Are you worried about planning a wedding and getting married amid pandemic restrictions and fears? Or maybe you're looking to scale back your wedding regardless of the pandemic because it's a strain on funds, feels overwhelming, and the planning process is starting to feel like a second job?
Whatever your reason for wanting to have an elopement or intimate wedding, it's a good reason and I approve :)
So first off, what is an elopement or an intimate wedding? It's an experience of a day or days completely dedicated to the couple, their love, and the way in which they wish to celebrate that love.
With the pandemic and the cost of a traditional wedding, we recognize the stress that comes with a wedding day. You might be feeling crushed and disappointed that the wedding you've always dreamt of can no longer be, or maybe you're struggling to decide what kind of wedding you even want in the first place. Perhaps you're wondering how you can budget in the guests you want to invite plus the honeymoon, or are worried about older relatives being able to take part in this special moment due to health problems or pandemic restrictions. We get it. Life changed incredibly fast with little warning, but it changed for everyone, everywhere, and now we must pivot and find new opportunities and solutions to make the best of it!
Elopements and intimate weddings are INCREDIBLY special, romantic, emotional, real experiences shared with the person, people, or animals that matter most to you. An elopement is more about the couple than the family, the friends, the guests, and the entertainment. It’s not about impressing anyone or putting on a show or spending every moment greeting every person that matters to you or that you’re related to.
It’s about having a day that is dedicated to celebrating you as a couple wherever that may be. It could be your favorite place to go as a couple, the place you first met, or a place you’ve always longed to travel to. It could be about having some crazy adventure experience that you would never do otherwise, or having the most peaceful drama-free day.
Elopements and intimate weddings are not about perfection and do not need to follow a strict timeline. It's about you and what you want. It has the ability to pivot as changes come. It's about putting your faith in a team that will figure it out for you, answer your questions, and relieve your stress. A team that has experience and passion for what they do, will provide you with laughter, romance, and peace-of-mind.
To keep these moments intimate and unique, we cap our intimate weddings at 15 guests but offer live stream options for any couples who are hesitant about not including all their friends and loved ones. These live streams are captured through multiple cameras and will help your guests to feel like they are really there, without adding to the stress, cost, and plan for your wedding day. We have the technology to provide live stream services with multiple cameras whether we are indoor or outdoor, in America or not, and we can stream your wedding to as many people as you want. Essentially it’s the best of both worlds.
here are no rules for an elopement or intimate wedding aside from potential location permits, and your wedding can be as conventional or unconventional as you want. It’s all about you, it’s all about your preference, it’s all about your experience, it’s all about your love.
If you want your favorite people in the whole world to be there and be there for every moment of it, do it, if you want no one there at all that’s OK too. There is no other time to have a day that is more about the two of you as a couple.
Now take a moment to sit and ponder with your partner- what is the wedding day we envision?
So let's talk about elopement and intimate weddings in Hawaii if that's the location you've chosen. We are so lucky to have so many diverse islands so close to each other that are beautiful and worthwhile to visit. We have beautiful spots right off the road, or beautiful spots tucked miles into hidden valleys. We have epic adventures or over-the-top luxury. We have snow, volcanoes, jungles, forests, mountains, tidepools, cliffs, and sandy beaches. With our islands so close, our multi-day wedding experiences can include more than one island!
But we serve way more than Hawaii! With many years spent abroad, traveling and assimilating into new cultures is a way of life. There is no location off-limits and we are down for whatever you have in mind and will work our hardest to plan the greatest experience of your life.
We are not here to provide you simply with a photoshoot to document your day, we want to provide you with an unforgettable, special, customized experience.
Don’t think of this as a backup, it’s simply an alternative option that might be a better option for you all along!
Here's a sample itinerary for one of our Oahu adventure elopements!
Getting Ready Location: Adventure Van parked at Sherwood Forest
Ceremony Location: Hanauma Ridge Cliffs
Additional Portrait Location: Makapuu Secret Tidepools
Meal/Celebration Location: Picnic Tables at Sherwood Forest by the Van. Get permit to camp in the park
12:00 pm - Getting ready photos at Sherwood Forest
1:00 pm -First look in Sherwood Forest
2:00 pm - Drive to ceremony space, drone of drive plus pictures/video of travel. Walk in
3:00 pm - Ceremony and media + live stream at Hanauma ridge cliffs
4:00- Drive to Makapu'u. Drone on drive
4:30 pm - Walk into beach, trails and tide pools with photos/video/drone. Sunset photos/video/drone at Makapu'u tide pools and beach
7:00 pm - Return to Sherwood Forest for dinner
8:00-8:30 pm - Night time photos with campfire and van
8:30-9:30 pm- Night time photos with stars
Don’t think of this as a backup, it’s simply an alternative option that might be a better option for you all along! Read more and connect with us here!