So here’s how this Alaska adventure elopement started. Cody and Amanda filled out my inquiry form wanting a Texas elopement with 15 to 20 guests. Pretty standard stuff, I see it all the time. And a year later I’m standing on a dock in Anchorage watching them see each other in their wedding clothes for the first time, right next to the floatplane that was about to fly us into a national park you literally cannot drive to.
I want to tell you how we got from point A to point B, because I have a feeling some of you reading this are currently sitting exactly where they were sitting. Planning the venue wedding you assume you have to have, with no idea that a day like this is even on the menu.
The Wedding They Didn’t Know They Could Have
When we got on our consultation call, it took about ten minutes for the real story to come out. These two had been dreaming about Alaska for YEARS. On their inquiry form I ask couples what they’d do if someone handed them $100,000, and their answer was literally “pay for our upcoming trip to Alaska.” And when I asked what made them want to look into eloping vs having a traditional wedding, Cody gave me the most honest answer I’ve ever gotten: “We don’t like attention.” …Felt… Lol
I laughed so hard. But here’s the part that gets me. In their minds, those were two completely separate things. Alaska was the dream trip they’d take someday. The wedding was the venue thing they had to plan, with the guest list and all of it, because that’s what a wedding is, right? You book a venue, you invite the people, you get through the day.
It genuinely had not occurred to them that they could just… get married IN Alaska. That the dream trip and the wedding could be the same thing. And honestly, why would it? Nobody tells you this. Every wedding you’ve ever been to happened at a venue. Every wedding site pushes you toward venues. So couples walk around thinking the choice is between a big wedding or a courthouse, when there’s this entire third option sitting right there.
So I told them, and I mean this with my whole chest: you do not have to pick between the day you want and the people you love. Go get married on the adventure of your lives, just you two if you don’t want any guests with you. Then come home and throw a party with everyone. Your grandma gets to hug you, your friends get to toast you, and nobody had to hike anywhere. And honestly? It’s usually the same money as a traditional wedding or less. You’re just spending it on an experience instead of on chair sashes.
I still remember the pause on the phone, and then: “YOU CAN DO THAT? THAT’S AN OPTION?!”
Yes. Yes it is. And that was that. The vacation dream and the wedding became one day. Alaska. Even though they originally were looking at Hill Country in Texas — more specifically around Fredericksburg at a venue.
Amanda said it better than I ever could:
“I had followed Brit for years on Instagram, even longer than Cody and I were together. When we got engaged, we started to talk to other photographers but it didn’t feel right. Brit made us realize what we wanted could actually be an option and helped us plan every step of the way.”
That line, “Brit made us realize what we wanted could actually be an option,” is the whole reason I’m writing this post. Because I know there are couples reading this right now who have their own Alaska sitting in a separate mental box from their wedding, and nobody has told them yet that the boxes can be the same box.
So when a couple tells me “we want to elope in Alaska,” my next question is always: okay, but which Alaska is yours?
And I don’t figure that out by sending some copy-paste list of pretty spots. I figure it out by paying attention to who you are. Cody and Amanda’s questionnaire told me everything. These two are wildlife people to their core. They got engaged at Big Bend National Park. They’re crisp-morning-air sunrise people, their words. Cody actually works as a wildlife photographer, which honestly just confirmed what was already all over the page about both of them. And when we talked about the day itself, they knew exactly what they wanted: they wanted to see bears, they wanted whales, and they wanted to go salmon fishing together in their wedding attire.
Yes. Salmon fishing. In the dress and the suit. They had no idea that was a possibility
Bears, Whales, and Salmon Fishing
So I built their location guide around exactly that. The one I sent them had a Matanuska Glacier helicopter option, a Kenai Fjords private boat day with a ceremony on Fox Island’s black pebble beach, Hatcher Pass, Denali’s backcountry and glacier landings, and the one I was quietly rooting for the whole time: flightseeing into Lake Clark National Park.
Because for a couple who wants bears on their wedding day, Lake Clark isn’t just an option. It’s one of the best places in Alaska to see brown bears in the wild, and it’s so remote there are no roads in. None. You fly, or you don’t go.
The Day Itself: Vows at Twin Lakes
The morning started in Anchorage with hair and makeup by an artist up there I connected them with, because yes, my vendor list stretches about 4,000 miles past Texas. Ripleigh is one of my most favorite people ever and she has done all of my clients’ hair and makeup there.
Then we did their first look on the dock at the floatplane base at 7 am, and I’m just going to say it: a first look next to the little plane that’s about to fly you into the wilderness to get married is one of the coolest first looks that exists. I got chills watching them. And did she have to get dressed in the bathroom? Sure. Why not. Who cares. Lol You should have seen where she chose to change out of her dress when we left for lunch when we got back…
We flew out with Rust and the flight itself is a core memory for them. Mountains, glaciers, braided rivers, the whole way. Then we landed at Twin Lakes and found their spot on the water, by the river with the peaks reflecting off the surface so perfectly it almost didn’t look real. What I loved most about the spot they picked for the ceremony is HEARING the river rushing beside us. Pretty photos are nice, but it’s really the experience with all your senses that makes it worth it.
And then they got married. Just the two of them. These two met working at a brewery down in South Texas, spent years as best friends before it ever turned romantic, got engaged at Big Bend, and now here they were, standing in the Alaskan backcountry, reading vows to each other with nobody else around for miles. I’ve photographed a lot of ceremonies, y’all, and I’ll tell you what happens when there’s no audience: the vows hit different. Nobody’s performing. Nobody’s rushing. They just got to stand there and mean every word, and I got to quietly document it from a respectful distance while trying not to cry behind my camera. (I failed. I always fail.)
Second Half of the Day
The plan after Lake Clark was to head to Seward or Russian River but we ended up spending more time at lunch (MOOSE TOOTH IS A FAV!) just chilling out and needed to hit tide for snagging. I went to plan G and headed to Whittier. Let’s get these two fishing in their wedding clothes, exactly like they asked for.
But by the time we got to Whittier, it was rainy. Cold, misty, very Alaska rain. Instead of gearing up to fish, the couple decided they wanted to slow down and just soak in the fact that they just married. So you know what we did? We threw the plan out. All of it. We just played around and looked for the whales that were right there by the pier.
The Pier, the Rain, and the Whales
She put her dress back on in the misty rain, layered a winter coat over the top of it, grabbed an umbrella, and we walked out onto the pier. And while we were out there shooting, whales started surfacing in the water behind them. I’m not making that up. One crazy thing I learned though was sperm whales can “hold their breath” for an hour…
Amanda’s favorite memory of the entire day wasn’t the flight or the glassy lake. It was this:
“My favorite memory from the day was being on the pier after putting my dress back on in the pouring and freezing rain. Wearing a winter coat and under an umbrella, it was the ultimate adventure and fun story.”
And this, right here, is the other half of what you’re hiring when you hire me. A year of me obsessively planning every detail, and then the judgment to abandon all of it the second the day asks for something different. Weather changes. Energy changes. The couples who have the best elopement days are the ones whose photographer knows how to read the room. Some of my favorite images from this entire wedding only exist because a bride listened to her own heart instead of a timeline.
All photos are copyright by Brit Nicole Photography and may not be used for “inspiration” or for any other purposes without written consent.
Cody and Amanda’s Alaska adventure elopement was floatplanes, bears, and rain-soaked pier portraits, because that’s who they are. But I want to show you how differently this can go, because I’ve built completely different Alaska days for completely different people.
Amber and Jason took a helicopter up onto a glacier to say their vows, and then we spent the rest of the day chasing waterfalls and ended up on a forest beach. Fun fact about them: they were originally planning Colorado until I nudged them north, and they will happily tell you it was the best redirect of their lives.
Rob and Meghan got married at The Gathering Place in Wasilla with their favorite people around them, and then we hiked up Mount Baldy for an adventure ceremony with the whole valley spread out below. Which, by the way, is proof that eloping in Alaska can absolutely include your family and cake AND a mountain.
Every couple gets a different Alaska, and figuring out which one has your names on it is genuinely my favorite part of this job.
Ready to Find Your Adventure Elopement in Alaska?
If Alaska has been whispering at you the way it whispered at Cody and Amanda for years, listen to it. You don’t need to have been there before. You don’t need to know the difference between Lake Clark and Kenai Fjords, or which lakes a floatplane can land on, or how a marriage license works up there. That’s literally what I’m for. You bring who you two are, and I’ll bring the where, the how, the vendors, the permits, the timelines, and the backup plans for the backup plans. Also, check out my girl, Ripleigh that owns AK Borealies Beauties. She is THE GO TO for all alaska elopement bridal make up and hair!
Start with my guide on how to elope in Alaska, then come tell me what you’re dreaming about.
Alaska Adventure Elopement FAQ
Can you actually get married in Lake Clark National Park?
Yes! Lake Clark National Park allows weddings and elopements, and because it’s one of the least visited national parks in the country, you’ll likely have your ceremony spot completely to yourselves. I handle the permit research and logistics as part of planning your day.
How do you get to Lake Clark National Park?
You fly. There are no roads into Lake Clark, so access is by floatplane or small bush plane out of Anchorage, roughly 1 to 1.75 hours each way depending on which lake you land on. The flightseeing is honestly one of the best parts of the whole day.
Do you need an officiant to get married in Alaska?
Not necessarily. Alaska allows a friend or family member to obtain a one-time appointment to marry you, or you can hire an officiant. Witnesses are easy too. I’ve signed plenty of marriage licenses for my couples, and your pilot or my assistant can be your second witness.
Is there a waiting period for an Alaska marriage license?
Nope. Alaska has no waiting period, which makes it one of the easiest states in the country to legally elope in. You apply through the state, and I walk my couples through every step so nothing falls through the cracks.
What happens if it rains on your Alaska elopement day?
We adapt, and honestly, sometimes the rain gives you the best part of the day. Cody and Amanda’s favorite memory was rainy pier portraits in a winter coat and umbrella. Every day I plan in Alaska comes with backup locations and a flexible timeline, because weather runs the show up there and a good plan bends without breaking.
When is the best time to elope in Alaska?
June through September is prime for most locations, and June gives you 18+ hours of daylight plus wildflowers. That said, different seasons open different doors, and part of my job is matching your date to the version of Alaska you’re dreaming about.
Do I have to be outdoorsy to have an Alaska adventure elopement?
Not at all. Some of my locations are a floatplane landing and a short walk. Others are helicopter drop-offs. And a few are a full hike if that’s your thing. I match the adventure level to you, not the other way around.
Dreaming about your own Alaska day after seeing this one? Start with my full guide, How to Elope in Alaska, then come tell me what you are picturing. I am already excited about it.
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