Built their adventure on: modified Mid-Mountain Package
Why they loved it: customized package to fit everything their hearts desired!
This vow-renewal session had one goal: to show the many different ways to elope adventurously.
My hope is that as you scroll through these images, you can see how doable your radical, “out there,” dream could be for your wedding experience. Create a real-life plan from anything you can think of.
For this specific adventure, we modified a Mid-Mountain package, 8 hours of photography coverage, and spread our time together across two days.
Together, Bailey (she, her, hers), John (he, him, his), and I created a truly epic elopement plan: vows shared on a mountaintop AND a celebration in the sky.
Adventure is in your backyard.
You don’t need to think about far away places when you want to elope adventurously. I really wanted to show how beautiful right here is. For me, that’s the South, but wherever you’re located, there is an amazing elopement adventure for you. You don’t need to travel West to make it happen.
By planning your wedding experience closer to home, you get to make a cost-effective and often simpler plan. There can be a less complex travel itinerary, and you can avoid some travel fees allowing you to save or pre-prioritize that spend to something else amazing!
Elopements = increased intentionality.
One of my very favorite parts of elopements is how intentional everything gets to be.
Hand-select every aspect of your celebration instead of being stuck in what is typically done or “expected.” This vow renewal is no different!
The bouquet for this elopement-style adventure had a nod to their original wedding: Lilies!
I, personally, designed the florals. (YES! I do a bit of it all: photography, elopement concierge, I’m ordained, and dabble in floral arrangements!) I designed these to be reminiscent of their original wedding flowers- lilies.
And, they brought Polaroid pictures from their original wedding with them to this vow renewal. The pictures were from their original wedding celebration as a way of having their loved ones present with them while they “eloped” adventurously. The lace underneath? That was Bailey’s original, gorgeous wedding veil. I adored all the little nods to their history that helped to join yesterday to today!
And lastly, I helped guide them to be intentional with their formal wear choices.
With plans to hike two miles and some hot-air balloon adventuring, they needed to be able to freely move.
Bailey, with the help from The Wildlove Collective’s collection, was decked out in a flowy, silk chiffon two-piece set. The skirt’s train lightly brushed the trail as she hiked while giving her the freedom to move, breathe (hiking, lol, iykyk!!!😄) and the flowy fit created incredible movement in our images. She brought her original wedding veil, too.
John was in a lightweight, “eased fit” suit that allowed him look great, but, with materials perfect for movement and temperature regulation about during their adventure.
To note- If you’re wanting to elope adventurously, it is crucial to be strategic with your shoe choice. Because Bailey and John would be hiking and in a wicker basket hot-air ballooning, they needed capable–but cute!– comfortable shoes. John’s leather boots match nicely with his outfit and the peeking of Bailey’s favorite Blundstone boots adds the perfect **chef’s kiss** touch to the adventure bride vibe!
Elope Adventurously – night one
On our first night together, I arrived at the tail-end of Bailey (she, her, hers) and John (he, him, his) getting ready. I was able to snap some pictures as they put on their final touches.
As avid mountain-lovers, Bailey and John were stoked to renew their vows on a new-to-them perch atop a mountain in North Georgia. Arriving just before sunset, we hiked up to a quiet and amazingly beautiful mountain summit on the Appalachian Trail.
[PRO TIP] This trail was not difficult or overly steep, so with extra time to go slow, it’s a beautiful summit elopement option for adventurers and/or their crew who don’t loooooove hiking or don’t want a hard slog on their elopement day😉
Once we arrived, a Pendleton wool blanket worked beautifully as their ceremony “stage” for their vows but then perfectly as a pretty place for their celebration post-vows, too.
From that perch, they enjoyed charcuterie, snacks, and celebratory sips from their special handmade cups, which, John loving carried up the trail to the mountain summit in his backpack!
Elope Adventurously – day two
Not only is the duo a lover of mountains, but also admirers of unique, “we get to do what?!?!?😍” experiences.
So when the idea of a hot air balloon adventure as part of their elopement-style vow renewal was floated (lol, 😉 ), John and Bailey were ready to fly! They were so excited about a bucket list experience!
We arrived at the “Helen, Georgia to the Atlantic Balloon Race” event and met our guides, Daryl and MaryBeth. We had gotten a heads up from Daryl early that morning that the winds might not float in our favor.
Unfortunately, the weather did scrap the original plans for our hot air balloon experience, but with a willingness to flex, and a trust in the Universe, we ended up with a truly once-in-a-lifetime experience.
What was it????
Well, not only were we were able to do a tethered ride, safely secured from the winds, and overlooking the bright and beautiful festival, we were given the chance to walk inside the amazing, bright canopy of one of Daryl and MaryBeth’s balloons. It was unlike anything you could ever describe. The expanse, the swirl of color. It was SO beautiful and in it’s rarity, definitely brag-worthy!
You should consider an elopement!
If you are someone that has always thought about how to elope adventurously…or maybe this concept is new to you…let this vow renewal prove to you that it is possible to elope adventurously AND easy to do so.
No matter if you, too, want to go sky-high or maybe water sports are more your deal, or horses, or deserts, or anything else under the sun…you can turn that thing you and your partner love into something to celebrate your “I dos.”
You don’t need anything overly elaborate- like traveling out west, or major rentals. In fact, an adventure elopement can happen locally and still be breathtakingly beautiful and incredibly fun!
Want to see another local-to-the-South adventure elopement session? Check out this secret elopement spot in the Atlanta-area!
PS– The beauty of this experience has been featured, and is out helping other couples dare to do something different and special for their elopement or wedding–but not break the bank!– out on Budget Savvy Bride!
You can check out all my services and my packages here!
Start by sending me an email (;
If you’re wanting to do it all on your own, start by doing some googling about hot air balloon events happening near you (or near where you want to elope). From there, you will just want to plan the other experiences and events around the festival!
