Introduction
Picture this: It’s early July, and you and your fiance wake up to
the sound of birds chirping. You open the French windows of
your chalet to a dramatic backdrop of jagged mountains and
lush valleys. You woke up in the village of Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland.
This picturesque village is straight out of a postcard, boasting
a mammoth waterfall cascading into the middle of town. It
will be your home base for your adventure elopement and extended
honeymoon.
You ultimately chose the Valley of 72 Waterfalls for an elopement
destination because you want to get married in an epic
mountain landscape of the Swiss Alps. Hiking the lush green landscapes,
swimming in alpine lakes, exploring glacial waterfalls and
charming villages are all activities you have crafted into a unique
itinerary for your elopement itinerary.
Once you have settled into the time zone change, you will
make your way up the mountains above Lauterbrunnen via a cogwheel
train with your fiance to scout your “perfect” ceremony site.
A secluded landscape is your one desire, and you won’t compromise
on privacy for your ceremony. You’ll encounter grazing cattle,
goats, and sheep on your hike, and air so fresh it’s invigorating. With
over 500km of walking trails and fifteen mountain cableways to get
around, you’ll explore incredible views of the Alps, including the
famous Eiger, M.nch, and Jungfrau mountains—the most beautiful
vantage points of the Jungfrau region.
You stumble across “your” ceremony spot, a remote trail to a
small alpine lake with snow-capped mountains in the background
and blooming wildflowers lining the trail. It’s oh-so-private and
dreamy, just what you were anticipating. You head back to the village
on cloud nine, happy to have pinned down your ceremony
location.
Since many locations in the region require the help of a cable
car or gondola to access hiking trails, each closing around sunset,
you’ve booked your pre-wedding night stay in Wengen, an entirely
car-free village. You’ll start your wedding day in Lauterbrunnen,
hiking up to Wengen in the late afternoon, and ultimately will split your
elopement adventure into two days—four hours in the evening and
four hours the next morning.
In preparation, you’ll throw on your hiking boots and pack
whatever necessities you need for an overnight stay, including your
wedding attire, your bouquet, and the fixings for a charcuterie board,
carefully packed into your backpack. You’ll be hiking, exploring, and
chasing a sunset on the way to Wengen. On the way, you’ll rendezvous
with your elopement photographer, who’s ready to capture the
moments of your journey—from a picturesque sunset hike to an intimate
sunrise ceremony and picnic reception.
At sunrise, you’ll hike to your spot and step into your wedding
attire at the lake to do a “first look” at a place that you can now forever
call “yours.” With legal vows already taken care of back home, it
will just be you, your fiance, and the photographer in a magical sunrise
setting, professing your undying love and commitment to each
other with personal vows you’ve so carefully written. You’ll spend the
rest of the day discovering waterfalls and enjoying fresh mountain
air while creating lingering moments and epic wedding images that
last a lifetime.
Sound too good to be true? It’s not. If you’re ready to turn your
most adventurous and romantic dreams into reality, this book is for
you.
ELOPE LIKE A FLIGHT ATTENDANT
In addition to working as an adventure elopement photographer (and
planning my own elopement), I’ve been a flight attendant for twenty-
five years and have visited over fifty-five countries. I do believe
that there is no other group who understands adventurous eloping
couples better than flight attendants, as both are drawn to the excitement
and thrill of discovering unfamiliar places and having fearless
experiences.
Most flight attendants I know are adventurous, full-time explorers.
While we love a good beach in our travels, you will often find us
repelling down waterfalls, riding dune buggies in the backcountry,
exploring different cultures and foods, and making our trips very
experiential. We have always been the trailblazers, the nonconformists,
and the wanderers, who value experience over tangible items.
Flight attendants frequently encounter unpredictable situations
in our jobs and must learn to adapt and change plans on a moment’s
notice.
For smooth elopement planning and the wedding day of your
dreams, I encourage you to embrace this flight attendant mentality.
You’ll likely have to grapple with some change in plans due to unexpected
weather and/or travel hiccups. Learn to adapt and dive into
the unknown with an open mind and heart. Embrace spontaneity,
opt for the impromptu and intimate, and accept all unexpected
opportunities for adventure.
In the meantime, let me introduce you to a few international
destinations you may never have thought of eloping to. I will guide
you on “how to” plan an adventure elopement from start to finish.
I’ll walk you through how to brainstorm your elopement day and
how to budget, and I’ll inspire you on ways to find your perfect
ceremony location and destination. Plus, I’ll include adventurous
activities and ideas you can incorporate into your day to amp up
the “wow” factor. I’ll inspire you to “think big” for your day, regardless
of your budget, and explain my thoughts and outline my own
itinerary.
From a tiny fishing town in Mexico to a stunning cliffside in
Scotland, I have rounded up the best elopement destinations in the
world. I will tell stories of how other flight attendants thought out
and planned their elopements. I’ll include some of their tips, tricks,
and ideas to make your day stress-free and unforgettable. Plus, I’ve
included all the vendor information to share with you from their
chosen locations—photographers to florists to officiants and more,
to help make your elopement planning a breeze, should you follow
their lead.
This book is meant to be your guide, but it’s also meant to offer
my unique perspective and to give you a ton of inspiration. It will
give you an idea of how flight attendants elope and how you can
take our ideas and make them your own. Reading this book in its
entirety will get your creative juices flowing to help you with your
own elopement planning. Don’t skip a chapter because each one is
packed with ideas and insights that you can use to make your own
elopement special.
I will show you how to incorporate your passions of travel,
nature, and outdoor activities with your wedding day, which will
be the perfect way to start the new chapter in your life together. But
mostly, I hope it will inspire you to elope confidently and fearlessly.
So, if you’re ready to turn your romantic dreams into reality and
elope like a flight attendant, this book is for you. Here’s to an unforgettable
adventure that leads you into your first day of being married
… and the day you will talk about for the rest of your life.
ELOPEMENTS OF THE PAST
Elopements were fast, unplanned, and impersonal, often by the young
and foolish. Mention the word “elope” and it brings to mind a marriage
conducted suddenly and secretively; a “shot-gun” wedding or a
marriage forced or required because of pregnancy; or getting married
without parental consent or due to familial, social, or cultural barriers.
The ceremony would have been performed in a courthouse or
chapel with a judge or minister as the officiant. Yes, elopements of the
past were last-minute, no-frills, secret operations clouded in shame,
judgment, and embarrassment.
I’m here to share one simple truth—that’s not what eloping
means anymore!
MODERN-DAY ELOPEMENTS
Elopements continue to be a misunderstood topic, shrouded in preconceived
notions and wild misconceptions that no one can put their
finger on exactly. So let’s clear things up.
While an elopement of the past is just the two of you and witnesses
to sign the paperwork, (usually the officiant and photographer),
other small-ish weddings are now considered types of elopements.
For example, a “minimony” is an elopement ceremony with fewer
than ten guests, usually immediate family, a photographer, and an
officiant. Micro-weddings are more intimate than traditional weddings
and may include up to twenty-five guests. But today, they can
be considered an elopement, even if you bring a small group of family
and friends. We eloped to St. Croix in 2013 with seven friends.
The modern-day definition of elopement is shifting. It’s not
just a ceremony, it’s an all-day experience, and should not be any
less intentionally planned than a traditional wedding. There is pure
freedom in eloping. Modern elopements embrace the idea of “doing
things your own way!”
WHAT IS AN ADVENTURE ELOPEMENT?
An adventure elopement is a non-traditional and intimate way for
couples to exchange vows, usually against a breathtaking landscape.
It typically occurs in a stunning natural setting such as a mountain
peak, desert, beach, cliffside, waterfall, or forest, and reflects a couple’s
love of travel to epic destinations or offbeat places. It focuses on
the wild beauty of the outdoors as couples seek a beautiful scenic site
to say their vows. The location may also have special meaning to the
couple or be on their bucket list. It’s a unique, intentionally crafted
day that reflects a couple’s personality and values, and it’s not just
about the ceremony; let’s break out of that myth!
An adventure elopement typically includes some element of outdoor
activity that is already a part of the couple’s life. It could be
activities such as hiking, kayaking, hot air ballooning, skydiving, or
taking a helicopter onto a remote mountaintop to say your vows.
It’s a shared sense of adventure, planned entirely around an
entire day (sometimes two days!), a unique itinerary that starts from
the moment you wake up, and continues throughout every single
aspect of the day. What does your “perfect day” look like? How would
you picture the start to your wedding day? Some couples will start
with breakfast in bed, while others hike in the dark to a ceremony
spot to say their vows at sunrise. I’ll give more ideas throughout the
book to spark your creativity on how to craft your perfect day.
THE ADVENTURE ELEMENT
The beauty of “adventure” is that it means something different to
everyone. What qualifies as “adventure” thoroughly depends on your
perspectives, desires, values, and experiences as a couple. Don’t worry
about how others may define it; if it feels like an adventure (to you),
it is!
❝ Adventure isn’t hanging on a rope off the side of a
mountain. Adventure is an attitude that we must apply
to the day-to-day obstacles in life. ❞ —John Amatt
For some, simply getting married is enough of a wild adventure. For
others, extreme adventures, like cage diving with sharks in South
Africa, will make it onto their elopement itinerary. How do you define
adventure? Adventure doesn’t have to be “big” to be fulfilling, nor
does it need to involve dangerous or challenging activities or extreme
physical activity. The rejection of wedding norms—getting your dress
dirty, trading out heels for a pair of hiking boots, or simply spending
time together at a bucket list destination—can be adventurous.
In these pages, let’s define adventure as something that’s epic
(for you), that it encompasses the things that you value and enjoy
doing together, and takes you to an unknown destination to create
long-lasting memories.
Turn to the real-life flight attendant profiles later in this book
for examples of the many forms that adventure elopements can take:
from a seaplane elopement on an Alaskan glacier, to a themed “Pride
and Prejudice meets Downtown Abbey” elopement, to saying intimate
vows at a 13th-century villa in Tuscany. Let them inspire you to craft
your own elopement your way!
