From clients to friends - the story of Lauren and Jarrett

When couples contact us about our photography and videography services the most important thing for us is never availability, location or budget. We always hop on a call before working together and look for a personal connection and how the vibe is. After all, if we are going to capture your elopement for you, we’ll be part of unbelievably intimate moments in your lives. Believe us, you will love the pictures and videos of your elopement even more, if you feel comfortable with us and in front of the camera. Which is why we ALWAYS become friends with our couples. Sounds cheesy and unrealistic to you? Well,  let us tell about the story of how we met…Lauren and Jarrett. And let us tell the story of how we ended up receiving this message from them:

"I am choosing not to be sad we had to say goodbye, because we are so fortunate that we found you two and got to spend that time together! 

We’ve been dreaming up our elopement day for a long time, and somehow it all came to liFe so perfectly, but you two are a very significant reason for it. I don’t think we could have been ourselves and had our day so authentically captured with anyone else! This was meant to be. "

How meeting our elopement couples usually works

Lauren & Jarrett from Minnesota wrote an inquiry for an intimate Dolomites elopement via our contact form on our website. So far, so normal. But what happens next? You might think we’ll send you back our pricing and packages and that’s it. It’s not. Let parts of the very first e-mail to our friends-to-be speak for itself:

“There's so much you can do in the Dolomites, we've been there a lot of times already for elopements so we are not just able to document your day, but help you plan your dream day. Have you already thought about where you want to go and what you want to do? You can visit picturesque places like Lago di Braies, Cadini di Misurina, more hidden and private places like Kronplatz, stay in cute chalets, hike or drive to mountain places to have a picnic or delicious italian pizza, do a helicopter ride with amazing views over the mountains, etc. - a lot of options to have the elopement of your dreams and make it a full day or even a multi-day experience. 

I can also forward you to some great musicians for your musical accompaniment, hair & make-up artists, florists, elopement planners, etc. - whatever you need. With us you'll get not just your elopement photo and video duo, but also an assistance planner as we love to help you make your dream elopement come true.”

Watch the video of Lauren and Jarrett's perfect elopement in the Dolomites

Katja & Walter: More than your Photo- and Videoteam

For us, it is important to go that extra mile. To help you, wherever we can and to be your experts and assistant planners with years of experience with individual elopements. What about the personal connection we mentioned earlier, you say? Alright, let me get to it. After our first few E-Mails we hopped on a call with Lauren and Jarrett and immediately felt a strong connection. We talked about everything but their elopement for the first half hour or so and found out that the personal link was there. Then we listened to their dreams about eloping alone 5000 miles away from their home in places they have been dreaming of a long time. Lago di Braies, Cadini di Misurina, Tre Cime – spots in the Dolomites that nearly everybody has already heard of or seen pictures of in magazines, on Instagram or on posters in Ikea stores. 

Being home in America these places seemed far away for Lauren & Jarrett and to plan something that important from distance is far from easy. So, of course, we helped them with everything. We gave our opinions of what to do when, on distances between locations, sent recommendations for hotels, restaurants and sights for the rest of their trip. We remember very vividly when Lauren booked the spot for the private session at the boathouse on Lago di Braies already during the call. Katja said:”You know you just picked your wedding date, right?” A sentence we would laugh about a few months later during our dinner in the Dolomites together.

Next: Planning your elopement day together

Needless to say, the four of us decided to do this thing together and plan the perfect elopement day. We helped to work out the perfect timetable, picked the spots for the ceremony, the intimate picknick with a view and sunset hike. As mentioned above, we found the perfect hotel for Lauren and Jarrett, organized Hair and Make-Up and walked them through the rest of the organizational stuff. We both love organizing and planning a lot and feel like we have a special talent for it, so this is something that really comes natural to us and if there is some minor or larger trouble, we’ll shoot it for you.

Finally meeting Lauren and Jarrett in person

After a few months of planning and dreaming together, the day was finally here. Or, the day before the day was finally here. We booked the same hotel as Lauren and Jarrett and on the evening before their elopement, we could finally hug each other in person. Just as on the video calls, it immediately clicked, and we had so much fun together. We enjoyed a nice 4-course dinner, shared a bottle of local red wine and talked about the world. Jarrett had so many questions about European Culture which Walter tried to answer to the best of his knowledge. Even though it can be hard to explain why the signs for tourist attractions are brown in Italy. 

During our first personal meeting Jarrett suddenly pulled out the most sweet and caring gift, we have ever received. In one of our calls us guys had briefly talked about sports (of course) and particularly football. I had mentioned that I am a Green Bay Packers fan and Jarrett said: “Well, I support the Chicago Bears.”. I remember that I was afraid that this would be a dealbreaker and I am so glad it didn’t. What about the gift? Getting to it, friends. So, as we were sitting together Jarrett suddenly disappeared to walk to their rental car. What he brought back put tears in our eyes (Turned out not to be the last time for the next days). He gifted us an original Packers sweatshirt which Lauren and Jarrett had brought from home. How sweet is that and no dealbreaker after all. 

How the Elopement in the Dolomites went

To put it into a few words: the day was simply perfect. It had rained cats and dogs the days before but the morning we got up, the sky was clear, and the sun was impatiently waiting to rise and be elopement guest number five. We started with an intimate vow reading at stunning Lago di Braies and used the time for the most beautiful pictures and videos you can imagine. Rowing the boat on this majestic lake and enjoying the time together is something we’ll never forget. 

After that we enjoyed a quick coffee and croissants at a bar and watched the sunlight dance on the waves of the boats on the lake. We had spotted a great location for a picknick a few days before and the hotel was so kind to prepare a picknick basket for us, so we headed to the location and enjoyed a relaxing hour with music, prosecco and photos and videos. 

We always try to plan some time for a little break during the day which gives everybody the chance to freshen up, relax or have some soul food. This also gives us the time to experience two golden hours in one day - sunrise AND sunset. So, we headed back to the hotel, Lauren and Jarrett enjoyed their we-time while we saved the data from the hours before and even edited a little preview so they could share with their friends and family at home. After the break it was time for the next highlight of the day.

By car we headed up to Refugio d’Aronzo and thanks to our good planning, the timing was perfect and we found a perfect parking spot. Lauren & Jarrett put on their hiking boots and we strolled around in front of majestic Tre Cime and even had some cute cow visitors. Of course, we took the chance and integrated them in our shoot with an unbelievably picturesque backdrop. Then we headed to Cadini di Misurina for sunset and experienced the best view you can get in the whole Alps. We all felt blessed as we watched the famous Alpen-Glow on the incredible summits around us and even had fun waiting in line a few moments to get to the photo spot.

Dinner and wine with friends

When we came back to the hotel all four of us didn’t want the day to end and we had the most amazing, fun and relaxed dinner together. Of course, Italian red wine was included as well and we laughed together until we were too tired to talk anymore. When our ways parted after breakfast the day after that, we promised to see each other again sometime, somewhere in this beautiful world. We all shed a few tears when saying goodbye, but they were happy and grateful tears. We can’t tell you how much experiences like these fill our hearts. It is truly special to be able to meet people like Lauren and Jarrett and we are so happy that our couples are so sweet and full of love. We are certain that you attract what you radiate and this is how all our clients become our friends.

Lauren and Jarrett - this was meant to be!

So, you scrolled through the captivating photos and videos, picturing yourself in those stunning locations. But now you might be wondering, what comes next? We, are Katja & Walter, an elopement photographer and videographer duo and couple, we are experienced in capturing your most special adventure day as well as helping you craft your experience - all around the world. We already have hands-on experience in places like Cappadocia, the Dolomites, Tuscany, Sardinia, Barcelona, Canary Islands, Portugal, the Alps, Austria, Switzerland, Croatia, Greece, Albania, South Africa, Zanzibar, Sri Lanka, and so on - and as (almost) full-time explorers we can help you find your perfect experience(s) everywhere in the world.

VERY MUCH LOOKING FORWARD TO BECOMING FRIENDS AND CELEBRATING YOUR EPIC DAY!

Hi, this is us - your elopement photographer & videographer couple

Authentic, real & full of life