Written by our rad team member, Kiersten Roy
Dreaming of eloping but wondering just how to go about planning your adventure elopement? Well, not to worry, because we’ve got you covered! In this blog we’re sharing everything you need to know about adventure elopements. We’ll cover how to plan your elopement in 5 simple steps, plus 3 important things to know about adventure elopements.
Table of Contents
- How to Plan an Adventure Elopement in 5 Steps
- 3 Important Things to Know About Adventure Elopements
- Real Adventure Elopement Inspo
- What You Need to Know About Adventure Elopement Packages
- Meet Your Adventure Elopement Photographers
- Looking for More Adventure Elopement Resources? These might be of help!
How to Plan an Adventure Elopement in 5 Steps
Find a Photographer
Now that you’ve decided to plan an adventure elopement, the next step is to find an elopement photographer you love (aka us! – wink, wink). Choosing a photographer before finalizing your other elopement plans can help streamline the rest of the process. In fact, many of our couples come to us with simply a general location or time of year they want to elope. From there we start working together and can help guide them through the entire process.
When choosing an elopement photographer, it is important to find a photographer you love and trust. We recommend finding a photographer whose work you connect with and then doing a bit of research prior to reaching out. Read through their Google reviews, look at their social media accounts, and scroll through their blog posts to see if they’d be a good fit for you. Remember, you are going to be with this person your entire wedding day (even if it’s just the 3 of you). You want to be sure that the person you hire is someone that you trust and are excited about. In the meantime, we are over here crossing our fingers and toes that we just might be the right fit for you!
Choose a Location and Time of Year
After you book your photographer (ahem – us), we’re going to help you choose a location for your adventure elopement. We always tell couples that you don’t have to have an exact spot in mind when you decide to elope. Having a general idea of when you want to get married or even the sort of landscape that inspires you is totally ok! Maybe a quiet ceremony in the forest feels like you. Or maybe you want to experience that on-top-of-the-world feeling and say ‘I do’ on top of a mountain. No matter what you dream of, the possibilities are endless.
When it comes to choosing the time of year, you have a few options. You can decide when you want to get married and have us recommend locations based on the best time to visit, or you can choose a location and plan your elopement date around that. No matter which option you choose, we can help you create the type of adventure elopement you want to have.
Book your Lodging + Vendors
Your lodging sets the mood for your elopement day. Whether you choose to stay in an Airbnb, a campground, a camper van, or at a National Park lodge, your location can add personality and charm to your photos. Your lodging can also be so much more than a place where you sleep. It can also serve as your getting ready location, your ceremony location, or even a place to host your celebratory meal.
When choosing where you want to stay, don’t forget to consider the logistics. Consider things like how far your lodging is from the location to plan to visit as well as whether or not the space is suitable for hosting (be sure to check with your Airbnb or camp host to see if they allow gatherings on-site).
Wondering whether or not you need any other vendors for your adventure elopement? Vendors can help add so much detail to your day, not to mention make the planning process less stressful. A few vendors you may want to consider are a hair & makeup artist, a florist, and an officiant if you need someone to conduct a ceremony (if you just want to do private vows, we’re ordained and can sign your marriage certificate!). Depending on what other ideas you have, you could also hire a planner and a private chef or caterer.
Create a Timeline and Backup Plans
Now that your elopement day has taken shape, it’s time to plan one of the most crucial pieces of all – your adventure elopement timeline. This is something we help all our couples with during the planning process. Your elopement timeline is filled with all the day’s special moments and will account for things like travel time and buffer time to make sure you can go from place to place without feeling rushed.
One thing we always like to share about elopement plans (especially adventure elopements) is that they can change. No matter how much we plan, we have to remember that Mother Nature is in charge. This is why it’s so important to have a backup plan (or two) in place. We want to make sure that no matter what happens, we have a plan.
Have the BEST day ever!
Speaking of the best day ever, once your day arrives, all that’s left to do is live in the moment and soak in the fact that you are getting married to your love in an incredible location!
3 Important Things to Know About Adventure Elopements
A Between the Pine Adventure Elopement is 15 Guests or Less
While every photographer will define an elopement a little differently, to us, an adventure elopement consists of 15 people or less. Anything above 15 guests (and up to 30), we consider a micro wedding. Because adventure elopement has fewer guests (or none at all), it allows you to include more adventure into your day. Whether it’s just the two of you plus your pup of honor, or a handful of your closest loved ones, an adventure elopement allows you to focus on the two of you and the intimate experience you have created.
Mother Nature is in Charge, So Let’s be Prepared!
We mentioned this earlier, but it’s important to remember that Mother Nature is in charge. The best thing we can do is to be prepared for whatever she may bring. While we can’t decide whether it’s going to be sunny or rainy, we can choose a time of year that will lower our risks of rain or crazy weather if that is important to you. Instead of worrying about the weather, we encourage our couples to look at a location and ensure it resonates with them, rain or shine. At the end of the day, your adventure elopement is all about you joining together with your best person and that’s what matters most.
Working With Local Experts for a Top-Notch Experience
Want your adventure elopement to be filled with top-notch experiences? Over the years, we’ve learned that hyper-focusing on certain areas allows us to give our couples the best experience. This is why we focus on a handful of areas and get to know them by the back of our hand. When it rains in Snoqualmie Valley, we know where to go. If there’s a road closure in the Colorado mountains, we’ve got a long list of backup trails we can explore instead. Hiring local experts allows you to get the best experience possible and trust that no matter what happens, you’re in good hands.
Real Adventure Elopement Inspo
Need more inspo to help you plan your adventure elopement? Check out these real elopements to help you start dreaming up your day.
Start here for all things adventure elopement related!
Krystal and Evan’s Alaska glacier elopement was filled with some of the most gorgeous glacier views I have ever witnessed! Visit the blog to see more from this adventure-packed glacier elopement in Alaska!
This alpine lake elopement was seriously perfect! Visit the blog for inspiration plus our top tips for planning an alpine lake elopement.
Alisha and Max’s two-day family elopement in the North Cascades was the highlight of 2023! Visit the blog to see more and learn our top 3 things to consider when planning an elopement with guests.
What You Need to Know About Adventure Elopement Packages
When choosing to have an adventure elopement, we highly recommend either our full-day or sunrise-to-sunset elopement packages to our couples.
Our full-day package includes first-look photos at your cabin in the early afternoon followed by an adventure to two unique locations for you and your partner to explore. After, we will head to your ceremony location, where you will elope in the mountains with the most stunning backdrop at sunset! We’ve found that couples who go with our full-day adventure elopement package have a better experience as they don’t feel rushed and instead, get to experience the outdoors to the fullest!
The other adventure elopement package we recommend is our sunrise-to-sunset package. This is one of our most popular elopement packages booked by our couples and here’s why: when booking a sunrise to sunset elopement, you are going to have golden hour and blue hour at BOTH sunrise and sunset! This means you are going to get the best light on your day (twice!!) and get to experience multiple locations. Click here to learn more about our adventure elopement packages and start planning your best day ever!
Meet Your Adventure Elopement Photographers
We feel most at home in the outdoors, so it’s no surprise that is where we gravitate towards as your adventure 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 adventure elopement photographers!
Looking for More Adventure Elopement Resources? These might be of help!
For everything adventure elopement-related, start here!
If your adventure elopement takes place at an Airbnb, check out this blog!
Want to get married at a national park? Check out some of our favorite national park wedding venues where you can say ‘I Do’!
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