What does an Adventure Wedding and Elopement Photographer do differently?
As your adventure wedding photographer I help you plan your entire day. From deciding on the location of your epically beautiful ceremony site to helping choose specialized vendors that bring your elopement or wedding day vision to life. I have a first hand knowledge hundreds of wilderness locations from my travel all over the world working as a photographer. I can help you decide what gear will be needed, how to stay warm, and what time of year works best based on your location of choice. I’ll wake up at 2 a.m. so we make it to the sunrise spot to capture you and your partner in the most beautiful golden light, and I’ll stay out past sunset so you have photos of when you danced under the stars.
The beauty of choosing an adventure wedding is that you don't have to follow a standard or norm. However you choose to do it, make it an experience that is uniquely you!
What is an Adventure Wedding or Elopement?
The simple answer is that an adventure wedding can be whatever you want it to be. Most couples choose an adventure wedding or elopement because nature is their church, or because they'd rather ditch a big, traditional wedding for something that feels more distinctly them.
Some couples choose to hike a mountain they love and get married on top. Other choose to have their ceremony with a small group of friends and family on the beach or at a trailhead, and then celebrate with a day of paddle boarding or a night under the stars around a campfire. Some spend the day rafting a river with their closest friends, and get married at a secret waterfall along the way. Still others rappel into a canyon and walk through sandstone slots before saying their vows alone overlooking the Colorado Plateau. I've photographed a couple's ski tour proposal, and then several months later we were mountain biking the same location at their wedding!
Get Outside
Have you dreamt of getting married with a mountain backdrop? There are gorgeous mountain ranges all over and I'll help you create the wedding imagery of your dreams in these spectacular locations.
Experience Your Wedding Day
If tall trees, lush forests, and grand waterfalls call your name consider getting hitched in Vermont, New Hampshire, or Maine. New England has some of the best forest and mountain landscapes in the U.S.
Get Lost In The Beauty
Want a remote forest grove next to a babbling brook and a beautiful lakeside beach? Maybe a Rhode Island elopement is right for you. From stunning coastal cliffs to forest canopies, eloping in Rhode Island is for those who want stunning beauty and ease of access.
Take Action
Are you a water baby and can't imagine getting married anywhere but the beach? From the lush New England coast to the beautiful Carribean Coast of Puerto Rico, there is a location that fits your needs.
Swell & Stone- Adventure Wedding Photographer
Reviews - Here’s What Couples are saying
“Kat made our wedding dream come true!
We adore autumn in New England and decided that we wanted to get married there at that time amongst the incredible fall foliage. Though we had visited some places in the area, we really relied on Kat to find the perfect destination for our elopement. After briefing her on our vision for that day, Kat gave us a list of incredible spots throughout all of New England that fit exactly what we were looking for! We were blown away by her knowledge of the area and the details she provided in order for us to make our decision.
Once we decided on a location, Kat was there for us every step of the way offering information on where to stay, what to pack, and even what to wear in regards to shoes, layers, and color scheme.
Kat was also incredibly patient and flexible throughout the entire process. We had a number of changes to the original plan (including a few on the day of the wedding) and Kat was able to accommodate our every need. It was comforting to know that if we had any issues, questions, or concerns, Kat was only a phone call away.
On the day of our elopement, Kat went above and beyond to make us feel relaxed and comfortable in knowing that she had everything under control. In fact, before our day, she actually informed us that she was pregnant and would be bringing along a photographer friend, Lindsay (who was also delightful), to assist her in case she needed to take a break. We were blown away that Kat went out of her way to bring in a second photographer just to honor her commitment to giving us the best experience possible. That kind of dedication is priceless and hard to come by.
The photos from the wedding are absolutely stunning! Kat and Lindsay were able to blend in with the beautiful fall scenery in a way that made forget that they were there. We were able to really focus on eachother on our wedding day and it shows in the pictures.
To sum things up, we put all of our faith into Kat to make our wedding dream a reality and the result was better than we ever could have imagined. Our day was truly magical and the photos are breathtaking. We are so blessed and grateful that Kat was able to provide that for us.”
“I am still in awe of my wedding photos and I owe it all to Kat. Not only did she help me decide on a location, she gave recommendations on florists, bakeries, and lodging! There is no way I could have planned our out of state elopement without her. And Oh My God the photos! They are truly works of art, every last one, and believe me there are a ton. The words stunning & breathtaking have been used most by my friends and family. My wedding day was spectacular and my wedding photos show it. I’m already planning an anniversary vacation so I can have Kat capture that day too. If you need an adventure photographer then you absolutely need to check out Swell & Stone. I’m forever grateful that I did!”
“Kat is AMAZING, period. From the beginning, she was so responsiveness and incredibly timely. For me and my husband, we wanted to make a point about making the wedding planning process and the wedding day itself not stressful and fun. So we opted for a small wedding with 13 guests on one day and an adventure day on Mount Washington to exchange personal vows the following Monday.
Kat helped us with every detail along the way and made it easy on us to make choices. She scouted locations based on what our idea of an ideal wedding day was, she gave us list of local vendors, and she finalized a schedule for us. She was basically like our wedding planner and we found that so valuable since we didn’t know what we were doing or exactly what we wanted! If we had a lot of questions, she was very willing to schedule a call to go over them with us. I’ve had friends tell me about their horror stories with photographers not responding to them or never getting their photos back, but I 100% never had to worry about that with Kat. She even got our photos back earlier than promised. She was truly so fun to be around that it made the days that much more enjoyable.
I also wanted to compliment the website our gallery was posted through. It’s super intuitive to use and I love that it’s categorized, that I can favorite photos, and that I can see which photos my husband has favorited on his own account. I can also send out links to our guests and they can send me back links of their favorites, it’s super cool and convenient.
Kat also gave us some polaroid photos and some GIFS she curated, which I did not expect and absolutely loved. I knew the photos were going to be great from looking at her portfolio but they were better than I could imagine. I was also super stoked about a starry night photo and she made that happen. So if you couldn’t tell from my review, Kat goes above and beyond and you will absolutely not regret working with her!”
“Kat captured our wedding elopement on Mt. Mansfield, Vermont. I intentionally waited a year to leave a review, because I wanted to see how the photos resonated after a good amount of time had passed. And oh my goodness, I am transported back to our wedding day every time I open that album. It’s kind of crazy just how perfectly those photos reflect the most important and intimate memories of that day, and the insane beauty nature granted us that morning. From hiking up the mountain; to changing on the ridgeline and having our first look; to the summit ceremony; then the hike down, I get to relive the magic of those moments all over again. I am so thankful to Kat for being down for the adventure, helping us feel relaxed and comfortable in front of the camera, wearing multiple hats as photographer AND officiant, and just being such an awesome person to spend our day with. I couldn’t recommend Swell & Stone more highly. Thank you Kat!”
“If you are debating using Swell & Stone do yourself a favor and book already! Kat was fantastic. Leading up to my wedding she frequently reached out to me and my husband to keep us on track as we were super busy, without her things would have fallen apart because we were not at all on top of it. She is very on top of everything. All the location suggestions were very well planned and thought out. She had vendor names for EVERYTHING and was able to even get me more names when I had trouble getting hair and make up for a sunrise wedding. She was professional and also really fun to have on our hike. She made the day fun and while we weren’t sure if it would be awkward to spend a few hours hiking with a photographer we’d never met she was really personable and we enjoyed having her there helping us. We are beyond grateful to Kat and you will be too! 100% recommend Swell & Stone. Our photos are beautiful and exactly what we asked for. I can’t stress enough how great the experience and final products were. Kat’s the best!”
“My now husband and I used Kat from Swell and Stone as our photographer for our small wedding. What an amazing experience we had with her. We can’t recommend her enough. You don’t realize how important it is to be comfortable with your photographer because it shows in your photos!!!
If I could give people any advice from our experience it would be to consider taking photos over two days or more. The reason why is because the whole actual wedding day can be very stiff and more traditional. We spent the first day exploring Martha’s Vineyard island. We took photos all over the island which is what my husband and I are more about. We are the outdoors and adventurer type. This also allowed us to get more comfortable with having photos taken and act like ourselves in front of the camera.
We planned our second day (wedding ceremony) to be more traditional. We had family and friends join us for the ceremony. By day two I was used to Kat being around but I also knew how to pose and move better for the camera. On your wedding day you want a really easy breezy experience. That is what Kat gave us.
In the end my photos are amazing - Better than I could have ever envisioned. Kat is a gem in the wedding photographer world.”
“Kat was awesome! We wanted 10 year anniversary photos that captured the beauty of Rhode Island and she gave us just that. Lighthouse, ocean, bridges and cliffs... it was wonderful. And even better was seeing the photos when they came through. They were wonderful!! Still can’t stop looking at the photos and showing them to everyone! ”
