Magical Helicopter Elopement in Alaska

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Hey! I'm Mollie Adams, adventure elopement photographer & founder of Between the Pine. Since getting started in 2018, I’ve hiked thousands of miles to photograph more than 100 adventure elopements in my rugged home base (Washington), my tropical home-away-from-home (Kauai), and elsewhere (hi, Oregon!). Welcome to the blog, where I recount adventures with past couples and share resources to help you plan your best adventure yet!

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Elopement

November 3, 2023

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Written by our rad team member, Kiersten Roy

Welcome back to part two of Jo and Mike’s helicopter elopement in Alaska! If you haven’t yet read about the first day of this epic Alaska elopement, head over here to check out more details from their beautiful day! Otherwise, keep scrolling to read all about their adventurous helicopter elopement and learn when the best time is to plan your own helicopter elopement experience!

A Glimpse into Jo and Mike’s Magical Helicopter Elopement

After an epic day exploring the glaciers, exchanging vows, and celebrating with their family over a celebratory meal, Jo and Mike were excited for day two of their helicopter elopement in Alaska! The plan was to wake up bright and early and take the first helicopter flight of the day. Instead, we woke up to complete fog outside our windows (we’re talking so much fog that you couldn’t even see your hand in front of your face!). We all met down at the restaurant in the lodge to go over the plan, and lucky for us, the pilot from Sheep Mountain Air was really kind and accommodating. While the conditions weren’t safe enough to fly in, he allowed us to change the flight to later in the evening and even made us the last flight of the day allowing us to make an extra stop (seriously, SO kind!).

Since we now had the morning free, we made a new plan. We packed up our stuff and headed to Hatcher Pass. When we arrived it was also rainy and moody (luckily being from the PNW, I (Mollie), am familiar with photographing in moody/rainy weather), but Jo and Mike totally embraced it. We moved to a lower elevation hike and were shocked at how vibrant the landscape was. We kept saying how it almost felt like Hawaii with how green and lush it was.

After exploring Hatcher Pass, we headed back to Sheep Mountain Lodge. At this point the fog had cleared and it was bright and sunny. Before we knew it, we were stepping onto the helicopter and making our way to our first stop at an Alaskan glacier. There we were met with the most beautiful, clear, blue water I have ever seen in my life! The entire time we were up there, Jo and Mike just kept looking at each other in complete awe. In fact, all of us were pretty quiet the entire time because we were just so in awe of the beauty we were seeing around us.

After taking some time to explore the glacier, we got back in the helicopter and headed to our second location. We had originally planned to stop at a high alpine lake, but because of the conditions, the pilot chose to take us to a beautiful mountaintop ridge line. When we landed, we were again exclaiming at how beautiful it was and the pilot told us that he had actually never landed at this location before! Not only were we the only ones up there, but it was also really special for Jo and Mike to be able to experience a new location saved just for them. There on the beautiful ridge line, we ended this helicopter elopement with the most insane mountains surrounding us, making for a truly epic two-day Alaska elopement!

Want to see more from this gorgeous helicopter elopement? Click here to see more photos and behind-the-scenes from this two-day Alaska elopement or head over to day one of this incredible Alaska elopement to read more of this couple’s love story.

Bride and groom walking through lush green trail at Hatcher Pass elopement

Bride and groom running through a lush green trail during their elopement in Alaska

Bride and groom hold hands while walking through a lush green trail in Hatcher Pass, Alaska

Bride and groom hug during elopement photos in Alaska

Bride and groom kiss surrounded by lush greenery during their elopement in Alaska

Bride trails her hands along the lush greenery on a hiking trail during her elopement in Alaska

Bride and groom stand side by side looking out at the lush green mountains during their elopement in Alaska

Best Time of Year for a Helicopter Elopement

While the best time of year to plan a helicopter elopement might vary a little depending on your location, we’d have to say that hands down, the best time for an Alaska helicopter elopement is in the summer (specifically July and August)! During these months the weather in Alaska is usually very mild and absolutely perfect for an Alaska helicopter elopement. Most companies operate flights from May – September, but there are a few companies around Anchorage and Palmer that run year round, so if you’re wanting that magical winter wonderland vibe (and want to catch the Northern Lights) then March would be a great time too!

Just like we experienced with Jo and Mike’s elopement though, it’s important to remember that no matter where you elope, we can’t control the weather. Especially when it comes to helicopter elopements, the weather plays a very important part in whether it’s safe enough to fly, so we always recommend that couples be prepared for the unexpected (but don’t worry, as your elopement photographers, we’ll be with you every step of the way to capture your best day ever – no matter what the day brings our way!).

Helicopter control panel while flying over the mountains in Alaska

Snow-covered Alaskan mountains and glaciers during helicopter tour

Bride and groom smile at each other while riding in a helicopter during their two-day elopement in Alaska

Bride and groom hold hands while riding in a helicopter during their elopement in Alaska

Bride and groom standing on an icy glacier surrounded by clear, blue water during their helicopter elopement in Alaska

Bride and groom kiss on an icy glacier surrounded by clear, blue water during their helicopter elopement in Alaska

Bride and groom hold hands while walking across an icy glacier surrounded by clear, blue water at their helicopter elopement in Alaska

Bride and groom hold hands while walking across an icy glacier surrounded by clear, blue water during their Alaska helicopter elopement

Bride and groom hold hands during their helicopter elopement photos in Alaska

Bride holds colorful wildflower bouquet with yellow and orange flowers at her Alaska helicopter elopement

Groom points out over icy glacier during Alaska elopement

Bride and groom kiss on an icy glacier during their Alaska helicopter elopement

Groom wearing hiking boots and custom dog socks during Alaska helicopter elopement

Bride and groom wear hiking boots during their helicopter elopement on an Alaskan glacier

Groom helps bride over an icy glacier during their helicopter elopement in Alaska

What You Need to Know About Packages For Your Helicopter Elopement

No matter what location you choose, when choosing to have helicopter elopement, we highly recommend two elopement packages to our couples – full-day or two-day.

Our full-day elopement package is a great choice if you’re just wanting to do the helicopter portion for your elopement. This package includes first-look photos at your cabin in the early afternoon. We will then head out to two unique locations for you and your partner to explore.

If you want the full Alaska experience, then we recommend choosing our two-day elopement package. This package will give you the best of all worlds and will allow you to do other activities like hiking, glacier tours, helicopter tours, boat tours, and more. There is so much to do in Alaska so choosing the two-day package will give you the best chance to experience it all! Click here to learn more about our packages for your helicopter elopement.

Bride steps into red helicopter after exploring a glacier during her elopement in Alaska

Helicopter control panel during Alaska elopement

Bride and groom kiss near a red helicopter during their two-day elopement in Alaska

Bride and groom stand next to a red helicopter during their two-day Alaska elopement

Colorful wildflower bouquet sits on the seat of a helicopter during an Alaska elopement

Bride and groom smile at each other while flying in a helicopter during their two-day elopement in Alaska

Snow-capped mountains during helicopter elopement flights

Bride and groom kiss while standing on the snow-covered mountains during their helicopter elopement in Alaska

Groom kicks snow during helicopter elopement on a mountaintop in Alaska

Bride and groom stand on a mountain and look out to the horizon during their helicopter elopement in Alaska

Bride and groom kiss during helicopter elopement on a mountaintop in Alaska

Groom dips bride back for a kiss during helicopter elopement on an Alaskan mountaintop

Bride and groom hold hands during their helicopter ride at their elopement in Alaska

Meet Your Photographers For Your Helicopter Elopement

We feel most at home in the outdoors, so it’s no surprise that is where we gravitate towards as your helicopter elopement photographers. Between the Pine was founded by Mollie in 2018 and she has hiked hundreds of miles all over the Pacific Northwest and Kauai, to capture couples during their best day ever. Since 2018, we’ve grown our team and continue to hire even more incredible photographers!

Our team at Between the Pine is passionate about our jobs and adventuring to the most beautiful locations to document your best day ever. We know the Pacific Northwest like the back of our hands and are dying for a reason to head back to the mountains, forest, and everything in between! Click here to learn more about the Between the Pine team, your helicopter elopement photographers!