“Our elopement day was absolutely beautiful, stress-free, and adventure-filled all thanks to Maddie Mae and her talented team at Adventure Instead! We decided on an elopement before the pandemic because we really wanted a day that reflected our values, and this company delivered on those values and our hopes tenfold. We highly recommend Adventure Instead! Not only are we absolutely thrilled with the final product of our photos, but Adventure Instead really helped us long before our actual elopement day. They assisted us in homing in on what our perfect location would be (since we were coming into Colorado from out of state). Their knowledge of locations, hikes, and alpine lakes was incredibly helpful, and of course made the planning easier. Before our big day, we video chatted with Maddie Mae so she could show us how the sun would look at specific times in our exact location, helping us pick our ceremony time and plan our hike. She even shared the links to the same pack raft and paddle she had so that all three of us could get to an island for the ceremony. On the day of our elopement, we met up with Maddie Mae and we both felt very comfortable with her as we hiked up to our location. Her willingness to paddle all of her photography equipment to an island to allow us to have an incredibly unique and intimate ceremony was really amazing and we so greatly appreciated it. Although she was on the island with us while we exchanged our vows, she was able to keep some distance to allow us to have that moment, just the two of us. And she was still able to capture each and every beautiful moment! We paddled back to the shore and had a lovely little picnic and read letters from our families, all while Maddie Mae took the most gorgeous photos. Even for our portraits, she instructed us to pretend she wasn't there, and in so many ways, the photographs capture the small glances, intimate reaches, and happy, knowing smiles as if it really was just the two of us there all evening long. The photos speak for themselves, but this team is also incredibly professional and responsive to questions. If you have had your heart set on a romantic getaway in the beautiful outdoors, trust Adventure Instead with your elopement or intimate wedding - you will not be disappointed!”