Intimate Weddings Stories - Adventure Instead

Elopement Planning ResourcesDecember 29, 2022

Best of 2022 – Adventure Instead

Intimate WeddingsMay 12, 2021

Garden of the God’s Perfect Wedding Spots | Meghan & Javeed

Intimate WeddingsApril 21, 2021

Crested Butte Elopement

Intimate WeddingsApril 6, 2021

Getting Married in Grand Teton National Park | Leah + Alex

2-Person CeremoniesFebruary 9, 2021

Eloping at Portland Orgeon’s Government Cove | Ashley + Casey

Elopement Planning ResourcesDecember 29, 2020

Best of 2020

Choosing to ElopeNovember 24, 2020

How to Cancel a Wedding

Elopement Planning ResourcesNovember 11, 2020

Small Wedding Venues in Oregon

Elopement Planning ResourcesSeptember 19, 2020

How to Plan an Intimate Wedding

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Three Adventure Instead Photographers

What does it mean to
“Adventure Instead”?

See for Yourself...

A summer destination wedding means you can go ANYW

A summer destination wedding means you can go ANYWHERE and do ANYTHING.

You can expect fantastic weather and soak up the sunshine however you’d like… laying on a beach, spending time on a lake, soaking in the beauty of the wildflowers, and enjoying feeling the warmth on your skin.

Best of all, everything is open.

The sun rises earlier and sets later, making your wedding day that much longer.

Any activity is available for you to enjoy. Yes, even the winter sports if you head to a snowy climate.

This is my absolute favorite time of year to enjoy the PNW and Europe! 🙌
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#summerelopement
#elopementinspo
#photographyideas
#adventurebride
#momentsovermountains

How do you ACTUALLY get alpenglow like *this* all

How do you ACTUALLY get alpenglow like *this* all to yourself on your wedding day?

This isn’t by accident! There is a TON of prep work that goes into getting into the exact right place at the exact right time.

Just seeing images of alpenglow on your feed doesn’t come close to communicating how intentional you have to be while crafting a moment like this.

Honestly, this is the amazing part of having an elopement photographer who knows what they’re doing AND has a creative eye.

For Maddie & Chase, they were eloping in early October in the San Juans. I knew that meant I needed to be super on-top of everything leading up to this first look.

I knew I had to be checking road conditions EVERY day leading up to this, so that’s exactly what I did. Being born and raised in Colorado, I know how snow can close mountain passes early. I also checked in a lot with the 4X4 company!

I specifically found a 4X4 vendor with experienced drivers who could do the road in the dark. We couldn’t have caught sunrise any other way—we *needed* a driver who could get us up the mountain in the pitch black so we could wait for that light to hit the peaks.

I also knew that cloud inversions like these are more likely to happen first thing in the morning before the fog burns off in the sun.

For Maddie & Chase to get to see each other for the first time during a moment like this, I had to have them get ready on the peak on either side of the Jeep! I had them stand on thick blankets and helped Maddie into her dress.

I had to know when the *exact* right moment was to have them get out of the car to change and then be able to go IMMEDIATELY to the first look... too early meant freezing in the weather and too late meant missing the glow.

I sat in the Jeep and watched the pink rise up the sky, waiting to countdown and say GO.

These photos are the product of a decade of experience with the exact type of terrain and time of day. If you want to get alpenglow, you have to be *determined* to get it!

But let me tell you. After countless sunrises...

It’s so worth it every time.

xx Maddie Mae

If any season deserves the love it receives, it’

If any season deserves the love it receives, it’s Fall.

Fall elopements are seriously just as exceptional as the season itself… actually, ENHANCED by the season you’re eloping within.

Imagine your PERFECT fall day–whether it’s filled with pumpkin spice and bonfires or ghost-hunting and black cats (I promise, as long as it’s not weather-dependent, we can make it happen). Now imagine, the magic, anticipation, and romance a wedding day comes with naturally.

I’m telling you, it’s the winning combo.
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#fallelopement
#autumnwedding
#elopementideas
#spookyseasonvibes
#fallwedding

Fall is HERE and I can already feel the change in

Fall is HERE and I can already feel the change in the air. I’m ready for eerie nights, bonfires, falling leaves, and the most colorful foliage 🍂🍁🍄
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#fallcolors
#fallelopement
#fallweddingseason
#adventurebride
#weddingdaydetails

If you think that you can’t elope because you’

If you think that you can’t elope because you’re not a traveler or an ‘outdoorsy’ person, THIS is your sign that you’re wrong. (And also that you totally should 😉)

Don’t want to hike? That’s fine.
Don’t want to camp? That’s fine.
Don’t want a dirty dress? Say it with me... that’s. Fine!

Obviously I LOVE adventure elopements. But somewhere along the way, I feel like some couples got the wrong memo.

You can have an adventure elopement no matter what adventure looks like for you. Whether that’s a five star resort or a backpacking trip. There is no wrong way to elope when you’re sticking to what you love and actually enjoying yourself.

Natalie & Bijon are self-confessed city people (and for one of them it was their first international trip!)... but you wouldn’t know it looking at their photos.

Their elopement in the Faroes was PACKED with core memories.

Like Bijon making direct eye contact with a puffin while reading his vows to Natalie...

Or speeding through the sea in full waterproof onesies...

Or the tour company taking them through crazy rock caves the next day and playing turning on the wedding march for them...

Or Natalie’s sparkling Taylor Swift-inspired dress and Bijon’s two different suits...

They legitimately had the adventure of a lifetime. With zero crazy hikes.

Honestly, that’s one of the reasons the Faroes can be so great. Everything is so natural and untouched that you can feel immersed in it with a lot less effort.

When Natalie & Bijon first reached out, they were thinking about the vibes of New Zealand or Iceland, but really wanted to deal with less crowds and feel like they had the world to themselves.

Once I’d pitched the Faroe Islands, they fell in LOVE with the scenery.

The results? A wild-feeling adventure that played perfectly between the bounds of their comfort zone and being 100% memorable.

This is what adventure elopements are about, at their core. Not how rugged you could get, but whether or not you got to do something totally once-in-a-lifetime and call it your wedding day.

I promise to never settle for anything less than that.

xx Maddie Mae

My 30s have been some of the most transformative y

My 30s have been some of the most transformative years of my life. And yes, I do feel like I’m 13 again with no rules, adult money, and a camera at my fingertips.

Your 30s are absolutely for falling back in love with life and yourself.
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#adventurephotographer
#elopementphotography
#momentsovermountains
#worldtravel
#traveldestinations

If you could preview your wedding day like you cou

If you could preview your wedding day like you could a movie trailer… and you chose to elope on said day… this is how I think it would look.

It’s crazy to think that after photographing big weddings at the start of my photography career, it wasn’t until seeing how free and wild elopements are that I found what felt like scenes from a movie in front of my lens.

I mean, think about it.
 The most beautiful part of most movies are the vulnerable, intimate parts where the main character chooses what they want over the masses.

Or when they share a piece of themselves with one other person they feel an undeniable connection with.

Or when they find themselves on top of the mountain after working so hard to climb it, with the wind in their hair, crying tears of joy.

In this movie, those tears of joy are paired with an “I do”.
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#adventurebride
#specialweddingmoments
#elopementday
#intimatewedding
#elopementinspo

When fall rolls around, so many couples start thin

When fall rolls around, so many couples start thinking of snowy peaks and super vivid leaves... but there’s a whole type of scenery that gets seriously slept on this time of year, too.

The DESERT.

Are you wanting stunning, goes-for-miles views without the sometimes extreme heat that can come with being out in the summer? A fall desert elopement may be in your future.

Kelly & Kody were world-travelers and no strangers to adventure long before they decided to elope. So when you look at their Utah wedding photos, just know you’re looking at a location picked by people who have literally hiked Everest.

Yeah. It’s that good.

Moab is *insane.* There’s so much variety here... from massive red rock towers, to stone arches, to maze-like canyons. All right next to each other.

There’s something really special about vast expanses of bright red earth behind a couple while they stand at the edge. Not only are the photos so freaking epic every single time, it also always allows you to feel like it’s just you and your partner. Like nothing and no one else matters.

During their wedding day, Kelly & Kody explored overlooks, drove over 4x4 roads to reach secluded views, and then headed to an area with jaw-dropping aerial views of the canyons around them to have their ceremony.

After they were freshly married, they spent some time exploring ridges and cliffs in the area and took the most joy-filled sunset portraits. As the air cooled and the sun’s warmth left, she slipped into his jacket for a few final shots as new spouses.

I’m telling ya’ll, fall in the desert is truly something else. You’re more comfortable, more alone, and don’t have to wait as long to see the rocks light up when the sun goes down. What could get better than that?

And, if you’re the night sky type... the stargazing out here in the winter is unmatched due to low light pollution and cold, humidity-free air with more hours to enjoy it in.

So if you want INSANE scenery, cooler temps, a ton of variety in one place, and a super unique location that you’ll remember forever...

October in the desert just might be the way to go.

xx Maddie Mae

Follow @adventureinstead and show how you #adventureinstead in your life