Eloping in Shenandoah in the Winter

Shenandoah National Park is a beautiful park for elopements year round, and that includes the winter! Today I’m going to be sharing with you some photos and a story from a snowy Shenandoah elopement. The park that day truly turned into a winter wonderland! (Good thing it was beautiful, because I have never been so cold on a photoshoot in my life!) If you’re looking for some winter elopement inspiration or wondering what it might be like to head to Shenandoah National Park in the winter, this article is for you!

A Shenandoah Wedding Weekend

Alex and Alex (yes, their names are both Alex!) officially got married with a traditional wedding at the Shenandoah Valley Golf Club, but that weekend they also wanted to exchange private vows in the national park. Both of them love travel and hiking, and they really had wanted a national park elopement. However, they also wanted to keep their families happy with a typical wedding day. This two-day wedding weekend allowed them to have the best of both worlds!

Unexpected Weather

It was the weekend before Thanksgiving, and we weren’t expecting winter weather. The forecast for Stony Man Mountain actually predicted 42 degrees with a 20% chance of rain. My primary concern was that we weren’t going to have a view from the mountain summit. Even a cloudy day can mess up your view. Even though we had planned to use the morning after the traditional wedding as a bad-weather backup, the bride Alex told me that she really preferred to keep it today. A sunrise wake-up the day after a traditional wedding did not sound fun. Agreed!

As we ascended in elevation in the park, drizzle started to turn into flurries, and I watched the temperature drop from 42 to 28 degrees! I was already wary of online mountain forecasts, but now I know for sure they can be unreliable! And of course, not only was it cold and icy, but there was nothing to see at any of the overlooks. Total grey-out. 

Deciding to Elope in the Snow

I asked the couple if they wanted to postpone until Sunday, and to my surprise they told me they wanted to keep it today if I was up for it. I made it clear that there would be no view, and they said they understood. They actually liked the look of the rocks with the grey background. Plus the bride apparently is known among their friends as a winter princess! So we continued on!

Vows in a Blizzard

As we hiked the ¾ mile trail to the summit, the snow began to fall harder. It was beautiful! We laughed about how this “20% chance of rain” had really turned into quite a blizzard. At the top of the trail, we held down our pop-up changing tent for Alex and Alex to each change into their wedding attire. Being so close to the summit, the wind had really picked up! Our fingers were freezing, and snowflakes were clinging to everyone’s eyebrows and lashes. It was about this point we realized that we likely would not be able to stay the entire hour we had planned.

After getting dressed, Alex and Alex did a first look, then exchanged private vows. It was beautiful, romantic, and also downright hilarious! 28 degrees and high wind is ridiculously cold, and we were so caught off guard. Thankfully everyone was so good natured and understood that mountain weather can be quite unpredictable! 

After exchanging private vows, we took portraits for about as long as they could tolerate, which was only about five minutes. It’s amazing how many good photos you can get in just a few minutes! I’m absolutely in love with the photos we got. The cold was totally worth it! Alex and Alex agreed, and they now have quite a story to share!

Final Thoughts

If you decide to have a Shenandoah Winter Elopement, I cannot guarantee you’ll have snow. I don’t even think I’d recommend weather like this. I’ve been to Shenandoah in other winters, and the experience was quite different. Sometimes there’s just ice. Sometimes it’s dry. You just never know! But I can say that you shouldn’t count out the winter. Shenandoah National Park can be absolutely gorgeous year round!

If you’re interested in seeing the park other times of year, here are a few other elopements I’ve shot at the same location:

Fall Mountain Elopement in Shenandoah National Park

Shenandoah Elopement Wedding: Stony Man Mountain

Kind Words from the Bride and Groom

We had a great experience working with Megan Nicole Photography for our wedding! Megan was professional, easy to work with, and captured our wedding weekend beautifully. One of the highlights was having private vow photos in the snow the day before the wedding. What was originally scheduled to be fall sunset pictures turned into a winter wonderland snowstorm in Shenandoah National Park, and the photos Megan took were absolutely gorgeous! We appreciate so much that Megan was willing to go up the mountain despite the snow to capture our private vows and help us share such a personal moment together before our wedding day. Megan’s attention to detail and ability to capture both the big moments and the smaller, candid ones really stood out. The final photos are amazing, and we’re so glad we chose her to be part of our day!