Quinn and Savannah’s wedding in the Hoh Rainforest wasn’t about grand entrances or elaborate decor. It was about staying true to themselves—embracing nature, grounding themselves in their shared love, and creating an intentional space where they could celebrate without feeling the weight of societal norms or family expectations. Their ceremony in the heart of the Pacific Northwest was intimate, real, and deeply meaningful.

“My whole life I’ve grown accustomed to side eyes, exasperated sighs, or some other variation of misunderstanding”, Quinn told us. “Not with Savannah, though. She helped me through it and looked at me with the same amount of love before, during, and after. I can’t express how meaningful that was…and really still is to me. Her love heals me and helps me grow in ways I never even dared to dream of before.”

They wanted the wedding to be small and personal. The Olympic National Forest felt like home because Savannah literally grew up driving through it. It was also a place where they could be themselves, without onlookers or judgement. That sense of peace guided their decision to keep the day centered around nature and the things that mattered most: their connection, Savannah’s Native American heritage, and their love for each other.

The ceremony took place under a canopy of trees as it rained. “We didn’t need music,” Quinn said. “We had the sounds of nature all around us, and Samantha, our officiant, wrote the most beautiful, poetic ceremony. It was perfect. We all got smudged to cleanse ourselves and our spirits.”

Afterwards, the couple slowly navigated their way down to the beach for their photos. “Adventure wedding photos don’t have to mean running or hiking, but rather, an intentional time together”, Savannah wrote. “We sat with each other listening to the waves and just truly feeling how amazing it is when the sun and the wind touch our skin…simultaneously, intensely, magically.”

Quinn, who is non-binary, faced challenges in finding an outfit that felt right. “Being non-binary, all wedding outfits felt too gendered,” they said. “A dress was too feminine, but a tux felt too masculine. When I found Terrance Williams’ embroidered duster, I knew it was exactly what I needed. It balanced both feminine and masculine energy, and it felt comfortable, both both sensory and gender dysphoria-wise.”

The couple also had a tough time navigating the complexities of planning a wedding as a queer couple. “Navigating the wedding industry as a queer, plus-sized, and disabled couple was not easy,” Savannah shared. “We had to be really intentional about vetting vendors. A lot of places say they’re LGBTQIA+ friendly, but they’re not.”

“Stay true to you, your relationship, and what YOU want”, they concluded, “individually and together. Make sure that while you are doing all this planning to spend time together that does not involve any wedding planning. Do that to help re-center yourselves and remind yourself of your ‘why’. We saved so much money doing our wedding this way too (I think we paid $50 for the application to get married in the Rainforest and then another $20 or so for a day pass!) Since we decided to keep the ceremony so small I think that helped us save a lot in general as well and allowed us to put more money towards the things that were more important to us, such as the photos.”