Have you ever thought, “Whew, planning a big wedding is a lot of work; maybe we should elope?” And then you google, “best places to elope”. You see a picture of a bride and groom on a glacier or in the mountains, and Alaska is suddenly on your radar. Well, we are here to help! We have photographed hundreds of elopements in Alaska and around the world. Over the years, we’ve picked up a few things that can make planning your elopement easier.
- First, you’ll want to decide what time of year you want to elope. Do you want to ski or snowmobile through the snow-covered mountains? Do you want to fly to the blue glacier pools during summer? Or, do you want to dance through the bright fall colors? Our winter months are November through April. The best summer months to get married are late May through August. Fall is best in September. I would say our least favorite months for weddings are October and April. These two months are typically pretty brown as the landscape adjusts to the new season.
- Secondly, you’ll want to figure out where you want to elope in Alaska.
- A lot of people take a cruise ship as their “honeymoon” and get married during one of their ports. Juneau is a very popular place to get married! You can easily access glaciers, mountains, and the ocean all in one place. We fly down there almost weekly during the summer months for Alaskan elopements.
- Anchorage is the biggest city in Alaska and has the largest airport. It’s where most people from the lower 48 fly in and out of. It’s kind of the gateway to the rest of Alaska. We are based out of Anchorage but travel all over the state! Getting married within an hour of Anchorage is a fantastic idea. We can fly to glaciers, hike into the mountains, explore rocky coastal areas, or play in waterfalls. This link HERE will lead you to some of our favorite elopement images, mostly from the Anchorage area.
- The Kenai Peninsula offers beautiful locations such as Seward, Moose Pass, Cooper Landing, Soldotna, and Homer. Each town has its own pros and cons. You can check our website HERE to see various images from these locations.
- The next step is giving us a call! Why you may ask? We can simply answer your questions on timing, location, wedding planning vendors (like flowers, hair & makeup, cake, marriage officiants, helicopter companies, food/dining, bnbs/cabins), how to obtain a marriage certificate, etc. There is so much you could google when it comes to planning an elopement in Alaska, or you could have a quick 30-minute call with us and get all your questions answered instantly.
We want you to know that you can have your snow-covered dreams, jumping into blue glaciers, or running through the fireweed! Alaska is an amazing place to elope. You will not regret it, we promise! Below we have a full Alaskan elopement and what it can look like in photos! This is just one way your Alaskan elopement can look, but there are many other ways we can do it as well.
Jordan and Derek eloped from Spokane, Washington around mid-July 2022. They brought their closest family and friends with them. Our photographer, Shannon, met them in the morning at Outbound Helicopter and the Backcountry Cottages. Jordan and Derek had their first look at the property right in front of the helicopters they would soon utilize. They filled out the paperwork before heading onto the two helicopters that would shuttle everyone out to the glacier. Once on the Knik Glacier, they had their ceremony. They cheered with champagne and took family photos. The larger helicopter shuttle everyone back to the cottages, while Shannon, Jordan, Derek, and the heli pilot stayed to explore more of the mountains!
Check the images below to see everywhere they went! Once you’re through, click back on this LINK and schedule a complimentary call with us. We really would love to help answer any of your questions on eloping in Alaska.