What kind of footprint are you leaving behind? It’s a question many of us have asked ourselves as we have made our way through the day-to-day of this world. What kind of environmental impact are we making on this world, and will anything we do make a difference in the first place?

While these kinds of existential questions often find their way into our thought process, I wanted to winnow down that question to a more focalised point in my guide to sustainable adventure elopements. 

How To Have A Sustainable Elopement 

What kind of things can I do, as an eco-friendly elopement photographer, to make sure that I am doing my best to leave no trace behind me when im done capturing the magic of your special day?

In this sustainable elopement guide, We’re going to take a look at a few of the ways that we can all ensure that we’re not only creating an elopement adventure that fits into the vision of your dreams – but we will do so with the idea of an environmentally friendly elopement in mind. 

Guide To Sustainable Adventure Elopements

First, let’s start with the good news! 

The fact that you’re considering an adventure elopement versus a more traditional wedding ceremony has already put you one step ahead in the sustainability race. Weddings are a beautiful thing, but the amount of waste and excess that can be created from it can add up. 

Just think of how many bags of Jordan almonds you’ve taken home and eventually thrown away. How many monogrammed paper napkins were immediately discarded after the event? It may seem minuscule, but with hundreds of guests, it can add up. An elopement allows you to truly minimize the excess! 

Since choosing an elopement is already a huge step towards sustainability, it really becomes about the intention you put into the choices for your eco-friendly elopement. Sometimes the smallest things can have the biggest impact, and we don’t even realize it! That’s why I’ve created a simple sustainable elopement checklist, or rather an intention list, that might help when it comes to making certain decisions for your elopement.  

1. Plan Ahead!

I know the idea of planning ahead can seem a little antithetical to the concept of an adventure, but this is no ordinary adventure. We’re not taking a random road trip or checking out the latest theme park – unless we’re about to make rollercoaster weddings a thing, which I’m are totally here for. This is your elopement adventure!

Planning ahead, at least when it comes to the locations you’re choosing for your elopement, can actually make a large impact on the kind of footprint you’re leaving. Planning ahead gives you the time to research the places you’re interested in and the chance to make the most eco-friendly travel plans. It allows you (and your photographer) to scout the best places to take photos that won’t make an environmental impact on the wildlife around you.

2. Permits, Passes And Paperwork, Oh My!

Another reason that the planning ahead component can be so important for an adventure elopement is that, in reality, you have to get permits and passes for the places you want to go. Wildlife is only still considered ‘wild’ because of the amount of preservation that goes into it through various park departments, federal grants, and more. 

With that said, one of the most important things to do is to find your location ahead of time, and make sure that you are able to get all of the paperwork necessary to make your adventurous dreams come true. 

On top of that, the fees that you pay to get those passes and permits are part of the way that the preservation of the wildlife is funded, so by paying, you are actually putting your money directly back into the space around you. 

3. Stick To The Road Most Traveled

One of the best parts of an adventure elopement is the kind of scenery you end up encountering! Our desire, of course, is to find that perfect magical spot or that amazing view – surrounded by natural beauty – or that secret trail that no one knows about. We can’t help but want the adventure to include some unknowns!

The problem with taking the road less traveled is that there is a reason those roads, those paths, aren’t meant to be used. When you go off the path, not only does it create an immediate impact, but it can leave a lasting impact. Especially if others follow suit. 

There are entire ecosystems that are predicated on the notion that the surroundings won’t be marred by human hands. Even the smallest change can make huge, sometimes irreversible impacts on the landscape, the wildlife, and the very way of life they exist on. 

So, as much fun as it may seem to take the road less traveled, there are plenty of adventures to be had on the beaten path! They’re well-worn and won’t create a detrimental impact on the ecosystem around them. 

4. Find Your Foundation

In the same vein as staying on the road most traveled, when it comes to planning an environmentally friendly elopement, how you travel and camp can play a big role in how well you sustain the life around you. 

One of my biggest tips when it comes to this is to make sure that where you’re camping is on durable surfaces. Ones that don’t require you to dig, or level, or change the landscape around you. By choosing a predetermined camping space, you don’t have to worry about any of the changes you make while you’re there. 

5. Recycle, Reduce, Dispose Of Your Refuse

There’s probably nothing that grinds my gears more than someone who travels to an amazing space, full of beauty, nature, and all of this gorgeous splendor … and then trashes it. When it comes to leaving no trace, disposing of your (and your pet’s) waste properly is one of the biggest (and easiest) things you can do to take care of the land and wildlife around you, so make sure you bring bags along with you in case there are no proper trash receptacles. 

If you want to take it a step further, make sure the bags you bring and the plates/cups/bowls you use are paper! Making your adventure a plastic-free elopement is not only good for the environment, it’s good for your wallet! Paper can be a far more cost effective alternative, on top of being earth friendly.

6. Mind The Neighbors (Including The Wildlife)

Outdoor wedding adventures feel like you’re the only ones in the world, deep in a forest or out on a moonlit beach. Unfortunately, it only feels like that. In most instances there are going to be people – and wildlife – around you. Maybe not within eyeshot, but possibly within earshot. 

That doesn’t mean you have to stop enjoying your big day, just that taking a few moments before the party starts to let fellow campers and adventurers know what might be happening goes a long way. You never know, you might find a couple new friends or wedding guests to invite!

7. Keep The Guest List Small

An elopement tends to keep the guest list more on the minimal side than a traditional wedding, but if you plan on travelling to a far-off destination for your dream ceremony, keeping the guest list on the smallest side possible means keeping the footprint as small as possible. 

I like to suggest having the elopement limited to the closest of the close – and when you return from the honeymoon, maybe have a simple dinner for friends and family who couldn’t make it. 

8. Leave All Things Behind

Who doesn’t love a souvenir? We can’t help it – we want to be able to keep a small trinket from something so memorable. A tangible piece of a beautiful day that you can carry with you forever. 

When it comes to an outdoor adventure elopement, you have to leave the things where you leave them. We don’t always realize what kind of huge impact we can make on the world around us, considering how small we humans truly are. 

There are entire worlds happening below our feet, in the trees, in the plants, and in the water that surrounds us. By taking a piece of that away, you can disrupt and damage an integral way of life. We’ll just have to get creative with your wedding day souvenirs! 

9. Choose An Eco-Friendly Wedding Photographer

This may not seem like a big thing, but when your photographer comes into the elopement with the same intentions as you, it can make a big difference. I’ve already spent time finding the best places to create the most beautiful memories without making a negative impact on the things around us. 

I have the ability to act as an additional guide for you and your sustainable intentions. Luckily, you’ve already found me! Making you two steps ahead before you finish this article. 

Remember: We’re Small Pieces Of A Bigger Puzzle

We are so lucky to live in a world that no matter where we go, we can find something beautiful. Something that feels like only the gods themselves could have come down and created. A waterfall carved over thousands of years, casting prismatic rainbows in the clouds of mist that form around it. Craters the size of small towns that slowly fill with crystalline blue water over the years, slowly becoming a full blown eco-system for underwater flora, fungi and fish. 

No painter could ever properly capture it. No writer could ever fully encapsulate it. It’s the kind of world that seems could only be created in your mind. A fantastical place that explodes with color, and life, and literally breathes oxygen into the world. A place full of furry creatures flipping through trees, and plumed birds flying through trees. Bugs, and animals, and plants, and a million other things that make this gorgeous world what it is. 

Which is why it is all of our responsibility to do the small but important things that we can to preserve the planet that takes care of us in so many ways. It was the motivation behind everything I wrote in this, and the motivation behind all of the work that we do. While this guide isn’t the end all be all of how to save the world, it is a small piece of the bigger puzzle that we’re all trying to put together. 

Let’s Go!

So, there you have it! A guide to sustainable adventure elopements that helps you to find ways to minimize your impact without losing out on any of the good stuff.

The fact that you’re taking the time to process, and read this, and seek the knowledge in the first place means that you’re also someone that wants to make sure the world stays as beautiful as it can – and I love that almost as much as I love love!

The next steps in the journey await us, and the adventure is just ahead. Now we take a look at all of the amazing places we’ll go, and all of the amazing adventures you can find while planning your perfect elopement. 

I can’t wait to talk more about the ways I can help you plan your elopement. Reach out to me so we can get started today!