Hey, I'm an elopement photographer based in Alaska! I love genuine moments between people and love that I get to document them for a living <3

Meet Donna

Elopements over the years have grown and evolved to mean something other than running off and getting married in secret. They are often now planned in advance and include a few other people besides the couple. The concept remained the same though, it’s about the couple and their love and not about putting on a show or catering to the opinions of others. This Alaska glacier wedding was all about that.

Through the window view on a small Alaskan plane piloted by Sheldon Air Services heading to an Alaska Glacier Wedding

Bride and groom holding hands as groom leads the way across the pristine snow on the glacier, the image is overlaid by a map of Colombia with their names and a pin to mark where they are fromI received a call from Alejo two weeks before this beautiful glacier elopement. He and his finacée, Mabel, wanted to get married on the tallest mountain possible, and Denali was on their list. They had heard of me through a local wedding friend, Cian, an officiant with Celtic Ministries. It was serendipitous how it all worked out, actually.

Cian referred me when he learned that they are from Colombia and speak Spanish. He knew I was fluent in Spanish, didn’t know the full extent of how or why. When I spoke with Alejo on the phone I could tell from his accent that he spoke Spanish and took the chance to ask if Spanish would be best. He immediately was happy to hear that and mentioned that Mabel spoke English but much preferred to talk in Spanish. We got to talking about how I spoke Spanish and where they were from and I was so excited when I learned they were originally from Colombia. Then I was even more excited!!

I’m half Colombian, for those that may not know, granted I’m blonde hair and blue-eyed so most people don’t peg me as Latina at all, it’s kind of fun to catch them by surprise! Needless to say, we hit it off and the planning started up full speed ahead!

Couple dip kissing in front of red ski plane in Talkeetna at Sheldon Air Services Couple snuggling and laughing in front of plane at Sheldon Air Services before their alaska glacier wedding Aerial view of the Denali range in Alaska Groom wearing a fur vest and snow pants on a glacier before his alaska glacier wedding Bride standing in front a plane on a snow packed glacier before her Alaska glacier wedding side by side with a couple getting married on a glacieran Alaska glacier wedding being performed on Ruth Glacier Intimate alaska glacier wedding ceremony in the snow Couple hugging during their alaska glacier wedding in Denali Side by side photos of a couple during their alaska glacier wedding ceremony Groom wrapping his arm around his bride during their intimate glacier elopement Groom reading his vows during intimate glacier elopement Side by side images of bride reading her vows during glacier elopement Side by side images of officiant presenting rings to couple during their glacier elpoement Bride placing ring on grooms finger Groom placing ring on brides fingerHand fastening during intimate glacier elopement Officiant performing a hand fastening during a glacier elopement

Traveling to Ruth Glacier, Alaska

To get to our final destination for this glacier elopement, there was a bit of traveling involved. Mabel and  Alejandro went on a long road trip around Alaska and their final destination was Talkeetna. My husband and I’s adventure was a bit shorter, but still exciting none-the-less with a drive from Chugiak to Talkeetna. When I say I bit shorter, I mean a lot shorter, it was only a little over two hours. It’s a gorgeous drive though, and I highly recommend it if you’ll be in Alaska. From Talkeetna, we hopped into a plane at Sheldon Air Services and then we were off. I must admit, I was a bit nervous about landing on a snow-packed glacier in a plane. Previously I had traveled to glaciers by helicopter, the plane was a new venture.

For those that might be uneasy fliers, let me tell you, it was so incredibly smooth and I didn’t even notice when we took off! The flight was a breeze and our pilot was super great and knowledgeable about all of the terrain and areas we were flying over, so he gave us the down low. The landing at Ruth Glacier was a bit of a different story from taking off, but as far as landings go, it wasn’t as bad as I was anticipating, actually, it wasn’t bad at all! The pilot was skilled and knew what he was doing and I knew we were all in great hands.

Hand fastening during glacier elopment Couple kissing with excitement in the middle of their intimate ceremony A couples first kiss after their wedding on a glacier Couple celebrating their wedding on a glacier Couple kissing on a glacier in front of snowy mountains Couple hugging and holding hands after glacier elopementBlack and white photo of couple kissing on a snow packed glacier Bride and groom holding hands and walking across a snow packed glacier with bright blue skies and mountain peaks Bride and groom in fur vets holding hands looking at each other on a glacier Bride and groom kissing on a snow packed glacier after their glacier elopement Groom bear hugging his bride after their glacier elopement in Denali National Park

Alaska Glacier Wedding

The ceremony was super special and performed by Cian at Celtic Ministries. They exchanged vows and rings along with a hand fastening. They were so caught up with emotions after their vows they couldn’t help but kiss in between. Their happiness and excitement were so apparent! After the ceremony, we popped champagne, celebrated, laughed, trekked through the snow and had a blast! In the end, they handed out Colombian ponchos to each of us, which was so very sweet, and thanked us for making their day one to remember. I loved the special touch they put on their day in making it 100% their own.

Groom bear hugging his bride after their glacier elopement Bride and groom holding hands walking out on snow packed Ruth Glacier in Alaska Side by side photos, one color of a couple playing and laughing together and a black and white of bride leaning back laughingBride and groom wearing fur vests walking across pristine snow on Ruth Glacier after their glacier elopementSide by side photos of a couple walking and showing off their snow boots and of a groom bear hugging his brideBride facing towards the mountain peak with her hair tossed in the wind and standing in snowBride laughing and smiling at the camera in the snow and bride and groom holding hands facing each other and spinningBride standing in front of a mountain peak after her ceremony on a glacierBride and groom kissing and snuggling on Ruth Glacier after their glacier elopementGroom bear hugging his bride and kissing her in front of a mountain peak on Ruth GlacierGif of a Groom when he picked up his bride and is spinning her around and falling into the snow after their Alaska Glacier Wedding Celctic Ministries officiant pouring champagne for a the bride and groom after their ceremonyBride and groom cheersing their champagne after their alaska glacier wedding Bride and groom kissing and cheersing their champagne after their glacier elopement Side by side images of the groom photographing his bride after their glacier elopement and a photo of the bride and groom holding hands together in front of the plane Bride and groom kissing in front of a red sheldon air services plane on ruth glacier Bride and groom in front of a red sheldon air services plane on ruth glacier after their glacier elopement Black and white photo of groom kissing his brides forehead in front of the plane they flew in onGroup photo of the bride and groom with their officiant Celtic Ministries and their pilot from Sheldon Air Services on Ruth glacierBride and groom wearing fur vests holding hands and spinning in the snow with the mountains reflected around them

Distant photo of Sheldon Chalet nestled in the Denali Range surrounded by snow and blue skiesGroom picking up his bride and spinning her around after their glacier elopement Bride and groom kissing in front of the Sheldon Chalet on Ruth Glacier after their Glacier ElopementBride and groom cheering that they are now married and side by side holding hands looking at each other and smiling after their glacier elopement Bride and groom wearing fur vests dip kissing in front of Denali Groom leading his bride across snow on ruth glacierBride and groom snuggling up on ruth glacier after their glacier elopement Black and white photo of Bride bear hugging her groom in front of the mountains in Denali Groom wearing a yellow shirt and fur vest smiling at the camera in front of DenaliSide by side photos if bride photographing her groom and bride and groom snuggling up on the glacier Groom hugging and kissing his brides cheek on Ruth Glacier Groom wearing fur vest holding a camera looking out across the Denali Range Picture of sheldon air service pilot in front of his red planePhotos of the brides hair and her wearing sunglasses and smiling at the cameraPhoto of the couple smiling in front of the red airplane from sheldon air servicesPhotos if bride and groom with red sheldon air services plane Photo of a groom sitting inside a red plane Bride and groom holding hands while in a plane headed back to the airportBlack and white photo of groom inside of a plane looking out the winter Side by side images of black and white photo of the bride looking out the window and a color photo of the bride and groom looking at each other The bride is writing their names on a piece of paper to pin on the airport map of where they are from Bride pinning their names on the map of the world on top of ColombiaBride and groom smiling in front of the map of the world with their pin on Colombia Photo of the bride and grooms name pinned to the map of the world on top of Colombia

Selfie of Donna Marie Photography and Donna with the bride and groom after their glacier elopement

Vendors

Air Transportation// Seldon Air Service

Alaska Officiant// Cian, Celtic Ministries

Hair Artist// Ema Rose Hair

Are you planning an Alaska Glacier Wedding or glacier elopement?

Go look at this blog post to see how an Alaskan couple incorporated a glacier into their traditional wedding day.

This blog will show more intimate wedding inspiration in Alaska.

If you’re looking for someone to truly be a part of your wedding day and photograph those sweet moments you’ll want to remember forever, then I would absolutely love to talk with you!!

¿Estan buscando una fotografa en Alaska? Me encantarí hablar contigo!!

Photo of the couple smiling in front of the red airplane from sheldon air services

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Alaska Glacier Wedding, Denali National Park Elopement

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