Destination Elopement Photographer

Elopement photographers are a much more full service provider than a wedding photographer and offer a more hands-on, comprehensive role in the planning process than a traditional wedding photographer does. Normal, big wedding photographers get hired after the couple books a venue and selects a date, and has often already hired a wedding planner, which means their role is limited to helping with the photography timeline and then showing up day-of and documenting the event as it unfolds, and delivering the images. However, most elopement photographers are contacted much earlier in the planning process by couples and eloping couples tend to not have a clear idea on what they want their day to look like (since they’ve likely not been to an elopement before)—meaning they heavily rely on their elopement photographer to advise on the best location, time of year, activities to do, and essentially create the entire experience and timeline for them based on their desires and personalities. Elopement photographers spend countless more hours in the planning process, and the liability for what they do is also higher as they tend to advise on permits and marriage licenses. When you hire an experienced elopement photographer, you’re essentially getting a planner in addition to a photographer. Bottom line, elopements require more skills and are more work for a photographer than traditional weddings are to photograph.