Elopement Photography Packages for Your Adventure

Simply put, an adventure elopement is a way to say your wedding vows, focus on your personal experience, do what you want, and have a blast, all in a spectacular location. I use the word "elopement" to cover everything from true elopements involving just the two to you, to micro destination weddings with your closest friends and family.

Honestly this is probably the question I get asked the most and the answer is of course! In fact most of the couples you see on my website have said the exact same thing. The secret to getting great elopement photos is pretty cliche, “Just act natural!”. The thing is, it is far easier to forget the camera and act natural when you’re hiking down a trail through an old growth forest hoping to spot an elusive elk. Now maybe you’re still worried that even with the natural wonders around you’ll still be awkward. As your elopement photographer a big part of my job on the wedding day isn’t taking pictures but making sure you’re having fun, are relaxed, and enjoying your experience. And couples constantly are surprised at just how relaxed they were and how much fun they had doing photos. Now if you do put your hand in an awkward pose or need a little posing help I’m there to guide you and make sure you’re looking your best.

I offer several elopement guides and pages on having the best experience and I’m always happy to help with recommendations or advice on your plans. From what time of day is best for a given photo location to what route will hit the best spots on the wedding day I’m there. But I’m not an actual wedding planner. If you feel like you need a little more help with getting everything booked I highly recommend hiring one!

No! Friends, family and dogs are more than welcome! Some national parks do restrict the number of guests for ceremonies depending on the location. But other than that bring the guests! I will say there is something extra special when it is just the two of you and it gives you the ultimate freedom in planning and location selection.

The average cost for an adventure elopement is around $5,000-$15,000. A good chunk of that will be your elopement photographer, videographer, makeup artist and other wedding vendors. And then the rest will be flights, hotels, rental cars, wedding attire, food and any activities you have planned. A good way to save a little money is to elope to where you want to honeymoon.

Most of the elopements I do are in or around the National Parks where good weather is not a given. And nearly all of the wedding day will be spent outside so bad weather can be quite the problem. To tackle that, first I recommend planning your elopement with weather in mind. If eloping to the rainforests of Olympic National park pick a time of year when you are more likely to avoid rain. But the best of plans can still go awry and for that you I highly recommend rolling with it. Some of my favorite elopements have involved us getting caught in the rain or a freak snow storm. But sometimes the weather is just too bad to work with. Wildfires, winter storms, and other major events can sometimes close the park. For those times I am as flexible as possible. Working around my other bookings we can change the location, date and time as needed so long as it doesn’t conflict with my other bookings.

Some elopement photographers like to guarantee a photo count but I find that often results in you either getting a ton of photos you don’t really want or you never get to see some of the shots that were taken. I include most non duplicate shots I take during your elopement so the number of photos varies wildly from wedding to wedding depending on how long we shot and what we did. A rough average across my coverage options is 300 photos.

I absolutely love the great outdoors. Hiking, backpacking, bikepacking, camping. I do it all as often as possible. So one of the things I love the most about doing elopements is guiding couples into the wilderness for their big day., Especially if it’s their first time at a location. Seeing someone's face light up when they see a giant sequoia for the first time is priceless. So if you want to go off the beaten path and backpack into the Sierras for a backcountry wedding like no other I’m more than happy to help you plan it!