We’re Elope Outdoors…We are honored to be a part of your journey and adventure in love

We’re Elope Outdoors. Here’s Why We Do Elopements Differently.

Hi, I’m Meghan, the owner and founder of Elope Outdoors.

I started Elope Outdoors in 2013 after years of photographing weddings and realizing there was something really special about the smaller ones.

I loved the intimacy. I loved that couples could actually spend their wedding day together instead of being pulled in a hundred directions. And living here in the mountains of Western North Carolina, I knew there were so many incredible places where a wedding could feel beautiful and meaningful without needing a ballroom, a huge guest list or a year of stressful planning.

Elope Outdoors grew from that idea.

A lot has changed since 2013. We’re no longer just me with a camera and an idea. We’re a team of photographers, officiants, assistants, videographers and local creative partners who have helped hundreds of couples get married in these mountains.

But the reason we do it hasn’t really changed.

We want you to have a beautiful wedding without your wedding taking over your life.

The People You Spend Your Wedding Day With Matter

I’m incredibly picky about the people who become part of Elope Outdoors.

Of course they need to be talented at what they do. But that’s honestly only part of it.

These are the people you’re going to spend one of the biggest days of your life with. I want them to be the kind of people who make you feel comfortable almost immediately.

Our officiants, photographers, videographers and assistants are warm, grounded, fun and genuinely excited to be there with you. There’s a lot of laughter and lightheartedness, but there’s also an incredible amount of care and attention happening behind the scenes.

Everyone shows up ready to be fully present for you.

I think that’s one of the things that’s hard to communicate on a package list, but you can see it when you look through our galleries and films. You see couples laughing. You see people relax. You see the little in between moments. And you can feel that nobody is taking themselves too seriously while still taking your wedding day very seriously.

That’s the kind of team I’ve intentionally built.

Talented people are important. Good humans are too.

“Everyone involved in the planning and execution seemed so excited and made us feel so special. When we were on our way back from the elopement we kept saying it felt like the entire event was done with good friends.”
Steven & Kayla

One of the things I hear all the time from couples is, “We are so awkward in front of the camera. We’re going to need a lot of help.”

And I always smile because I’ve heard it hundreds of times.

Then they show up. They meet us at the trailhead or venue. We start walking and talking. Everyone gets to know each other a little, the nerves start to disappear, and before long they’re laughing and just being themselves.

That’s one of my favorite things about looking through our galleries and watching our elopement films. You can actually see how comfortable our couples feel.

Our photographers and videographers are incredibly talented, but being technically great at what they do is only part of why they’re on the Elope Outdoors team. They’re warm. They’re intuitive. They know when you need direction and when to back away and let a moment happen naturally.

We don’t expect you to know how to pose or what to do with your hands. That’s our job.

Your job is just to be together.

Your Ceremony Should Feel Like You

Your ceremony is your ceremony.

I love that each of our officiants has a different personality and approach. They’re warm, eloquent and real, and you’ll have the opportunity to choose the officiant who feels like the best fit for the two of you.

From there, they’ll get to know you, your story and what you want your ceremony to feel like. Maybe you want something romantic and heartfelt. Maybe you want it light and playful. Maybe you’d like to write your own vows, include your children, add a handfasting or sand ceremony, or incorporate another ritual that means something to you.

You can be as involved and creative as you’d like.

The goal isn’t for your ceremony to sound like an Elope Outdoors ceremony. It’s for it to sound like yours.

Easy Doesn’t Have to Mean Cookie Cutter

One of the reasons Elope Outdoors exists is to make planning your wedding easier. But I’ve never believed easier should mean choosing Package A and having the exact same wedding as everyone else.

We take care of the pieces that aren’t fun to figure out so you can spend your energy on the ones that are.

Choose flowers you love. Pick your cake. Decide what kind of scenery feels like you. Write your own vows if you want to. Bring your kids. Bring your dog. Have a picnic. Hike to a mountaintop. Get married beside a waterfall. Wear something completely unexpected.

Every Elope Outdoors elopement has a certain feeling to it, but no two are the same.

We create the framework. You make it yours.

More than a decade later, I still get excited about this.

I still love seeing what flowers someone chooses. I still obsess over the weather. I still get excited when the light looks amazing. I still love hearing how a couple met and seeing what little pieces they choose to make the day theirs.

And I’m incredibly proud of the team Elope Outdoors has become.

If you’re considering an elopement in Western North Carolina, whether you already know exactly what you want or have absolutely no idea where to begin, we’d love to help you create it.

It doesn’t have to be a big wedding to be a really big day.

Meghan
Founder, Elope Outdoors

 

 

 

What Our Creative Partners Say About Elope Outdoors

Jennifer Allen – Wildwood Media

“I have been working for Elope Outdoors for a couple years now and it’s such a special group of people to get to work with. From the officiants to the florist to the coordinator to photographers and even the bakery everyone TRULY loves the couples and is truly excited to be a part of their day. Each couple holds a space in our hearts and I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard the couple at the end say, “This was SO MUCH FUN! Thank you for making our elopement PERFECT and even better than we could have imagined!” Each elopement feels special and unique because the officiants personalize the ceremonies to each couple and from a video perspective it helps me to edit and make each video unique to the couple. I love getting to read about our couples ahead of time and incorporate pieces of their story into their video so they have something they can cherish forever.”

 

Niki Irving – Flourish Flower Farm

“I absolutely LOVE working with Elope Outdoors! The team is so organized, detail-oriented and caring – I feel incredibly lucky to be their florist partner. They strike a perfect balance of communicating the desires of the clients with letting us have creative freedom to design something totally unique and seasonally inspired for each couple. Elope Outdoors has a long-standing reputation of providing exceptional, beautiful elopement experiences, even before elopements and micro-weddings were popular! Being an Elope Outdoors partner is something that I am so proud of – there truly isn’t a better team to collaborate with to create perfectly executed, memorable wedding days!”

 

Julia Davis – Heartfelt Elopements

“Working with Elope Outdoors fills my days so much joy. It’s a strong value of mine to work with, and alongside, others who hold similar values to myself. Elope Outdoors and their whole crew lead with integrity, compassion, and care, and every elopement is given the utmost attention. Couples often say that they feel like they’ve known us all forever, and that is something that everyone takes pride in! It is clear that all the people who make up the structure of this small business are in it because they truly love what they do. Whether it’s your officiant, photographer, videographer, coordinator, or friendly faces behind the scenes, you are sure to be in amazing hands when it comes to this incredible team of open, loving, and genuine individuals. Your elopement should be one for the books, and creating the space for that is something that Elope Outdoors does incredibly well.”