How We Plan Your Elopement
A walkthrough of what working with us actually looks like, from your first inquiry to the final gallery.
Most elopement photographers will tell you that planning support is included. What that actually means varies wildly. For some, it's an email confirming the date. For others, it's a few generic vendor recommendations. For a few, it's the real thing.
This post is about what the real thing looks like at SolPine. If you're thinking about hiring us, Jillian will be your planning guide. This is the most honest picture we can offer of how the months between your inquiry and your wedding day unfold.
Why We Work This Way
Eloping in Rocky Mountain National Park (or anywhere outdoors; especially at altitude) has a learning curve. Most couples haven't applied for a federal permit before, don't know which alpine lake fits their group, have never planned around weather windows, and don't realize that the day itself only works if a hundred small decisions were made correctly months ahead of time.
The choice for the photographer is to either let couples figure all of that out alone, or to handle it as part of the work. We picked the second option. It makes the day genuinely better, it makes the photos genuinely better, and it lets us keep working with people who don't have the bandwidth to become permit experts in their spare time.
The trade-off is that this kind of work takes time. A typical elopement client gets 15 to 25 hours of planning support from us before the wedding day itself. That's part of why our packages are priced where they are.
The Process:
Phase 1: The first conversation + your discovery call
You send an inquiry. Within 48 hours, you'll hear back. The first reply isn't a contract or a pricing PDF. It's a real email from us with questions about your day, what you're thinking, and how we can best serve you.
From there we jump on a call to see if we’re a good fit. We get to know each other, we chat about your vision, your priorities, and go over what your day could look like. This call is where we sketch out the structure of your day and discuss what packages suit you best. We talk about your location, whether a permit is realistic for your dates, what your guest count looks like, and how we can create your ideal day.
By the end of the call, you usually have a clearer picture of what your elopement could actually look like and what your next steps will be.
Phase 2: The booking
After our call, you’re sent an email summarizing what we discussed with your custom proposal document attached. Your proposal will contain your package options and any available add-ons as well as your contract and the invoice for your retainer. Once you’ve signed your contract and paid your retainer (40% of your total), you’re booked!
Phase 3: The questionnaire
After contracts are signed and the retainer is in, you get a planning questionnaire. It's long, but with good reason. You’ll answer questions ranging from the practical (how many guests will you have, have you sourced any vendors yet, what kind of ceremony do you want, are you doing family photos, etc.) to the more whimsical (what is your vision for your day, what are the most important moments for you, etc.).
We use the answers for three things: assessing where you’re at and where we can jump in to the planning process, starting to build a timeline that fits what you want for your day, and making the photos personal to you and your people. The questionnaire is also where you tell us things like family dynamics, mobility issues, dietary restrictions, allergies, and other information that affects how we plan the day.
Phase 4: Location selection and permit handling
If you haven’t already chosen your location, we provide options. Whether you’re choosing from a specific region or are open to anywhere in the state, we put together a curated list based on your ceremony size and aesthetic preferences. If your preferred location requires a permit this step should happen as soon as possible since permits go fast and availability determines both the date and location. We provide you all the information you need and direct you in filling your application so that the process can run smoothly.
For information on permits in Rocky Mountain National Park, check out our full permitting guide.
Phase 5: Vendor sourcing
This is where the day really starts to take shape. In your questionnaire you’ve told us what vendors you want and we provide you with a list of vetted options for each category. Whether you want florals, hair and makeup, an officiant, or a private chef, we send you a shortlist of people we trust and source quotes for your favorites.
Phase 6: Timeline drafting
About three months out, we send you a first draft of your wedding-day timeline. It's built from sunrise and sunset times for your specific date, the drive distances between locations, the realities of altitude and cold or heat, and a well paced rhythm for the day.
The first draft is rarely the final version. We go back and forth, adjusting for vendor schedules, family logistics, and any new information that comes up. By the end, the timeline reads almost minute-by-minute and accounts for things like buffer time for slow guests, weather contingency windows, and which moments need to happen in which light.
Phase 7: The pre-wedding deep dive
The month of the wedding, we have one more video call. This one is logistical. We walk through the timeline together, confirm vendor details, address any last-minute changes, talk about what to wear, and answer any questions that have come up since we last spoke.
This is also when we send the customized packing checklist for your specific day. This is not a generic list, it’s a list built around your ceremony site, the season, the elevation, and whatever quirks your day has.
For our standard packing list as a starting point, see our RMNP elopement packing list.
Phase 8: Final logistics and weather watch
The week before the wedding, there's a final check-in call to confirm timing, give you an update on weather, and make any last-minute adjustments. If the forecast is looking bad, we have a conversation about contingency plans. (Remember though, Colorado is fickle, bad weather 7 days out can turn into clear skies day-of.) Most weather is workable. Severe weather sometimes means shifting the ceremony time by an hour or moving from one site to another. We have backup plans for backup plans.
Phase 9: The big day
All you have to do is show up. We’ve made all the plans, scouted all the locations, perfected the timeline, watched the forecast. Everything is done. We show up early, guide your day, capture what unfolds, and leave you with a parting gift.
Beyond the photography itself, we often act as the de facto coordinator for the day. We help with the bouquet, time the ceremony, herd any guests, manage other vendors as they arrive, run interference with curious tourists at busy ceremony sites, and make sure you eat and drink something before you forget to. (Ask us about our backpacks full of snacks.)
Phase 10: Sneak peeks and the final gallery
Within 24 hours of your wedding, you get a small batch of sneak peeks. Usually 10 to 15 images. Enough to share with family, post on your social media of choice, and relive the highlights of the day. We hand-pick these images to be representative of the day's full range.
Your full gallery is delivered 4 to 6 weeks later. Both digital and film images are color-corrected, edited, and delivered through a private online gallery. You can download, share, and print directly from there. We also offer high quality print and heirloom album add-ons if you want a physical reminder of your day. (Highly recommended.)
What we don't do
To be honest about scope, here's what isn't part of our planning support:
We don't act as a full wedding coordinator on the day for groups over 30 (microweddings sometimes need a separate coordinator).
We don't book lodging or restaurants on your behalf. We recommend; you book.
We don't handle vendor contracts or payments. We only request quotes and make introductions.
We don’t act as designers. The vision is yours, we just help you execute it.
For couples whose day is bigger than what we can support solo, we'll recommend a planner or coordinator we trust to fill the gap.
Why this matters for the photos
Couples sometimes ask why this kind of planning is part of a photographer's job. The honest answer: because the planning makes the photos better.
A wedding day where the timing is wrong, the light is missed, the ceremony runs over, and the family is confused about where to be doesn't produce great photos. It produces stressed photos. A well-planned day looks like calm in the photos. The light is right because it was planned around, the bride is laughing because she's not worried about anything, the portraits at the alpine lake happen at the time when the lake is empty because we knew exactly when that window opened, and the dog gets to be at the ceremony because the only RMNP site that allows dogs is Moraine Park Amphitheater, and that's where we booked.
The work that doesn't show up in the gallery is what makes the gallery what it is.
Want this for your day?
If the way we work feels like a fit, send us a note. We'll start with the discovery call and go from there.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Yes. Every elopement package we offer includes the full planning support described above. We find that the planning requirements tend to scale with the coverage time.
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Some couples come in with most of their day already locked. In those cases, we use the planning hours for things like custom timeline refinement, scouting your specific ceremony site in advance, or extra time on photo planning. The hours don't go unused.
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Not at all. The list is offered as a starting point. If you have your own florist, hair stylist, or officiant, that's perfect.
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Yes, if that's your preference. Some couples want regular video calls, some are local and want coffee meet ups, others prefer asynchronous email and texts. We follow your lead.
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We have a network of trusted backup photographers in Colorado. If something happens to one of us, the wedding still gets photographed. It's a contractual contingency we plan for.
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Yes, we love to travel! For locations outside of Colorado a custom package may be required.
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It happens. Locations get changed, dates get shifted, guest counts grow or shrink. Planning is an iterative process. We adapt.