GETTING MARRIED ON ORCAS ISLAND, WA
a soft guide to getting married or eloping on the largest of the San Juan Islands
mountaintop views, mossy forests, and a ferry ride that gives everyone time to exhale before the weekend begins
WHY GET MARRIED HERE?
This island has a way of making big days feel smaller and bigger at the same time.
Smaller because it strips away everything extra, bigger because everything that's left actually matters.
It's horseshoe-shaped, mostly rural, deeply forested, and stubbornly itself. No big box stores. No chain hotels. No backdrop that looks like everywhere else. It’s just water, moss, old growth, and microclimates that do something different every hour.
We've photographed weddings and elopements here for years. Cliffside ceremonies, backyard receptions, Doe Bay in the rain, the beach in the golden hour everyone hopes for. Every one of them felt like Orcas, not like a venue.
If you're picturing your day and it includes quiet, trees, water, and people who actually know each other, you're picturing this island.
GETTING THERE
BY FERRY (THE CLASSIC)
Washington State Ferries runs service from Anacortes to Orcas Island year-round. The drive from Seattle to Anacortes is about 1.5-2 hours, traffic depending, and the ferry crossing is roughly another 1.5 hours. If your wedding is in summer, tell your guests early: vehicle reservations open about two months before the season starts, and they go fast, it’s practically a ticket drop. Walk-ons board standby and you can park in the lot at the dock, but if you're bringing a car in summer, reserve early. Like, months early.
WAITING IN ANACORTES?
The ferry queue is part of the rituaL, lean into it. Once you're in line, you're in line, but there's a walk right along the water that's actually lovely, so stretch your legs, watch the herons, and let the pace shift before you even board. Bring a book, bring snacks. If you've got extra time in Anacortes before you need to be in line, stop at Pelican Bay for coffee, poke around for a used book, and if you have even more time than that, the views from Mt. Erie will make you wonder why you'd never been before.
THE SEAPLANE (THE SHORTCUT)
Kenmore Air flies direct from Seattle's Lake Union or Boeing Field to Eastsound Airport, year-round. It takes about 35 minutes and the aerial views of the islands are genuinely unreal. If you're eloping, honeymooning, or done waiting in ferry lines, this is the move. No car required if you're staying in or near Eastsound.
SUMMER (JUNE – SEPTEMBER)
Peak season for a reason! long golden evenings, everything in bloom, ferries packed with people who had the same idea you did. If this is your season, book early, both your date with us and your guests' ferry reservations. Worth every bit of the planning it takes.
SHOULDER (APRIL – MAY, OCTOBER)
This is honestly our favorite time to be on island. May has that spring-into-summer energy of the island waking up, warm days are starting, and the hype is real, but it's still quiet. October is the opposite mood in terms of slower, moodier, golden light with that PNW-fall feeling. Both give you the island without the crowds.
WINTER (NOVEMBER - MARCH)
Low key, slow, local. Not for everyone, but if you're drawn to it, it’s intimate, atmospheric, and candlelit. Some venues and vendors scale back this time of year, so plan ahead, but an elopement in the quiet season has its own kind of magic. Let the pace of the island do what it does.
VENUES
FOR WATERFRONT AND GARDEN
🌿 Outlook Inn — Sara's Garden and the little wood chapel tucked behind the inn. Waterfront views for intimate dinners (think ~17 guests) or bigger gatherings inside up to 150. Right in the heart of Eastsound, walkable to everything.
🐑 Pebble Cove Farm — a working animal sanctuary on its own private cove. Take over the whole farm for the weekend, and don't be surprised if a goat or a pig wanders into your cocktail hour. Genuinely one of the most unexpected, joyful spots we've shot.
🧜 Orcas Hotel — right at the ferry landing, full of vintage charm, could rent the ten rooms and whole space out. Great if you want guests to step off the boat into the party.
⛵ Rosario — currently getting a full facelift as a venue, right on Cascade Bay. We're photographing the first wedding back here this summer… more to come on this one soon.
FOR FOREST & FIELD
🌲 Moran State Park Lodge — classic summer-camp-in-the-woods energy, set inside the park itself. Beautiful if rustic-meets-grand is your vibe.
🍇 Orcas Island Winery — indoor/outdoor space, especially gorgeous in spring and fall.
🎶 Oddfellows Hall — budget-friendly, right in town, a big open dance hall. Bring the right decor and lighting and it transforms completely.
RENT THE WHOLE PLACE
🏡 Private properties — some of the most stunning weddings we've shot weren't venues, just a rented house with the right view. Cliffside spots like Doe Meadow is a favorite, and you get the whole property to yourselves for the weekend.
🐚 Doe Bay — they've stepped back from hosting weddings, but if your group and vibe are the right fit, it's worth asking. Still one of our favorite spots on the island.
🌊 Saltwater Farm — technically on San Juan Island, but worth the extra ferry hop if it's calling to you!
VENDORS WE LOVE
PLANNING
Cloud9 Events, for couples who want someone local handling the logistics so you don't have to.
OFFICIANT
Jared Lovejoy, who brings warmth and presence to the ceremony itself. He's family, tell us you want him and we'll connect you.
FLORALS
Nest on Orcas, run by Cindy, who also does day-of coordination so your florals and logistics come from the same person who already knows the island inside and out.
CATERING
Matia and Blue Heron both bring island-grown, considered menus that feel like part of the experience. For something with a little more theater, Paella San Juan cooks up huge pans of paella right in front of your guests!
MUSIC
Madison West for live sets, or get DJ Bruce Pavitt (yes, the Sub Pop co-founder) involved… only on Orcas could that even be a sentence.
We see you’ve somehow found
THE VORTEX.
WE’RE HAPPY YOU’RE HERE.
we're hallie + whitney — a photographer duo who shoot documentary-style. that means we're not staging your day, we're following it. the real laughs, the messy hair, the way your people look at you when they think no one's watching.
if any part of this guide made you think yes, that's the day we want!
we'd love to hear from you.
A NOTE ABOUT THE ISLAND
Orcas is small and alive in a way that places with more infrastructure often aren't. The businesses here are run by people who chose to be here, which means what you spend supports actual humans with actual lives on an island with limited resources and no backup plan. Tip well. Say thank you like you mean it.
Please tread lightly, the island is alive.