On a sunny day in the Pacific Northwest, Lizzy and Lydia exchanged vows in a casual ceremony and spent the afternoon alone soaking up their love.
Tell us how your love story began.
We’ve been together for a year and a half, and we met on Tinder in Seattle. Our first date started in a cute Mexican bar in Fremont. We immediately hit it off. Our date was going so well that at one point, Lydia said, “I’m going to have to cut this conversation off and go to the bathroom, or we’re never going to stop talking.” The date ended with an accidental John Mayer fest in Lizzy’s apartment after Lydia mistakenly thought we were both John Mayer superfans. Lydia subsequently seduced Lizzy with a video of her singing in a cathedral choir at age 18 (strong move).
As they say, “the rest is history.”
Tell us about the proposal.
In November, Lizzy surprised Lydia with a naked photoshoot with Chuy Photos, an incredible photographer we love and follow on Instagram. He made us feel instantly comfortable. After a few drinks to soften our nerves and break the ice, we spent two hours with him. For Lydia, this was absolute heaven. Halfway through the photoshoot, Lizzy proposed. We were so excited to have our deep, intimate love captured in this beautiful way.
A few weeks later, Lydia proposed to Lizzy by filling our record room (the room we love most at home) with candles, a card (remember the love language?), hand-etched cocktail glasses, and Lizzy’s favorite cocktails. After the proposal, Lydia gave a rather emotional ukulele performance of the song she’d played after their first date (You and I by Ingrid Michaelson) with the words rewritten to talk about getting married.
Why did you decide to elope?
The idea of running away and committing to each other in private sounded perfect to both of us. In the weeks leading up to the wedding, we loved focusing on writing our vows and sharing what marriage means to each of us. For us, we get the best of both worlds: our intimate ceremony and the opportunity for post-COVID celebrations in NYC and England with friends and family.
We let our family and close friends know we were eloping in the weeks leading up to the day. They were so supportive and sent letters, cards, and small gifts to celebrate with us.
And, was the elopement day perfect?
We booked a beautiful Frank Lloyd Wright-style house on Vashon Island near Seattle. We eased into the morning and ate pastries and BLTs with our close friend and officiant, JP, on elopement day. Around noon, our photographer Alicia arrived as celebrations continued.
Unexpected for February in the Pacific Northwest, the weather was clear and bright, so we headed to the beach for the ceremony. Lizzy shared a poem they had written, and Lydia talked about our love.
Then, we took turns saying the vows we had written. It was so special.
After the ceremony, we spent the afternoon dancing to funk music, floating in a canoe on the water, making a clay wedding bowl on the pottery wheel, and calling our families.
Later that day, JP and Alicia headed home. We spent the evening eating takeout from Bramble House and soaking up time together. It was wonderful.
Photography by Alicia Sessler
