The Wedding Talk Marriage Power Hour - Get Eloped near Oswego, NY
- 2 hours ago
- 5 min read
The Wedding Talk Marriage Power Hour: Our Elopement Package in Central New York
We just spent an hour at Delphi Falls marrying a couple, and I want to tell you about it, because I think a lot of you are wondering if this is allowed.
If you can just... get married?!
No guest list, no seating chart, no year of planning, no five figure budget...
Just the two of you and the person you want to be standing next to.
You can. And I want to walk you through exactly what that can look like!
First, where we were
Delphi Falls County Park sits in the hamlet of Delphi Falls, just outside Pompey, about half an hour southeast of Syracuse. It has a two tiered waterfall, a footbridge over the creek, and a stretch of woods that does most of the work for you. The lower falls drop about 62 feet, and standing in front of them makes even a very small wedding feel enormous.
It is a public park, so nobody is renting anything or charging a site fee. You park, you walk in, and there it is.
Did I mention the walk to the falls is literally 3 minutes from the parking lot, so it's great if you want to wear heels or just don't want to sweat too much before photos!
The first ten minutes: arriving
Every elopement starts the same way. Two people get out of a car and immediately look at each other like, wait, is this really happening right now. Sometimes that happens at the same time, sometimes we stagger the arrival so we can set up a First Look Moment.
I arrive early and start shooting before anyone is "ready".
The walk in, the hand grab, the moment one of them fixes the other's collar, the nervous laugh when they realize a hiker is going to walk past mid vow. Those frames end up being some of my favorites in the whole gallery, and they only exist because I am already working while everyone thinks we are still setting up.
I also use these first few minutes to tell you where to stand and what the light is doing, so that by the time the ceremony starts you are not thinking about the camera at all.
The next fifteen: the ceremony
This is my husband's part! Justin is your elopement officiant.
Before the day, we meet and he'll ask you questions to understand who you are as a couple. How you met, what the hard year was, what you call each other when nobody is listening, whether you want anything read, whether you want anything skipped. Then he writes a ceremony that sounds like the two of you instead of sounding like a template with your names dropped in.
Some couples want their ceremony to be five minutes long. Some want vows they wrote themselves and a reading from a friend on speakerphone. Some want a full traditional structure. He builds whichever one you actually want, and then he delivers it (so well, if you ask me!).
Ten to fifteen minutes is usually all it takes!
The signing
Then we sign the license.
In New York you get your marriage license from a town or city clerk, there is a 24 hour waiting period before you can use it, and it is good for 60 days. Bring it with you. Justin signs the paper with your two witnesses, you return it to the county clerk, and bam done! You're married!
The rest of the hour: portraits
Then we play!
We walk. We cross the footbridge, we work the creek bed, we find the pockets of good light in the trees. I shoot a blend of posed portraits and candids, because you want both and most people don't realize that until they see the gallery. The posed ones are the frames you print and hand to your grandmother. The candid ones are the frames you laugh and cry at.
I don't leave you standing there wondering what to do with your hands, either! I direct! I give you something to do rather than a pose to hold, and then I photograph what happens in between the doing.
By the end of the hour you have somewhere around 200 images. Ceremony coverage, portraits together, portraits alone, the details, and all the small unplanned things in between.
What a "The Wedding Talk Marriage Power Hour" includes
One hour on location
One officiant, Justin, with a custom written ceremony
One photographer, me, covering the full hour
One meeting prior to the day to discuss ceremony outlines and what matters to you with photography
Around 200 edited images, in an online gallery delivered within 2 weeks
That is the whole thing. One hour, one officiant, one photographer, and you are married!
Where we travel
We keep this service within a two hour drive of Oswego, New York, and can schedule it any time during the week (weekends vary depending on the season).
Two hours out from Oswego covers a lot of beautiful ground: the Finger Lakes, the Syracuse area, the Thousand Islands, the Tug Hill region, the Adirondack foothills, and plenty of waterfalls and lakeshores in between. We can also provide this service just in your backyard or living room. Wherever feels right for you.
If you have a spot in mind and you are not sure whether it makes the cut, just ask.
Who this is for
This is for the couple who wants the marriage more than the production.
It's for you if you have looked at wedding budgets and felt your stomach drop. If your family is complicated and a guest list feels like a minefield. If you are getting married at the courthouse next month anyway and you want it to feel like something. If you have been together eleven years and it is finally time. If you simply do not want a party, and you are tired of being asked to justify that.
Meaningful does not have to mean expensive, and small does not mean less. It just means you skipped the parts that were never for you!
If you want this
Reach out and tell us roughly where and when you are thinking, and anything you already know you want in the ceremony. We will take it from there!
You do not need to have it figured out before you contact us. That is what we are for.
Let's talk! Submit the form here.
And hey, I'm very transparent about pricing. This service is $500. We'll take a deposit to save the date and the rest can be paid day of. Let me know if you have any other questions!
Happy Planning!
Lynea
