Hi! You’re here to learn how to plan an Adventure Wedding – or maybe you’re just interested in the concept and want to learn more. We are here to help!
For some couples, the idea of an Adventure wedding is completely foreign to them. When planning a wedding there seems to always be input from everyone around you on what you should do for your wedding and even family traditions that you might feel obligated to adhere to. We are here to tell you to throw all that out! It’s natural to want to shout your engagement from the rooftop – do that! Share with family and friends but when it comes to everyone giving you advice, ideas, and their thoughts, take a moment to pause and think “is this what we really want?”
How to plan an Adventure Wedding?
1) What do YOU want? When you think about saying “I do” with your love, what comes to mind? Sweeping vistas on mountain peaks, a secluded tropical beach, maybe somewhere under the stars/Milky Way, or even how about your favorite vacation spot (or a new place you want to become your favorite spot!). There’s so many options out there!
A good Adventure wedding photographer (ahem, that’s us) will help guide you to locations that fit what you’re looking for based on the answers to your questions above and also work with you to plan a date/time that will fit your vision. For example if you’re dreaming about under the stars in say, Iceland, well the summer months aren’t for you! They’re going to have a ton of daylight during that time of year. But if you want a mix of both sweeping landscapes AND stars, the middle of winter isn’t going to cut it either. Your adventure photographers are also going to help with not only the over all scheduling, but making sure if your wedding is going to be outdoors, we help you with building in a weather buffer.
2) Will your Adventure wedding be a larger event, just the two of you, or maybe a small group of your most important people? We’ve done adventure weddings all three ways, and I’m sure there’s even more ways to host than we’ve even thought of.
If you’re thinking a large event, maybe your ceremony is just the adventure part but you’re going to celebrate at a kick-ass party after the “I do’s”. You’ll need to select a location that can accommodate both – which is easily found in most places across the globe! If you’re thinking about something epic for your ceremony like a mountain summit, you might want to plan a two day event. Two day events are great, not only for a weather backup option if the outdoor ceremony day is a wash with bad weather, but it also gives you a day for your ceremony, relaxing, enjoying, and of course, lots of fun photos throughout! And then your second day all your guests can gather and celebrate with you and you’ll be rested and ready to enjoy your time with them.
If it’s just going to be the two of you for your adventure wedding, there’s so many ways you can plan! The two ways we’ve photographed them is the first being just the couple, their wedding attire stashed in their packs, and us hiking along to their ceremony site. You exchange your vows, rings, kiss and you’re married! We are there to document the entire day, from the hike in, to the ceremony, portraits, and then the hike out. Another fun idea is setting your wedding up like a mini magazine spread! You can still have the amazing flowers, decor, cake, and food you would have at a full sized wedding – but made mini just for you two (or a small group). Imagine if you spend the entire day trekking through secluded beaches, or the woods/jungle, to return back to your hotel/campsite/airbnb to a perfectly planned dinner spread set on a beautiful table for two, maybe even outside under twinkle lights and the stars. Who says just because it’s an adventure it can’t also be fancy af?!
Typically, as adventure wedding photographers, we are one of the first vendors hired for your wedding so we are happy to hook you up with vendors throughout the globe to help pull your vision together. Bonus? Brittany was just ordained this year (on Dean’s birthday!) and now can perform legal wedding ceremonies so you don’t even have to worry about finding an officiant who will make the trek to your dream wedding location. All we need is two witnesses and if Dean is there as an additional photographer or with videography, we only need one extra person!
3) Tell your family and friends your plans and don’t let others ideas or traditions talk you out of it! Remember, this is the day for you both to celebrate and show your love for each other. While we are all for carving your own path in your wedding planning, you also want to make sure you aren’t offending anyone! There’s always really nice ways to tell family and friends you aren’t having a large wedding with everyone or incorporating those family traditions. In the end, they’re going to be happy for you both and what you’ve chosen. And there’s lots of ways to include everyone even if you’re keeping your adventure wedding to just the two of you. We’re going to make sure you have a sneak peek of your images within 48 hours of your ceremony so you can share that with everyone who wasn’t in attendance. But you can also do small gifts or letters for your closest family and friends for them to open on your day. We even saw a fun twist on this when all the women in the brides family wrote her special notes for her to open the morning of her wedding! It was a way to have everyone close while still getting their wedding vision.
I can’t stress it enough, it’s your day, make it exactly what you want!
Brittany and Dean are creative Adventure Wedding Photographers who loving having fun with our wedding couples. We work together and separately to capture every emotion and angle on your wedding day. Two Adventurous Souls storytelling style will capture your wedding both in candid and naturally posed images. Whether you’re looking for Adventure Wedding Photographers, Maine Wedding Photographers, or planning a Costa Rica Wedding or anywhere in New England we will be there for you! For more info please contact about your wedding photography: Adventure Wedding Photographers
