Heres what i learned:
If you've ever dreamed about saying “I do” surrounded by mountains, crystal-clear water, and some of the most incredible scenery imaginable, let me introduce you to Glacier National Park.
I recently had the opportunity to travel from Tennessee to Montana to photograph an elopement at Lake McDonald, and this experience was truly unlike anything I've ever done before.
It was beautiful. It was unpredictable. It required a LOT of planning and flexibility.
And I learned so much.
There are plenty of guides online that will tell you where to go in Glacier, but after actually scouting, traveling through the park, and photographing an elopement there myself, there are a few things I think couples should know before planning their own Glacier National Park elopement.
So, photographer to future Glacier bride and groom—here's what I learned.
Plan Your Glacier Elopement Months in Advance
First things first: **start early.**
The elopement I photographed took place along the beach area at Lake McDonald. My couple told me it took them around four months to secure their reservation for the location they wanted.
That's not to say every Glacier elopement will take exactly four months to plan, but I definitely wouldn't leave this part until the last minute.
One thing I learned during this experience was that my couple's arrangements were made through the park rather than directly with the staff working at the location.
When we arrived at Lake McDonald on the wedding day, the workers there didn't have knowledge of the elopement happening.
Thankfully, I had scouted the location the day before.
I already knew where we needed to go, what the area looked like, and how to get everyone where they needed to be.
That experience taught me something I'll absolutely carry into future destination weddings:
Don't assume everyone you encounter will know your plans just because you have everything reserved.
Keep screenshots or copies of your permits, reservations, ceremony location, directions, and any other important information somewhere you can access without cell service.
And whenever possible—scout beforehand.
Scout the Day Before... But Know Glacier Can Still Surprise You
Scouting Glacier before the wedding was one of the BEST things I could have done.
It allowed me to see locations in person, understand accessibility, figure out where I wanted my couple, and watch how the light moved through the mountains.
But Glacier also taught me that scouting isn't a guarantee.
I thought I had our sunset timing figured out perfectly.
Spoiler alert:
I did not. 😂
The following day, the mountains and light were completely different.
And we almost missed sunset.
The Weather—and the Mountain Light—Can Change FAST
This was probably one of my biggest lessons from the entire trip.
Glacier's weather was incredibly unpredictable.
We experienced super cloudy mornings, bright sunshine in the middle of the day, and then absolutely beautiful sunsets.
But even from one day to the next, things changed.
Between clouds, smoke in the area, and simply how the light interacted with the mountains that particular day, the sunset window I had scouted the day before was completely different when it actually mattered.
We were SO close to having almost no sunset light for the portraits I had envisioned.
Thankfully, we caught it.
But I learned something really important:
If the light looks good—GO.
If beautiful light appears 20 minutes before your timeline says we're supposed to take sunset portraits, we're taking the portraits.
Because when you're surrounded by mountains, that light can disappear behind a peak, cloud, haze, or smoke much faster than you expect:
- Have a plan.
- Scout.
- Watch the weather.
But above everything else, be flexible.
Glacier doesn't care what time we wrote on the timeline.
And honestly? That's part of the adventure.
Give Yourself WAY More Travel Time Than You Think You Need
Glacier National Park is huge.
If you're dreaming about visiting multiple locations for your elopement photos, don't look at the drive time on a map and build your timeline down to the minute.
Give yourself room.
There are so many things that can add time to your drive—traffic, parking, road conditions, other visitors, cyclists, and, of course, those spontaneous:
**“WAIT. We have to stop here for a photo.”**
moments.
And trust me... Glacier has plenty of those.
I'd much rather have extra time built into an elopement day than have my couple feel like we're racing through one of the most beautiful places in the country.
Don't Forget About Traffic Getting INTO the Park
This one surprised me.
Traffic getting into Glacier could change dramatically throughout the day.
At one point, the line at the entrance gate was backed up almost a mile, and it took us close to **45 minutes just to get into the park.**
Imagine planning your ceremony or portraits around a specific time and spending almost an hour of that sitting in traffic.
Not ideal.
That's why I would build a significant buffer into your timeline anytime you're entering or leaving the park.
Arriving early is much better than sitting in traffic watching your ceremony time—or that tiny window of perfect mountain light—get closer and closer.
Check Going-to-the-Sun Road Before You Go
If Going-to-the-Sun Road is part of your elopement plans, **check the road status leading up to your wedding and continue checking while you're there.**
We were incredibly lucky.
Going-to-the-Sun Road was open the entire time I was in Glacier, and I'm SO thankful it was because experiencing it was easily one of the highlights of the trip.
Then, almost as soon as I left Glacier, road closures started being listed.
That really put into perspective how quickly plans can change.
A road being open when your photographer scouts your location doesn't guarantee conditions will be exactly the same on your wedding day.
Have a Plan B.
Know which locations depend on certain roads being accessible.
And if Going-to-the-Sun Road is open?
**Experience it.**
Seriously.
The drive itself is part of what makes Glacier so incredible.
## The Roads Get NARROW
Speaking of Going-to-the-Sun Road...
The higher we traveled into the mountains, the narrower some of those roads felt.
This is NOT somewhere you want to be rushing because your wedding timeline is running behind.
We also encountered plenty of cyclists sharing the road, which sometimes added additional travel time.
Slow down.
Pay attention to what's happening around you.
Give cyclists plenty of room.
Watch for other visitors and wildlife.
And don't create such a tight timeline that you feel like you need to rush through the mountains to make your next location.
**Being safe is more important than being perfectly on schedule.**
Plus, look around.
You're driving through freaking Glacier National Park on your WEDDING DAY.
Enjoy it.
Have a Meeting Point Outside of the Park
This is something I will absolutely do again for future Glacier elopements.
Choose a meeting point with your photographer outside of the park before everyone heads in.
Cell service throughout Glacier can be extremely limited, and this isn't somewhere you want to rely on being able to call each other and say, “Hey, where are you?”
Before entering the park, make sure everyone understands the plan.
- Know where you're going first.
- Know who's following whom.
- Know where you're stopping.
- Know what happens if you get separated.
- Know your backup plan.
- And **screenshot everything.**
Save your timeline, maps, directions, permits, meeting locations, and any other information you may need before entering the park.
Also—make sure your phone is fully charged.
Your Glacier elopement should be adventurous.
It should NOT be:
*“Well... we lost our photographer somewhere in Montana and none of our phones work.”* 😂
(This did not happen to me.. but I was so nervous that it would!)
If You're Hiking, Come Prepared
If hiking is going to be part of your Glacier elopement experience, prepare accordingly.
- Bring water.
- Bring snacks.
- Charge your phone.
- Wear or bring comfortable shoes.
And if you're heading into areas where bear safety is a concern- carry bear spray and know how to use it. The airport has a rental option- $45 for rental for the 4 days I was there. Look into things like this if you aren't wanting to actually purchase any.
Even if you're planning a relatively short adventure, you're still in the mountains.
I'd rather have something and not need it than realize halfway to a location that we left it sitting back at the hotel.
Get Your Park Entrance Pass Taken Care of Beforehand
Another thing that can make your Glacier experience smoother is taking care of whatever entrance requirements you can before arriving.
If you're eligible for a military national parks pass, look into getting one before your trip.
Otherwise, check Glacier National Park's current entrance requirements and see what passes or reservations can be handled ahead of time.
Just remember: having your pass ready doesn't mean there won't be traffic.
We still experienced lines.
The goal is simply to eliminate as many unnecessary surprises as possible before your wedding day.
Don't Try to Do EVERYTHING
When you're looking at Glacier locations online, it's incredibly easy to start thinking:
*We need photos here.*
*And here.*
*And definitely here.*
But one of my biggest pieces of advice after actually photographing there is:
Leave room to experience Glacier.
Your wedding day shouldn't feel like you're completing a checklist of Instagram locations.
Pick places you genuinely love.
Give yourself time to explore them.
Pull over when something unexpectedly beautiful catches your eye.
Take a minute to look at the mountains without worrying about where we're going next.
Your wedding photos are incredibly important.
But the experience you're having while we create those photographs matters, too.
An Experience I'll Never Forget
Overall, this experience was grand.
There's really no other way I know how to describe it.
It was nothing like anything I've photographed before.
There were cloudy mornings, bright afternoons, changing mountain light, smoke, narrow roads, traffic, scouting, driving, last-minute adjustments, and moments where Glacier completely changed the plan I thought I had figured out.
And I wouldn't change it.
I'm incredibly thankful for the couple who trusted me enough to bring me all the way from Tennessee to Montana to document such an important part of their story.
Getting to create these memories for them while experiencing Glacier National Park for the first time is something I'll never forget.
But this trip also meant so much to me as the photographer behind KKR Collective.
It challenged me creatively.
It taught me things I couldn't have learned without actually being there.
It pushed me outside of the locations and environments I'm used to photographing.
And it reminded me why I love what I do so much.
I came home with more than a beautiful wedding gallery.
I came home with experience, inspiration, lessons I'll carry into future destination weddings, and an even bigger desire to photograph couples in places that mean something to them.
So if you're dreaming about eloping in Glacier National Park—or somewhere completely different from home—
Do it.
Plan ahead.
Leave room for the unexpected.
Take in the views.
Trust the people you've chosen to document it.
And don't get so caught up in creating the *perfect* wedding day that you forget to actually experience it.
To my Glacier couple: thank you for trusting me with this adventure.
And to Glacier...
I really hope this isn't our last time together. 🤍
Planning Your Own Glacier National Park Elopement?
KKR Collective is based in Tennessee and available for weddings and elopements wherever your story takes us.
If Glacier National Park is calling your name—or you're dreaming about saying “I do” somewhere else entirely—I'd love to hear what you're planning.
Tell me where we're going. My camera bag is ready. ✈️🏔️
