Orcas Island Elopement // Adalis + Kyle
Adalis and Kyle chose to travel all the way from Tennessee and have their elopement on one of Washington’s beautiful islands in the Puget Sound, Orcas Island.
They stayed at the Eagle’s Nest Cottage at The Salish Seaside Escapes with the most beautiful views of the Puget Sound from a large wooden deck out of the back sliding glass door of their cottage. Adalis went to a local salon to have her hair done and then came back to the cottage to do her makeup, put on her dress, and her accessories. Kyle got ready in a separate room and stepped out on the deck so that they could still have a first look together.
Kyle faced out toward the sound on the deck and waited for Adalis to come up behind him and tell him to turn around. He was absolutely stunned. It was such an emotional first look with these two watching Kyle tear up at seeing Adalis in her dress.
After the first look, we hopped in their rental car together and headed out to Moran State Park. There’s no cell service on this part of Orcas Island so Adalis had grabbed a paper map from the day before when they went hiking there and I had downloaded Google Maps to have offline, just in case! We had 3 hikes that we wanted to take that afternoon in the park before they headed off to their dinner reservations. First stop was Cascade Lake Trail! We hiked about a mile into the loop where we found a gorgeous mossy area on the lake where we set up their picnic. Adalis and Kyle had gone the day before to a Farmers Market on the island and picked up some locally made cheeses and a blackberry jam to pair with crackers, cold cut meats, and fruit. We all sat together on the blanket and chowed down on all the snacks while soaking in the views of the lake out in front of us. There were a few people a little farther down the trail with a rope that they attached to a tree to swing and jump into the lake that we watched as they enjoyed themselves. I can still hear the laughter and the splashing every time someone hit the water and the taste of that delicious blackberry jam!
Once we finished up the snacks, Adalis and Kyle walked closer to the lake to just take in the moment. We packed up the remaining snacks, blanket, and charcuterie board and started the short hike back to the car. We all piled in and headed farther into the park to the highest point on the island, Mount Constitution. We walked the short trail to the lookout area. Once we were at the top, we all were in awe. No photos online could do this view any justice. We were over the moon with how much better the view was in person and how perfect of a spot it was for them to say their vows. There was a family of four with two small children also at the observation area and when they saw Adalis and Kyle in their wedding attire, they so graciously stepped to the side and let them have the entire observation area for them to exchange vows. Adalis and Kyle had legally gotten married, with all the super fun paperwork, back home in Tennessee, so they opted for a commitment ceremony at Mount Constitution. They both read there vows to one another and they both came to tears. Watching these two sweet souls promise forever to one another was so heart warming!
After their vows, we took a little trail off of the parking lot on Mount Constitution where we took their solo portraits before heading out to our final hike of the evening at Cascade Falls. Cascade Falls is a 40 foot waterfall and is the tallest waterfall on Orcas Island. The hike down was only 0.8 miles and was easy to do! Once we reached the waterfall, we walked around the creek and ventured up to a fallen tree laying across the creek. Adalis was so stoked to climb up and have her portraits done on the tree. She was the first one who walked across! Kyle then joined her and they kissed and embraced before heading back off. Then, we switched it up and I had Adalis take my photo on the fallen tree! Which, she did a stellar job by the way — maybe we’re looking at the start of her photography career!
On the way back out of the park, Adalis had spotted a giant fallen tree at a campground that was close to the entrance/exit of the park. So, we all hopped out to check it out and I snagged a photo of them on their phone to send to their family back home to share a piece of their day. Their reservation for the evening was at Kingfish at West Sound, which actually doubles as an Inn! Adalis and Kyle had their own private table and room in the back of the restaurant with a huge window and open views of the sound out before them. After grabbing a few photos of Adalis and Kyle at the restaurant, I left them to enjoy their meal and the rest of their night together!