Elopements

A Whimsical Airbnb Small Wedding in the Woods of Packwood, WA

Leah and Veronica held a private elopement ceremony with an intimate group of their loved ones present. This small Airbnb wedding in Packwood, WA is the perfect greenery-filled elopement you’re looking for.

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About This Small Wedding in the Woods of Packwood

Photography by TMinspired Photography

“No two weddings are built the same, and sometimes a wedding actually needs…two weddings! Or at least, two unique celebrations. For Leah and Veronica, this meant a private micro wedding/elopement ceremony surrounded by greenery here in Washington. The two have a larger reception planned for a later date, where they can invite more people and celebrate more widely.

Leah and Veronica chose this for their wedding because they envisioned the ceremony to be a more private, personal, and unique experience. In order to make getting married feel most like them, they planned this private elopement.

Incorporating lots of the outdoors, leafy elements, and greenery is a huge draw for weddings today. And I personally love this shift into earthy, grounded, natural elements. At Leah and Veronica’s elopement, they had minimal man-made decor to allow for the setting and scenery its moment in the spotlight.

Since family and friends were the most important part of the day for them, the priority was on a relaxed, fun, and effortless elopement.” [Taylor, the photographer]

Explore more places to elope in Washington.

Deciding to Plan an Intimate Wedding

“After watching many of our friends get married over the last few years, we saw the drama and stress of planning a large wedding. We are very simple people and wanted a wedding that would be fun and allow us to make time move slower on our wedding day. We wanted to be able to truly enjoy the time with each other and our friends and family without feeling rushed. Additionally, we also didn’t want to spend loads on a wedding since we were paying for the majority of it ourselves. Ultimately, on top of the logistics and financial aspect of having an elopement, our goal was a wedding day that truly celebrated our love in an intimate setting without the hustle and bustle of a large wedding.” [The couple]

Learn how to plan a micro wedding!

Planning an Airbnb Wedding

“Taylor gave us suggestions for local florists and make-up artists from her experience working with their teams. Next, we found a location on AirBnB to stay and have our ceremony. A little risky since we only had the posting pictures and description to work off of for planning. We invited 9 people to our elopement and wanted all of us to be able to stay together. One of our secrets was that we married on a Tuesday instead of a weekend which made everything cheaper and more available.

On our wedding day, our friends and family were very helpful for set up, meal prep, and take down. Our makeup artist, Rebecca Taff, from Beauty Boss, traveled out to our AirBnB in Index, and one of our guests picked up our flowers locally that morning from Love Blooms. Taylor and Nathan even returned our arbor for us; bless their hearts!” [The couple]

Estimate Cost

“In total, we spent roughly $13,000 on the whole elopement, which included two days in Seattle prior to driving out to our Airbnb. We also went on a ‘mini-moon’ after our elopement to explore other parts of Washington for a couple of days afterward.” [The couple]

Permits and LNT When Planning a Micro Wedding

“With a property from Airbnb, you need to be flexible in that most of these spaces have never hosted a wedding before, and they aren’t striving to be “perfect,” so it throws the perfection vibe out the window. The huge thing to note is that Airbnb actually has new restrictions in place due to all of these weddings taking place. For those who host their space on the site, it is now against the terms to host wedding events on their property. Primarily because they don’t have the proper permits in place that an event venue requires to have.” [Taylor, the photographer]

When booking an Airbnb wedding Taylor shares these tips:

You NEED to make sure the host is okay with it. This is their property you’ll be on and their risk for allowing the event to happen given the new terms and conditions. You can also check Peerspace and VRBO as their terms may be different.
Follow any guidelines given by the host in terms of noise restraints, headcount, and property information. You can also ask for guidance on how to minimize the impact on the property. Understand that there won’t be management on site to help if the power goes out. Settle into your ‘carefree’ attitude.
Don’t trash the place! Even though it is private property, you should still take care of the land that surrounds you. Ensure that all trash and decor are cleaned up and removed from the property after your wedding is over. Leave the property in the same condition as it was found when you arrived. You could also go one step further to reduce overall waste with disposable items. Use reusable plates, cups, and utensils instead of disposable ones. Encourage guests to recycle and compost if possible.

Learn more about planning an Airbnb wedding.

Memorable Moments From This Small Airbnb Wedding

From the photographer:

“What a heartwarming experience Leah and Veronica’s wedding day was. It was evident that there was such a deep love and kindness shared between the couple and their loved ones. They all filled the atmosphere with warmth and joy. I was struck by the emotional connections between everyone present and the sense of community and togetherness that permeated throughout the event.”

From the couple:

“By far, our favorite part was having all 9 of our guests come out 2 days before our ceremony. We were able to spend quality time together hiking, swimming, and making meals together. Being surrounded by all the people you love the most is a wonderful gift. And, of course, marrying each other was a great perk!”

Vendors

Photography | TMinspired Photography
Videography | Ochoa Wedding Films
Arbor & Florals | Love Blooms