Methow Valley Intimate Mountain Wedding

There’s a lot of places in the Pacific Northwest that I’d claim to be “my favorites”. And I really mean it whenever I name a PNW location as really special to me! It may seem that the word “favorite” starts to lose its true meaning with how many locations receive the title from me (I’m kind of chronically overenthusiastic when it comes to beautiful outdoor places 😅). But in all honesty, there really are a select few places that TRULY make up my top 5 favorites here in the PNW, and one of those places is The Methow Valley – and more specifically: Mazama, WA.

I have Whitney (she/her) + Robert (they/them) to thank for my initial exposure to this incredible place. They asked me to photograph their intimate wedding at the beautiful Freestone Inn in Mazama, and prior to their inquiry, I’d never even visited the area. I was a familiar with the North Cascades in general, but the North Cascades is really a huge region, and the Methow Valley was new to me. While all of the North Cascades is inarguably gorgeous (and contains a multitude of options for a mountain wedding or elopement), the Methow Valley is special.

The Perfect PNW Mountain Wedding Destination

The Methow (pronounced “MET-ow”) Valley is a transition zone, meaning it sits between two different ecosystems, specifically a dense forest ecosystem and a shrub-steppe ecosystem. The former is a wetter, tree-heavy environment that contains vegetation like Ponderosa pine, spruce, and the spectacular larch tree. The latter is a dryer environment with fewer trees and more shrub-type vegetation like sagebrush, bluegrasses, and wildflowers. The Methow Valley has a plethora of rivers and lakes, as well. In short: The landscapes here are varied, unique, and absolutely stunning.

There’s a lot more I could say about the Methow Valley overall (like, how it was formed by the ebb and flow of glaciers over MILLIONS of years, or how it serves as a treasured winter recreation destination at the end of the road when Highway 20 shuts down for the season), but I want to shift to talking about Mazama specifically and Whitney + Robert’s wedding there.

Mazama is a tiny town just past the better-known Twisp and Winthrop. Despite it’s very small size, this place has some of the most wonderful food I’ve ever experienced! The Mazama Store is not to be missed: Full of local art and handmade goods, delicious local produce and food, sundries, and really anything you could ever need or want for a more-than-comfortable stay in a mountain town. It’s a daily stop whenever I’m in the area. On top of that, there’s great restaurants, a lovely gear shop, and my favorite thing – miles and miles of trails.

While staying at the Freestone, or any of the other nearby inns, you can literally start walking from the door of your lodging. One of my all-time favorite hikes I’ve ever done started from the porch of the Freestone Inn cabin I stayed in while documenting Whitney + Robert’s wedding. It’s an experience me and my partner still talk about to this day (alongside the sea salt baguette from The Mazama Store – which is a daily must-have every visit now).

A Memorable Methow Valley Wedding Experience

Speaking of Whitney + Robert’s wedding, I could not imagine a more idyllic or perfect setting for these two to celebrate the start of their marriage. I’ve known Whitney for some time…we had mutual friends way back in my mid-20s, and she’d taken part in a photo project I put together then. We’d stayed in touch here and there over the years via social media, and when she and Robert got engaged and she asked me to photograph a snowshoe adventure engagement session for them, I knew immediately these were my people (and why were we not closer friends sooner?!). I’m forever grateful they honored me with documenting their wedding, not only because it introduced me to one of my now-favorite PNW places, but because it was the start of our now deep and dear friendship.

Their wedding took place in late May, which was a marvelous time in the Methow Valley that year. This is another wonderful thing about Mazama – while lots of areas of the North Cascades remain inaccessible into mid-late summer due to snow, depending on the winter we’ve had, you can often access Mazama and the lower elevation areas earlier in the season. For Whitney + Robert’s wedding everything was lush and green, the snow at the lower elevations was melted, and the temperatures were perfect. Although it did decide to rain on us during their ceremony (the Freestone staff pivoted expertly!), the majority of W+R’s wedding day was full of dramatic skies, beautiful wildflowers, and near the end of the day, a brilliant rainbow whose timing and placement I couldn’t have planned more perfectly myself!

This was one of those wedding days that was not only fun, aesthetically beautiful, and smooth-running – it was so impactful. I’m pretty sure I’ve told Whitney + Robert in the time since this day that their wedding is a core memory for me. It was just one of those experiences that sticks with you. I believe that for the rest of my life I’ll be able to clearly recall how everything smelled green and new, how the air felt clean and bright, how the mountains glistened when the sun broke through the clouds, how the meadow grasses rolled in the wind, how the amazing food warmed our bellies, how everyone exclaimed and ran to the lakeside when that rainbow appeared and we all laughed with wholehearted and true merriment at the real-life magic of it all…

I hope these photos can help you experience even half of how amazing this day was. And if you’re looking for a location for your own once-in-a-lifetime mountain wedding or elopement, definitely consider the Methow Valley!

Planning Your Own PNW Mountain Wedding?

If you’re curious if Mazama or another region of the North Cascades might be right for your own wedding or elopement, I’d be happy to share even more with you about what makes this place so special. Let’s chat!

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Vendors for W+R’s Methow Valley Mountain Wedding:

• Venue: Freestone Inn
• Catering: Saskatoon Kitchens
• Florist: Lexi Mara
• Whitney’s Dress: Brides for a Cause
• Robert’s Suit: Indochino
• Rings: Ben Bridge
• Whitney + Bridesmaid Jewelry: Fair Portia
• Whitney’s Hair: Hillary Kate Hair