Whidbey Island Wedding at the Wayfarer

Rustic Wedding

Apr 14

Written By Becca Jones- Seattle Wedding Photographer

Annie & Ryan

Tuscan Inspired wedding at the Wayfarer on Whidbey Island

It’s truely a pacific north west treat when you start your wedding day with a ride on the ferry across puget sound. Annie & Ryan wanted to give their guests a little taste of the PNW with a their wedding at the

Wayfarer on Whidbey Island.

When I arrived at Annies airbnb near downtown Langley on Whidbey, her hair & makeup was nearly finished by the talented, Yessie Libby. Yessie is one of my favorite professional makeup artists because she always finishes ontime, her brides look/feel radiant and she gifts her brides a high end touch up lipstick. This touchup lip is KEY to maintaining your wedding look all day. While Yessie was putting the finishing touches on Annie’s natural wedding day makeup and updo inspired Megan Markle, I gathered all her wedding details to style & photograph. —

Invitation (Made by Annie! Just wait til you see, I was gob smacked too!! They were like a work of art)
Rings — An oval cut diamond solitaire mounted on classic gold band fro,
Shoes (Oscar De La Renta, 😍)
Bridesmaid gifts (A luxurious charcoal robe, champagne, necklace in a polka dot box)

Next we stepped outside to pop mini pink champagne bottles & toast to our glowing bride. After an uneventful pop where we twisted off caps and looked shocked when they didn’t explode, we counted our blessings that we weren’t covered in champagne and headed over to the venue to get dressed.

Arriving at the Wayfarer on Whidbey Island feels like driving in the Tuscan countryside. A row of tall trees billowing in a flowery breeze around sprawling grounds dotted by white iron cafe tables shaded by beige canvas umbrellas. We ducked into Annie’s bridal cottage surrounded by heavily fruiting apple trees and Annie stepped out onto the wrap around porch in her Enzoani from La Belle Elaine’s Bridal in Seattle to zip up her gown and do a few portraits with the most important women in her life, their moms & bridesmaids. Fun fact, Annie found her dress here in Seattle and then flew it home to New Zealand where the couple lives and then flew it back to the PNW for the wedding. That dress is WELL traveled! hah.

During their first look, the couple decided to exchange their wedding gifts. For the bride, Ryan gifted her an heirloom, leather bound copy of Pride & Prejudice. For the groom, Annie commissioned a custom pen & ink drawing of their home and had it framed. Great gift choices you two!

After a meandering the grounds of the Wayfarer for bride & groom photos, the bridal party joined us on the dance floor for some photos. We wrapped those up and the bridal party ate a quick lunch before guests arrived for the Ceremony in the apple orchard.

It was a quick and intimate ceremony, officiated by their close friend Aaron (Who totally CRUSHED IT!) Well done Aaron! They exchanged their first kiss as an officially wed couple and then it was time for family photos! The guests had cocktail hour on the upper lawn with vintage tunes to set the mood from a record player. SWOON

To announce dinner, the couple rang the wayfarer’s antique triangle (So whimsical!) and the guests were invited to find their seats at one long table that felt like it was something out of a movie scene. The table was bedecked in mostly local flowers & greenery from Whidbey island by the Wayfarer team. Got to love that the venue offers a floral package! It was perfectly styled with whimsical charm.

Guests were served family style by local Whidbey Island Catering company, Serendipity Catering. What a SPREAD! Combined with perfect pairings of locally sourced wine, chosen & provided by the bride & groom. After a round of funny & tearful toasts, we ventured over to the barn for a quick cutting of a ‘nearly naked cake’ from CJY Desserts. For those that aren’t wedding cake eaters, the couple doubled down on dessert by having waitress passed mini berry cobblers ala mode. OMG guys. I totally ate one. Because, duh. It was AMAZEBALLS. Best cobbler I’ve ever eaten. I highly recommend all summer weddings add this tasty treat to their dessert menu for guests.

The rest of the evening went by in a blur of sunset photos, first dances lawn games & smores’. What a magical evening! Thank you for choosing me to document & partake in the festivities! It was an evening their guests will be surely talking about for a lifetime.