Alaska Glacier Wedding, Denali National Park Elopement

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.

I 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!

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.

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.

 

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!!