Adventure Elopements

Why Planning a Two-Day Elopement Is So Awesome

By NARROWLEAF PHOTOGRAPHY

Elopements are intimate, intentional and freakin’ EPIC! They are absolutely NOT about running away from family and eloping in a shameful or selfish way. Quite the opposite, actually.

Often elopements have guests too! They are just smaller, more intimate celebrations that bring a wedding day back to simply you and your partner celebrating a commitment to each other in a way that 100% reflects YOUR relationship. It is a celebration of two people, versus two people hosting a ballroom full of guests.

We love when couples plan an epic two-day elopement experience, and we’re here to tell you why you should too!

You can fully immerse yourself in the experience. When you choose to plan a two-day elopement, you have a much better chance of fully experiencing the place you are eloping in. If you have a long list of things you want to do and places you want to see on your wedding day, traveling from place to place takes time, whether you are on foot or in a vehicle. Not to mention that if you want really epic photographic images to go with your truly badass day, you are going to want to plan all your “important stuff” (i.e., ceremony, portraits of the couple, favorite activities) for either sunrise or sunset, to take advantage of the best light. While I can easily photograph at any time of the day and produce high-quality images, there really is no comparison to good-quality lighting — it sets the mood of an image. If it’s a super-clear sunrise with huge rays backlighting you, the images will feel warm, romantic and bright. So having two days to plan around can make doing all the things in the best lighting much more plausible without having to literally get up before the sun rises and end your coverage after the sun sets.

You get to have a totally chill experience, with ample time to slow down, soak it all in and truly enjoy your day. Plus do all the cool stuff you wanna do! Trust me, you are going to want to give yourselves time to process and feel every moment instead of cramming all the things into one huge itinerary — I mean, a major benefit of eloping is that you don’t have to stress or follow a specific timeline, right? Breaking it all up over two days is the perfect solution.

You have an easy badweather backup plan.

Anyone who plans an outdoor event knows one of the biggest questions is “What will we do if it rains or storms and we can’t safely be outdoors?” If the original plan was holding the ceremony on day one and the climbing adventure on day two, and there is a safety warning for day one, we can flipflop them and do the ceremony on day two, with day one being the adventure, and then switch gears to either indoor climbing instead or something completely different, like a stormy sightseeing adventure.

You

don’t have

to compromise on adventure.

Say you want to have some family and friends support you while you say your vows to each other. Maybe you need something easily accessible for your grandparents, but you also really want to hike somewhere secluded with a 360-degree view of mountains. Oh, and you really want to kayak in your wedding clothes on an alpine lake. This is all absolutely possible! You can do day one with your family in a beautiful setting that’s accessible to everyone. Then day two is all about the two of you on your first big adventure as a married couple! There’s no need to give up the adventure when you have two days.

You get to choose your adventure.

What if you are having no guests? What do you do then? Now the true adventure planning begins. You could do a full two-day glacier trek/climbing adventure with a guide, camping out on the ice. Or a two-day backpacking adventure somewhere deep in the wilderness to a spot that feels completely yours. Or even day one is your wedding celebration and day two is your honeymoon adventure! The possibilities are truly endless.

Inspiration for planning your next elopement adventure

Wisconsin

Hiking

Backpacking

Kayaking

Canoeing

Paddle boarding

Pack rafting

Whitewater rafting

Climbing

Ice climbing

Glacier trekking

Snowshoeing

Skiing

Snowboarding

Hot-air ballooning

Heli hike + tour

Jeep, ATV, UTV tour

Biking

Check Colorado

Camping

Bonfire

Hot springs

Sightseeing

Cliff jumping

Swimming

Fishing

Train

Chair lift

Boat excursion

Hammock hang

Stargazing

Horseback riding

Picnicking

When you’re planning engagement photos, deciding what kind of images you want can feel overwhelming. I encourage you to find a photographer who is genuine about wanting to capture you. The real you, not just the posed version.

Meet my clients Connor and Sydney. I’ve known Sydney for a long time, and she exudes fun. She’s always up for an adventure, goes along with crazy ideas and laughs the whole time she does it.

Every three months, I offer a limited number of adventure sessions, and Sydney and Connor got this one. They chose it because they felt it exhibited part of their relationship and who they are. I love capturing the kinds of images that make you stop and stare, that make you want to go do the thing you’re seeing in the picture. I especially love shooting in and around water. There’s something so whimsical, fun and timeless about it.