Our Sunrise Elopement at Colchuck Lake in the Enchantments
On June 23, I married my favorite person, above an alpine lake, with a granite peak behind us and the morning light just starting to spill over the ridge. I am Becky Chambers, an Oregon adventure elopement photographer, and this time the couple was me and Brian and the photographer was Alicia with Cascadia Photography. We hiked four and a half miles in the dark to reach Colchuck Lake in Washington’s Enchantments. It was the most “us” thing we could have done.
Where is Colchuck Lake?
Colchuck Lake sits in the Enchantments, a stretch of the Alpine Lakes Wilderness near Leavenworth, Washington. It is one of the two gateways to the Enchantments, about four and a half miles up from the Stuart Lake trailhead, with roughly 2,300 feet of climbing and a steep, rocky final push. The reward is a turquoise, glacier fed lake with Dragontail Peak towering over the far shore. It is a fairy tale. The kind of place that does not feel real until you are standing in front of it.
Why did we elope in the mountains at sunrise?
Because it was the truest version of us. Brian and I love a hard hike and a big view, so a quiet ceremony at the top of one felt more like a wedding than any reception hall ever could. We wanted the effort to be part of the promise. You carry each other up the hard part, and then you vow to keep doing exactly that. Eloping let the whole day stay about the two of us, our words, and the mountains. Also, there tend to be fewer people at sunrise.
What was our elopement day like?
Our adventure started the day before as we traveled from Mt Hood to Seattle, a city I had somehow never explored downtown. We wandered Pike Place Market, ate lunch by the water near the big Ferris wheel, and I picked out a dried bouquet and Brian’s boutonniere right there in the market. Dried flowers felt trail friendly, and they were.
Then we drove east into the Cascades on Highway 2, which curves just south of Mount Baker and hands you one gorgeous river and ridgeline after another. We rolled into Leavenworth, a town built to look like a Bavarian Christmas village, and checked into our room. We had an early start coming, so a real bed mattered. That evening we met our photographer, Alicia, for dinner. She happened to be staying at the same hotel, which felt like a good omen. We talked through the plan, then went to bed.
We had prepped everything the night before. My dress went into the hiking pack, along with our vows, the rings, and the flowers. We hit the trail at 2:30 AM by headlamp. The first couple of miles are gentle, then the last stretch turns steep and rocky. Somewhere in the dark we heard a chirping sound we are fairly sure was a cougar sizing us up. Brian is loud, so I think it decided we were not worth the trouble.
The light started to come up right as we reached the steep scramble, which was perfect timing for the hands and knees part. I crested the trail first, looked up, and there it was. The lake, the peaks, the whole enchanted scene. We found a quiet rock, changed into our wedding clothes, and read the vows we had written for each other. We did our best at a hand fasting ceremony, mostly making it up as we went, and exchanged rings. Then Alicia made photos while we stood there a little stunned by all of it.
We timed the walk down almost perfectly. We passed close to 75 people heading up as we came down, which means we had our ceremony in near solitude. Ten minutes later and it would have been a very different morning.
Do you need a permit to elope at Colchuck Lake?
For a day trip, you fill out a free self issue wilderness permit right at the trailhead and a Northwest Forest Pass which is what we did. If you want to camp overnight in the Enchantments, that requires a permit from a competitive spring lottery that very few people win. A Northwest Forest Pass covers parking, but dogs are not allowed on the trail. If you are planning an elopement here, go on a weekday and start early. We were on the trail at 2:30 AM and had the lake almost to ourselves for our vows.
Dreaming of an adventure elopement of your own?
If hiking to your vows sounds like your kind of wedding, I would love to help you plan it. You do not have to drive all the way to Washington to find a view like this. Some of my favorite adventure elopement spots are right here in Oregon, close to home near Mt. Hood. I put together a whole guide on where to elope near Mt. Hood, with locations, seasons, and how the day flows.
I am Becky Chambers of Studio 623 Photography, and after more than 20 years behind the camera, helping couples run off somewhere beautiful is one of my very favorite things. Come see where you could elope on Mt. Hood, and let’s dream up a day that feels like you.
