Why an elopement wedding might be right for you
Elopement or wedding. What I've learned photographing both.
I've photographed a lot of weddings over 15 years. Big ones, small ones, backyard ones held together with twine and determination. Over time, my work has moved toward the intimate end of that spectrum — elopements, small ceremonies, couples who want the day to feel like theirs rather than an event they're hosting.
The photos from those days look different from large wedding photography. Not because of equipment or location — but because of what's actually happening in the room.
If you're weighing which kind of day is right for you, here's an honest account of what I've seen from behind the camera.
The difference isn't the guest list. It's the attention.
At a traditional wedding, the couple is the centre of an event. There are a hundred things happening around them — a caterer asking about dietary restrictions, a family member who needs a seating change, a speech that's running long. The day belongs to everyone, in the best possible way.
At an elopement, there's nowhere for either of you to be except exactly where you are. No logistics to manage, no crowd to move through. The ceremony is often ten minutes. What's left after that is just time — to be with each other, to actually feel the day, to not have to perform it for an audience while you're in the middle of experiencing it.
That shows up in the photos. Not because I'm doing anything different — but because what's happening in front of the camera is different. The expressions are less managed. The moments between the moments are more available. There's a particular quality of light in someone's face when they're not aware that fifty people are watching them cry.
What you gain, and what you give up.
Neither choice is wrong. They're just different things.
- + Complete presence — no logistics, no crowd management, no performance
- + Choose any location, any time — the Gatineau Hills, a specific street corner, somewhere that actually means something
- + Significantly lower cost — no venue, no catering, no 120-person guest list to feed
- + Photos that tend to feel more private and more true — because there's no audience to perform for
- − Your people aren't there — and some of them will feel that
- − No shared memory with the people you love — they hear about it, they don't live it
- + Your community witnesses it — parents, siblings, close friends, all in one room
- + A shared memory that belongs to everyone who was there — people will talk about it for years
- + The full ceremony, the speeches, the first dance — a complete event with a structure people understand
- − You are the hosts of an event, even on your wedding day — there are always things to manage
- − Significantly higher cost — venue, catering, florals, music add up fast
- − Less flexibility — once the guest list grows, the decisions belong to more people
The question worth asking isn't "which one is easier" — it's "which one sounds more like us?" Most couples know the answer to that before they've finished reading this.
At a traditional wedding, I'm photographing an event. At an elopement, I'm photographing two people. The difference sounds small. In the photos, it isn't.
On what I actually seeWhat elopement images actually look like.
Elopement images tend to be quieter. Not boring — quieter. There's more space in them. More of the environment. More of the couple's actual faces, because they're not smiling for a crowd or holding it together for a room full of people they love.
Some of the best images I've made at elopements are of nothing particularly dramatic — a glance, a held hand, a moment just after the vows when neither of them had spoken yet. Those images are only available because there was nothing else happening. No speeches, no first dance, no table to go greet. Just them.
If you're someone who wants photographs that feel private and true — where the images look like your actual relationship rather than a beautiful event — an elopement tends to give you more of what you're looking for.
If you want images that capture your community, the room full of people who love you, your parents' faces during the ceremony — a traditional wedding is where those images live.
My work is built around the intimate end of that spectrum — couples who want images that feel private and true, where the day belonged to them rather than to an audience. If that sounds like you, I'd love to talk.
— Shawn
Whichever you choose, let's talk.
Specialising in intimate weddings and elopements in Ottawa, Gatineau, and beyond. 15+ years.
