Mt. Cook Elopement Wedding Photographer, Aoraki National Park, New Zealand

Mt. Cook Elopement with Konrad and Cristine
in Queenstown, Aoraki National Park, New Zealand
Adventure Wedding Photographer Charleton Churchill

Mt. COOK ELOPEMENT ADVENTURE

Mountain adventure couple Konrad and Cristina chose to elope in New Zealand. Hiking, adventure, and epic landscapes is how they wanted to define their wedding day memories and photography. Goal accomplished. Yet, while you enjoy the photography and wedding couple in their glory, there were also challenges. We spent a morning hiking up a steep mountain that was muddy and slippery from the rain. Cristina hiked covering her head and face with her Gore-Tex jacket while it rained, protecting her hair and make-up. As we climbed higher, the terrain became steeper, visibility lessened, the air more chilling, and it began to come down harder. The further we climbed, the more dangerous it became to turn around. On top of that, our epic view from the summit would have been non-existent.  So we turned around and called it a morning.

CHALLENGES

It almost felt like a waste of time. After all, we prepared and planned for this time of photos. The couple had even scouted the locations a few days prior. Expectations were assumed, but looking back, it made their story even more adventurous. They worked hard for their wedding photos. They earned themselves a true adventure wedding. So when they proudly hang their two large portraits on their wall (they purchased two epic wall canvas prints), they have more than just cute wedding photos to show off; they have an adventure story to share with everyone.

Not only that, there was bitter cold weather; Cristina’s veil kept twisting in the wind and we had to constantly unwind; our helicopter flight kept getting pushed back another day; and it almost seemed like nothing went as planned, but in the end, we captured many images not planned. The God-sent rainbow in the sky we chased was a perfect example. We didn’t plan for a rainbow, but we got some incredible photos with them.

We also went to Mt. Cook, Aoraki National Park for some epic elopement photos. We hiked there and captured some images, but I would love to return for some hiking and mountaineering. I would love to book another Mt. Cook elopement. I could hang out in Aoraki National Park.

Konrad and Cristina were both great and hungry for adventure. We woke up early and worked hard until sunset. In the end, we captured some gold nuggets I’m proud to share on this blog post. Congratulations to both Konrad and Cristina on their epic adventure elopement.