Katie + Tom | Captivating NorthWest Trek Wedding in the Trees

Northwest Trek is a wonderful adventure every time I get to visit. None of those previous visits compare to the way Katie and Tom’s Northwest Trek Wedding captivated everyone in attendance. So many things about this wedding would make even the coldest of hearts melt.

When Katie and Tom first told me they were getting married at Northwest Trek, I couldn’t imagine where in the park there was room for a wedding. I didn’t realize that hidden away, in the middle of the free roaming area, was a gorgeous space created just for weddings and events. Tucked away in the trees sits three carefully curated buildings: Bridal Quarters, an event space and an A-frame Honeymoon Suite.

Katie and Tom used the beauty of the venue to their advantage, keeping additional decor to a minimum. Black painted wine bottles with beautiful script numbers graced each table to help escort guests to their seats, while complimenting black lanterns held candles to light the night. They pulled from nature using cut rounds from trees as a base for these sweet centerpieces, and added a few floral elements to keep things colorful.

While the decor was kept to a minimum to allow the beauty of the space to shine through, a few seemingly tiny details made a huge impact at this captivating Northwest Trek wedding. Being a huge fan of owls, Katie found Northwest trek to be the perfect location for their wedding. Before the ceremony, she presented an exquisite set of owl cake toppers to her baker. The pair of owls was handmade and glazed by an Etsy artist. Katie herself made every single box for the guest favors, gluing and staining until they were perfect. Each handmade box contained a wax dipped pine cone fire starter, a set of customized matches and a sweet smores treat bag.

Their ceremony was one of the shortest I’ve photographed. They really just wanted to be married and get through the ceremony quickly so they could move onto their Keeper Adventure in the free roaming area. A huge Jurassic Park style jeep arrived, and we all piled in. Being a mere 5’6″, I had to haul myself up into this thing. The workout was worth it. Gorgeous backdrops and views were the reward for their couples portraits. The fact that these two were head over heels in love made their portrait session feel like it was over in a flash.