Riley and Trenton always knew they wanted an elopement or small wedding. Large gatherings weren’t their thing, they were always intimate, adventurous and romantic. So it wasn’t Covid-19 that pushed them to elope, but their own adventurous spirits. They chose Mount Rainier, hoping to hike to a spot where we would get to peak at the epic mountain that looms over Washington.
As I drove up the mountain road, the clouds rolled in too, as if following me. I remember thinking: “maybe I’m the bad luck charm. Or is this mountain just shy?”
When we met up it was so windy and cold we had to wait in our cars, looking for the right moment to begin our hike. We swapped stories and kept our spirits up while we waited. They talked about how excited they were to get married, and how their favorite part of planning was picking the location. With so many amazing elopement locations in Washington, and in the country, it was hard to choose just one. They landed on Mount Rainier with the hopes that she would make an appearance on a summer day, but things were looking bleak for us.
We decided to bite the bullet and hop on the trail anyway. We ventured down the trail with little hope that we would get any views when, low and behold, we reached a rainbow at the end of our journey. It was a sign, that this was the right decision. We fashioned a shelter with a tarp, anticipating more rain, and did the ceremony in front of a moody, tumultuous mountain backdrop.
The day, although it didn’t go completely as planned, was absolutely perfect. It could have rained the entire day, and it would still have been perfect.
