A Snohomish Wedding Photographer's Guide to Getting Married at The Cedars, WA
Before I tell you anything about this venue, I need to tell you about the wardrobe.
Riley baked twelve wedding cakes. Each a different flavor. Each made by her. And instead of a cake table, she and Matt thrifted an antique wardrobe with glass-paneled doors, put a cake on every shelf, and had the seating chart written directly onto the glass. You walked up to find your table number and came face to face with a cabinet full of homemade cakes.
I've never seen anything like it. And I've shot a lot of weddings.
That wardrobe is also the best possible introduction to The Cedars — because this is a venue that gives you the space to do something like that. Twenty-four private acres of old-growth forest, a waterfront wedding site, no template. What you bring to it is yours.
The Venue
The Cedars is a private outdoor wedding venue on 24 acres of old-growth forest in Snohomish, Washington. Thirty minutes from Bellevue, nine minutes from downtown Snohomish, and about 45 minutes from downtown Seattle. The season runs mid-May through September.
The property has five distinct spaces that flow into each other: a forested arrival pathway, a waterfront ceremony site on a natural lake, a cedar grove for dinner under 100-foot trees, a covered pavilion for dancing, and a wooden boat at the water's edge available for portraits.
The whole property is yours for the day. No other weddings, no shared spaces, no strangers.
It's an outdoor wedding venue in Washington state — an old-growth forest wedding setting with a waterfront ceremony site in Snohomish. The pavilion is covered but the ceremony is open air. If weather is a real anxiety for you, talk to the venue about their wet weather plan before you book. August and early September are your safest bets.
Getting Ready
Riley and Matt both got ready at the venue. I always recommend this when it's possible.
When you get ready on-site, the day builds slowly instead of starting all at once. By the time the ceremony happens, you've already been in the space for hours. That settledness shows up in the photographs — and more importantly, it shows up in how you feel.
Pro tip: Give yourself at least 45 minutes of unhurried time before anything needs to start moving. The moments I'm looking for — the quiet ones, the ones between things — need room to happen. They can't be scheduled.
The First Look + Couple Portraits
Riley and Matt did their first look and all couple portraits before guests arrived — before the ceremony, before the day got loud. That's how I prefer to plan it at The Cedars, and here's why.
Once guests arrive, the energy shifts. People want to say hello, hug you, be near you. That's a beautiful thing — but it's not the moment for quiet couple portraits. Do those first, when it's just the two of you and the property is still yours completely.
The Cedars gives you a lot to work with before the day begins. The forested pathway with dappled light. The waterfront before the chairs are set. The cedar grove empty. The tree line at whatever the morning light is doing. You can move through genuinely different spaces and different light in under an hour without going anywhere.
Pro tip: Plan your first look and couple portraits at least 90 minutes before guests are due to arrive. That gives you time to actually be in it — not rushing between setups, not watching the clock. The images from that window are almost always the ones couples love most.
The Ceremony
The ceremony site is a level lawn at the water's edge, surrounded by old-growth trees. Guests sit on cedar slab benches that come with the venue. There's a wood platform for the couple and the lake behind the tree line.
For a waterfront wedding in Snohomish, on a clear August afternoon this space is very hard to beat. The trees frame everything. The water catches the light. The property is entirely private — no road noise, no ambient world, nothing you didn't invite.
Late afternoon light in August hits the couple from the west and warm, while the tree line behind the guests falls into soft shadow. That contrast is part of why this space photographs the way it does. If you have flexibility in your start time, talk to your photographer about what works best for the season.
Pro tip: Stay close to each other during the ceremony. In a space this open, couples sometimes drift further apart than they realize. Close enough to comfortably hold hands in the middle — it changes both the photographs and the feeling of the moment.
The Boat — Plan for It
There's a 12-foot wooden boat at the waterfront that's available for portrait use. I didn't use it with Riley and Matt but it deserves its own mention because the photographs it produces are unlike anything else you'll get at this venue.
The boat sits at the water's edge with old-growth forest behind it. Getting the two of you on the water with that tree line — it's a completely different kind of image. Quiet. Cinematic. Specific to this place.
It takes time to do well. The venue team needs to wipe it down before you board — it's a real boat that lives outside. Getting on and off takes a few minutes, especially in a dress. It needs to be a real slot in your timeline, not a spontaneous idea.
Pro tip: If you want the boat, put it on the timeline as a named item — "boat portraits, 20 minutes" — and tell both your coordinator and your photographer in advance. The venue team will have it ready. Don't leave it to chance because it won't happen.
Cocktail Hour — Mini Golf Included
The venue has a mini golf course on the property that guests can use during cocktail hour. It's one of those details that sounds fun in planning and actually delivers — people who don't know each other end up talking, competitive uncles emerge, someone's grandmother turns out to be surprisingly good. It gives cocktail hour an activity without making it feel forced.
From a photography standpoint, it's also genuinely fun to document. Candid, unposed, people actually doing something together rather than standing around with drinks.
Pro tip: Let your guests know about the mini golf in advance — on your wedding website or in a day-of note. People who know it's there will use it. People who don't might wander past it without a second thought.
Dinner in the Cedar Grove
A natural canopy of 100-foot cedar trees overhead. Farm tables below. Up to 225 guests. The venue includes dark brown 8ft farm tables and white cross-back chairs — both belong here.
Add string lights in the branches and the warmth of a summer evening and the cedar grove at dinner is one of the most beautiful reception spaces I've photographed. Not because it was designed to be. Because it's a forest.
The Wardrobe
This gets its own section.
Twelve cakes. A thrifted antique wardrobe. The seating chart written on the glass.
Riley made something that couldn't have come from a planning checklist. She brought herself into it completely. And The Cedars gave her the room to do it.
That's the thing about this venue. It doesn't hand you a template. It hands you 24 acres and gets out of the way. What you do with that is yours.
The Dance Floor
The Acres Pavilion is 2,000 square feet of covered space connected to the cedar grove by a short pathway. Open sides, warm light inside, dark forest outside.
Riley and Matt's guests danced all night. The floor stayed full. That's who those people are — but it's also what happens when the space invites it rather than just tolerating it.
Pro tip: Think about a late night moment that brings everyone back together — a food station, a surprise, something that gives the evening a second wind. It doesn't need to be much. Just something that signals the night isn't over yet.
Before You Book
Address: 10329 Trombley Road, Snohomish, WA 98290
Season: Mid-May through September. August and early September are the sweet spot.
Capacity: Up to 225 guests.
Included: 160 white cross-back chairs, 22 dark brown 8ft farm tables, waterfront ceremony site with cedar slab benches, cedar grove, Acres Pavilion, shipping container bar, fire pit, mini golf, restrooms. Catering through the venue.
The boat: Available for portraits — coordinate with the venue team in advance.
Tours: Wednesdays and Sundays. Book through their website. Go in person before you decide. Stand in the cedar grove and look up.
Website: thecedarsvenue.com
Who Made it Happen:
VENDORS:
Venue: The Cedars — thecedarsvenue.com | @thecedarsvenue
Catering: Maverick Catering — maverickcatering.com | @maverickcatering
Live Illustrator: Jenna Brechbiel — jennawatercolor.com | @jennabrechbiel
Wedding Planner: A-Z Occasions - az-occasions.com | @az_occasions
Wedding Photographer: Oxy Sakagami Photography - oxysakagami.com | @oxy.sakagami
I'd love to hear what you're planning.
If you're planning a wedding at The Cedars and want a photographer who moves quietly and doesn't make it feel like a photoshoot — I'd love to hear what you're planning.
About the Photographer
I'm Oxy — a documentary wedding photographer based in Seattle, shooting weddings and elopements across the PNW — Seattle, Snohomish, and everywhere in between. I'm not there to run the show. I'm there to witness it.
