Emma & LA Finger Lakes Region Upstate NY Elopement
Swell & Stone / Adventure Wedding Photographer / New York & Beyond
When Emma & LA first reached out they knew they wanted to elope somewhere in Upstate New York, but they weren’t exactly sure where. After they filled out some info for me and I sent them a location guide with custom spots picked out based on their preferences, they decided the Finger Lakes in Upstate New York felt the most like them. Emma wanted winter vibes, but with the feeling of spring in the air, and the weather cooperated in the best way. They had a lovely day for their actual elopement, with snow still on the ground and a slight, but no too biting chill in the air. The next day all the snow melted off and they enjoyed the rest of the week in the Finger Lakes in relative warmth!
They both really connected with Watkins Glen, a gorgeous spot with stone pathways through an unreal granite river gorge. The first time I saw it many years ago I thought it looked like it belonged in Scotland. During the winter the lower paths are not open, but the top footpaths are open. We found a lovely lookout for them to say their vows, followed by more exploration on foot. They enjoyed a picnic and some champagne, and then we headed to the next location. A top-secret gorge with a beautiful frozen waterfall.
After all the hiking we headed back to their lodging to warm up and were met by a private chef who was busy creating their elopement celebration dinner. Emma headed outside to light the fire while LA made them hot toddies. They carried the steamy drinks outside, enjoyed the fire, and played a game of frisbee together, one of their favorite activities. The snow didn’t bother either of them at all. Instead, they basked in the beauty of it all. The opened letters from family and enjoyed the incredible sunset from the yard that was perfectly positioned to watch it go down. Each course of the custom-picked dinner was incredible and they took time somewhere in the middle to have their first dance on the patio, and then to watch the stars come out as the alpenglow faded. It was a perfect day, and when I left them that night, they both seemed very content and happy to be exactly where they were.
One of my favorite things about Emma and LA was their sense of humor- and I loved hearing their engagement story where things didn’t go quite to plan as they did on their elopement day. In LA's words.
“In July of 2020 I flew over to the UK so that we could spend some time together after having been apart since the start of the pandemic. By this point, I had already gotten Emma’s parents’ blessing for the proposal. We had planned a vacation in Cornwall, a place Emma’s family went for beach holidays during her childhood. I knew that Emma loves the beach and the ocean, so I thought that would be a great place to propose.
Now I’m someone who usually likes to plan things meticulously and not “wing it”, especially in something as serious as this. But due to the pandemic, traveling to places I’ve never been before, and also being together 24/7, there was a massive number of unknown variables to deal with. So I had to take a lot of things in stride, and relinquish control. One huge thing was that I didn’t know when (or where) the ring would arrive. The good thing was that the holiday itself was so gorgeous and so much fun, it was easy to have a great time with Emma — despite the undercurrent of stress bubbling below the surface. We were in a beautiful old seaside town called Mousehole, and the pandemic and all worries seemed like universes away.
Looking back, the amount of things that didn’t go to plan was actually comedy. The day before I had tried to sneak off and buy mini champagne bottles while Emma was in the bathroom. She found them almost immediately. The ring hadn’t arrived, and even if it had, I don’t know if FedEx would have found the house we were staying in because of the tiny unmarked roads. I had planned for bouquets of flowers to be delivered after lunch (after we got back from the beach and the planned proposal). Instead, the flowers announced themselves through the doorbell in the middle of breakfast. Flabbergasted and unable to come up with any false explanation, I just received them — each subsequent bouquet bigger than the last. Emma, clearly knowing what was up, had even put on a white dress and everything.
Eventually, we got to the beach and got changed into our swimming gear and wetsuits to go bodyboarding in the ocean. We ended up having an amazing day full of waves, ice cream, and frisbee.
As we were wrapping up I pretty much coerced Emma to go on a walk to a secluded cliffside that overlooked the beach, one that I had scoped out and marked in my head earlier. We were already late for a dinner appointment, so for me to suggest “going for a walk” was not at all suspicious, but Emma played along nonetheless. When we got to a really nice spot that was away from people and I was happy with, I took a knee (for a second time, because I took a knee earlier without thinking, to pose for a photo), took Emma’s hand, and fumbled through some sentences I’d rehearsed the night before while unable to fall asleep. Without an actual ring, I proposed with a ring made out of tree bark that Emma had made almost a month earlier in the trip. She said it was something she did as a child, and she had left the tree bark ring behind one day after breakfast. Instinctively I kept it, just in case.
Luckily she said yes. We took selfies with the tree bark ring on the cliffside overlooking the beach and cracked open the mini bottles of champagne. I was ecstatic and relieved and we were so late for our dinner appointment. We took a stroll in the beautiful seaside town of Port Isaac to have our first picnic as fiancées. The food was delicious.”
Now that’s an incredible story and I love that they are able to roll with whatever happens to them in life. But of LA’s sake, I’m very happy that their elopement day went off without a hitch.
