Shenandoah Elopement Photographer | Shenandoah National Park Elopement Inspiration | Adventure Elopement in Shenandoah National Park
Dawn reached out to me just a few weeks before her and Ben were planning to elope with a view of rolling mountains at Shenandoah National Park in Virginia. When she emailed me that last minute they had decided to have a photographer there, I was SO excited that the realized the value in these photos and the day that they committed forever together.
She wanted to do their ceremony at sunrise on a weekday at the end of August. She was imagining being on top of the mountain, feeling like they were on top of the world with rolling hills, trees and the world below them.
The night before, it rained the entire night. Which in the summer, usually means fog is to follow the following morning. Sure enough, we hiked up to our spot, and were met with a wall of fog. What usually is a gorgeous view of Shenandoah was instead a massive cloud, and you could barely see 10 feet in front of you. They planned to change into their wedding outfits at the top, so I had them change + enjoy some coffee to see if as the sun rose, the fog might clear out.
Well, straight out of a fairytale, these two started their ceremony, and the clouds began to part! It was MAGIC! Ben, Dawn, their officiant, and myself were all getting giddy at how amazing it was that the skies literally parted as they read their vows to each other. And shortly, they were experiencing views of Shenandoah with inverted clouds, which is one of my personal favorite natural occurrences.
It stayed parted just enough for us to do some portraits and watch the clouds dance around the sky below us, and just as we wrapped things up, the CLOUD WALL CAME BACK! Can you believe it!?
We hiked back down to the trial head, and drove over to a new spot just down the road. They had a picnic basket with some coffee and cake to celebrate their fresh marriage and changed into their baseball jerseys. Baseball and the symbolism of being a team is a big part of their relationship, so they decided to have jerseys to rock their new last name!
Intimate elopements like this are just my favorite. They’re so special, and the world seems to slow down for them. What a day and what a treat to finally get to see Shenandoah below them!
If you’re interested in eloping in Shenandoah National Park, shoot me a message through the button below! I’d love to help the vision of your elopement in Shenandoah come to life!