Happy Tuesday, friends! So, if you read this post a couple weeks back, you know why elopements are pretty much the biggest trend in weddings right now. We’ve even got a whole section dedicated to ’em here on the blog, and it’s stories + advice from sweet couples like Jordan and Kyle that give us a full picture of what planning elopement is *really* like. Because to fully understand why a couple chooses an elopement over a more traditional wedding, you need a little background behind the gorgeous photos that talents like Amelia Fletcher capture. Read on to see how to plan your perfect, low-key adventure elopement AND check out all the lovely snaps of these cuties below!
The proposal… Kyle worked so hard with some of my best friends to make the proposal the perfect surprise. He proposed at the beginning of December in cute town outside of Nashville called Franklin. The Christmas tree had just been set up in the middle of downtown that weekend. My friends and I always get together for brunch the first Saturday of every month, so I wasn’t shocked at all when we scheduled our December brunch for that weekend. I was surprised, however, when I saw Kyle (who was supposed to be at work) pop out from around the huge Christmas tree and get down on one knee! I said yes (of course!!!) and turned around to see not only my friends but also our parents and siblings waiting for us across the street. We all had our brunch together afterward, and Kyle also planned a big surprise party that night with all of our friends to celebrate! It was absolutely perfect.
There are lots of ways to go about choosing an elopement location, but these two were sold when they saw this spot on Amelia‘s Instagram. It was a short drive from them in Nashville, and since they already knew she had captured amazing photos there before, they booked her right away! Not to mention, there were no reservations to make or fees to pay. Score!
Jordan put on her wedding dress and Chacos, and they hiked up to the top. For them, planning was easy—the toughest part was explaining their decision to other friends, but in the end, it’s so worth it to tie the knot how you want to!
On the decision to elope… For both of us, the two main things we wanted for our wedding was for our families to be there and for it to be outside. That was it. Since those were the only two deal-breakers, we decided there was no reason why we couldn’t elope. We got to have a stress-free, easy going ceremony with our closest people, and still have a giant, pizza-party reception the next day. It was the best of both worlds. The most important part of the whole weekend was the wedding, though. Eloping let us do it all exactly how we wanted to do it, without having to struggle with pleasing everyone else.
Jordan + Kyle invited 15 immediate family members and their grandparents to their wedding at Max Patch, a bald top mountain on the North Carolina and Tennessee border. The not-too-far location made it easy for fam to join, but enough of an adventure so that it all felt like a special getaway.
The bride’s #1 tip… Stay flexible! A perk of having a smaller wedding is that there are fewer people to try to wrangle! It actually poured down rain for the first 45 minutes of our wedding… but since there were only a few of us, we decided to wait it out in our cars. The rain passed just in time for us to have our ceremony and snag some pictures before the sun went down. It didn’t go the way that we planned, but it turned out so much better! It was fun, muddy, and the pictures turned out fabulous.
So, so cute!
The morning of their wedding, the 17 of them had brunch together, hung out in their cabin, and hiked, making it for the most stress-free wedding morning ever! Find more pretty photos of this mountain elopement in our gallery:
The day after the wedding, we had a huge reception back in Nashville in Kyle’s parents’ backyard. We had a tent, photo booth, twinkle lights, pizza, beer, and donuts! Again, do what you want to do! We wanted the whole weekend to reflect us and our personalities, so this meant pizza and donuts for us. And everyone loved it! The reception was laid-back, with tons of corn hole and dancing. We still got to do the traditional reception elements that we wanted to do (like the dances and the cake cutting) while still keeping it true to us. At that point, the stress of the wedding was over and all we had to do was celebrate with our people. We loved splitting the ceremony and reception up into two different days.
Sounds like such a PERFECT, happy occasion! Thanks to Amelia Fletcher and our bride Jordan for the deets on this epic elopement adventure.
Photography: Amelia Fletcher / Location: Max Patch Mountain, Tennessee & North Carolina border on the Appalachian Trail / Florist: Elizabeth Earnest Florals / Hair & Makeup: Emily Dawn / Officiant: Bride’s Father / Rings: Honey Jewelry Co / Wedding Dress: The White Room / Groom’s Attire: Men’s Wearhouse
