10 Questions To Ask Elopement Photographers

Updated for 2025

Finding the right photographer can be daunting, especially if you don’t know the right questions to ask elopement photographers. If you want to be sure that you’ll have your elopement beautifully documented and avoid tragedy (like having an amateur lose your photos), you’ll need to hire a professional. Your elopement only happens once.. your memories are too important to leave to chance!

As a husband and wife team who have been full time in the wedding and elopement industry for 5+ years, we’ve curated a list of essential questions to ask elopement photographers before hiring them.

– AUTHENTIC COLLECTIVE

Here’s a list of the 10 most important questions you HAVE to ask your elopement photographer before you sign that contract!

Questions To Ask

Questions To Ask Elopement Photographers

Ask to see full elopement galleries

Social media can be very deceiving, so please don’t hire anyone based off of their Instagram feed. Ask photographers to send you at least 3 full galleries to look through that are from REAL elopements (not styled shoots, which are a fake wedding just for the photos).

This will give you an idea of how they photograph each part of the elopement day, how they handle different lighting scenarios, how they pose their clients, etc. The galleries should be full galleries showing each part of the elopement (hundreds of photos, not a blog).

Here are a few of our full galleries from real couples elopement days you can browse through:

Read reviews from past clients

Look on platforms such as Google, The Knot and Wedding Wire to see if they have good reviews. The more reviews they have, the more established the business is and the more likely they will be able to provide a good experience.

Reading reviews from past clients will give you a sense of what it’s like to work with the photographer as well as the confidence that they have provided a good experience for other couples.

If you can’t find reviews, that is a huge red flag! Having no reviews online either means they’re very new or they have received negative reviews and deleted their listings.

We have 90+ 5 star reviews on Google alone, and hundreds of other 5 star reviews across the web. You can see our reviews here.

Questions To Ask Elopement Photographers

Do they specialize in elopements?

Elopements are drastically different from traditional weddings, from the planning required to actually photographing the day. You’ll want to hire a photographer that specializes in elopements to ensure a seamless experience.

It’s also important that your photographer specializes in the type of elopement you’re planning. For example, we specialize in mountain elopements in Colorado, which is obviously very different than a Vegas courthouse elopement. They are very different skill sets. Make sure to find a photographer who aligns with the type and style of elopement you’re dreaming of!

The other aspect to this is preparedness. Those of us who specialize in adventurous elopements are prepared and willing to do everything possible to make you experience incredible, including packing extra hand warmers, snacks, oxygen, etc!

We ONLY shoot elopements in the mountains, this is our specialty and passion!

Are they local to where you’re eloping?

It’s essential to hire an elopement photographer who either lives in the area you’re planning to elope at, or is very familiar with the location. This will ensure that they can help you find the best locations for your elopement and will have insider knowledge on important things someone flying in from out of state wouldn’t know.

You want someone who is experienced with preparing for the unique elements that come with eloping in the location. For example, we always have a can of oxygen on us for out of state couples who may feel altitude sickness in Colorado. Knowledge of local landscapes, weather and wildlife is important as well.

Beyond that, locals typically have connections in the area to stay updated on permit requirements to ensure you aren’t breaking the law by having your elopement on public land. Then comes the unique seasons Colorado presents, especially while in the mountains. The last thing you want is to have planned an elopement for a location only to find out the road to get to the trailhead doesn’t open for another month due to snowpack!

Questions To Ask Elopement Photographers

Do they help with locations?

Hiring an elopement photographer that will help you find the perfect location will save you a lot of time, energy and stress! Without a local elopement photographer who will provide you with a location guide, you’ll spend hours researching online trying to find a suitable spot. Even if you find somewhere you love, you won’t be able to know if it’s actually suitable for your elopement until it’s too late. And just a little tip.. if you find a location online, so have hundreds of other couples.

Having a local elopement photographer that has physically scouted these locations in person, knows of hidden gems, the permit requirements, best time of day to shoot there and other insider knowledge is paramount.

We personally provide our clients with an exclusive location guide, curated specifically for them based on their elopement date and preferences of scenery, accessibility, guest count, privacy, pet friendly, etc. to make the process easy and stress free!

Do they help with planning?

Not all photographers offer the same level of planning assistance. When you’re planning an elopement for the first time there are going to be a lot of things you’re unsure of- such as how to get your marriage license, navigating permits, where to stay, what to pack, etc. Most couples that elope don’t hire a wedding planner- so your photographer doubles as your planner!

Personally, for our couples, we want to make the planning process as easy as possible. That’s why we include complimentary planning assistance with all of our packages. This means after you’ve selected your elopement location(s) from the guide we created for you, we also send over local vendor suggestions (hair and makeup, florists, private chefs, etc.) unique lodging ideas like cool A-frames, activities in the area you can include, a packing list, etc.

We also craft a custom timeline for you to ensure you have the best experience that includes everywhere you want to go, everything you want to do, AND so you have the best lighting throughout the day and best photos.

Questions To Ask Elopement Photographers

What’s included in their packages?

Consider what services and offerings are important to you for your elopement day. Here are a few recommendations:

Full Coverage – Do they just offer a quick 2 hour package, or are they valuing your elopement day and offering full day and multi-day coverage? We are strong believers that just because you aren’t inviting guests (or just a few), doesn’t mean you deserve any less coverage on your wedding day. If anything, you deserve more coverage as you will have more people to share this experience with who weren’t physically there to witness it. That’s why we specialize in full day and multi day elopements!

Videography – If you want video coverage of your elopement, look for a photo/video team. This way you know they will work together well, your photos and videos will have a cohesive style, and typically it’s a better deal than hiring them separately. Not sure if you want videography yet? You can add on video any time prior to your elopement with us, or book a mini film!

In addition to full coverage photography and videography we additionally offer night photos, film photography, polaroids, custom designed photo albums and are willing to personalize any of our packages to fit your needs.

How many photographers will you get?

We aren’t going to argue that elopements can’t be captured with one photographer, they totally can. However, having two photographers creates the opportunity for two different angles for each and every moment of your elopement day. Not only does this provide more variety in your photos but a second photographer has the ability to get angles that the first photographer likely won’t see as they are focused on you.

We are a husband/wife team and clients have told us it feels like more of a double-date vibe rather than a third wheel, making sure both of you feel extremely comfortable and are having a great time! You also have the peace of mind that if something unfortunate happens to one of your photographers (hiking injury, food poisoning etc.) that you have another photographer and aren’t relying on someone who isn’t 100%.

Questions To Ask Elopement Photographers

What if the weather is bad?

We HIGHLY recommend asking any photographer you are considering what their inclement weather policy is. The last thing you want is zero flexibility if there’s dangerous weather on your planned elopement day!

We aren’t saying you should cancel your elopement if there’s a shower expected mid-afternoon. In the summer this is almost a daily occurrence in Colorado. However, you do want the confidence and flexibility that if there is a hail storm predicted, that you can shift your coverage to the following day to avoid it.

We include a weather backup day with all of our packages (the 3 day package actually comes with 2 weather backup days!), as your safety and experience are our top priority. We do everything we can to maintain the originally booked date, especially with other vendors potentially having less flexibility, but sometimes mother nature causes the need for a shift.

Do you feel comfortable with them?

Your elopement photographers will likely be the person with you the most on your elopement day, second only to your partner. Considering how much time you will spend with them and the intimacy of them being one of the only people invited, we highly suggest doing a vibe-check to make sure you feel comfortable with them!

This is why we require a phone (or video) call with every single couple prior to booking. We want you to have the best experience possible on your elopement day and to enjoy each and every person that you invite into this intimate event. As we only accept 20 elopements per year, it’s equally important to us as well that we are the perfect fit (:

Questions To Ask Elopement Photographers

Hey, we’re Savannah & Greg!

Colorado Elopement Photographers

We’re a husband and wife team specializing in elopement photography and videography in Colorado. We believe eloping is the best way to get married, so much so that we did it ourselves! We know it can feel overwhelming not knowing where to start, which is why we help couples set a date, pick a location, make a timeline, etc!

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