ROCHE HARBOR WEDDING | LAURA & BRIAN

Oh man, where to start with this amazing Roche Harbor wedding on San Juan Island. Laura and Brian are both transplants to the Pacific Northwest because they absolutely fell in love with all it has to offer. When they got engaged last winter and began wedding planning, they knew they wanted to get married somewhere amazing in Washington. When they found Roche Harbor Resort, they knew they had found the perfect place to start their life together as man and wife.

My trip out to meet up with Laura & Brian started the day before the big event with an amazing ferry ride from Anacortes to San Juan Island. The weather was absolutely gorgeous and the mountains were out; a perfect setup for what was ahead. I spent the evening exploring the island, enjoying some delicious pizza at a local spot called Van Go’s, and finding an AMAZING spot to watch the sunset. I ended the night taking some photos of the stars and all the boats docked at the harbor.

The morning of August 26th was exactly what any bride could hope for; sunny and bright, not too hot, just perfect summer weather in Washington. Laura was geared up and ready to go when I joined her and her best ladies in the bridal suite above the resort. She calmed some nerves with a few champagne toasts alongside her besties, then wasted no time jumping into her dress and jetting off in a golf cart to get her man.

Brian got ready with his best dudes in a cabin across the resort and also traveled by golf cart to a lovely spot we had picked for their first look. Laura and I took a short detour on our way to meet Brian and snapped some bridal portraits on top of the hill above where Brian was waiting. It was pretty cool because he had no idea we were up there and he couldn’t turn around, haha. The two lovebirds shared an intimate first look and then the three of us ventured around the resort snapping some portraits before heading back towards the garden area of the resort for family photos. Throughout it all, the stars of the show couldn’t keep their eyes and hands off of each other. So much happiness filled the air; these two were more than ready to be married.

Next was the ceremony in the Roche Harbor gardens. Laura & Brian exchanged vows written on a map of the Cascade mountain range, something super unique that I’d never seen before and so quintessentially them (they had specifically wanted a mountainous scene for their engagement session which you can see here). After their first kiss as man and wife, we took a super fun group photo with all of the guests and then wasted no time getting to the party.

After eating and dancing a bit, everyone traveled out to the docks at sunset to watch the colors ceremony, which is when the flags of Roche Harbor, Washington state, Great Britain, Canada, and the United States are retired by the dock staff each evening. Before the American flag comes down, a cannon shot booms through the harbor. It’s a pretty cool tradition to witness, especially on such a momentous occasion. After the ceremony ends, the weather is announced along with recognition of special guests and occasions being celebrated around the resort, including Laura & Brian! As soon as we heard their names announced, we jetted off once again in our golf cart complete with our own chauffeur to catch some more portraits with the amazing setting sun. It was truly an epic sunset and from the mouth of our driver who had been there all summer, the “best one of the season.” I’ll take it sir!

After getting some amazing shots, we headed back to the party just in time for the live entertainment of the evening to begin: the Whiskeydicks! These guys were absolutely rad, a trio of celtic-gypsy party rockers from Canada. Laura & Brian had seen them play together up in Whistler before they were engaged and Laura knew that when they got married, they HAD to have these guys play their wedding. She got her wish! The guys kept the crowd dancing until the very end and everyone was having such a blast.

The whole weekend was a dream, thank you so much to the Flynns for welcoming me and for just being the most fun people to hang out and party down with. Please enjoy the photos below, it’s a long one but a good one, I promise. 😀