Allie and Pat had a long journey to get to the day of October 23rd. You see, their story is a bit different from others. Allie is from the US, while Pat is from the UK. When COVID hit, their June backyard elopement plans completely shifted, and truly they didn’t even know when they’d see eachother again. They had to get married in the US, but the country wasn’t letting anyone from the UK in. It was a torturous few months of the unknown.

That was until Allie found a little tip on one of the groups she’s a part of including couples who are in similiar situations as her. They found that people coming from Turkey could enter the US as long as they quarantined for 2 weeks there. It was a risk they were willing to take. Pat packed his bags, booked a flight, and worked in Turkey for 2 weeks until it was time to head to America.

Luck was in their favor and he got here safe and sound. They spent the next few days in disbelief while getting ready for their big fall elopement day. Everyone involved was so excited this was finally happening for the two of them and when the day came it couldn’t have been more perfect. It started with a relaxing run and gathering the necessities. Around 11am, we kicked Pat out of the house to his good friends hotel room so Allie could get ready.

While there were just 9 people attending their elopement (although many across the pond on zoom), they wanted to keep some of the sweet traditions that were important to them. One of those being Pat not seeing Allie until she was walking down the aisle.

Fall elopement morning

Allie had her 3 best girls (including me!) at the home to help her get ready. She’s one of my first long time friends to get married, so it was almost like the scene in Twilight where she has all those flashbacks to special moments. It was beyond special to be a part of this moment and also document their love story in one day. One thing about Allie is that she is extremely thoughtful, and anything and everything she owns or buys has a special meaning. Her and Pat made their rings together at Cast Experiences. She bought him cool mountain cuff links. And they did not cheap out on their florals from Apotheca. Everything turned out just so stunning.

Once Allie was all ready, we headed off to the ceremony location. A beautiful field in my dads backyard.

Fall elopement ceremony

They envisioned a beautiful field with fall colors for their day. When looking at public land, it’s oddly quite difficult to find without knowing if you were going on private property or not. So we opted for my dads backyard, which luckily ended up perfect with the burnt reds and yellows from the end of Fall.

Everyone arrived, took their seats, and watched as Allie and her dad walked to Pat. They had an intimate ceremony with personal vows for one another. They celebrated afterwards by taking some time alone in the field. This is something I always recommend to my couples that have guests at their elopements since it is kind of the one moment you can finally be alone on your day. Once they were ready, they came back for lots of hugs and virtual hugs on zoom.

One moment I loved is Allie’s thoughtful dried leaves celebration. She gathered some leaves and put them in newspaper for everyone to throw to celebrate after the ceremony. It is such a perfect sustainable and cost effective way to create a beautiful moment.

Fall elopement after party

After the ceremony, we went to another local field to take some more wedding portraits. Soon after, we went back to the Airbnb for a delicious homemade dinner prepared by all those involved and cut Allie’s mom’s delicious cake. It was all followed by lots of laughs, a bonfire, kind speeches by Allie and Pat’s best friends, and delicious sangria and beers.

It was such a beautiful day and one I’ll forever look back on. Allie and Pat were pure examples that it doesn’t matter how you get married – as long as you are marrying eachother.

Vendors

Photography: Kelsey Converse Photography

Florist: Apotheca

Rings: Cast Jewelry