Bethany and Devon | November Sunset Elopement on Stony Man Summit | Shenandoah National Park

One of our Short & Sweet elopement days -
in two hours we met up, hiked to an incredible view, Bethany changed into her beautiful white boots, and held onto her beautiful bouquet by Flourish Root. They held a ceremony where they exchanged their own vows, had a handfasting ceremony, and received the eucharist.

Afterwards, they shared champagne, bourbon, and apple cider donuts (from The Apple House!) while reading letters from their family and watching the sunset before hiking back down to our cars.

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Bethany and Devon traveled all the way from Oklahoma with their best friend, and pastor, Jonathan, so he could officiate their ceremony.

Because they traveled in to Virginia, they wanted to include specialties from the area. In the days leading up to their elopement they visited local distilleries and breweries, and for a picnic after their ceremony they had local Apple Cider Donuts.

From Bethany :

“Each moment was ours from the promises we each made to the handfasting to the letters from family to the apple cider donuts and bourbon/wine in celebration. I could probably write pages about this experience but instead I will just say this was my most favorite day to date!”

From Jonathan, their officiant :

“One of the most stunning, spectacular, moving weddings I’ve ever officiated. Obviously the setting—we hiked another 40 minutes after already driving into nowhere. There’s surely something to be said for a wedding that is only about the thing. Bride, groom, photographer, officiant. 1,000 colors at sunset, but only the primary colors of love, otherwise.

Bride & groom read their vows only to one another. Bride & groom cried. Officiant also cried. Shared some words that were just for them, the cows, & the Holy Ghost, if cows or Holy Ghost were paying attention—I couldn’t blame any of them for just enjoying the view; sermons are weightless up here.

Serving the Eucharist to them on top of the mountain is an experience I will never forget.”

Beautiful flowers by Flourish Root

Donuts from The Apple House

Rainy October Elopement in North Carolina on the Blue Ridge Parkway

Feeling a little un-inspired by how many times plans are changing for you? Karen and Jake went through a few plans and backup plans, and still wound up with torrential downpour on their wedding day, which led to the Blue Ridge Parkway being shut down while we were there!

First they were planning a large wedding in North Carolina for 2021, but as we got closer they decided they wanted to just elope instead. So after picking their ceremony spot on the Blue Ridge Parkway with a beautiful mountain and sunset view, we got the news of the storm on its way. So, instead of doing a long hike in the rain to look at a thick view of fog, we decided to just stick to the forest ——

helpful tip : if it’s foggy during your photo shoot, elopement, or wedding, it’s best to find a spot that has a “close” backdrop! So that could be large rocks, a forest, a close waterfall, etc. That way the trees or rocks stand out and break up the fog so you aren’t just in a thick cloud of nothing.

— — Their videographers were also fine and well prepared for the rain! Being in the forest helped keep some of the rain off of us and gave Karen and Jake a break during their ceremony. Then they set up their little speaker under an umbrella and had their first dance.

As we drove along the Blue Ridge Parkway, we were in and out of the fog, finding fun places to stop for photos and adventuring. At one point we passed a Blue Ridge Parkway ranger who stopped and told us they had closed the gates to the parkway, so when we left we’d have to open and shut to lock the gate back up! It was actually so nice to have the privacy and we were able to walk along the Parkway without cars passing.

Their elopement day included :

• getting ready together in their cabin they rented

• writing their vows together in beautiful little keepsake books

• taking photos of each other with their own Instax throughout the day

• a short hike in the woods to their ceremony along the Blue Ridge Parkway

• a ceremony in the rain with clear umbrellas

• a first dance in the rain with a little bluetooth speaker

• a picnic of cake and Dom Perignon with a sneak view of the mountains

• one final stop at a waterfall before the sun completely set on us.