Elopement

March | Hiking Elopement in Shenandoah National Park | Waterfall Elopement in Virginia

A mix of wedding and weekend getaway in the Blue Ridge Mountains.
The alarm was set for 3:30am and I honestly have no idea how many miles it ended up being, but it was so peaceful and meaningful and fun. Stephanie and Steve incorporated their favorite books into what felt like multiple ceremonies throughout the hike.

Stephanie’s favorite book is “Cat’s Cradle” and in it is the boko-maru – the supreme act of worship by the Bokononists, which is an intimate act of contact between the naked soles of the feet of two people - so part of their elopement was this little ceremony.

They climbed rocks, took their shoes off, crossed across streams, and read. It was amazing. All before 9am, and then they went back to their cabin and hot tub.

Hi! I’m Gabrielle and I am an adventurous wedding, elopement, couple, family, and portrait photographer. If you’re interested in visiting the Shenandoah Valley, Blue Ridge Mountains, or Shenandoah National Park, I’d love to help you plan your visit as well as a photo shoot of your time here.

I have helped couples plan their elopements and small weddings in Shenandoah National Park - with suggestions of places to go, things to do, and awesome spots for food and drink to make your wedding day into a wedding getaway in the awesome local small towns.

Interested in a shoot and a few days away in the Virginia mountains? Reach out! I’d love to chat.

Janet & Omar | Game of Thrones Winter Elopement | Shenandoah National Park

Janet & Omar had been planning their elopement for months - I helped plan a location on Shenandoah National Park, and together we came up with a game plan for locations to visit along Skyline Drive leading up to their ceremony.. and then Skyline Drive closed because of snow and ice. So late the night before we changed up our plans, while including Shenandoah as much as possible. We met up before sunrise and hiked in to the Park, then drove back to the farmhouse where their family members were (who flew in from California!) and they had their ceremony on the top of a hill overlooking fields and hills and mountains, surrounded by their families sitting on chairs and benches they carried from the farm house. It was a perfectly adventurous day, and I am so honored to have been a part of it. Also, there was a Game of Thrones theme and it was amazing.

Their small, intimate, adventurous wedding was already sounding like a dream before Janet emailed and said “oh, by the way, we are kind of doing a Game of Thrones theme.” and then death came to me. LOOK.

Janet wore husky/wolf earrings, Omar switched over to a Game of Thrones / Jon Snow outfit, they had a sword, and their cake looked like dragon scales. Flags were flown, furs were worn, it was epic.

Incredible hair & makeup by Perry Warren