Adventure Instead - Elopement Photographer & Experience Designer

Name: Adventure Instead - Elopement Photographer & Experience Designer
Address: Denver, CO, US
Telephone: +17192876005

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Adventure Instead - Elopement Photographer & Experience Designer

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Hey! I'm Maddie Mae and I'm an elopement photographers + experience designer for unreal wedding days

10/28/2026

As the fall & winter sneak up on us here in Colorado, consider this my tribute to all the incredible things that I’ll hold onto to get through the cold winter. 💐🌸🌼

When you live at elevation, you gotta have something to combat the snow and cold. And remembering alllllllllll the goodness that comes in a Colorado July does it for me every time.

Kate & Jason eloped on a mountain ridge at sunrise in central Colorado and it’s easy to see why. The alpenglow on the layers of ridges, the huge green hills, the wildflowers, the animals…

Photographing days like Kate & Jason’s, I feel so insanely lucky to have a lifetime of summer days just like this.

They did a short hike up in the dark and got ready at the top so that they could do a first look. As they were doing that, I saw the first touches of pink starting to hit the peaks in the background and I knew I’d timed alpenglow *exactly* right.

(No easy feat—it doesn’t happen on accident and is super engineered! I have it down to a science.)

By the time they were saying their vows on the ridge and exchanging rings, alpenglow had lit up the entire row of mountains behind them so perfectly. And by the time they’d finished the sun had fully risen overhead into an absolutely freaking picture perfect Colorado mountain summer morning.

Kate & Jason set out to explore the area some as newlyweds, going flower spotting and taking in the big views. They’re hikers and travelers but not from Colorado, so these spots were totally out of their norm.

Which is the best way to do an elopement, if you ask me!

They wrapped up their day at one of my favorite alpine lakes in this area that never disappoints. Think clusters of evergreen trees, more flowers, really bright blue water, and a great slope that rises right off to the side of it. It’s basically like getting a lot of Colorado in one eyefull, it’s great.

(As a sidenote: Kate also had this INCREDIBLE cape that I was completely obsessed with. I could not get over it the entire time.)

Cheers to Colorado summers. I’m glad you’ll be back.

xx Maddie Mae

10/23/2026

The feeling of getting the partner who didn’t lead the way in contacting you to come out of their shell and get excited 🤌🤌

Whether it’s because they’re shy, because they just don’t show excitement quite like that, because they aren’t familiar with my work the way their partner is, or because they’re still new to the idea of eloping… I PRIDE myself on being able to get both partners involved and stoked.

A wedding day is for two people—so you better believe I’m moving mountains to make sure both people are HYPE as can be lol

10/22/2026

Booking an elopement in Alaska in the fall can be a gamble, but when it pays off, oh man, does it pay off.

I like to say that Alaska is everything from the continental PNW amplified 10x. It’s technically the most Pacific Northwest you can get!

Which means you get banger fall leaves, insane evergreens, MASSIVE mountains, bright blue glaciers (they were really excited about the colors of these), and sunsets you will not believe.

But on the other hand, the weather in Alaska in the fall can be temperamental. It could be mild, in the 60s, with still longer days than you may find in the continental US. Or it can get really rainy and chilly… the type of weather that’s not great to have when you’re trying to be on a glacier or a mountain.

If I was to give one piece of advice to couples looking to elope in Alaska in September (especially late September like Rebecca & Arri), I’d advise you to leave more time than you think you’ll need.

Planning a 2-day event will give you twice as many chances to have good weather AND… twice as many chances to see the northern lights 🌌

When we first started planning this elopement, Rebecca & Arri told me, “If there’s a chance of northern lights we YEARN to see them.” And I knew from years of methodically chasing them that there was definitely solidly a chance.

But on the day, it seemed like cloud cover that rolled in in the evening was going to bust our chances. Rebecca & Arri changed into their coordinating sweat suits (so cute) and did a first dance on a dock and watched the moon pop up…

And then went back to their lodging.

I’m telling you, the SECOND we all got back, aurora borealis made a surprise show!

I have never dialed so fast in my life 😂I called Rebecca & Arri and told them they had to come back outside so we could get some photos with them and the lights! (Scroll to the end!)

This was extra special, too, because it was *also* my first time seeing them. So we were all just standing there together, totally in awe, snapping photos of them under the lights they so wanted to see.

xx Maddie Mae

10/19/2026

You can find me outside, with the animals, and in helicopters any time.

(Although real therapy is good, too—combine both for the best effects in my opinion!)

Nature has been my happy place my entire life. I feel so lucky to get to share this world with the couples I photograph. 🫶

10/13/2026

When you elope somewhere widely known for their sunsets, it only makes sense to make sure you can have 2 of them. And I’m so glad that Erica & Charlie did.

You may have heard me recommend 2-day elopements before, which I love for so many reasons. Mainly because you either get a day before to get into the right headspace pre-wedding or a day after to soak everything in and jumpstart your honeymoon.

But there are a ton of practical benefits, too. Like having more options weather-wise if it comes down to it, and the chance to let your body acclimate if you’ll be at altitude, and time for longer activities like sailboats or helicopters that you may feel pressed for time with on your main wedding day.

Erica & Charlie used their 2 days to explore all of Kauai—one day from the ground, and one day from the sky. They were STOKED about the helicopter tour the entire time we were planning, so they really wanted to make sure they had plenty of time to enjoy it!

Their entire second day was comprised of eating local food from food trucks, seeing the Na Pali Coast and Waimea Canyon from above, and heading back to the beach they’d gotten married on the day before to watch another insane sunset before their experience wrapped up.

As we were planning, it was clear that these two were just super excited about everything! They really wanted to see it all, do it all, feel it all. So 2 days of coverage just made sense for them to have the kind of really epic adventure they wanted.

They left this review after ⬇️

“Incredible. Fantastic. Amazing. Unbelievable.

Maddie was tremendous in not only capturing our special day but supporting us in designing our dream elopement. I cannot emphasize how much fun it was to work with her and how thankful we were to have her capture every moment of our time together.

Photos have been phenomenal!”

I still look back at Erica & Charlie’s elopement as a great example of balancing views, connection, and fun activities. They had so much fun together and it really showed the entire time.

xx Maddie Mae

10/12/2026

I’m trying to be encouraging about your $200/a person wedding, I promise 🫣

But if you wanna ditch the whoooole thing and get married with just the two of you in a mountain basin at sunset while alpenglow lights up the whole ridge and the only witnesses are the wildflowers…

You know where to find me!

Address

Denver, CO

Telephone

+17192876005

Website

http://adventureinstead.com/

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