Real Couple Elopement: Alex + Scott at Mt. Baker's Artist Point
Alex and Scott’s elopement was soulful — replete with moments and details that brought forth the couple’s history and helped them imagine their future. Tapestry poured their heart into the little things for this elopement. We took pride in pulling together the perfect team of vendors and artisans to bring together their vision. Together, we created a marriage celebration that embraced Alex and Scott’s family cultures. From beautiful chance encounters with strangers on the trail to meaningful conversations and toasts at dinner, they were able to spend their day exactly the way they wanted.
WHO IS OUR TAPESTRY COUPLE?
Alex and Scott met in college about a decade ago. Scott knew that there was something intriguing about Alex that he wanted more of. After a “botched attempt at dating” the first time around, they got together in 2014. Things clicked, and they knew somewhere deep inside of themselves that they would continue to do so.
They love adventuring together, relaxing and enjoying food together. They have a large community of friends who they would normally travel with and see often. COVID-19 has been a challenge in trying to stay connected with their community while unable to adventure together. What strikes us most about Alex and Scott is how fiercely independent they are, while being deeply invested in their life together. They love their individual passions, but can’t imagine following them without the other by their side.
HOW DID THE PLANNING PROCESS GO?
Alex and Scott gave us six months to plan their elopement, which was wonderful because the Tapestry Team was able to dive deep into the details and get to know the couple’s core values. We can’t emphasize enough how much the time was a gift to the process. For example, the couple was able to spend a whole month immersing themselves into the location selection process before they decided on Artist Point. The entire planning process was a true partnership between them and Kate as the extra time allowed Alex and Scott to take ownership of the day from picking the perfect location to choosing vendors that vibe with their style to preparing the small details that would really stand out on their big day.
Before the 2020 season began in earnest, Tapestry introduced a new planning portal for couples using Notion [link]. Because of Alex and Scott’s breadth of lead-up time, they were able to become pros at the tools and used the portal to its fullest potential. This meant that all of the planning meetings were focused on logistics, travel, and their celebration values while the smaller, personal checklist items were tackled with the support of the tools and resources in their Tapestry Planning Portal They set an example of how we as planners can lead our couples through the planning process in a way that keeps focus on what couples value, crafting their day around that centerpiece.
Alex and Scott embraced the Tapestry process by having the deep conversations prompted through our planning process, using Kate as their officiant, and participating in our Vow Writing Workshop. The final product of their day was robustly detailed and intimate with excerpts from friends and family incorporated into ceremony and throughout the day.
WHERE DID THE ADVENTURE HAPPEN?
The couple stayed in the Wander A Frame in Mt. Baker the night before and of their elopement day. This adorable AirBnB set a chill and homey tone. Anne Timss joined them before their hike to their ceremony location to do Alex’s hair and makeup out on the deck in the sun-dappled shadows of the evergreens. Kate from Tapestry Event Co. arrived with florals from Villanelle floral and cake from Page Bakery in hand and spent the mid-morning creating a styled dinner table at their cabin for their multi-course meal at the end of the day.
Alex and Scott chose Mt. Baker’s Artist Point due to its various trails and breathtaking views. They started at the Artist Point parking lot and followed a less-used trailhead to hike a mile up the side of a steep rock face. Because the couple chose a week day to elope, the mountain was more sparsely populated than on weekends, with tons of space to spread out and feel safe on the trails.
Alex and Scott did have one interaction with fellow hikers on the trail that was particularly memorable. The hikers were a local Bellingham couple who were doing their anniversary hike for their twenty-sixth year of marriage. More than a quarter of a century ago, this couple hiked up Artist Point, she barefoot in her wedding dress and he with his boots on, and held a mountaintop ceremony. They saw Alex in her wedding dress, congratulated Alex and Scott on their nuptials and fantastic choice in an elopement location, and even asked to take a selfie together before going their separate ways. The interaction felt special, like a good luck charm, and created a thoughtful and enthusiastic mood entering into the ceremony.
HOW DID OUR COUPLE SPEND THEIR ELOPEMENT DAY?
After hiking up their trail, they had a wonderful and personalized ceremony with plenty of happy tears. Because we played the roles of planner/coordinator and officiant, we were able to work with Alex and Scott’s family to gather good words to share as part of their ceremony, in addition to the custom vows and promises they exchanged with one another. Their photographers, Megan and Nate from Cedar and Pines, were just as fun to spend the day with as they are talented behind the camera, capturing the emotional and breathtaking moments that made their day memorable. They took sunset portraits after the ceremony and then hiked back down to their A Frame to share dinner.
Riley of Incredible Expressions cooked a four-course meal for the couple with ingredients that were all locally sourced from the Pacific Northwest area. Riley chatted with the couple about travel plans and past adventures, giving a chance for the couple to reflect on their relationship and all the awesomeness that is to come. They finished off their northwest-inspired dinner with a lemon cake from Page Bakery. We collaborated with Rileys so that, with each course, he delivered a letter from a family member with toasts for their elopement day. A friend of theirs did calligraphy with the family members’ names, making the letters incredible keepsakes.
Photos courtesy of Cedar and Pines.
Alex and Scott’s elopement day was incredibly sacred and joyful. We loved how special their day was able to be with ample time to plan and their enthusiastic participation in the Tapestry process and experience.
— Kelleen, Tapestry Content Manager
THE VENDOR TEAM.
Designer + Planner: Kate // Tapestry Event Co. // @tapestryeventco // Seattle, WA + Beyond
Photographer: Megan + Nate // Cedar and Pines // @cedarandpines // CO, UT, WA, AZ, CA, Patagonia + Beyond
Florist: Angelene // Villanelle Floral // @villanellefloral // Seattle, WA
Caterer: Dimitria // Grate Boards // @grateboards // Seattle, WA
Chef: Riley // Incredible Expressions // @rileysinstagram // Seattle, WA
Baker: Jessica // Page Bakery // @pagebakery // Seattle, WA
Hair + Makeup Artist: Anne // Anne Timss // @mstimssmakeupandhair // Seattle, WA + Beyond