We’ve all heard of golden hour, the magic hour right before sunset that gives off the perfect golden light for photos. We think sunrise though creates just as good of a golden hour as sunset, if not better! Eloping in the mountains at sunrise makes for fantastic photos with the sky positively bursting with different gradients of color. The sky goes from deep purple to magenta to lavender to orange to gold and finally, to sky blue.
In this post, we’ll illustrate why eloping in the mountains at sunrise may be the perfect fit for you! One of our sweet couples, Anna and Montana, had their ceremony right at sunrise. Then, they spent the morning capturing epic adventure photos and after, enjoyed their afternoon on a boat through Glacier National Park.
If you’re not already a morning person, get ready to become one! After you see these wedding photos, eloping in the mountains at sunrise may just have you falling in love all over again!
Why Sunrise?
If you’re eloping in the mountains, why choose sunrise? Here are our top 3 reasons:
1. Private Ceremony Site
The number one reason we love eloping in the mountains at sunrise is privacy. When you hold your ceremony between 5am-7am (depending on the season), there will be very few tourists or hikers in Glacier National Park. You’ll have your chosen ceremony site essentially all to yourselves without hardly any risk of passersby.
Not only will you have an intimate ceremony, but you’ll also have complete privacy for your photos. No photo bombers to navigate through or for your photographer to edit out!
It’ll truly be like you’re king or queen of the mountains!
2. Full Day of Fun
Eloping in the mountains at sunrise means that you have the entire rest of the day to celebrate! You can take a page out of Anna and Montana’s book by capturing photos throughout Glacier, enjoying cake and lunch, and then cruising through the park on a boat.
Alternatively, you might head over to a nearby restaurant for a private meal before having a more formal reception at night. Or you might simply enjoy the scenery in Glacier by having a picnic and exploring the mountains for the rest of the day.
However you choose to spend your wedding day, eloping in the mountains at sunrise opens up the possibilities of what you can do in one day!
3. Sunrise Wedding Photos
Finally, eloping in the mountains at sunrise allows you to capture stunning and unique adventure photos! You’ll get to see Glacier at a time that most people will never witness. It’s truly a spectacular sight to see the sky slowly change colors as the sun starts to peek up over the mountaintops.
Your wedding photos will be one-of-a-kind because they’ll include both the unique sunrise golden hour pictures as well as all the beauty of Glacier during the daytime. Glacier is drop dead gorgeous at any time of the year, but sunrise washes the most beautiful of colors over the entire park, taking your breath away.
Getting Ready for a Sunrise Elopement:
For Anna and Montana, eloping in the mountains meant getting married at Sun Point in Glacier National Park, one of our favorite ceremony spots! They got married in June, which meant that the sunrise was at about 5:30am. That morning, bright and early, we all met at a central spot to take one caravan up to Sun Point.
Anna wore a romantic, off-the-shoulder wedding dress with lacey long sleeves. She donned a white fur shawl to keep her warm and her veil trailed behind her, creating a dreamy and airy bridal look.
Montana wore a navy-blue suit with a cerulean tie, brown cowboy boots, and a cream and magenta boutonniere. This perfectly matched Anna’s bridal bouquet, which contained berry, blush, mauve, and ivory blooms along with accents of lush greenery.
Once we arrived at Sun Point, we set up a small table with a cross on it at the ceremony site. We had Montana face away from the path where Anna would walk up. When everything was ready, Anna looped her arm through her father’s and headed down the “aisle,” ready to tie the knot.
Eloping in the Mountains at Sunrise:
Anna’s father not only walked her down the aisle, but he also officiated the ceremony! Although they were eloping in the mountains, this couple wanted to have both sets of their parents present, so they brought them along as witnesses. That day, they had a beautiful, intimate wedding ceremony.
By the time the ceremony was underway, the sky was lightening into a dewy shade of coral. The mountains still had snow on their peaks and a full range of them made up the ceremony backdrop.
As the sun continued to rise, the water from the lake reflected the changing colors. Surrounded by nature and the majestic light from the sunrise, the atmosphere felt sacred. This was the perfect setting for Anna and Montana to declare their love for one another.
Sunrise Adventure Photos:
And then they were married! After sealing the deal with a kiss, they signed their marriage license and truly made it official. They then spent some time with their family, celebrating and reveling in the glow of their brand new marriage.
They spent the rest of the morning exploring Glacier with their photographer, capturing magical adventure photos. From the mountains to the waterfalls, they saw all the magnificent landscapes that this national park has to offer.
It never ceases to amaze us at just how vast Glacier is and how many different terrains it contains. It’s hard to pick just one favorite image from the newlyweds’ photo session, so here are a bunch of our favorites!
Post-Wedding Celebrations:
What’s a wedding without some cake? Eloping in the mountains doesn’t mean you have to forgo any of the traditional wedding festivities, if you want to include them! For Anna and Montana, that meant incorporating a wedding cake!
Their sweetheart cake was a one-tiered white cake with buttercream trees on the outside. We accented this with floral that corresponded with the couple’s personal floral. After they had their fill of adventure pictures, they took a turn filling up with cake! They dug into it on the mountainside before heading off to Lake McDonald Lodge for lunch with their family.
There’s nothing better than cake for breakfast!
Following lunch, Anna, Montana, and their parents made their way down to the boat dock at the lodge, where they enjoyed a cruise on Lake McDonald for the afternoon. This was a wonderful way to relax, spend quality time together, and soak in the joy of the day.
And they lived happily ever after!
A Word from Katie:
Anna and Montana, your sunrise elopement was magic! Thank you for letting me be a part of this special day. You made eloping in the mountains look so fun and beautiful, and I wish you all the best! You two are more than worth getting up early for!
-Katie
Venue // Glacier National Park - Sun Point
Coordinator // An Epic Elopement
Photographer // Jill Jones Photography
Florist // Rose Mountain Floral
Baker // Cakes by Debi
Hair & Makeup // Melanie Hobus
Lodging // Cedar Creek Lodge
Boat Ride // Glacier Park Boat Co.
Eloping in the Mountains? We Can Help.
Based in Kalispell, Montana, An Epic Elopement specializes in all-inclusive elopements, micro-weddings, and intimate weddings. Here, you get the full experience of having a traditional wedding, but with a little more adventure included!
Are you ready to start your elopement journey? Send me a note describing your elopement vision and let’s make it happen!