Alaska Elopement Glacier Adventure with Charleton Churchill Photography

Alaska Elopement Adventure Photographer – The Epic Glacier Landing Elopement

As an Alaska elopement photographer, I document many adventure elopements. I have photographed weddings all over the world. The record setting Mt. Everest elopement I captured that went viral globally became the next big thing: Adventure weddings and adventure elopements. But even then, trying to scout epic locations around the world, having climbed north America’s highest peak, Mt. McKinley (Denali), leading teams up mountains, I keep returning back to Alaska. It is quite comparatively, as close to the Himalayas as one can get in terms of epic mountain ranges within the USA.

alaska wedding photographer with couple on blue glacier for a heli landing tour

alaska elopement photographer

Alaska Glacier Weddings

Now onto Alex and Peter’s epic alaska elopement with glacier landing using a helicopter. They booked me for their elopement heli adventure and wanted something unique and intimate, yet wild. They booked me for my 2 days adventure alaska wedding package. Originally I had wanted to capture a Denali glacier landing the day before their elopement. However, weather would not guarantee us a flight on one of the air taxis in Talkeetna. Instead, we opted for helicopter glacier landings on both days in Knik glacier area. One day with family for the wedding ceremony and another day for the adventure glacier adventure in their wedding attire. The result was nothing short of awesome.

Our first day, we flew onto multiple glaciers, not only for photos, but to scout wedding ceremony locations. Jon was our Pilot who directed us to choose a location and he would drop us off wherever we directed him. We took our time capturing alaska mountain ranges, glaciers fields, and mountain tops, but also to scout a wedding ceremony location for the following day.

Among the glaciers we traveled the first day, I believe we saw 12 bears and 14 moose. We hit the Knik Glacier, Lake George Glacier, Colony Glacier, Sparrow Glacier, Finch Glacier, and a few others. There were so many secluded places to land, but we captured what we needed. Alex had a few wedding dresses, one for the adventure day, and one for the elopement day. Both dresses required a jacket when we were not shooting, as it was cold.

The Elopement Ceremony

Our wedding couple wanted an Alaskan wedding ceremony location where family and friends could gather without any snow below their feet, and that’s what they got. The following day, Peter, Alex, their family, and friends were taken to a secluded location where we were told no elopement had been performed yet. Perfect weather and temperature for scenic photos. Check out the location.

Just so everyone knows when viewing these images, an adventure elopement isn’t always as great as the photos. Usually there’s some sort of inconvenience to endure or a test. Some on the helicopter flight were a little nervous about flying or didn’t want to fly. Some didn’t like the cold. During the ceremony, these tiny but large gnat type mosquitos were everywhere landing on our faces, ears, etc. It rained after the ceremony. I had photo ideas for after the ceremony that wouldn’t work because of the rain. So that being said, the photos don’t show the endurance.

However, everyone was so elated to see Peter and Alex married, everything else seemed to fade away. At the end of the day, we nailed even better images than we expected. Everyone else will forget the gnats and the cold weather. What remains are the memories captured by the photographer, and I’m so grateful to have been been a part of their alaskan adventure.

The reception and decor was beautifully setup with a view of the Chugach mountain range.

How do we book an Alaska wedding or elopement?

If you are interested in getting your photos taken in Alaska, whether on a helicopter glacier tour or on a road trip, on a lake somewhere, or rustic cabin, etc, I’m the Alaska wedding photographer who can guide you. Whether you are wanting a couples adventure session, elopement, wedding, engagement, or a married couple’s session, I can assist gathering vendors and planning your adventure together.