Alaska Wedding Photographer - Epic Adventure Elopement -

Alaska Wedding Photographer – The Epic Alaska Elopement Adventure

Alex and Peter’s Alaska wedding.

I photograph many adventure elopements as a photographer. I have photographed weddings all over the world. My Mt. Everest elopement was the viral one and it was bigger than I expected in terms of it going global. But even then, trying to scout epic locations around the world, having climbed north America’s highest peak, Mt. McKinley, 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.

alaskan glacier elopement

Chugach Mountain Wedding Adventure

Now on with Alex and Peter’s epic destination elopement in the Chugach mountain range. Peter and Alex booked me for the elopement plans and wanted something unique and epic. Both were open to possibilities for adventurous photos together. Originally I had wanted us to capture photos in Denali National Park the day before their elopement. However, weather would not guarantee us a flight. Instead, we opted for a helicopter glacier tour for a few days. One day with family for the wedding and one day for the adventure tour The result was nothing short of awesome.

Our first day, we flew on a helicopter into the Chugach mountains. Jon was our Pilot who directed us to choose a location and he would drop us off for photos. At this point, a ceremony location hadn’t yet been chosen, yes, the day before their ceremony. We took our time capturing alaskan beauties, 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.

Returning to Alaska

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, some cabin wedding, etc, I’m the Alaska photographer you want. I’m there often with couples. Whether you are wanting a couples adventure session, elopement, wedding, engagement, or a married couple’s session, I do it all.