refresh before their reception that evening. My sunrise-to-sunset package allows you to take advantage of the best lighting on each end of the day (two golden hours)! This way, we can capture the story of your full day, while still allowing a mid-day break so you can take a quick nap, eat lunch, rest up, and take a few private moments to yourselves.
How to Plan an AirBNB Micro-Wedding
It’s important to note that AirBNB has a strict policy against unauthorized events. If you’re looking to host a small reception at one, you’ll need to get approval from the host first. VRBO has a filter to only show properties that allow events, so this is a quicker way to remove that step! Even so, it’s always recommended to let the host know what your plans are and make sure they’re okay with it before booking. Of course, always make sure to treat your host’s space with respect and take care of it as if it were your own!
Getting Ready for an Evening of Celebration
Laura & Michael’s parents helped them get ready again in the afternoon, while Laura’s brother cooked up an amazing dinner. They took some time to sign the marriage license, and popped a bottle of champagne to kick off the evening of their Mt. Rainier micro-wedding reception!
A Luxury Dinner Experience on the Cowlitz River
The fantastic tablescape was provided by Susan with Celebrations for Every Season. Susan truly is a wedding fairy godmother, and will make sure you’re completely set up for a gorgeous meal with your guests. She is such a treat to work with, and I highly recommend her for any elopement picnic or reception dinner set-ups!
Laura’s brother did a fantastic job on the food, and their families shared stories, toasts, and some tears throughout the meal.
Capturing Both Golden Hours with a Sunset Adventure
Laura & Michael’s AirBNB was nestled on the Cowlitz River and had a fantastic view right from the backyard, so we didn’t have to go very far to take some beautiful golden hour photos. Choosing an AirBNB or VRBO that has both a beautiful interior and gorgeous outdoor setting is an easy to way to level up your photos!
Wrapping Up a Full Day of Love, Connection, & Adventure at Mount Rainier
Laura & Michael finished off their Mt. Rainier micro-wedding with a cake cutting indoors (they even sneaked a bit onto each other’s noses!). Afterwards, they stepped back outside during blue hour for a first dance under the gazebo with string lights, along with their mother/son and father/daughter dances.
Vendors From this Mount Rainier Micro-Wedding
Photographer: Janelle Renee Photo
Reception Coordinator & Designer: Celebrations For Every Season
Flowers: Flower Moxie & Mayesh Wholesale Florist
Dress: Justin Alexander from The Poinsett Bride
Learn More About Planning a Mount Rainier Micro-Wedding
To see more information about planning your Mt. Rainier adventure wedding experience, check out this blog on the Top Washington Elopement Locations By Vibe.
This micro-wedding was also featured on Wandering Weddings.
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