September was the start of a busy wedding season for me! It has been such a blessing to have so many projects going on because I love every second of it. I live in the midwest and it is now fall which is my favorite season! Autumn in the midwest is just beautiful and its my favorite time to photograph elopements and weddings. Weddings and elopements are my absolute favorite thing to photograph, which is why I specialize in wedding and elopement photography! BUT, if I had to pick which one was my favorite I would definitely pick elopements and here is why: they are less stressful and can be more centered around you as the couple, which is what its all supposed to be about anyways! Don’t get me wrong, big weddings can be wonderful and so fun, but sometimes it can be really stressful shoving so many things into one day and that’s not even mentioning the inevitable family drama that comes with getting everyone together (not judging, i’ve totally been there).

The thing about elopements is that so many couples consider eloping, but then stress about the travel cost of it all, especially when you do want some family or friends to be there. It can be a lot to ask of people to fly to Mexico for your wedding. Hey, maybe they would and if so that is great, but some people just can’t swing the flight/hotel/food expenses and that is totally understandable. So you want to elope, but don’t want to burden anyone with travel costs, or maybe you just don’t really want to do the whole travel thing. Well here is the solution: elope where you are! Now if you live in the mid west like me, you are probably thinking “Where the heck would we elope in the boring mid west?” and hey, I’m right there with ya. I’ve lived here my whole life and have dreamed of moving somewhere with prettier scenery, like the pacific north west for example. But, what if I could find you a spot to elope in the mid west in Missouri or even Illinois that looks very similar to the beautiful west coast? The pictures below are exactly that! This styled elopement shoot was put together by a fellow photographer. She hired a real couple to modal for us at Klondike Park in Augusta, Missouri! I could not believe how beautiful this scenery was because it didn’t feel like we were in the mid west at all!