Intimate Seattle Courthouse Wedding with Super8
Zoe and Nate are just about the SWEETEST humans you will meet. Their Seattle courthouse wedding featured rad views of the city and cool photos and video captured on mixed media. This intimate wedding is a perfect example of the full experience you can create in a small time frame. In this post, I share the amazing mixed media from their elopement along with tips for your Seattle courthouse wedding. You’ll be obsessed with this artistic approach to creating a unique wedding day.
A Seattle Courthouse Wedding
Seattle courthouse weddings are getting more popular by the day. It’s easy to understand why. It’s very affordable, and the courthouse and location are dreamy. You won’t believe the views from the floor-to-ceiling windows and rooftop. The waiting area is a viewpoint and has beautiful indoor lighting. If the weather is good, you can have your ceremony on the rooftop with an incredible view of Seattle and the bay. It seriously looks like you’re getting married on top of the world.
Some of my favorite photos from this day are the portraits of Zoe and Nate in the waiting area. I had so much fun getting creative with the bright light and deep shadows. And Zoe’s veil! The embroidery gave it the perfect artistic touch. Her bouquet couldn’t have matched it better.
The breezy rooftop ceremony created a beautiful contrast to the quieter portraits. Zoe and Nate were all teary smiles from start to finish. I love that they got to have such an intimate ceremony without the bustle of a conventional wedding day. It really felt just right for them.
Zoe and Nate’s two best friends joined them for the ceremony. (The Seattle Municipal Court has a strict eight-person limit for weddings.) The rest of the group waited downstairs and formed a decent crowd outside the building. Initially, Zoe and Nate thought maybe ten friends would make the trip up from Texas for their elopement, but almost forty people ended up coming. Their entire group of family and friends was so warm. It was exactly what you’d want an elopement to be.
What to Know for Your Seattle Courthouse Wedding
If Zoe and Nate’s wedding sounds perfect to you, you might want to plan a Seattle courthouse wedding too. Here are some helpful tips for planning your ceremony and celebration.
Getting Seattle Marriage License
King County makes it relatively easy to apply for a marriage license. You can even complete a large part of the process online. For a full list of documentation requirements, head to the King County Marriage Licensing page.
The State of Washington has a 3-day waiting period, and the license is void after 60 days of the purchase date. That means you should apply for your Seattle marriage license with an appropriate margin of time before your wedding.
Scheduling Your Ceremony
A judge can officiate your Seattle courthouse wedding. The courthouse can share a list of judges available. Request your courthouse wedding ceremony using this form. You’re only allowed to bring six people with you to your ceremony. The rest can wait downstairs to cheer you on like Zoe and Nate’s friends and family did.
Celebrating after You Say “I do”
Seattle’s Municipal Courthouse is right in Downtown Seattle. That’s why you get such a phenomenal view from the rooftop. After your wedding ceremony, there are endless ways to celebrate with your new spouse. You can
Walk around the city for a newlywed portrait session.
Ride the ferris wheel and have a picnic at Waterfront Park.
Eat at any of the incredible restaurants downtown, such as Cafe Campagne, Dockside at Dukes, or Canlis.
Documenting the Day on Mixed Media
For Zoe and Nate’s Seattle courthouse wedding, I used a mix of analog film, GFX digital, and Super8. This mix really captured the ease and intimacy of the day. You look at these images and watch the video, and you feel what they felt. You experience the artistry of the celebration they crafted with so much love and intentionality.
Vintage mixed media suited the setting, too. A courthouse elopement has a vibe of instant nostalgia. These photos and this video balance modern and old-school in a way that makes them timeless in the truest sense. Zoe and Nate can relive the joy of their wedding day now or 50 years from now.
Their reception venue, a combination art gallery and dive bar called Vermillion, also had a kitschy aesthetic that worked with film and Super8. Exposed brick and vibrant signage translate into a dreamy backdrop with these media.
You’d never know it from looking at these photos and Super8, but Zoe and Nate only booked me for two hours of coverage. In that timeframe, we were able to create a huge variety of portraits and candid moments to tell the full story of their wedding day. If you’re eloping or having a micro wedding with a flexible timeline, you can create so much magic in a short amount of time! You really can do your wedding day your way.
Would you like me to photograph your Seattle courthouse wedding? I’ll document life like you remember it. Reach out to me here!