Is there anything more iconic and more quintessentially Washington than the ferry boats? It’s a perfect venue — beautiful scenery, open air, sea breeze, Seattle skyline and mountain views of the Olympics and Cascades. All for the price of a ferry ticket.

If you're planning an adventure elopement in Olympic or on the San Juan Islands — let your ferry ride be part of your story and capture your journey out there too! A really lovely way way to tie in a more casual couple's or engagement session.⁠ And again, just absolutely iconic.

These two are getting married over on Olympic later this month — stay tuned for adventure part two 😍

A few tips for planning your ferry portrait session:

Aim for golden hour — aim for the first or last hours of daylight
Weekdays ONLY — weekends get packed on the ferries!
Avoid rush hour — especially for the Seattle/Bainbridge route, this is a popular commuter ferry (I can help you navigate timing between rush hour and golden hour and select routes and times that won’t be super packed!)
Consider off-peak months — November through April are much quieter than summer
Pack a layer — even in summer it can get chilly and windy out on the water
Aim to board first — show up at least 1 hour before departure if you’re driving on; more for high-traffic times
Some ferry routes require reservations, some are first-come-first serve (I’ll help you navigate this too)

By the way… did you know you can marry on a ferry?

It’s true — you can elope on the WSDOT ferries! You are totally allowed to just stroll up and have a wedding ceremony on the ferry boats. You don’t even need a permit. Just a gorgeous wedding on the water for the price of a ferry ticket.

From the WSDOT website: “Ferries are open to the public at all times. We do not offer private changing rooms or separate event space on the ferry. For this reason, small wedding parties during non-commuter sailings are recommended.”

Sometimes the ferries are rather crowded, and some crossings can be quite short — I’ll help you plan a route that works to give you enough time for your ceremony, plus portraits around the boat, and doesn’t feel super crowded so you can still have some intimacy for your vows. We might plan a round trip excursion with a stopover for a dinner and celebrations — ceremony on the outbound trip, dinner on land to celebrate, then a return trip timed perfectly for golden hour to give you incredible portraits.

Interested in a ferry session or an elopement on the WSDOT ferries? Get in touch — I’ll help you plan it and capture the whole thing!