Tanya and Bryan’s Wedding
All Pictures by Noorewok Photography – unless otherwise noted.
Daddy’s Girl
Tanya was a daddy’s girl for many of her grade school years, but I knew that one day in the future the day would come when I’d be giving her away. She excelled in school and went on to get her master’s degree and start a career before settling down. The graduation timing was perfect for buying her childhood home and we gifted a large portion to her so she didn’t need a down payment and could get better interest rates. We had to cut our new Alaska home budget, but it was worth it knowing that the house would stay in the family, and she would eventually raise kids there too. The house was originally her great-grandparent’s home before so it has been in the family for many years and now four generations. She always liked the outdoors growing up and helped me on many projects, so her later choice of a wedding venue came as no surprise.
She met her future husband Bryan while finishing college and dated for a few years before deciding to get married. Most of his family lives in Minnesota so the date was set a few months out as guests would be flying in from Alaska, Minnesota, and locations in between. We began planning our trip and making plans on what days we would be visiting people in different areas, but we had to shorten our visit due to Hannah’s father’s health so those plans got cut short. Getting down to Washington was straightforward enough and it was the first time going back since we fled there. Trying to find a ride from the airport was the biggest part of the challenge, other than packing dress clothes in carry-on luggage. We planned on travelling light and washing our clothes when needed so we didn’t have to worry about waiting for or packing around luggage. Since her wedding was outdoors, we kept an eye on the local forecast there as well as the South Dakota forecast so we knew what the pack. Our forecasts in Alaska generally aren’t accurate beyond half a day, but they seem to be way more accurate in the Lower 48. Both forecasts were dry with temperatures in the upper 60’s so we wouldn’t need coats or anything else for the entire trip.
The time finally came to head down, so we put Kimber in a dog kennel for the week before going to the airport in Anchorage. Kimber had never been boarded before so we hoped she wouldn’t have a meltdown from separation anxiety while we were gone. The flight was delayed, and strong headwinds made it even later getting into Seattle, so we knew it was going to be a long day. Our son was coming back for the wedding from college in Eastern Washington, so he picked us up at the airport. It was definitely a culture shock leaving the airport and seeing all the people and traffic after getting used to living in rural Alaska. We were very hungry as we hadn’t had a chance to eat before leaving, but we waited until we got to Olympia as we didn’t want to stop anywhere in that Seattle madhouse. We had originally planned on eating at the airport before boarding, but a delayed airport shuttle ride made us almost late for our flight.
Tanya’s future in-laws rented a large beach house for the reception and for guests to stay in the Seabrook development in Pacific Beach. She put us in the guest room in the carriage house while Jessica joined the other kids downstairs in the main house. We were happy to finally get somewhere to get some rest. We did keep waking up all night from traffic noise on the highway as we had gotten used to virtually complete silence, but the room was nice and comfortable. The wedding was the next day, so we tried getting as much sleep as possible. I had originally based our travel dates on my previous job and set schedule, but that all changed a few weeks before we left.
Getting ready on the wedding day
We woke up the next morning and helped Tanya get ready for the wedding and reception. There was a lot of food and stuff to get prepared for the guests along with decorating the house. I severely lack decorating skills so I just did what I was told by the “professionals” to help where I could. I know some about cooking and food preparation, so I eventually moved to the kitchen where I knew what I was doing. Hannah and I continued on until it was time for me to meet the wedding guests at the Navy Base and caravan them into the wedding spot. Jessica was a bridesmaid and rode down with us. We did what we could until Grandparents Scott and Laurel showed up to take over operations. This was one of the most important events in her life so we wanted to do everything we could do to make it turn out as perfect and memorable as possible for her.
We went to the Navy Base and met all the guests. We hadn’t seen a lot of the people in many years, so it was nice to visit with them for a while. We had never met any of Bryan’s family, so it was great to finally meet them. The road leading to the wedding site was a gravel logging road with no parking other than on the dead-end road so I encouraged everyone to carpool in the rigs that had the most ground clearance to help avoid anyone ripping their transmission pan open on a rock. Some cars were rentals, so they took those so be careful if you ever purchase a rental car or better yet try avoiding them in some areas of the country. Jumping rental cars over the Alaska frost heaves is pretty common so definitely watch it if you get one from Alaska. Conversely if you ever rent a car in Alaska, tell them you plan on heading to McCarthy and watch them FREAK OUT. On second thought, don’t do that or they won’t rent it to you.
The venue
Tanya and Bryan chose to have their wedding at Elephant Rock at the mouth of Raft River on the Quinault Indian Reservation. There is no vehicle access to the site meaning that guests would have to hike in, so dress was casual, which was fine with me as I’m not much of a getting dressed up type of person. I got married in a pair of Carhartt blue jeans and a T-shirt, although I did wear a dress shirt this time. Elephant Rock had originally got its name from its elephant like appearance, however its “Trunk” fell off a few years ago so it doesn’t look as “elephantish” anymore. This area is on the Pacific Ocean and has a large area of flat coastal shrubs and trees, which also adds to the backdrop. The weather started out perfectly, but we could see a fog bank developing offshore. This happens along the coast there all summer when the inland weather gets hot.
The Bridesmaids
The Bridesmaids consisted of Jessica and Tanya’s other two sisters while Bryan chose his brothers and Jeffery to be his Groomsmen. They also put had their dogs Cali and George as part of the wedding party. Most guests were able to walk down, but others needed help. Luckily Tanya’s childhood friend and the wedding photographer (Noorewok Photography – who took almost all of the photos featured in this story) had four-wheelers to give them rides to the beach. Unfortunately, the photographer could not take the photos and give people rides at the same time, so I got volunteered to help shuttle people who couldn’t physically make the trek. It took a few trips back and forth for us to get everyone to the beach, but we did it. The Washington trails were way tamer than many of the Alaskan ones, so that made it easier for me.
Photos below by Noorewok Photography
The Groomsmen
The Groomsmen and officiant waited down by the ocean along with the guests while the bride and bridesmaids prepared themselves out of sight behind the tree line. They understandably did not risk getting all dressed up before walking down the trail. This also gave the photographer a chance to get pictures of all of them before the wedding started. After all the guests were at the beach, I went to let them know that everyone was ready.
Walking Tanya Down The “Isle”
The “I do’s”
The Bridesmaids spaced themselves out about 30 seconds and slowly walked down to where the Groomsmen and officiant were. I walked Tanya down behind them and gave her hand to Bryan before retreating into the crowd to watch and get some pictures and video. The ceremony went well, and they had written their own vows to each other. I welcomed Bryan to the family (even though it’s too late and he’s stuck with us now) and let him know that it’s too late now as returns aren’t allowed. The photographer started taking more pictures of the wedding party and the guests started walking back up the trail to go to the reception. I helped haul guests on the four-wheeler that couldn’t make the walk back to their cars.
More photos at the beach
The Reception
Bryan and Tanya had tons of many different types of food for the wedding reception. The fresh steamer clams were my favorite as we’re too far inland to get those easily, so they were a delicacy. Salmon was also on the menu, but I left that for the other guests as we had just gone dip netting for Alaskan Reds (Sockeye salmon), so we were officially fished out. I was very happy to see that they had thought of me and got me a stash of Irish Death. The speeches were good, although Jeffery had to be brought back on track to include Tanya in his, and the cake cutting went off without a hitch or either one of them getting a face full of cake. The rest of the night was just relaxing and visiting with people that we hadn’t seen for a few years.
Jeffery took Jessica to spend the night in the “Fort” behind Tanya’s house so they could check on Tanya’s dogs and visit. The Fort was originally built when Tanya was little so it was a great chance for Jessice to visit what used to be her childhood home too. We visited with a lot of people and finally went to bed, We were both exhausted from travelling and the lack of sleep the night before so we slept hard. I don’t think that we would have been woken up by a bomb going off at that point. It was definitely a long, but memorable day. We wish Bryan and Tanya the best as they start their new life together.
The New House Sign
The pictures in this story are by Noorewok Photography and we highly recommend them for your Washington photography needs.
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