Cayle and Nathaniel hold each other beside a white station wagon on a gravel road crossing the Saskatchewan prairie during their intimate adventure elopement in Canada. Tall grass in front of them and a storm sky over everything. Black and white.

Saskatchewan. Canada.

Elopements

No frills.Onlythe real.

Two people. A wild place. Vows said to the wind and to each other. And held close for a long time. Built for American couples whose somewhere is somewhere else. The North, the wild coasts of Canada, the old light of Europe. I document the day exactly as it happens. Nothing staged. Nothing borrowed. Yours.

Tell me your story
Photo + Film One human Est. 2015 Eastern Canada
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300

Weddings documented
& counting

2015

Documenting love
since

1

Human behind
the camera

2

Crafts. Photo
and film

Manifesto

Everywhere is beautiful.

A cliff above the Atlantic at first light is beautiful. So is a ridge swallowed by fog and a black beach in sideways rain. The weather does not ruin a day. The weather is the day. And the point is never the place. The point is the two of you inside it. Close. Warm against the wind. Saying the strongest words of your lives where nobody performs and nobody watches.

The Offer

You get me. Nothing less. Nobody else.

Photo

I document your day the way it happens. The shaking hands and the tears nobody planned. Nothing staged. Nothing done twice.

Film

Your vows in your own voices. The wind and the laughter and the silence right before the yes. A film you can hear as much as watch. One day you will press play and be right back there.

Photo + Film

Both from the same pair of eyes. The still moments and the moving ones documented as one story. Your story told whole. Nothing lost in between.

And I am not only there to document. I am your guide out there. I have walked these places in every season and I know how they behave. You just have to show up and love each other. I carry the rest.

  • The routesTraced so the day breathes and nothing ever feels rushed.
  • The lightI know when each place turns gold and when it turns wild.
  • The locationsThe famous ones and the ones I keep to myself.
  • Hidden cornersCorners of the country you would never have found on your own.
  • The bedsBeds worth falling into after a day of wind and vows.
  • The stopsStops along the way that make the trip as big as the wedding.
  • The roadThe road between places, driven slowly, so the day is never spent on logistics.
  • The timingYour vows at the hour when the light turns kind.
  • SurprisesThere is always at least one.
  • AnywhereWherever you want to go. We will go.

No two loves burn the same way. Yours has never been told. We build your day together from the very first word. Tell me your story first. Then we talk for real.

Places

Where the wind
takes us.

These are the places that call me back. Iceland first, and it is not even close. But a list is only a door. Wherever your heart points. That is where we go.

Hazra and Reggie hold each other close on black sand before the sharp peaks of Stokksnes during their Iceland elopement. Adventure elopement photography in Iceland under a heavy grey sky. 01

Iceland

Black sand. Waterfalls that shake the ground. Weather with a temper. And the two of you warm inside it.

Iceland elopement photographer A couple holds each other among the trees, seen through soft green foliage in bright daylight. Prince Edward County elopement in Ontario, Eastern Canada. 02

Prince Edward County, Ontario

Shorelines and long light on the lake. A place that sits higher than the world.

Prince Edward County elopement in Ontario A bride stands barefoot on the sand at Anupaya Cabin Co. while her groom crouches beside her holding her hand. Cabins and tall pines behind them. Anupaya elopement on the Ottawa River at Deep River in Ontario, Eastern Canada. 03

Anupaya, Deep River, Ontario

Cabins tucked between forest and shoreline on the Ottawa River. A white sand beach. Mornings that start slow and ask nothing of you.

Deep River Ontario elopement. Anupaya Cabin Co. Anupaya Cabin Co. on the Ottawa River. We’re in love with this place. A couple bundled in winter hats and knits stands cheek to cheek against a pale wash of ice and snow. Fogo Island elopement in Newfoundland, an intimate winter wedding in Eastern Canada. 04

Fogo Island, Newfoundland

An island off an island. Fog rolling in. Red fishing stages. The Atlantic doing what it wants.

Fogo Island elopement, Newfoundland A couple stands close together in a pottery workshop before a plain backdrop. The man wears a clay stained apron and shelves of ceramic pieces line the walls. France elopement, an intimate wedding in a working studio. Black and white. 05

France

Old stone. Slow villages. A light that painters crossed oceans to stand in.

Elopement photographer in France A couple in wedding clothes sits side by side in the open back of a yellow van on a country road, the bride holding a bouquet of dried flowers. Switzerland adventure elopement. 06

Switzerland

High valleys. Cold lakes. Peaks that make the strongest words sound even bigger.

Switzerland adventure elopement Brooke and Matt rest in a close embrace in soft winter light, the bride wearing a crown of flowers with her eyes closed. Scotland elopement, intimate wedding photography. 07

Scotland

Rain with character. Green hills that roll forever. Castles that keep their secrets.

Scotland elopement photography Kristina Bastien in a long ivory dress stands in a grassy field and holds a small bouquet down at her side. Ireland elopement, an intimate wedding in a green field. 08

Ireland

Cliffs at the edge of Europe. Wind in everything. Welcomes as warm as the weather is wild.

Ireland intimate wedding photography A golden rock arch on a beach in the Algarve with a couple standing beneath it by the sea. Portugal elopement on the Algarve coast, a destination wedding in Portugal. 09

Portugal

Golden cliffs. Salt on the skin. The last light of the continent falling into the sea.

Portugal elopement photography Vanessa and Charles in white summer clothes hold hands in tall green grass among the pines. Sweden elopement, an intimate wedding in the Swedish forest. 10

Sweden

Evenings that refuse to end. Still lakes. Forests that go on past the horizon.

Sweden elopement photographer A couple walks away along a narrow path on a coastal headland, the ocean below them and the wind pulling at their clothes. Vancouver elopement on the British Columbia coast, an adventure wedding by the Pacific. 11

Vancouver, British Columbia

Mountains falling into the sea. Rainforest air. A wild edge minutes from the street.

Vancouver elopement in British Columbia A couple holds hands and walks through a tall pine forest, seen between the trunks of the trees. Yukon adventure elopement in the Canadian North. 12

Yukon

The far North. Endless light in summer. A silence you can stand inside.

Yukon adventure elopement A woman in a long dress walks through tall grass with a dog beside her, soft motion blur over the whole frame. Nova Scotia elopement in Eastern Canada, an intimate wedding at Colford Lodge. Black and white. 13

Nova Scotia

Lighthouses. Working harbours. The ocean on every side of the day.

Nova Scotia elopement in Eastern Canada

But a list is only a door. Wherever your heart points. That is where we go.

FAQ

Everything you
are wondering.

What exactly is an elopement?

An elopement is an intimate wedding day stripped of everything that is not the two of you. No seating chart. No performance. Just a real place, real weather, and the strongest vows of your life said where the world goes quiet. An adventure elopement is not a smaller wedding. It is a truer one.

Who will be with us on the day?

Me. Only me. I am your elopement photographer and filmmaker, based in Eastern Canada and at home anywhere the wind is honest. I walk with you from the first idea to the last light. You get me. Nothing less. Nobody else.

Do we get both photo and film?

Yes. One pair of eyes for both. Your elopement photography and your elopement film are made by the same person who was really there, so the story feels the same in stills and in motion.

Where can we elope?

Canada first, because it is home. Fogo Island off Newfoundland. Anupaya Cabin Co. on the Ottawa River at Deep River in Ontario. Prince Edward County on Lake Ontario. Nova Scotia, the Yukon and Vancouver on the Pacific. Then Iceland, where I work as an Iceland elopement photographer between black sand beaches and waterfalls, and France, Switzerland, Scotland, Ireland, Portugal and Sweden. Elopements in Eastern Canada, Iceland and Europe, at their wildest. And truly, wherever your heart points. That is where we go.

Do you photograph elopements in the United States?

No. I document elopements in Canada, Iceland and Europe only. If you live in the United States and you are searching for an elopement photographer, these places are closer than you think and wilder than anything back home. Write to me and I will show you.

We have no idea where to go. Can you help?

That is the job. I am your guide as much as your elopement photographer. Places to discover, where to sleep, what to visit, and a few surprises I keep up my sleeve. We build your intimate wedding day together from the very first word.

Can a few loved ones come with us?

Yes. An intimate wedding can be the two of you alone, or a small circle of the people who matter most. Small stays honest. Small stays close.

Will our marriage be legal?

The legal side depends on the place you choose, and I will point you to the right people there. Many couples sign the papers at home and say the real vows out in the wild. The ceremony you live with me is the one you will remember.

What if the weather turns?

Then the story gets better. Warm days, hot days, cold days. Fog, wind, snow, sideways rain. The weather writes half of every adventure elopement I document, and it has never ruined one. It makes you hold each other. That is the whole point.

We are not photogenic. We hate being photographed.

Everyone says that. You do not perform for my camera. You live your day, and I stay close and quiet. The couples in these elopement photographs said the same thing you just did.

How much does an elopement cost with you?

Every story is different, so there is no price list here. The form below asks the budget you have in mind, and I write back to every couple myself. Tell me your story first. Then we talk for real.

How far ahead should we write to you?

As early as you can. I take a limited number of elopements each year so I can give each story my whole heart. Last minute sometimes works too. Write and ask.

How do we receive our photos and our film?

In a private online gallery, your full elopement photography story, and your elopement film to watch and keep. Made to live far beyond a screen, and to be kept for life.

Can we keep our elopement secret?

Completely. Many couples elope in secret and tell the world afterwards, with the photographs. Your day stays yours until you decide otherwise.

Do you also photograph big weddings?

This place is for elopements only. My wedding photography lives on yanicklesperance.com. Here, it is just the two of you and the wild.

How do we start?

Fill the form below and be real. Tell me your story the way you would say it out loud. I answer every letter myself, and I answer soon. Your elopement photographer in Eastern Canada is one message away.

Contact

Be real.

Tell me everything. The place you keep coming back to in your head. The date on the fridge. The two of you. I answer every message myself. Usually within a day.

Tell me who the two of you are.
That email does not look complete.
Give me a few lines. That is where the day starts.

Your message goes straight to Yanick. No app to open. No account to create.

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