A romantic rain forest. A breathtaking beach. A 5-person guest list. This ultra-intimate Washington State micro wedding was an outdoorsy, authentic day full of so much love.
“We both wanted somewhere outdoors that captured who we are and what we love to do as a couple,” say Abbey + Lydia. “Abbey had been to Olympic National Park before and mentioned to Lydia that the Hoh Rain Forest is beautiful and would be a perfect location for us.”
And so the couple gathered their very nearest and dearest, suited up in two unforgettably unique tailored wedding day looks, and headed into the woods for their ceremony where a perfectly timed downpour drenched their “I do’s.”
“We just wanted lots of green, mossy, moody vibes,” Abbey + Lydia say, “and the Hoh is the perfect place for that.”
And afterward? The newlyweds headed off to the rocky shores of Ruby Beach for a twilight seaside picnic beside a bonfire.
This one’s for all the nature-lovers and the adventurous at heart. The Cardinals were there the whole time capturing this beautifully rain-soaked + joy-filled day – so excited to take you through all the brilliant photos!
Named for the Hoh River that flows from the Olympic Mountains all the way to the Pacific cost, Hoh Rain Forest is definitely mossy, verdant nature at its most majestic.
“It was important to both of us to be comfortable in what we wore on our wedding day. This included feeling comfortable in our gender expression,” Abbey + Lydia say. “Neither of us grew up dreaming of wearing a white wedding dress so when it came time to find something to wear, we both wanted to find something that felt more like who we were.”
“For Abbey, it was important to find something that felt both feminine and masculine. At first, the idea was to wear a jumpsuit, but none of those felt right. Then one day, she stumbled upon the perfect oversized tweed suit with floral embroidery, and the rest was history.”
“For Lydia, she knew right away that she wanted to find a really cool suit. She started looking around and found a custom embroidered suit on Etsy.”
“Lydia liked the idea of having some color instead of a boring black or gray suit, and she ended up choosing a maroon suit with the coolest embroidery.”
Married Beneath The Branches
If you love the idea of guest list as small + meaningfully chosen as Abbey + Lydia’s, check out our list of small wedding ideas for the dreamiest micro wedding!
This ultra-romantic combo of moss-covered trees + antique rugs has us remembering this intimate Pacific Northwest Elopement.
“We made our own floral arrangements on the day of the ceremony and that was fun to do together,” the couple recalls.
“One of our favorite elements on our wedding day was our ‘milk and cookies dunk,'” say Abbey + Lydia of this uniquely *sweet* ceremony moment.
“One of our best friends and our officiant owns a small cookie business — Middle Child Cookies — and we wanted to incorporate her cookies on our day.”
“So we decided to do a cookie dunk with a special cookie she made for our wedding.”
Who says you have to wait till the reception?? Why not get to the delicious wedding desserts right away!
We’ve rounded up a ton of creative + meaningful wedding ceremony ideas to help you dream up a one-of-a-kind way to mark your new union like Abbey + Lydia did.
Our Favorite Memory
Our favorite wedding day memories are getting to share the day with five of our closest people. They made the day so special, and they all wrote notes to share with us during the ceremony and that was really special. I loved that it was raining during our ceremony; it was funny and memorable.
I also loved when we went to our second location, Ruby Beach, and our friends set up a picnic and we just got to eat and laugh, and celebrate together....Right before it started down pouring for a second time and we all had to sprint back to the car together.
Honestly: what’s more romantic than a wedding day downpour? ☔️ Take a look through out guide to what to do if it rains on your wedding day to be prepared for all kinds of wedding weather.
“Being a queer couple means we get the joy of having two proposals!” Abbey + Lydia share.
Here’s the scoop from the couple on proposal #1: “Lydia began planning the big surprise months in advance. Abbey’s big 3-0 was approaching, and it would be the perfect cover for getting out-of-town friends to Arkansas. After weeks of anxiety and sneaking around, the Saturday the proposal was set for came around. Lydia convinced two of their friends to set up a little breakfast picnic (chocolate croissants, donuts, coffee — all Abbey’s favs) in the same spot as the first date. All Lydia had to do was convince Abbey to go to said park, which would be the most difficult part.”
“Turns out Abbey had woken up in a funk and was feeling rather grumpy. She begrudgingly fulfilled Lydia’s request to “have a slow morning of reading and crosswords in the park.” After arriving and finding a table under the pavilion, Lydia snuck off “to use the bathroom,” but left behind a disguised love letter in the form of a crossword. Assuming Abbey would be snoopy (as she usually is with Lydia’s crosswords), the letter would lead her to the spot of the first date.”
“Ten minutes passed, no Abbey. Turns out she was deeply engrossed in her book. Finally, Lydia sent a text to seal the deal — “I’m stuck on 21 down. Will you help me? I can’t stop thinking about it, and it’s making it hard to poo.” Alas, she finally laid eyes on the letter, promptly started crying happy/surprised tears, and took off to our picnic spot. Lydia, so busy being anxious about the planning, forgot to come up with the words to say when the moment came. But it was something along the lines of, “Do you wanna be my wife?” Best. Day. Ever.”
(OMG these custom pet portrait patches!! They pair perfectly with all that embroidery, and they’re such a cute way to pay tribute to your pups on your big day!)
And the story of proposal #2? “Seconds after Lydia proposed to Abbey, she knew it was time to get serious about planning her own proposal,” the couple says. “After about 500 different ideas, she settled on one that felt like it captured them as a couple. With the help of the same two friends who assisted in the first proposal, the sneaky planning began.”
“The week of the proposal, Abbey told Lydia she had to “work on Saturday morning”. Which set up phase two of the plan, have one of our friends ask Lydia to go rock climbing on Saturday morning. This particular rock climbing location is the first place Lydia took Abbey to go rock climbing, and where Abbey fell in love with the sport that Lydia already loved.”
“On the morning of the proposal, Abbey went to the spot early with one friend and set up more coffee, croissants, and a “pathway of pictures” for Lydia to follow. It was an anxious 30 minutes of waiting until Abbey finally heard Lydia start walking towards her. Abbey was also nervous and was not sure what to say, but it was somewhere along the lines of. “Will you marry me back?” Also, the best day ever. So many best days.”
Get on Lydia + Abbey’s proposal creativity level with our big list of proposal ideas!
A Bonfire On The Beach
The rocky shores of Ruby Beach are home to tons of protected marine wildlife — even some precious tufted puffins — but on Lydia + Abbey’s big day, the beach was the site of a super sweet + cosy micro reception picnic.
We’re 100% obsessed with all of the floral embroidery on Abbey’s wedding suit.
Oh, and you need to see our writeup on why we LOVE embroidered wedding suits if you’re digging Lydia’s burgundy Nudie Suit-inspired look as much as we are.
Also: these bridal sneakers — an iconic pair of white Sk8-Hi Vans — had Lydia’s coolness factor of the charts.
Our Advice
Make the day about you! Do what feels best for you as a couple and not what anyone else wants for you. You will remember and cherish the day more, knowing you got to do it exactly how you wanted to do it.
Beach. Bonfire. Beers. What could be better?
There is so much to love about a luxury picnic like this — such a great way to take an already fun al fresco feast and elevate it even more.
At the end of the day, It all comes back to charcuterie. “We went to Wilson Park, a park about a mile away from our house that we share together now,” the couple says of their first date. “Abbey spent far too much on a charcuterie board that we didn’t eat because of the nerves. But thankfully, we had two bottles of wine that helped ease our nerves pretty quickly. We had a 5-hour picnic that went until it was dark outside. And we may have accidentally squashed the charcuterie board when we had our first kiss that same evening.”
And a deliciously designed charcuterie board like this one was the perfect dinner option for Abbey + Lydia’s micro wedding guest list.
Congratulations, Abbey + Lydia! Your micro wedding in the Olympic Mountains was romantic, rainy, outdoorsy perfection. GWS wishes you both all the best!
Wedding Vendors
Photography: The Cardinals // Venue: Hoh Rain Forest // Wedding Suit: Etsy // Desserts: Middle Child Cookies
