Welcome

Due to COVID-19 we have had to modify our original plans of having a large community-focused event with family and friends. However, we have opted to move forward and have a significantly smaller event this summer. We understand that traveling and attending events may continue to be difficult for many of our guests, and understand if you choose not to join us this summer. We plan to find more ways to celebrate with our broader community in big and small ways in the future. We are requiring guests who meet the CDC recommendation for eligibility to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 to attend our wedding. These measures are in place to protect our vulnerable guests, who we love dearly and cannot imagine being without. Our wedding will be following the Washington State (Clallam County) COVID-19 wedding regulations, which are currently in Phase 3 and include specific guidelines for occupancy, dining, and mask use. We will update guests with what to expect prior to arrival.

We want to acknowledge that we are getting married in what is currently Olympic National Park which is the traditional homelands of Coast Salish Peoples the Lower Elwha Klallam, Jamestown S'Klallam, Port Gamble S'Klallam, Skokomish, Quinault, Hoh, Quileute, and Makah. The Coast Salish peoples have been in relation with this place since time immemorial. As we gather here to celebrate we want to recognize that all of the National Parks, including Olympic were founded on land that was once Indigenous land, and most Parks were created after Native Peoples were removed either by force or following treaties signed under duress. The land that is currently NatureBridge park was ceded in the Point No Point Treaty and Cession 353.  In acknowledgment of our use of this Land and in order to honor our goal of getting married while being good community members and relations we are donating to several organizations: Real Rent Duwamish and the Port Gamble S’Klallam Foundation. If you would like to read more about The National Park's role in the dispossession of Indigenous peoples we recommend "Return The National Parks to the Tribes: The jewels of America’s landscape should belong to America’s original peoples" Article in the Atlantic By David Treuer and "Dispossessing the Wilderness: Indian Removal and the Making of the National Parks" Book by Mark David Spence.