Elopements
The sky’s the limit
A day as unique as your love
Nature is your venue
What is eloping?
Whatever you want it to be.
In the olden days, this meant running away and getting married secretly in a courthouse and not telling your parents.
Now, it means that YOU get to choose EXACTLY how you want your day to look. Where you want it to be, how you want to feel celebrated, if you want to bring anyone along with you, if you want to hike, if you want to bring your dogs, if you want to make your day an EXPERIENCE rather than an event. It’s all up to you.
My definition of an elopement allows for up to 10 people (including you two) so you can bring a few people along if you’d like.
Should we elope?
Only you know that answer.
The answer will be different for every couple - but I personally believe you’ll know in your gut the way you want to celebrate your marriage.
Eloping may come with difficult conversations with your family and friends, and this plays a large role in some couples decisions. For some, maybe they don’t have a healthy relationship with family and this feels like an easy decision to prioritize their desires. For others, family may push back on the idea and feel hurt if they are not included.
That’s why I believe elopement packages should allow for bringing people along, because I fully support whatever decision my couples decide to make. Whether it’s JUST them, or whether they want to invite parents and best friends. I’ve got you covered.
10 Elopement Ideas & Tips
Pick a location you love
Whether that’s a place you’ve been a million times together, or somewhere brand new that you’re wanting to experience for the first time together. Maybe it’s a hike you had your first date on, or maybe it’s a national park where you go every chance you get, or maybe it’s a lake you grew up camping at. If it’s someplace new, maybe it’s somewhere on your bucket list, somewhere you plan to honeymoon after saying “I do”, maybe it’s one destination along a massive road trip you’re planning, or a stop along a backpacking trip. Not sure where exactly you’d like to elope? Explore some of my favorite locations here.
Take your time
A huge misconception about elopements is that they are just a 2 hour photoshoot in your wedding clothes. While that can be true, most of the time my couples choose to have their photographer along for a full day or half day of celebration and activities! For example: wake up at sunrise to go paddle boarding, kayaking, fishing, etc at a nearby lake. I’ll come with you and document your morning together! Maybe we boat out to a secluded shoreline and you drink some coffee and we take some photos on a private beach. After your sunrise activity, you could go into town to get brunch with your friends or family. In the afternoon, maybe everyone joins you guys for a mid day hike! I would join your group to document the fun of the adventure together. Then you head back to your airbnb or cabin and get ready together for the ceremony. We all head out to your epic ceremony location, snap a few friend and family photos if you have them along, then do gorgeous portraits of just you two for sunset. After photos, you head back to your airbnb and celebrate around a campfire with pizza or burgers. Or maybe you hire a private chef to take care of all the dinner for you guys!
Invite who you want
Elopements can be whatever you want them to be! Either just you, or you could have a few best friends or close family members come along. My elopement packages allow for you to have up to 10 people - after that size, it becomes a tiny wedding package. You could choose to have your ceremony be solo time and then guests can join you for some bubbly and good food afterwards, or you can include them in the whole day! I am here to help you explore what option is best for you guys..
When you and your partner elope on your own, it’s important to still feel celebrated! A great idea is to hire a stylist to set up a beautiful dinner table for you guys with florals, candles, charcuterie, wine, cake, and a full dinner! After your ceremony and portraits, sit down and take in the views together and embrace your new journey together over a stunning tablescape with good food and good views.
Celebratory dinner
If eloping just you two, ask your family and friends back home to write you letters that you can read together on your elopement day! Or they could record video messages that you guys watch after you say “I do”! Another idea is to collect all cards and letters you’ve ever written each other and read some favorites to each other.
Read letters from loved ones
Take a hike
For ultimate epic views & privacy - choose a spot that you have to hike into! If you’re down to hike in your wedding attire or put it in your backpack with you, I am down to make it happen! Hikes allow us to find gorgeous and truly secluded spots in nature for you to say your vows.
Backpacking sign, leather jacket embroidery, neon sign, national parks sign, etc! So many unique ways to say you guys are JUST MARRIED! We’ll take photos with your sign and you can send them out to people announcing you eloped later, or post it on your social media! Check out Etsy for tons of ideas!
Elopement announcement sign
Transportation experience
This could mean you rent a Jeep so we can access more secluded epic locations for your photos and activities! Or maybe you rent a vintage car to roll around in style, or a helicopter for the evening to take us places only accessible by air! You could have a kayak elopement or rent a speedboat - for example at Lake Powell there are many epic locations only accessible by speedboat or kayak!
Never leave the dogs behind ;) Though dogs are not allowed many places in National Parks, there are plenty of other places and options for incorporating your 4-legged family members on your elopement day! You could choose a state park, or BLM land, or a dog-friendly hiking trail to elope at and bring the dogs along. Or maybe your airbnb has an epic property that is dog friendly!
Include the dogs
Maybe that means having your first dance on a cliffside overlooking the ocean with your favorite song playing from your bluetooth speaker. Most of my couples choose to write their own personal vows to share during the ceremony - you could do this during the ceremony or maybe during your sunrise outing, or during sunset portraits. Pop a bottle of champagne and toast to yourselves as newlyweds!
Make it your own!
Elopement Activity Ideas
A day of photos, your favorite activities, sacred vows & YOU time
picnic, dinner, pop a bottle of champagne
kayaking, paddle-boarding, canoeing
jet-skiing, waterskiing, wakeboarding, wake surfing, inner-tubing
casual day hike or multi-day backpacking trip
off roading with your OHV, or doing a 4x4 Jeep tour
helicopter tour
snorkeling or scuba diving
tequila or whiskey tasting tour
for international trips, take a cooking class together of the local cuisine
What would this look like for an elopement schedule?
You could… rent a boat and play around the lake all day, find a spot to picnic on the beach in the afternoon, then get dressed up and say vows to each other in the evening someplace beautiful followed by sunset portraits.
You could… go on a sunrise hike with your dogs, get dressed at the summit, say your vows and do photos, go back to your airbnb & invite your best friends and closest family members over in the evening for takeout food and yard games
You could… travel someplace brand new to you - maybe a tropical destination - get legally married there with an officiant & me as your photographer, eat dinner on the beach together, have stunning portraits captured, and then spend the rest of your trip relaxing and honeymooning. Come back home and have a celebration with friends later!
Recent Elopements
This Zion National Park elopement was a blend of adventure, love, and family connection. After driving cross-country from North Carolina, they exchanged vows by the Virgin River and hiked to Canyon Overlook for breathtaking sunset portraits.