Letchworth State Park Elopement | Rochester Elopement Photographer | Dani T Photography

2020. The year of elopements as most are calling it this year in the wedding industry..and let me tell ya..I am not mad about! Last summer, Kelly had called to set up a session to help plan her proposal to Mitalee, which took place in our sunflower fields. Check out that session HERE! So you can imagine my excitement when these two lovely ladies contacted me about planning their elopement! While their plans for a larger wedding were put on hold for year, love doesn’t wait. Together we planned out a picture perfect, private, sunrise elopement.

We met up at around 5:30am at the park, and scooped out some locations to start with, while I was convinced the sun was going to hide behind the clouds for us that morning, we all were in for a surprise when it peeked out over the cliff, and we chased it to the find the most perfect spot of golden light.

Kelly wore a white cocktail dress, and Mitalee dresses in a traditional Indian Sari in red and gold coloring, both looked just STUNNING! Especially with the greenery of the park.

When the light had risen, we hiked down to the falls, where myself, and their Officiant Erin witnessed their vows to one another and their first kiss as a married couple and even got to celebrate with a rainbow over the falls. My favorite part of the whole ceremony was how Kelly + Mitalee walked each other down the isle, and held hands during the entire ceremony., while they said their beautifully written vows to each other.

Congratulations Kelly + Mitalee! Your elopement was one a million, and we could not have asked for a better morning together! I wish you so many years of happiness together!

– Dani

A little more from the happy couple!

WHAT WAS THE MOST MEMORABLE PART OF YOUR WEDDING DAY?

Kelly : “The most memorable moment was reading our vows during the ceremony. Even though we wrote the vows privately and hadn’t discussed them, there were a number of themes we had in common regarding what we love about each other and what we value in our relationship. Noticing the parallels was yet another reminder that I was marrying my ideal fit.”

Mitalee: “The most memorable moment was the ceremony. As we were walking around trying to find the officiant, my nerves were coming and going. It was feeling like our wedding day off and on. I was surprised at that since I assumed it wouldn’t due to our pressured elopement under the circumstances. I was wrong, as during the whole ceremony I was full on nerves and smiles. Not one moment did it feel like any other event. It didn’t matter if our 160+ guest wedding was there or not. I was super happy it was this way as I was beyond nerves just having it this small. I don’t think I could have handled all those people’s eyes on me. I now have the perfect memories of our whole ceremony including both of us walking down the “aisle” together. To me that was the best symbol showing how we always have each other and are there for each other. There was no one else I would have wanted to be next to me!”

ANY ADVICE FOR FUTURE COUPLES?

Kelly : “When planning your wedding, think about what really matters. Not about what would be glamorous, or what you “should” have or “should” do at your wedding; this day is about who you are as individuals, as a couple, and what things are most important to you. For us, that meant 1. having a low-key, stress free wedding, 2. thinking about this day as a celebration of our relationship, and 3. having a phenomenal photographer to capture our memories on film.”

Mitalee: “Figure out what truly means the most to you. With the unexpected circumstances of the pandemic, we had to re-evaluate our wedding day plans. This made me understand what was the most important aspects of the wedding for me. I learned it was just us being able to marry on the date we wanted. I learned that it was just to have my beautiful wife and I and no one else. If you asked me before the pandemic if I wanted to elope and have such a small wedding, I would have said no. I wanted at least my immediate family there. Do I wish they could have been there? Yes I do but we had enough high risk people and to us risking a life was not worth it. Also at that time per NYS regulations it needed to be 10 people or less and we would have been over this limit. I quickly learned all that truly and deeply mattered to me was to be able to marry the love of my life on the day that we had planned and committed to do it. We had discussed how nice it would be when our anniversary falls on Friday the 13th and how this is “so us” as a couple. We were determined to make it happen!”

IF YOU HAD TO DO IT ALL OVER AGAIN, WOULD YOU CHANGE ANYTHING?

Kelly : “I would change the weather if I could—I was unprepared for 40 degree weather in June. Other than that, everything about our wedding was perfect.”

Mitalee : “NOT A DAMN THING!! While I was saddened by not having the wedding we thought with all our family and friends – I would not change how our wedding occurred for the world. Every part of it, even the cold, is what makes our wedding and my memories about it. I know exactly what picture to zoom into to see the goosebumps on my wife and how we were both crazy and excited to have a 7 am wedding, which means our pictures started at the crack of dawn.”

WHERE DID YOU HONEYMOON?
Kelly :”Because of Covid-19, we had a local mini-honeymoon in Dundee, NY by Seneca Lake. We spent a week at an AirBnB that was an old church that had been converted into a house. We brought our dogs with us, and spent a week inside cooking, playing Phase 10, and learning to play Poker. We will still be enjoying our originally planned honeymoon as soon as we can.”

WHAT SURPRISED YOU THE MOST ABOUT YOUR WEDDING DAY?

Kelly: “I was surprised at how smooth and stress-free the day was. Having to postpone a 200-person wedding and instead eloping was a sort of blessing in disguise; without having to worry about vendors, décor, food, and entertaining guests, our wedding was about us.”

Mitalee: “It was simple, quick, stress free and perfect. I remember every single detail of our ceremony. It was intimate and truly about and for us. It was easy to make all of the wedding decisions, that is how perfect we are for each other. While it will be a blast to have our big wedding and I look forward to that – I will not remember the whole whirlwind of that day. I think that our ceremony next year will be so much more fun and stress-free and a better party for all, already being married.”

ANYTHING ELSE YOU’D LIKE TO SHARE?!

“Just have fun and always enjoy each other through the whole process. I know I read this a lot and was like everyone else but it truly does go by quicker than you think!”