Adventure Vows: Your Wedding Doesn’t Have to Happen in One Day

You can get married at a courthouse with your parents and exchange personal vows on a mountain with your friends another day. You can have a church wedding and make a little space during a road trip for a celebration that feels entirely like the two of you. Your legal ceremony, your family traditions, and your personal vows do not all have to happen in the same place or on the same day.

I know because that is what we did. Our wedding season included a Greek church ceremony and personal vows in Zion. Both belong to our story, and the experience out west is one of the best things we did.

What I mean by adventure vows

Adventure vows is how I describe making a celebration around your personal vows and an experience outdoors, while handling the legal marriage separately. It might be a hike, a weekend away, or an afternoon exploring somewhere you love. You can go alone together or invite a few people to share it.

The name is a way to explain the possibility. You can simply call it your elopement, your wedding day, or the day you read your vows to each other. What matters is having the experience you want, without feeling that everything has to fit into one ceremony.

A Greek church wedding, a road trip & our own vows in Zion

My family felt strongly about us having a Greek church wedding. Personal vows were not part of that ceremony, and I wanted a chance for us to say those words to each other somewhere that felt like us. I wanted the outdoors and the way we love to travel to be part of our wedding season too.

So, during a road trip out west, we hired a photographer in Zion. I bought an inexpensive dress online and made my own bouquet. We exchanged our vows and had elopement-style photographs made in a place we were excited to explore together.

It was the best thing. We had made space for the family ceremony and for something personal to us. I did not need an elaborate dress or a second set of wedding plans to make that experience meaningful. I wanted to be there with my person, say what I wanted to say, and have photographs of it.

That is part of why I care about showing couples more than one way to celebrate. Sometimes a wedding involves a few different wishes, traditions, or people. You can find a way to include those things and still have an experience you are excited about.

A few ways your wedding could look

A courthouse ceremony with your parents, then a mountain day with friends

Maybe you want your parents there when you legally marry, but the outdoor celebration you picture involves a longer hike and a handful of friends. You can have a small civil ceremony, share a meal with family, and plan a separate day for the trail, your personal vows, and the people who want to join you there.

A family or religious ceremony, with personal vows somewhere else

Your ceremony may follow a tradition that does not include the vows you have written yourselves. Or you may simply want to read them privately. A separate day gives those words their own setting, whether that is part of a trip or somewhere close to home.

A quiet legal ceremony and an elopement just for the two of you

You may prefer to take care of the legal marriage locally, then spend your elopement day outdoors together. That could mean staying in a cabin, getting ready slowly, walking to a favorite view, reading your vows, and sitting down to dinner afterward. A difficult hike is not a requirement. Choose a place and a pace you will enjoy.

Allie & Brian: personal vows above the clouds

Allie and Brian handled their legal marriage separately and built their White Mountains celebration around a hike, personal vows, and an overnight stay with friends. We met at the trailhead with two other couples and hiked to Lakes of the Clouds Hut, where they had reserved bunks.

The original plan was sunrise, but the forecast led us to an evening ceremony on Mount Monroe instead. Their friends joined them for the vows. Afterward, there was time for photographs in the mountains, a return to the lakes, dinner, and an evening together at the hut.

The vows were one part of everything we documented: packing up at the trailhead, the walk in, getting ready in a shared hut, time with friends, and the mountain changing around us. Their legal ceremony happening elsewhere did not make any of this less of a celebration. Read Allie and Brian’s Lakes of the Clouds elopement story.

There is a whole experience around the vows

When you imagine the day, start a little earlier than the moment you open your vow books. Where will you wake up? Who will be with you? Would you like to get ready together, stop for coffee, take a trail slowly, or have a meal waiting when you return? Those choices give the day its shape.

As a documentary elopement photographer, I photograph what happens around the plans as well as the vows themselves. I want you to remember the conversations on the trail, your friend helping with a dress, and how it felt to come back after a day outside. We make room for portraits too, without turning the whole experience into a photo shoot.

My elopement collections begin at $3,000 for four hours, with longer and multi-day options available. Adventure vows fit within those collections. I help with location ideas and the photography timeline, whether your legal marriage takes place on the same trip or separately. We choose the coverage around the experience you want documented.

A few practical things to decide together

Choose who you want beside you. You can invite different people to different parts of your wedding. Think about what everyone can comfortably manage and what you would like to share with them. Your personal vows can also stay private, even if friends join you for the rest of the day.

Pick an experience before picking a photograph. A place should work for the day you want to have: the walking distance, the season, somewhere to stay, and a sensible alternative if conditions change. You can explore my White Mountains elopement page for ideas, or read about using an AMC hut as your elopement home base. We will check access, reservations, and any location requirements as part of planning.

Arrange the legal marriage separately if that is your plan. Exchanging personal vows outdoors does not, by itself, complete a legal marriage. Requirements depend on where you legally marry. In New Hampshire, a marriage license needs a ceremony with an authorized officiant; signing the license alone is not enough. The town clerk’s marriage information explains that distinction. Your private vow exchange can then happen before or after the legal ceremony.

Questions about adventure vows & eloping on a different day

Can we have elopement photographs if we are already legally married?

Yes. You can plan an elopement experience after your legal wedding, including personal vows, time outdoors, and the people you want there. I photograph that celebration through my elopement collections, beginning at $3,000 for four hours.

Do we need an officiant for private adventure vows?

If the personal vow exchange is separate from your legal marriage, you do not need an officiant to lead that private exchange. Your legal marriage still needs to meet the requirements of the place where it takes place. We also plan around the access and event rules for the location you choose.

Can our parents attend the courthouse ceremony and our friends join the elopement?

Absolutely. Different parts of your wedding can include different people. You might have a small civil ceremony and lunch with your parents, then spend another day outdoors with friends. We can plan the photography for the celebration, or discuss coverage for more than one day.

Do adventure vows have to involve a mountain hike?

No. A coastal walk, a quiet place near a cabin, or a favorite outdoor spot can all work. The location and pace should suit the experience you want and the people joining you.

Can we exchange personal vows before our legal wedding?

Yes, you can plan a private vow exchange before the legal ceremony, or afterward. The personal celebration and legal marriage can have separate dates. Be clear about which arrangements are for the legal ceremony and which are for your time together.

How much photography coverage should we book?

My elopement collections begin with four hours at $3,000. We account for getting ready, travel or hiking, vows, portraits, and the time you want to spend together. A longer route or an overnight experience may be better suited to longer or multi-day coverage.