Much to my surprise, when Linden and I announced our engagement and our intentions to elope, we were met with the words, “an elopement is just a photoshoot.” This came as quite a big shock because of course, the idea of a photoshoot is not the reason our hearts are sold on an elopement. However, I thought that this would be something that other couples might face or struggle with. Therefore, I wanted to take all our ideas and reasoning and put them into a blog explaining why we are choosing to elope and how, to us, it’s much more than a photoshoot (because at the end of the day, we would still go down the elopement path, even if there was no photographer present). 

So, Why Elope?

For us, an elopement is about celebrating us as a couple! It’s solely focusing on who we are, as individuals and a team, and what we love to do. We envision spending the morning making pancakes, hiking to a mountaintop where we will declare our love for one another and having a picnic together (An activity so special to us, especially during all the lockdowns over the past two years!). We want to incorporate activities like horseback riding on a black sand beach, or kayaking in the fjords, or flying in a helicopter over the breathtaking mountains of Lofoten. We want it to be an adventure of a lifetime, celebrating our love for one another. Life, for us, has always been an adventure, why wouldn’t we want our elopement to replicate that? 

But, The Whole Point of a Wedding is to Celebrate with Family?

Another surprise I was met with when I spoke of our elopement plans was, “but the whole point of getting married is to celebrate with family and friends.” Now, don’t get me wrong, this is definitely one way to celebrate your love, and it’s definitely a beautiful way! I LOVE weddings, I mean, my whole career is built around weddings. I definitely understand them, love them and appreciate other people’s choices to opt for a wedding! BUT in saying that, everyone is entirely different. One size doesn’t necessarily fit all, and I believe that at its core, a wedding day should be about meaningful celebrations of love.  

For me, I want my wedding day to be intentional, adventurous, wild and focused on one thing; us. You bet your butt we will have a viewing party to share our stories, to dress up again (A second chance to wear my dress, whoop whoop!), share our video and let everyone relive the adventure with us! We do want to celebrate with our nearest and dearest, we just want our wedding day to be our own celebration. 

But, You’re Having a Photographer?

An elopement isn’t about the photos. It’s about the adventure that we are going on. It’s about living in all of the moments of the day and feeling the love present in each and every one of those moments. Do we want photos to remember it? Heck yeah, we do! Every wedding has a photographer, but that doesn’t mean it’s only about the photos. Our day will be built on our love, full of activities we enjoy and someone will be there to capture that. When I strip this idea back, I know in my heart that if a photographer wasn’t an option, we would still choose to elope together. It’s about the experience and ability to fully immerse ourselves in our love for a day: one true celebration and commitment to one another. For me, the beauty of our reality is that we can have a photographer present to capture all the intricate moments. The moments that we can take from our special day and immortalise for a lifetime. The moments that we can physically take back with us and share with our loved ones, to always cherish and relive. Are we going to say no to a photographer? Absolutely not. Would we still continue to have an elopement if a photographer wasn’t an option? A million times, yes.

Our day is simply for us. It’s going to be built in a way that stays true to Linden and I, as a couple, as a team. It’s something that we want to experience and celebrate together, doing activities and exploring places, and seeking adventure. We want to chase sunrises, wish on shooting stars, and feel that exciting, overwhelming sensation that this is our partner in life. That no matter where we go, we will always have each other by our sides. 

An elopement is our choice, and whilst it might not be everyone’s, it’s the perfect one for us.