5 Awesome Places to Get Married on San Juan Island

Getting married on San Juan Island is one of those things which keeps on giving.

A lifetime of memories, an easy, absolutely gorgeous place to come back to each year for your anniversary and an abundance of things to do to make new memories and add adventures to your life together.

San Juan Island offers places and possibilities to have the wedding you always dreamt of: really elaborate or very intimate, totally planned and decked out or spontaneous and in the moment, and everything in between. And the best part: you can get married virtually year-round. I should know. We had our wedding on South Beach in January. Okay, you have to be a little adventurous for that, but San Juan Island is in the Olympic Rain Shadow with five times as many crystal clear, sunny days in Winter than Seattle. Just saying.

So, where should you head to get hitched, tie the knot, become husband and wife, wife and wife or husband and husband? Here are five cool places (as in “attitude”, not “temperature”) to plight one’s troth on the emerald isle:

On a historic Sailboat

Charter the historic wooden schooner Spike Africa for your special day. Breathe the fresh, salty air, hear the wind play in the rigging and the waves lap against the wooden hull. You may recognize the Spike Africa from such movies as “Joe versus the Vulcano” and TV shows like “Baywatch” and “Hotel”. Watch whales, sea lions, Bald Eagles and other wildlife and have your very own fabulous crew cater & serve gourmet cuisine and champagne. The Spike Africa can be chartered for up to 28 people from May through October. And of course the captain can marry you.

By a historic Lighthouse

Lime Kiln Sate Park, also called the “Whale Watch Park” offers breathtaking views of the Salish Sea and the snow covered Olympic Mountains. Orca whales swim by about twice a day during the summer. The short trail from the parking lot and bathrooms to the historic lighthouse is wheelchair accessible. There are smaller trails winding through old growth Douglas Firs and Madronas, along steep cliffs to magic, hidden spots. No matter how many guests, no matter what time of the year, this is a stunning place to start your life together.

On the Beach

San Juan County Park with its perfectly round, pebbly beach, sloping meadows surrounded by trees, beautiful views and plentiful parking is the perfect backdrop for a charming outdoor wedding by the sea.

At the Lavender Farm

Imagine saying your vows amidst rolling fields of lovely smelling lavender with the snow-covered Olympic Mountains in the background, and all your guests having their own little lavender bouquet pinned to their jackets. Pelindaba Lavender Farm in the heart of San Juan Island can provide rustic picnic tables, event tents, lavender lemonade and cookies, lavender bouquets and decor. The “height of purpleness” happens in July and August. This is the perfect spot for a summer country wedding.

At a destination winery

Adorable San Juan Vineyards, just three miles from Friday Harbor, with its historic island schoolhouse as a tasting room and its snow-white, turn-of-the-century chapel right out of a fairy tale is the perfect setting for an old-fashioned wedding. Get your wedding wine right from the source.