DELUXE ELOPEMENT GUIDE

In this blog I’m going to talk about a growing trend in having an officiant thatalso doubles up as a photographer for elopement ceremonies. Ever wondered how this would work or are interested in having this style of elopement, then check out this in-depth blog written by an officiant and photographer. Coming from first-hand experience and having officiated and photographed many luxury elopements, I can give you such a good insight into how both ceremonies and photography go hand-in-hand. I’m going to discuss it in a documentary-style way; from the first meet, to your beautifully curated ceremony and post-elopement photographs. 

Being an officiant that also captures your special day on camera works very well together. Let me tell you why. As an officiant, I build up a lovely rapport with my couples and get to know their love story and create beautiful ceremony scripts for them. I understand what they want out of their elopement; from ceremony locations to special moments and everything in between. Couples trust me with their special day and have regular contact with me throughout the elopement process which carries right through to their elopement, and this works in my favour when couples select my signature elopement packages that have me as their wedding celebrant and elopement photographer. As their photographer, I already have a great understanding of their love story and what special moments they want to be captured. From experience, couples like the simplicity and the ‘one supplier’ that delivers a luxury elopement rather than couples being sign posted from one supplier to another.

HERE’S HOW IT WORKS

On the day of your elopement, I will meet you at your accommodation (this is optional but from feedback, couples love the pre-departure photographs) to capture your moments before we travel down to your ceremony location. I take photographs of the bride, ensuring I capture every detail of her beautiful dress, the hair, the accessories and raw emotions. It’s completely natural, and no awkward poses are required. You won't even notice I’m there for this, and you’ll be surprised at how fluid the photography is captured. Of course, there are opportunities for styled and guided poses, but the most important thing for me is to capture YOU being YOU. After photographing the bride, I’ll be taking photos of the handsome groom where I’ll capture everything from the suit, the raw emotions and accessories. If family and friends are present, that's even better! You can have photographs with them individually, then together when you first meet. Let's get into it!

THE FIRST MEET:

In previous elopements, I have set up in the dining room/living space where the bride would walk into to see her husband. I set up a video camera to capture footage of the bride and groom. To do this, I have a wide angle lens and with a press of a button it starts recording. I position myself out of frame and begin photographing the bride as she walks in towards her partner. It’s so magical and straightforward, and you’ll receive all the moments from the first meet in a professional photography album after your elopement in 4–6 weeks. After your first, I’ll continue to capture photographs as we get into the car before I chauffeur you to your elopement.

PRE CEREMONY PHOTOGRAPHS

Once we arrive at your elopement location we’ll begin a walk to where your ceremony will take place and all the while I will continue my documentary style photography for those beautiful & natural photographs that will look stunning, bright and popping with color. At this stage, it is a great opportunity to take a pause, maybe on a bench on our short walk or at a standstill to look out at the beautiful scenery that will surround you. These kinds of pauses and opportunities to ‘let it all sync in’ make for some stunning images that will look really scenic and dreamy. From natural and documentary styled captures to some more guided poses - rest assured I will be your companion throughout this process and you’ll feel relaxed, and open to expressing yourselves without any awkwardness.

THE CEREMONY

To pull this off, you need to have mastered the art of combining celebrancy and photography. Something which I have done over countless years of ceremonies and practice. This delicate part of your journey is handled with great care to ensure it runs smoothly and naturally like you have two suppliers, but only one is managing it. This makes for a seamless, stress-free ceremony where one person (your companion from the start) will take care of you. The ceremony will take place in a location pre-selected by yourself. I will have scouted this location too, to ensure I’m familiar with its surroundings and so that I can naturally set up my equipment with ease.  I begin by setting up my DJI POCKET 3 VIDEO CAMERA on a tripod, wide angle lens attached, levelled with the horizon for ultimate cinematic footage. I then clip a wireless DJI mic on to my ceremony folder and ensure everything is powered on and ready to go. Whilst I’m doing this, which only takes a couple of minutes, you can have some time to reflect on your great achievements to date before tying the knot in a beautiful place of the world in North Wales, UK. We’ll then get into position facing the video camera and begin the ceremony. You’ll both stand side by side with me typically standing between you, positioned slightly back. I will open the ceremony with an opening speech where the DJI mic will pick up all the audio.

After my opening speech, I hand you the ceremony folder, to relay your opening words to each other. Once one partner has shared their special words, they will hand the folder to their other half to do the same. Here’s the thing. Whilst you are doing this, I walk out of frame and begin to capture you exchanging words to each other on camera. So not only will you have video footage, you’ll also have photographs from the ceremony as well. As you are approaching your final words, I come back into frame where I continue the ceremony with commitments, ring exchanges and closing words. The latter format will naturally continue so that photography can be captured throughout. Video footage is then edited afterwards so that YOU are in the frame when all the important words are exchanged. After the closing words from myself, I stand back and give you both the BIG moment. I pick up my camera and capture the first kiss, the raw emotions and all the post-ceremony excitement for you!

POST CEREMONY PHOTOGRAPHY.

The excitement continues with post-wedding ceremony photographs. We’ll have a little exploration of the area and scout for any backdrops that will make for gorgeous photos. At this point in elopement, I like to capture the intimate embraces of couples, the hugging, the kisses on the forehead and lips; the sitting down on a bench; hill or sand, so that it can all be captured for unbelievable moments for you to revisit time and time again.  I have two luxury elopement packages that you can choose from (personalised ceremony and half-day photography or full-day photography coverage) and they can be found on my services page. One is a half day of photography, which tends to be the time we travel back to your accommodation after post-ceremony photographs and continue to capture some champagne popping on camera. Or there’s an alternative, we can go to a SECOND LOCATION!

Choose somewhere to enjoy a beautiful picnic with handpicked food and drinks from local suppliers that includes a cheeseboard and refreshments all beautifully packed into a wicker picnic basket and comes with a lovely blanket for you to sit on at your destination. Enjoy succulent cheeses and refreshing fizz whilst I continue to capture footage of your elopement with the help of my DJI DRONE. Mix it up with aerial footage and photography whilst you relax and take it all in – this really makes for an emotionally charged photo album that documents all of your elopement from landscape and portrait photography & video footage from your special day. After the night draws to a close, I will be excited to edit your photographs and video footage and upload them into a beautifully presented online album for you. Opt for a luxury elopement with AM-PM photography coverage and let the excitement continue into the night with me as your celebrant and photographer!