Olympic Peninsula Wedding Photographer: A Two-Day Waterfront Wedding
Two grooms, two days, one rented house on the water. This is what an Olympic Peninsula wedding photographer gets to shoot when a couple skips the venue search and books a waterfront home in Washington instead: a traditional Indian pre-wedding ceremony in the living room on day one, suits and vows at the deck rail on day two, and rain for most of it. Evaro Studios photographed both days in early spring.
Nobody planned around the weather. There was a fire table on the covered deck, a clear umbrella by the door, and grey water and evergreens in every window. That was the venue.
Here is how the two days went.
Day one: a traditional Indian pre-wedding ceremony at home
The first day happened entirely inside the house. A yellow and orange backdrop went up on the living room wall with marigold garlands across the top, and two chairs sat in front of it on a white sheet. A brass tray held turmeric and the offerings. On the dining table there were tulips, a candle and a small rainbow wooden toy.
One groom wore a dark blue embroidered kurta, the other a blue patterned one. Family took turns in front of the backdrop: a blessing on the forehead, a hand on the shoulder, a lot of laughing, and group photos at the end with everyone squeezed onto the white sheet.
Then out into the rain
When the ceremony finished, the two of them went outside in the kurtas. First to the fire table on the covered deck, then down a wet boardwalk under one clear umbrella with the evergreens dripping around them. Nobody waited for the rain to stop. On the peninsula in spring it does not, and those umbrella frames are some of the best portraits of the whole wedding.
Day two: vows at the deck rail
The second day was suits, one blue and one grey, with bow ties and a flower on each lapel. Getting ready happened in the same rooms as the ceremony the day before, with family helping with cuffs and collars and a ring box sitting on the windowsill.
The ceremony itself was small. An officiant in a plaid coat, the two grooms, and about ten family members on the deck at the rail, with the water behind them. The vows were read from paper. The rings went on. Then the hugs started before anyone had said it was over.
Right after: the rail, the table, the kitchen
Portraits at the rail
Straight after the ceremony we stayed at the rail while everyone was still there: the two of them against the water, then the whole family in a line along the deck. The light was flat and grey all day, which is the easiest light there is for faces. Nobody squints and nothing blows out.
Signing at the dining table
The certificate was signed at the dining table with champagne already poured and the officiant leaning over to point at the lines. After that the rings came out again, held up between the two of them for one detail frame.
A private chef and a cake
The evening was dinner at home. A private chef cooked in the open kitchen, there was a cake with fresh flowers on top and a tray of small pastries beside it, and one groom took over the cocktails for a while. Shoes came off at some point. There is a frame of bare feet on the rug with the new ring in it.
That is the whole point of a house wedding. Nobody is watching the clock for a venue.
Planning a wedding at a rental home on the Olympic Peninsula
A rented house on the water gives you two things a venue cannot: time, and a second day. There is no load-in and no exit time, and the getting-ready rooms, the ceremony spot and the dinner table are a few steps apart. Put the ceremony at the rail or on the deck, and keep the backdrop inside where the rain cannot reach it.
Evaro Studios photographs LGBTQ+ weddings and proposals across Washington, and a two-day wedding is planned as one wedding, not two bookings. The Story collection at $4,500 covers six or more hours with a second photographer and a highlight video, and a cultural ceremony plus a Western ceremony across two days is built from it as a custom timeline on the planning call. If the second day is small and short, the four-hour Intimate collection at $2,000 covers it. Travel on the peninsula is worked out on that same call. All current collections are on the wedding pricing page.
While you're there
- Olympic National Park - almost a million acres of wilderness, and most of the peninsula's day trips start here.
- Hurricane Ridge - 17 miles south of Port Angeles and the easiest mountain view in the park. In winter the road opens Friday to Sunday only and you must carry chains.
- Lake Crescent - about 18 miles west of Port Angeles. The walk to Marymere Falls is short and worth it in the rain.
- Hoh Rain Forest - 140 inches of rain a year, about two hours from Port Angeles. If you are already wet, go.
- Washington State Ferries - Edmonds to Kingston, Seattle to Bainbridge Island, or Port Townsend to Coupeville. Check the schedule before you book a ceremony time.
- Olympic Peninsula tourism - the official visitor site, for Cape Flattery, Dungeness Spit and the Hood Canal side.
Questions couples ask
Do you photograph weddings on the Olympic Peninsula?
Yes. We are based in Seattle and travel across the peninsula for weddings and elopements. Ferry timing and travel are worked out on the planning call, so there is nothing to add up yourself.
Can you cover a traditional Indian ceremony one day and a Western ceremony the next?
Yes. This wedding was exactly that. We photograph the ceremony as it happens rather than directing it, and we help with the family portraits so everyone ends up in the frame.
What happens if it rains?
We shoot. Every outdoor frame in this post was taken in steady rain or just after it. Bring a clear umbrella rather than a dark one, keep the ceremony under cover or close to the house, and plan the portraits for the moment the rain eases rather than for a fixed time.
How much does a two-day wedding cost?
Most two-day weddings start from the Story collection at $4,500 and are quoted as a custom timeline on the call. A short second day can sit inside the Intimate collection at $2,000. Current pricing is on the wedding pricing page.
Planning a wedding on the Olympic Peninsula? Check your date, or see the wedding collections.
More from the water: a proposal on Whidbey Island, a wedding at Kelley Farm and an elopement at Saltwater State Park.
