Afternoon! The sun is shining, the birds are singing and we are feeling the colourful happy vibes of Spring on this beautiful Thursday afternoon. Only 2 more sleeps until the bank holiday weekend! Whoop whoop! It is also my 8 year wedding anniversary on the 4th May and Mr D and I are child free for the first time in months – to say I am excited is an understatement! Just having a lie in is enough to get me going these days!
Today we are sharing a guest feature put together by the lovely Jo of Jo Greenfield Photography, featuring her 5 favourite elopement locations in the UK.
Based in the Lake District, Jo offers wedding and elopement photography for adventurous couples and often finds herself climbing up a mountain or exploring a hidden cave in order to find the perfect spot for her couple portraits, and to find another unique location that can be used for a personal blessing or ceremony. Due to the pandemic and the current travel restrictions, we are seeing a steady increase in couples searching for beautiful elopement destinations in the UK – places that you wouldn’t even know existed unless you were in the know. Jo is in the know!! It is for this reason that we asked her if she would put together a feature of her favourite remote elopement and couple portrait locations and it is that feature we are sharing with you all today!
So without further ado here is Jo with her 5 favourite locations to shoot in the UK.
5 Amazing Outdoor Elopement Ceremony Locations In The UK
The Lake District truly is a magnificent place, nestled in the north west of England its mountains, lakes, forests, waterfalls and caves provide a lifetime of adventurous for any outdoor lover. Here are a few of my favourite places to explore. No naming of specific locations as to preserve their charm.
1: Lake District Beaches
Nobody thinks of the Lake District having beaches but we absolutely do, we are surrounded by the most gorgeous coastline, some is easily accessible, m others are a fair old trek and often a bit dangerous. We have sand dunes, Icelandic cliffs and black beaches, miles of coastline where you’ll struggle to find another person. It truly is the best place in the country to marry.
2: Lake District Waterfalls
There is something so romantic about waterfalls, here in the Lake District we have many many of them. Most of them are off the tourist spots and require a hefty walk to reach. This waterfall in particular is dubbed the Bali of The Lakes, it is the tallest waterfall in the country. However this photo makes it look easy to find. You really do need to be able to read and navigate up a sheer rock face to find it. However once you’re in, its the most magical place.
3: Isle of Skye
I was lucky enough to visit Skye during Lockdown 2 in November, we were still allowed to shoot weddings in Scotland and so along with my “With Abandon” colleagues we did the tour of Skye with our eloping couple. Every single place we visited was magical and well worth going to see. You can legally elope in Scotland anywhere you want to which makes it one of my favourite places.
4: Lake District Caves
Perfect for those dramatic shots. Again, like with waterfalls they are often hard to find, dangerous and a little bit scary if you go alone. This time in lockdown has given us locals our Lake District back so its been wonderful to scout of new locations for eloping couples.
5: Mountains
Obviously what we are known for here in the lakes. Mountains. My favourite mountain is Helvellyn, for me its the prettiest at the top and has two epic ridges to scale. I was lucky enough to photograph an elopement on the top of the summit of Catsycam (next to Helvellyn) last September when restrictions were eased. My other go to sport here is the Langdales, an absolutely stunning valley with pockets of hidden waterfalls, forests, caves and tarns. Every single day is different so no two shoots ever look the same.
Huge thanks to Jo for putting this piece together for us. My goodness do some of these locations look absolutely gorgeous. So often we look to other countries when we think of eloping, so it is wonderful to celebrate the amazing spaces we have right here in the UK.
If you eloped to a remote destination in the UK then we would love to hear from you. The pandemic has led to many couples no longer having the budget for large weddings so we want to build a portfolio of articles with inspiration on smaller weddings and elopements, including the hidden treasures the UK countries have to offer. Please email us if you have a remote venue or your own elopement wedding to share.
Big Love
Laura xxx
