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Mt. Erie Rock Climbing Elopement

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This adventurous couple met while rock climbing, so what better way to commit to forever than while climbing! With COVID halting their plans, they pivoted to this adorable rock climbing elopement. With personally written vows and two friends in tow, they shared an awesome climb, said "I Do" and then picnicked looking over their honeymoon destination! Enjoy this Mt. Erie Rock Climbing Elopement!
Mt. Erie Rock Climbing Elopement

Julie + Carey

Anacortes, Washington
- 07/18/2020
Total wedding budget $2,090

Budget Breakdown

Below is an estimated wedding budget breakdown provided by the couple.

  • Catering
    2%
    $50
  • Alcohol/Bar
    3%
    $55
  • Photography
    89%
    $1865
  • Partner 1 Attire
    5%
    $100
  • Flowers
    1%
    $20
  • Total wedding budget
    $2090

Tell us about your wedding vision.

When we decided it wasn’t safe to have the larger wedding we’d planned due to Covid-19, we knew we still wanted to be married. When I spoke with my mom about it, she told me how she and my aunt had joked together about how they’d imagined we’d get married hanging off the side of a mountain. When I told Carey about this we realized that – with a tiny elopement – we really could!

We’d met six years earlier when climbing the same route at a local gym, and climbing continued to be a special way to spend time together ever since. It also happens to be a great metaphor for a partnership (trust, communication, encouragement, support!). When we’d imagined where to get married, we thought of Mt Erie and its magical views of the San Juan Islands (where we’d gotten engaged), the mountains, and the beautiful Madrona trees. When we found this spot with two side-by-side rock climb routes ending in a small cliff with beautiful views, we knew we’d found the perfect place.

Tell us about your flowers.

We got a bouquet from Pike’s Place market, because I’ve loved their beautiful (and impossibly cheap!) bouquets since my first visit to Seattle – they’re my favorite place for flowers. I got a little floral kit of tape and pins, and made a boutonniere for Carey from the smaller flowers in my bouquet while he set up the ropes for our climb

Did you do any DIY projects or create any handmade items for your weddings?

We recorded a mini video to share with our immediate families, to share with them that we were officially married and loved and missed them, so we could share a moment with them from afar.

Much like how we hope our marriage to be, our vows were a blend of serious commitments to our life together and silly personal promises, many being climbing metaphors (“I promise to always catch you when you fall”)

Tell us about your attire choices.

 I fell in love with and ordered my wedding dress a week before the wedding, so Kayla and I actually hemmed my dress with scissors and iron-on hemming tape just hours before the wedding

What was the biggest thing you did to save money?

Limiting the number of guests present.

What was most important to you two? Was there anything you chose to splurge on or skip?

We wanted some photos so we could revisit the day and share it with our loved ones who couldn’t be there with us. But finding a wedding photographer who was up for a wedding on a cliff, hiking down in the dark, who will be one of just three people present at your wedding feels like a big decision. We were super lucky to find Meghann, who was totally stoked for the adventure in our wedding plans and flexible with the unpredictability of our very nontraditional wedding, made great suggestions whenever we were uncertain about details and took photos more fabulous than we could have imagined

What was your favorite detail?

Our friends Kayla and Alec who belayed (held the other end of the rope!) for a our rock climb and officiated for us were also planning to get married this summer, so we’d been through all the steps of wedding planning, wedding postponing due to covid, and elopement planning together. They asked us to each privately write them a little note about some of our favorite memories and reasons why we love each other, and wrote a beautiful little ceremony for us, drawing from those notes

What is the most memorable moment of your day?

Picnicking while watching the sun set over the San Juan Islands — where we went on their honeymoon!

What’s the best advice you have for planning your wedding now that you’re on the other side?

Do what makes you happy!


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