Elopement photography
Four hours, two people, and a location that needed a permit and a sunrise.
What’s included
- 200+ retouched photographs
- Four hours of coverage
- Permit research and applications handled for you
- Location and timing planned around sunrise or sunset
- Private online gallery within 3 weeks
- Print release for personal use
Portfolio
Elopement photography portfolio
A selection of elopement photography shots to inspire your shoot.
Book Elopement photography in your city
Available in 12 US cities and destinations. Choose yours.
About this session
The permit decides the date, not the calendar
- $2,200
- 4 hours
- 200
- 12
Eloping on public land in the United States almost always requires a permit, and which one depends entirely on who owns the ground. A National Park Service site needs a Special Use Permit for the ceremony, chosen from a fixed list of approved locations with caps on group size and on the number of ceremonies allowed per day. National Forest land is a different application to a different agency. State parks run their own schemes again, and Hawaii requires a state permit for any beach ceremony. All of it is researched and filed as part of the booking rather than left with you.
Which is why elopements are booked three to six months ahead, and why the constraint is almost never the photographer. Popular ceremony sites release permits up to a year in advance and the good dates go; a few sunrise locations require a timed-entry reservation released exactly sixty days out, which decides whether your ceremony happens at dawn or at dusk before anything else about the day is planned.
The marriage licence is a separate question from the permit and it catches people. It is issued by the county, not the park, the rules differ by state, and several of the destinations on this site are in states with a waiting period while Nevada has none at all. Some states require witnesses, which is an awkward thing to discover on a mountain with two people present. It is settled before the date is fixed rather than on the morning.
Four hours of coverage built around the hour the light works, two hundred or more retouched photographs within three weeks, and the permit applications handled. What four hours actually buys at most of these locations is the walk in, the ceremony, and a long unhurried portrait session afterwards with nobody waiting — which is the reason to elope rather than a smaller version of a wedding. From $2,200.
Frequently asked questions about Elopement photography
Do we need a permit to elope on public land?
Usually yes, and which permit depends on who owns the ground. A National Park Service site requires a Special Use Permit for the ceremony and, separately, a Commercial Use Authorization for the photographer. National Forest land is a different application to a different agency. State parks run their own schemes. All of it is researched and filed for you before the date is confirmed.
How far in advance should an elopement be booked?
Three to six months, and the constraint is almost never the photographer — it is the permit. Popular National Park ceremony sites cap the number of permits per day and some release them a year ahead; a few sunrise locations require a timed-entry reservation booked 60 days out, which decides whether your ceremony happens at dawn or at dusk.
How do we actually get married — is the permit the same as the licence?
No, and this catches people. The marriage licence is issued by the county and the permit by whoever owns the land, and neither substitutes for the other. Rules differ by state: several of the destinations on this site have a waiting period, Nevada has none, and some states require witnesses, which is an awkward thing to discover on a mountain with two people present. Both are settled before the date is fixed.
Can we have a few guests?
Usually, up to a cap set by the permit rather than by us. Approved ceremony sites on National Park Service and Forest Service land carry limits on group size — frequently somewhere between eight and thirty depending on the site — and the number is confirmed when the permit is applied for, so the guest list is decided with that figure in hand rather than after invitations have gone out.