The adventure elopement experience
An adventure elopement photographer’s guide to your dreamiest day ever
MANIFESTO
Why you want to work with an experienced adventure elopement photographer
If you decided to get married in a wildly different way you probably realized pretty quickly that planning these things is vastly different than planning a big wedding … and probably a little more overwhelming than you first imaged!
That’s because being able to do literally anything for your elopement means you can do … literally ANYTHING for your elopement … and the options are kind of endless.
You probably have questions too. Questions like “What if it rains at our elopement?” and “What are we going to do all day?” and “Do we need a permit for our elopement??” and “How do we even decide where to elope?!”.
As your adventure elopement photographer I’m here to help you answer every single one of these questions … and do a whole lot more.
MONDE est 2012
An elopement adventure beyond your wildest dreams
When you first decided to elope you may have pictured something super quick – maybe going to the courthouse or at a drive-through in Vegas. But I encourage you, and every one of my couples, to think bigger about this day. It’s still the day you get married and it still deserve to be one of the best days of your life!
Story time:
Why I became an adventure elopement photographer
Connecting with people and enabling their wild ideas is my love language.
I’m obsessed with big landscapes, wild places, and the awesome humans who make the brave choice to get married in them. I believe that no one wedding day is right for everyone and helping you find YOUR perfect way to do this thing – in some of the most beautiful places on the planet.
I’m here to help you have the adventure of a lifetime and get married in the most meaningful way possible.
What is an adventure elopement?
Adventure is in the eye of the beholder. Hiking to the top of a mountain can be an adventure – so can exploring a brand new city. While the definition of adventure varies pretty wildly, I genuinely consider an adventure elopement to be an intentional wedding day (often with zero guests) out in nature.
The level of “adventure” could be something big – like taking a helicopter to the top of a mountain or Jeeping into the backcountry – to renting a cabin in the woods and spending your day in a snowy cabin, cozied up next to a fire, eating a delicious meal prepared by a private chef.
Contrary to popular belief, hiking is NOT required for an adventure elopement.
My job, as your adventure elopement photographer
… is to help you figure out what your dream day looks like, and then put the pieces together to make it happen! Every elopement I plan and photograph is unique to the couple, the things they love, and what would make their day perfect.
Your adventure elopement is not about the photos
It’s probably a wildly unpopular thing for a photographer to say but I believe in my soul that this day is about so much more than just photos – and that if what you remember from this experience is that we took a lot of photos, I haven’t done my job.
I want you to remember the places you went, the adventures you had, and that unbelievable feeling of realizing that you did this thing in the most magical way. I want you to remember what it was like to be in that place, making that promise, to that person. To YOUR person. And for the photos to bring you right back to a day you’ll never forget.
What that means in practicality is that we treat this like an adventure, not a photoshoot. We’re going to go explore some beautiful places and get you married up along the way. I’ll plan your day so that we’re in the right place at the right time for the right light and the gorgeous photos you see will be the easy, outcome of all of that.
If my couples look like they’re relaxed, happy, and having fun in these photos it’s because that’s exactly what is happening. I believe the best photos are byproducts of the best moments.
Your job is to have the best damn day of your life. My job is to capture it beautifully. The art isn’t just in the photography – it’s in the entire elopement experience.
Is it better to elope at sunrise or sunset?
When it comes to planning the timeline of your day, I always urge my couples to choose either sunrise or sunset. Why? Good photos are all about good light and the best, most beautiful light happens at either end of the day! Whether you choose sunrise or sunset will largely depend on your personal preferences (and some locations are just better at one or the other due to the way the sun moves across the sky). Here are some things to think about for both!
Eloping at Sunrise
I hate getting up for sunrise. Crawling out of my warm bed to head out into the dark, cold night? No thanks. But here’s the thing – once I’m up, and especially once that sun starts to come over the horizon? I remember that it is ALWAYS worth it. I am such a sucker for sunrise elopements for a lot of reasons (beyond the obvious beautiful light!). The number of people who get up for sunrise is pretty small which means that wherever you go, you’re likely to have a lot of solitude. Places are quieter and chances are good that you’ll have even the most iconic of locations all to yourself. And that’s worth getting up for!
Eloping at sunset
The majority of my couples, very understandably choose to plan their elopement around sunset instead of sunrise and I totally, TOTALLY get it! The benefit of a sunset elopement (besides getting a lot more sleep) is that you have a leisurely day in which to get ready. You can have a low key breakfast, finish writing your vows, and generally take your time as you get into your day. Sunset at some locations will be much busier than sunrise will be but that just means you have to be a little more mindful of the places you pick if solitude is important to you (your photographer can help!)
HOw we’ll make your adventure elopement experience the best day of your life
From helping you choose your perfect location to coming up with a timeline for the day I’m here to demystify the elopement experience and guide you to your best day ever.
I was a landscape photographer before I ever started photographing weddings – which means that my work is heavily influenced by by views and wild places.
We’ll take your day nice and slow and make sure we have time to savor every moment. This is one of the biggest days of your life – enjoy the hell out of it!
Some love from my people ….
Sam + Jesse
“Having grown up in Florida for most of our lives, this was an absolute DREAM to experience these amazing views on our wedding day!! Going for a hike, exploring the beautiful Colorado scenery, and laughing together while we exchanged vows on top of the world was the most memorable, epic wedding experience of a lifetime, and Jen made it all happen from the planning phase to execution.
Highly recommend Jen for an epic, stress free, magical, and unforgettable elopement experience!! She is a talented, passionate photographer and an absolutely amazing human being!”
Leila + Josh
“Jen is both a phenomenal human and photographer. She made the day feel so easy for our elopement! Jen was incredibly easy to work with and was a fly on the wall during our most important moments.I seriously cannot get over how beautiful and stunning the photos are. We wish we lived in Colorado so we could hang out more 😭”
alex + wyatt
“Jen is such an amazing photographer! We had a beautiful elopement day shot by her and all the pictures came out better than i could have ever imagined. We did the sunrise to sunset package and it was very well worth it to us. We had all day coverage so we got so many wonderful pictures back and got to hang out with Jen all day. It truly felt like talking & hanging with an old friend, she really is the best! We spent our elopement in 4 different locations in Olympic park, she was all for the crazy adventure we had planned together. I’m so glad we chose her to be our photographer for our special day! We love that she captured the best day ever for us!”
grace + tyler
“Jen is the BEST! Our day went so smoothly and beautifully with her guidance and knowledge both before and during the day. Coming from Minnesota, Jen made it easy to plan and answered all of our questions in preparation for the day. Day of she was the greatest hype person we could have asked for! So kind and fun to work with, keeping us calm when rain came through and finding new, great spots for use to explore after the ceremony. We couldn’t have asked for anyone better to support us on our day, constantly reliving the day through the gorgeous pictures and memories that come along with them.”
ready to plan your own adventure elopement?
Get in touch!
I know you may be feeling overwhelmed right now with this whole thing – trust me, I hear that a lot!
I’m here to demystify the whole elopement experience so you can feel confident that your elopement day will live up to the hype and be one of the best adventures of your life. I’m here to help you every step of the way.
I can’t wait to meet you!
