faqs
Everything you might secretly be wondering about planning your elopement
about elopments:
You might have heard that the average wedding in 2024 costs $35,000—but honestly, from what we see in the industry, that number is low, especially if you’re near a major city. And bigger guest lists mean more expenses, from food & drink to finding a venue that accommodates 150 people.
Just like weddings, elopements range in cost, but on average our couples spend between $15K and $30K. That includes our fees as well as attire, lodging, travel, and more.
True elopements with just the two of you usually require a smaller budget than microweddings or adventure weddings. Costs increase as you cover catering for a larger group of guests, have more elaborate florals, and hire a coordinator to wrangle guests (and vendors).
I love the idea of an adventure elopement, but hiking isn’t really my cup of tea. Can we still make this happen?
02
Of course we can—we’d estimate that close to half of our couples are first-time hikers. And some of them aren’t hikers at all—which isn’t a prerequisite for enjoying nature.
We firmly believe that nature is for everybody, whether you want to backpack 10 miles or tie the knot at a drive-up overlook.
You wouldn’t believe how many stunning ceremony sites we know of that require just a few minutes’ walk. Some you can even drive right up to. Just say the word, and we’ll share our suggestions with you.
At Between the Pine, we typically call it an adventure elopement if it’s just the couple and their officiant (okay, and maybe their dog).
If you invite guests, we think of that as an adventure wedding or a micro wedding—and we have a cap of 50 people. Once we have 15 guests, we require that you have a day-of coordinator to organize everyone and preserve your guest experience (our clients never regret it).
It’s also important to know that in some cases, public lands specifically prohibit groups above a certain size, such as 15. As we plan your elopement, we take group size into consideration
If you ask us, there’s truly no such thing as bad weather for an elopement. Moody, misty skies? That’s a moment. Slowly drifting snowflakes? Your photos will look like Narnia.
The secret is preparation: Not only do we always have a Plan B for every wedding, but we also have a Plan C (...and sometimes even a Plan D). We’re also familiar with local microclimates, so we know how to shift things if it’s raining at one site, and how quickly a downpour can pass.
For each plan, we’ll have a day-of timeline, and then we’ll bring everything—and we do mean everything—that we could possibly need to have a good time, stay as warm and dry (and safe) as possible…and get amazing photos. Not to mention clear umbrellas, which are honestly our favorite prop of all time.
If there’s a case of truly extreme weather, rescheduling may be on the table, but 99% of the time, we roll with Mother Nature (and the results are stunning—just have a look).
Most of the trails we’ll use are on public lands such as state and national parks, so we can never guarantee that we’ll be completely alone.
However, we’ve got some tried-and-true strategies for minimizing the number of people we run into: we only book adventure elopements on weekdays, since there are fewer people on the trails. And since we’ve got years of experience photographing adventure weddings, we already know which trails will yield epic photos—without having tons of people.
One last note: it also depends on where you want to go—for example, Yosemite is always going to be more crowded than remote areas of Kauai or our beloved North Cascades National Park.
About Micro Weddings:
If you invite guests, we have a cap of 50 people. If you have under 30 people, you can book our 2-day or buyout package.
If you have 30-50 people, you must book our buyout package. For this number of people, we also require a micro wedding venue—the right venue ensures that you don’t have to spend too much time thinking about bathrooms, parking, or permits.
If you don’t have a venue in mind, don’t worry! You can browse our blog for ideas, but your photographer will also have specific suggestions for you based on your location and guest count.
Public lands, like national parks, often limit the number of people who can gather in one place. Airbnbs also have limitations on the number of guests that can be there at once—plus, the kitchen may not be adequate for serving dinner for 45.
So when you’re hosting a larger group, we recommend lodges and other properties that can accommodate you. They often have a commercial kitchen, and they may also provide tables and chairs so you don’t have to rent them. Even better, some of them are big enough that all your guests can sleep on site, for a true summer camp feel.
Here are a few more of our favorites in our home states of Oregon and Washington.
Planning:
You bet! Once we’ve settled on a location, we’ll prepare a completely custom guidebook for you that includes trusted vendors we’ve worked with many times before. We’ll share where to order the best wedding cake in the area; lodging that’s cozy and looks good in getting-ready photos; and even advice on fun activities nearby for you and your guests.
The guide also includes trail reports (with photos, of course), so that we can decide exactly where we’ll head on the day of. With weather in mind, we’ll plan multiple routes so that we always have a safe and scenic choice, rain or shine.
As we get closer to the day, we’ll send you a detailed day-of timeline, and we’ll adjust as needed for weather and other surprises.
I know you regularly photograph elopements in Washington, Oregon, and Kauai. But what if my dream elopement destination is somewhere else—would you consider coming?
02
The answer is yes, of course!
We’ve also photographed elopements in Utah, Iceland, and Alaska, and once or twice a year, we’re willing to take on a true destination elopement or wedding. Just fill out the contact form and let us know about your dream elopement location.
A hundred times yes! We’ve helped dozens of out-of-state couples plan destination elopements and weddings in the Pacific Northwest, the desert Southwest, Kauai, and elsewhere.
Over half of our clients are from out of state, and the majority of them have actually never been to their location before they elope!
Our famous planning guides contain advice on where to stay, what to pack, and what vendors to book, plus everything you need to know about marriage licenses at your destination. (Oh, and we’ll also throw in a list of can’t-miss activities for your honeymoon!)
Here’s our travel schedule so you have an idea of where we’ll be when (we’re pretty much always booking Washington, Oregon, and the Redwoods in-season, though).
Two times we recommend reaching out ASAP:
- If you’re dreaming of a faraway destination, especially one outside of North America
- If you’re planning on having 30+ guests
We take a very limited number of buyouts and destination weddings per year, so the sooner you reach out, the better.
One of us (or one of our guests) requires an accessible venue. Is it possible to have an ADA-accessible adventure wedding?
05
There are plenty of scenic places that are also ADA-accessible. When we chat for the first time, you can walk us through your specific needs and we can suggest specific locations. We even wrote an article on our favorite ADA-accessible elopement locations in Washington specifically—but if you’re holding a ceremony outside of WA, we still have recommendations.
Just a note: we’re conscious of the fact that disabled people do not have marriage equality. If getting married will cause you to lose your disability benefits, but you still want to celebrate your love, we’re here to support that. Reach out and we’ll plan an amazing celebration, with or without a marriage license.
You can learn more about each package here. We’ve explained which ones are best for true elopements (you, your sweetheart, and maybe your dog) and which ones are more suited for micro weddings with guests involved.
In the Pacific Northwest (Washington, Oregon, and northern California), most of our couples choose to elope during the summer or fall. That said, if you’re dreaming of a snowy elopement, we can definitely make that happen.
Kauai is best in the winter and spring months—less crowded and less rainy.
YOUR ELOPEMENT DAY:
We also closely monitor the weather in an area to make sure it’s still accessible for our group—we’re looking out for wildfires, storms, and even places where snow hasn’t melted yet. We’ll let you know if we need to take an alternate route or pack some special gear if you’re up for it.
But until that day comes around, you have us to help carry everything to your ceremony site. We’re seasoned pros when it comes to tying bouquets to backpacks, not to mention packing suits and gowns so they don’t wrinkle along the way—lots of couples choose to wear regular hiking gear until we get to the elopement location.
But when we send you a planning guide, it will include recommendations for trusted officiants in the area, as well as advice on how to get ordained if you want a friend or family member to be your officiant.
We’re also all ordained, so if you want to read each other your vows and then have someone sign the papers to make it official, it would be our pleasure!
AFTER THE WEDDING:
Your fully edited gallery will be available within 14 weeks of your elopement.
