Many couples who choose to elope just want to get away just the two of them with no guests or family involved. This is great for couples who are more private or not so close to family and friends. However there are some couples who still want to elope but somehow include family in a little part of it. Here are a few ideas of how to include family in your adventure elopement in Alberta.

Have an Intimate Elopement Ceremony after the Hike

This is an option that many of my hiking elopement clients choose to do. The way that I’ve found works best for this, is if the couple hikes up to the summit for sunrise first. You can do personal vows up there too if you still want to keep that private. Then we can take all the super epic photos as the sun comes up. After we are finished with the mountain top photos, we can hike back down and meet your family/friends at a pre-determined location for the ceremony. Often what works best for this is finding a lake or other nice area near the trailhead. For example, if I’m photographing a hiking elopement on the Spray Lakes road, my couples will often choose to do their little ceremony just on the side of Spray Lakes somewhere. If the hike is on Hwy 40, there are lots of locations such as Wedge Pond or Upper Kananaskis Lake! If you had another spot in mind that is further away, that is totally fine too! Just keep in mind that the travel time between locations will be a part of the time I will be with you.

Take Family Up in the Helicopter

While I love using Rockies Heli for the majority of my elopements, one nice thing about Alpine Helicopters in Canmore is that they have a great setup for taking family in the helicopter for your elopement ceremony too! I’ve had couples do this as well. Basically, the few family and friends you’d like to have included in your ceremony can come up in a separate helicopter. I like to go with the couple in the first helicopter, and that way we can start taking photos while we wait for the second load of people to arrive. This also gives an opportunity to get some shots with the helicopter in the air! The second helicopter will bring the rest of your guests, and then we have the ceremony. After the ceremony there is some time for family photos and then they will head back down in the helicopter. We can stay up longer for photos of just you, and then the helicopter will come get us too! Usually it’s best to use Martha’s Heli Hikes, as she has a contract with Alpine for helicopter elopements. And she can also perform the ceremony and knows some good spots for photos!

Have Your Intimate Elopement Ceremony a Different Day

If you want the ceremony and the hike/helicopter portion both captured, having the ceremony a different day could make it a little more costly. Just because that would mean 2 separate shoots for your photographer to come to. However, if you have a special location you’d like the ceremony at that is not near the hike you’re doing, this is a good option. Also, if you’re having your elopement on a weekday and the people you want to be included can’t come, you could plan the ceremony for a weekend when they are free.

The other way to include family by doing something on a separate day is to have a reception at a later date. This wouldn’t necessarily need to be photographed by a professional. If you waited until after receiving your professional photos from the hiking portion of your elopement, it’s a great time to make a slideshow to show your family and friends! You can also dress up in your wedding attire again.

I hope these 3 options gave you some ideas if you’re wanting to include family in your adventure elopement in Alberta. If you have some other ideas in mind, feel free to send me a message or reach out about any part of your elopement planning!