welcome to your uniquely designed
ultimate adventure yosemite elopement guide
Yosemite is one of the most beautiful places in the world. There are many popular incredible vistas for you to exchange vows, such as Glacier Point (pictured on the right), The Valley Meadows, Tunnel View, and more. However if you and your partner are interested in a more adventure driven experience that includes backpacking, rock climbing, or other options that this incredible national park offers, this guide is for you.
who we are and the experiences we have
Both Christian and I love Yosemite for much more than the photo view points. We are rock climbers, and the climbing in Yosemite is our favorite area to climb in the world. In between the elopements we shoot in Yosemite, you'll find us multi pitching on the rocks every day we have available
Some of my most favorite experiences in Yosemite include partial backpacking along the John Muir Trail for an elopement, summitting the half dome cables with a beautiful point to point hike I reccomend to clients which you can find further down this list, climbing Pine Line on El Cap, and so much more. My top trad and sport ability is in the 5.10 range for both, and I mainly stick to top roping.
Christian is a certified wilderness first responder. His main passion is rock climbing, and is pursuing a career in guiding and Search and Rescue. Christian leads a majority of our climbs, and his top grades for sport is 5.11C and 5.10 for trad. One of his favorite experiences in Yosemite is setting up this rappel at Taft Point underneath a wedding couple! Something I have never before seen captured.
PHOTOGRAPHY
Here is what you receive with any package you choose…
Complementary Engagement Session!
This can be as extensive as you like. At the least, I like to do a local to you session followed by going out to eat. If you want something more extensive, I can do a multi day trip to a location you love, meet your families, go on a rad unique experience together, options are limitless! I will often spend 2-4 days with my couples getting to know them.
Online Gallery
Photos are delivered to you via an online gallery, and the full quality is downloadable from there. You can expect a sneak peek of both your engagement session and wedding within a week following, and the full galleries one month after the dates they take place.
Digital Use & Print Release
In your contract is a Digital Use & Print Release signed by me. This allows you to use your photos online as you please, as well as make prints!
Planning/advice
Christina is an area research expert. Don't be afraid to ask her for any help, ranging from location or vendor recommendations, to lighting expertise, family advice, and timeline! By the way, I build the timeline for you when we meet for your engagement session.
The Unique Experience with Adventure for Love
Backpacking
Experiences with intentional meal planning, water filtration, unique rarely seen route advice, and permit expertise,
Rock Climbing
Christian can lead any of the following routes laid out below, as well as set up me on a static line either at the top of the route or on the route where I can take photos of you and your partner.
We are not guides
This is important to note, even with Christian's wilderness first responder certification, we are not official guides with certifications licensed in Yosemite. We have the ability to climb with you two, lead routes, but this is mainly for photography and is not a complete guided experience. If you want a guide to provide you harnesses, shoes, backpacks, or more, you would need to hire a separate company than us. If you have the ability to backpack and experience with climbing and want a photographer who can work in this experiences with you, then we are the right fit for you. Please let me know if you want further clarification on what this means!
BACKPACKING PACKAGES
PANORAMA POINT PACKAGE - $6,500
- 3 Day Elopement Experience
- Camping at Little Yosemite Campground
- Ceremony at Panorama Point
Day 1:
Meet at the Happy Aisles Trailhead in the afternoon (eat lunch before arriving)
Hike 5.3 miles from Happy Aisles Trailhead to Little Yosemite Valley Campground (2,200 ft ft elevation gain)
Arrive to the campground before sundown, begin setting up camp and cooking dinner.
Day 2:
Wakeup whenever we like, have instant coffee and oatmeal in the morning. Enjoy our morning by exploring the area, seeing the river, talking with other campers, and however else you would like to share quality time together (letters, reading, meditation)
Sandwiches, apples, and granola for lunch.
Begin getting ready in the afternoon, photos of getting ready in the campground.
Leave for Panorama Point, 2.7 mile hike and 340 ft elevation gain.
Ceremony two hours before sunset, followed by picnic dinner at Panorama Point.
Hike back during sunset 2.7 miles to Little Yosemite campground
Day 3:
Wakeup whenever we like, coffee and oatmeal again for breakfast, tear down camp and begin our hike down.
Done with our hike sometime late afternoon, my guess is we would be done no later than 4pm.
Continue onto and enjoy your honeymoon!
HALF DOME PACKAGE - $5,800
YOSEMITE POINT PACKAGE
This package is a sweet spot of making sure you’re relaxed and have the important moments captured, while not needing every moment of the day photographed.
Example: Chelsea & Mitchell
Chelsea & Mitchell’s coverage started at sunrise, 13,000 ft up in Elevation and Colorado Pass in the San Juan Mountains. We drove their Tacoma around the mountains and explored the pass and lakes with their pups.
Their family met us for a morning ceremony, followed by an adorable celebratory brunch in Silverton. Their coverage ended at 12:30pm, after what felt like a long intentional day full of activities! There is so much that can be captured with this package.
4 HOUR PACKAGE - $4,000
The majority of this package is focused on the ceremony and couple photos, but you have a little extra time to add onto something else. Below I have two examples of how these couples split their time!
Sarah & Nate traveled from the east coast to Moab, Utah for their elopement.
With them being from the east coast, we were unable to meet for their complimentary engagement session. I chose to instead meet them the night before their elopement in Arches National Park for sunset and star photos, and use what would have been their complimentary engagement session towards that.
Their 4 hour elopement day covered a little getting ready, the sunrise ceremony, and a hike to a nearby waterfall. This package is ideal for important moments when there isn’t much hiking or additional adventures involved!
2 HOUR PACKAGE - $2,500
(only available 2 months in advance,
no engagement session)
This package is for ceremony and couples photos only. Although I am a big believers that your elopement day is incredibly special and deserves a full day of activity and coverage, I wanted to offer something to couples with a lower budget who wants just a few photos from their day. This package is meant to be booked more last minute, so I only offer it up to 3 months prior to your elopement day.
Courtney & Dani had a wedding out of the country, but wanted to do the legalities here in the states. They chose to elope with just their family present in Yosemite National Park, a very meaningful location to them!
This package covered one hour for quick getting ready, ceremony, and family photos. We were also able to drive to a second location for a quick hike in the Redwoods for their couple photos! This package is the bare minimum just for the important moments, and budget friendly!
So, what's your next step?
After reviewing this information, if you have any additional questions please do not hesitate to email, text, or call me at 937-999-9964. I want you to feel fully confident and excited when you book me, in my eyes there are no bad questions!
Talk about the above options, and let me know which package seems like the right fit for you. Remember, you can start low and upgrade to include more hours at anytime! Once you've chosen a package, I will send over the contract! 50% is due when you sign the contract, and the other 50% is due on your elopement day.