Blog | Real Elopements | Adventure Instead Photographers & Guides

Elopement PlanningJanuary 19, 2021

How to Plan a Post-Elopement Party

Adventure ElopementsJanuary 14, 2021

Black Wedding Dresses

Oregon ElopementsJanuary 11, 2021

Smith Rock Wedding

Oregon ElopementsJanuary 4, 2021

Cannon Beach Wedding

Adventure ElopementsDecember 29, 2020

Best of 2020

National Park ElopementsDecember 22, 2020

Moab Wedding

Washington ElopementsDecember 15, 2020

Columbia River Gorge Wedding

Adventure ElopementsDecember 9, 2020

Arches National Park Elopement

Oregon ElopementsDecember 1, 2020

Oregon Coast Wedding

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Anyone else desperately miss international travel

Anyone else desperately miss international travel right now?

I recognize this is a *super* privileged “problem” to have 😂 but I honestly really miss packing a bag, heading to the airport, and spending time immersed in another culture for a while. I’ve always felt like travel gives me such a unique perspective on life that I have rarely been able to find staying at home.

For the last 4 years, I’ve usually been on an international flight every month or so and in about 10-15 countries a year to shoot elopements or travel personally. So approaching the 1-year anniversary since I pulled out my passport to go anywhere is pretty strange.

On a more personal note, travel has been a HUGE part of my relationship with my partner—we’ve been to a total of over 100 countries between us and it’s our absolute favorite hobby to find cheap flight deals and backpack somewhere we’ve never been. Trips are where we talk the most, connect the most, and have the best conversations on where our lives are headed—I think that’s why I miss it the most.

I also SUPER miss helping couples plan elopements internationally to somewhere dreamy they’ve never been before. Having eloped in Peru myself, I love helping couples combine the exhilaration of travel with the life-changing day of committing your life to another person—and I’m so ready for destination elopements to be possible again! We successfully rescheduled our 2020 destination elopements to this year—so we’re all crossing our fingers more than ever that the great trips we have planned in the summer/fall & winter are all able to happen.

I’m so ready to pull out my passport again. 🙋

👇What about you? If you woke up tomorrow & COVID was completely over… where would be the first place you’d book a flight to?

(for me, it’d be the UK to see my family :)

xx Maddie Mae ❤️

P.S. For any ICELAND lovers out there, we still have 3 more spaces for elopements on already booked trips this year! August 15 or 19 with Amber and September 26th with Tori! (This is covid-willing of course, we have a fee-free rescheduling option if necessary). Get in touch with us if you would love to elope in Iceland 🙌

When I photographed big weddings, one of the most

When I photographed big weddings, one of the most heartbreaking 💔parts for me was the ceremony. Oftentimes they lacked any personality—just a lot of “repeat after me” and rushing to get through it because your guests were just there for the party and you’d hate to bore them.

One of the biggest misconceptions about elopements is that the ceremonies are a short 5-10 minutes, and then that’s it—your done. But this could not be more wrong.

With the absence of guests that you are worrying about boring or family you are nervous about saying how you really feel about your partner in front of—the pressure disappears. It’s just you and your partner, expressing your love for one another in whatever way that is authentic to YOU.

Rebecca & Micah did just that. Rebecca surprised Micah with a die to roll to decide who had to go first. Then when it then came time for Micah to read her vows, she surprised Rebecca with a beautiful illustrated book she wrote with every single reason why she loves her. Between these incredible personable gifts and their heartfelt handwritten vows—their ceremony was true to them in every way.

Your ceremony can still be 5 minutes, sure—but it can also be 45 minutes. You can read your vows in multiple locations, play music for one another, make a painting together on top of a mountain, take time to just enjoy the beautiful space you’ve chosen to commit your lives to one another in. There is no one there to rush or judge you. It’s just you, your partner, and a wild world of possibilities.

You can and should do exactly what you and your partner want to do during your wedding ceremony.

ELOPE!

xx Tori

Blunt truth: No one has a right to be at your wedd

Blunt truth: No one has a right to be at your wedding.

At least once a week I’m on the phone with an engaged couple working though their vision about what they want to look like—and often they’re debating whether they should elope just the two of them or have something bigger.

Truthfully, I love intimate weddings just as much as 2-person elopements. Getting married with 5-15 of the closest people in your life—just the ones who truly know you and love you and accept you as you are—the people who you are truly safe to be your true self around—it’s pure magic.

But here’s the thing... the people who you choose to invite to witness you two saying your vows and promising your lives to each other—it’s a privilege for them to be there—it’s not a right.

Families are complicated folks... and just because someone shares some of your DNA doesn’t mean that they have a right to anything in your life. If you have loving and supportive family who breathe life & good energy into your life—awesome 👏 but if you don’t.... if there’s someone who you are feeling pressured to invite to YOUR wedding... that you don’t feel safe around... someone who brings you down or judges you or makes you feel “less than”—it’s NOT their right to be there. You can choose to keep the space in which you say your vows 100% safe and only for those who 100% are there for you.

Relationships are privileges, not rights. Surround yourself with people who love you and lift you up—those who encourage you and help you become a better human being.

You can choose to invite ONLY your best friends… or invite just your parents... or just your siblings... or have a day that is just for the two of you, with zero distractions and zero audience that may affect what you feel you can say aloud in your vows (like I did in Peru 2 years ago).

The choice is yours friends. Remember that you don’t have to make decisions out of fear or obligation about your wedding day. The day that you’ll look back on every year on your anniversary is worth honoring and protecting—you deserve to have a day filled with only the people who are really there for you. ❤️

xx Maddie Mae

I’m pretty sure Moab is just a big playground fo

I’m pretty sure Moab is just a big playground for adults. 💪

Between the giant rock arches, desert towers, and insane canyons—everywhere you look is something to explore and climb on, like a giant adult jungle gym.

Also, nearly 2 million acres around Moab are designated as BLM land (Bureau of Land Management land), which basically means it’s cared for by a different government office than the national parks and also means that means there are literally hundreds of miles of 4×4-only jeep trails that can take you out into less populated areas of the desert.

We took one of these bumpy, unmarked roads to get this spot to ourselves for an entire evening wandering around on this cliff edge and peering down into the canyon below.

Honestly I adore mountains, but there’s something just as (and maybe even a bit more) grand about looking down on a canyon like this, as looking up at a towering peak. Moab really makes me feel like a happy exploring child again.

Brooke & Jake said their vows here, while the sunset turned the multi-colored desert rocks into a glowing orange backdrop. I swear, the colors of the desert at sunset are absolutely mesmerizing.

Bottom line: mountains are rad and all… but the desert is also an EPIC AF place to elope 🙌

xx Maddie Mae

P.S. We are about 90% full for 2021, but still have space for 2 more elopements in Moab—March 16 or March 18th. March is a fantastic time to elope here because you won’t be dealing with extreme heat, and YES 2 months is PLENTY of time to plan your dream adventure elopement. 🙌

👉Get in touch with us asap if you want to snag those last 2 Moab dates before they’re gone!

What song do you feel best reflects your relations

What song do you feel best reflects your relationship? 🎵

👆This is one of my favorite questions to ask couples to get to know them better so I can help plan a super “true to them” and amazing elopement day.

Sheila & Gary said...

“Right now George Harrison’s “Here Comes the Sun” fits pretty well, because it has been a long wait but now we’re taking the plunge and bright days are coming.” ☀️

What about you? 🙋‍♀️Anyone else out there have a “song” for your relationship?

xx Maddie Mae

👇Share “your song” in the comments!

I’m pretty embarrassed to admit this now… 😬

I’m pretty embarrassed to admit this now… 😬

But when this Florida-based couple told me they wanted to do this nearly 10-mile, 3000 ft elevation gain hike up to 12,500 ft WITH their siblings for their elopement day… this Colorado girl was a bit skeptical. 😂

In late September this spot is about 12-degrees Fahrenheit at sunrise, and it had already snowed up there 2-weeks prior. This is one of the toughest hikes I’ve done with a couple for their elopement and I honestly didn’t think that a family from sea-level who flew in the day before would decide to tackle this one—but dang…was I wrong.

Krina & Kenny along with Kenny’s 2 sisters and Krina’s brother absolutely crushed this hike in the dark—encouraging and pushing each other to just keep putting one foot in front of the other by the light of their headlamps.

When the sun rose and the alpenglow hit the peaks behind this absolutely stunning alpine lake as they said their vows, we had this entire place to ourselves for hours, and were just stunned by the warm, fall-colored tundra and the jagged peaks.

It was pretty much the most perfect fall day, and so appropriate for this badass adventurous couple who has done everything from backpacking around the world together (including Patagonia) to building a rock climbing wall with Fitz Roy painted on it in their garage.💪

Helping couples create a wedding day that is absolutely the perfect reflection of who they are is the BEST part of being an elopement photographer.

Love you Krina & Kenny!!!

ELOPE! 🙌

xx Maddie Mae

P.S. A few weeks later, this area actually was burned in one of the wildfires, in Colorado's worst season of fires in history 😭 and so incredibly sadly, this trail is now closed. Always drown fires friends.

Where can you still have an epic elopement with us

Where can you still have an epic elopement with us in 2021 with *NO* travel fees?👇

We are super excited to share our 2021 travel schedule with you!! We have some absolutely epic destinations planned in 2021! (covid-wiling of course 😂) Check out our site for our full list (this post is just a sneak peek).

Here’s the trips we specifically have spaces left that we’d love to fill and can be booked with absolutely NO travel fees 👇

MARCH
• 20-26 // Utah
• 28-Apr 3 // Sedona, Arizona

APRIL
• 1-6 Hawaii

MAY
• 23-25 // Washington

JUNE
• 9-12 & 16-17 // Swiss, Italian, or French Alps
• 20-25 // Scotland or Ireland

JULY
• 1-3 // Alaska

AUGUST
• 19-22 // Slovenia or Swiss Alps

SEPTEMBER
• 21-Oct 6 // Iceland

OCTOBER
• 23-25 // Sedona, Arizona

NOVEMBER
• 13-16 // California

DECEMBER
• 10-31 // Patagonia (Chile & Argentina)

Want to join us?

👉 Check out our full, newly-released 2021 travel schedule on our site! And remember that we’re based in Colorado & Oregon, so you can elope there anytime with us with no-travel fees.

If you have another elopement location, feel free to contact us because we may still have space! We absolutely can’t wait to plan more adventures 🙌

xx Maddie Mae, Amber, & Tori

✨P.S. Our 2021 schedule isn’t completely booked yet, but you should reach out ASAP! Once we release our travel schedule, our dates get booked up super quickly!

“But what would we do with all of that time?”

“But what would we do with all of that time?”

When we first start chatting with couples about their elopement, many are surprised that we usually spend 8-12 hours documenting a couple’s day—even if it’s just the two of them.

And listen, I get it—if you grew up thinking elopements were just a quick trip to the courthouse, it certainly would be a new idea, that eloping actually means that you can craft one of those days in your relationship that you can look back on and think… “damn, that whole day was the best day we ever had together.”

My favorite 1st question to ask couples as I help them plan a day like this is, “If you could dream up the most *perfect* day together, with absolutely no boundaries, rules, or limits what would that look like?”

And I’m pretty sure Stephanie & Sara had one of the best answers I’ve ever heard.

They said, “Our perfect day would be one that reminded us that we are so small in the vastness of the world. This day wouldn’t consist of just 24 hours. Time would be infinite and in our favor. The day would be done when we were finished seeing & doing it all.”

Honestly I truly wish I could have stopped time on this absolutely perfect fall day with these two… and just spent forever wandering on the trails through the fields of bright red heather, laying down on the rocks overlooking this lake and just enjoying feeling small with the mountains surrounding us.

We spent 12 hours together, but it felt like 12 seconds—and when you’re doing exactly what you love, with the person you love most in the world… a day feels both like it’s over in the blink of an eye, and that it lasts forever.

Whatever type of wedding day you’re planning this year—give yourself the gift of thinking without limits at the start.

Really ask yourself… “How would we spend a 100% truly enjoyable day together if we could do whatever we wanted…”

The answer might surprise you.

xx Tori

🙌 ELOPE!!! 🙌

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