Why I Love Elopements and Destination Shoots

Short answer: I'm not really the type for a big, tightly-planned wedding with a hundred and fifty guests — the intimacy of an elopement moves me far more. On top of that, at a location you've chosen yourselves, like a mountain or a beach, I can work in a completely different way than a tight registry-office schedule would ever allow.

A big wedding isn't my thing — and that's fine

I'll say it plainly: the classic big wedding with a tight run-of-show, lots of guests, and little time for real moments isn't the kind of day that excites me most. What moves me is the moment two people consciously choose each other — without a hundred pairs of eyes watching at once.

That doesn't mean big weddings can't be beautiful — just that it's precisely those quiet, unobserved moments that interest me most as a photographer, and where I feel most creatively free.

More creative freedom with the location

With an elopement or destination shoot, you can pick a place that genuinely fits you — mountains, a quiet beach, somewhere with personal meaning. At a classic registry-office appointment with a fixed time slot, that's simply not possible. You can see that freedom in the photos: they feel more personal and less like a template.

I can also work far more flexibly with the light when there's no tight schedule breathing down our necks — we simply wait for the perfect moment instead of working to a minute-by-minute plan.

Discovering a new place together

What I particularly love about destination shoots: as a couple you're often discovering somewhere new together, alongside me. That gives the whole day its own small sense of adventure, which shows up in the photos too — you can practically see that something new and exciting is happening for the two of you.

That mix of excitement and closeness is something you can barely stage — it simply happens when two people experience something unfamiliar together, and that's exactly what I try to capture.

Who this is for

Elopements aren't only for couples who are "against" a big celebration — many plan an additional party later in the year, or none at all. If the idea of calm, intimacy, and a place you chose yourselves appeals to you more than a tightly scheduled big day, an elopement shoot is exactly right for you.

The idea also translates fine as a pure photo shoot without an actual ceremony — some couples book a destination shoot simply as a special experience for themselves, entirely separate from any registry-office appointment.

What a day like this can look like

Most of the time we combine the actual ceremony — whether official or a free celebration — with a relaxed photo shoot before or after it, often at a second, even lovelier spot nearby. That way you get both the official moment and time to simply be with each other as a newly married couple, without a guest schedule ticking in the background.

If you'd also like a bigger celebration later in the year, there's nothing stopping you from combining both: the intimate moment as a couple, or with just a handful of people, and a larger party afterwards without the pressure of everything having to be perfect on that one single day.

– Hannah