10 Elopement Dream Locations in the United States Bucket List Ideas

Let’s talk about my dreams! I’m starting off my list to be with some places I have actually gone to & been able to capture beautiful people.

10. Enchanted Rock in Fredericksburg, Texas. I was there twice last year for a Surprise Proposal & then a wedding with my good friends.

9. Palo Duro Canyon in Canyon, Texas. I still would love to go there & do an elopement, so feel free to book me! But, I second shoot a wedding there earlier this Spring whenever I was living in Lubbock. It was so beautiful & crazy to me to be there!

8. Big Bend National Park in Texas. I will be going here at the beginning of the new year for an elopement & i’m so excited!! I seriously love the area of Big Bend & all the cities that neighbor it.

7. Las Vegas! I mean when you think of eloping the old school runaway & get married is in Vegas baby! I would love to do an Elvis wedding in a Casino just livin’ it up vibe.

6. Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado. This in Winter or early Spring would be a dream! A true forrest elopement/intimate wedding. Give me all the feels & need to happen.

5. Joshua Tree National Park in California. This would be a girl’s dream to shoot an elopement in the desert.

4. Olympic National Park in Washington. Twilight. That’s it thats the tweet. I mean can you imagine having a cabin in the woods & be along a beach too, but make it moody. I mean c’mon!!!

3. Montana. I would simply cry if I was able to capture a couple in Yellowstone. This is where I learned to love the Mountains, my mom is from Montana & we would travel there pretty often growing up. It just gives me all the good vibes.

2. Welcome to New York!! Give me a City Elopement with your soulmate in the cutest jumper ever! Please & thank you.

1. Hawaii. I don’t care where in Hawaii, but I would love to shoot a dreamy beach elopement with the perfect sand & blue water. This would be a dream.

If you are looking around & planning an elopement feel free to count me in & my bags are packed once I see i’m available for your special day. I’m so ready for adventure & capturing people in love! I might even give you a discount if I really want to go there!

xoxo,

Emily.

Wedding Details 101: 5 Things To Not Forget When Planning Your Wedding

Let’s talk wedding planning.

Everyone has to do it, but I’m here to tell you what to not forget about from a wedding photographer!

When there is so much to plan leading up to your wedding, it’s easy to forget one or two things, it can be overwhelming even if you’re planning an elopement with only a few guests, you’re also juggling planning your wedding on top of normal life, your full-time job and just the stresses of life in general.

It literally is a full-time job, so don't put too much pressure on yourself! There are so many little details that just get overlooked so we have put down five of the most common we see forgotten on the big day.

1. A Plan For Bad Weather

You wish for good weather and fingers crossed the sun pulls through but always have a plan B, consider all your options and make sure you are prepared for anything!

2. Golden Hour

This is something that can be easily missed, the perfect lighting for your wedding photos is 1000% golden hour and make sure there's enough daylight time, it's the worst when I look at a wedding timeline and there are 30 minutes before the sun goes down to photograph the bride, groom, the bridesmaids, uncle's and aunties...you get the point there's a lot to fit in 30 minutes.

3. Brides you Gotta Eat!

This is something that I see so many brides forget about, the rush of the morning wedding prep, you wake up, you shower, get your hair done, makeup, photos by the time that's all done it's time to go, there's nothing worse than being hungry especially on your wedding day... you don't want your belly rumbling in the ceremony. Make sure you schedule into your wedding day prep a good breakfast!

4. Get yourself a Family Member / Photo Herdsman

Your photographers are not going to know who's, who and when handed a shot list will not have a clue who they need to grab for photos and you don't want to be asked every few minutes where Uncle Bill is... so designate a family or friend to herd everyone together who needs a photo, this will ensure your timeline doesn't overrun.

5. Extra Seats for the Ceremony

Last but not least, this is something that we see hugely forgotten, make sure you have extra seats for the ceremony. People will want to sit next to each other, so on some rows, there will be one seat on its own, so ensure there are more chairs than there are people.

Morgan & Gabriella Wedding in New Braunfels, Texas.

Morgan & Gabby are the sweetest people I have ever met & their wedding day was perfect. I first met these two at their engagement session back in February. We had such a great time then, & I knew their wedding day would be amazing. P.S. It was amazing.

We headed to New Braunfels, Texas in route from Houston to get to capture Morgan & Gabby’s Wedding day. They celebrated their wedding at Milltown Historic District & it was a dream. Once we arrived we saw the getaway car & where the two brides were preparing for their ceremony. It was a beautiful day to get married & I was so happy for these two to make it official. The two brides did a first look with each other & then enjoyed their wedding day on the bridge near their ceremony. Once that happened they approved the reception space & we took more photos along the way. Once their ceremony started it was non stop smiles from everyone watching such a happy moment. Once Morgan & Gabby riced their own vows it was truly sweet to hear how much these two care & love each other. After the ceremony these two spoke to everyone who attended their wedding. They took the time to say thank you & they enjoyed their night. They cut the best cheesecake in all of Texas & then rode away in the coolest car ever!

Emily O’Neil