An LGBTQ+ Montana Elopement in Glacier

Sunrise Glacier Elopement Ceremony Overlooking St. Mary Lake

One really special thing about this day (besides these two getting married in an incredible place obviously) was that we got to capture their intimate ceremony at the spot where we got married a year before! Glacier National Park has specific elopement and small wedding ceremony locations throughout the park, so there are designated spots where you can go. This Glacier elopement took place on the eastern part of the Going-to-the-Sun Road with an overlook of St. Mary Lake. For obvious reasons, this is probably our TOP spot in the park to get married 🤩

It’s important to know where you can legally get married within the park. A few of our favorite spots include: Ryan Beach in the Lake McDonald District, Pray Lake in the Two Medicine District, and the Lake Josephine Shoreline in the Many Glacier District.

Glacier National Park Elopement Ceremony Rules

While there are a lot of important things to take into consideration when planning an elopement in Glacier, here are our top tips for planning the ceremony portion of your day.

First, take into consideration how many guests you’ll be inviting. Most designated ceremony locations cannot accommodate more than 10-15 total participants (including us). There are a few different amphitheaters that can accommocate a couple hundred guests, and some other locations that can have 20-30 guests. But once you figure out how many guests you want to have, go ahead and check out the Wedding Locations document! Pick your top 2-3 locations.

Then, head to the Glacier National Park website, and apply for a Special Use Permit. You’ll need to pay a $125 non-refundable retainer with your application. After you receive the preliminary permit, you’ll want to verify that everything is correct, sign the document, and return it via email. A copy will be signed by an authorizing official, and returned to you. We ask all of our couples to send this to us, so we can print and/or screenshot it and carry a copy with us throughout your day!

Sunrise LGBTQ Glacier National Park Portraits

We met these two at the Sun Point parking lot for their sunrise ceremony at 5:30 am on a mid-week day in July. They were surrounded by an intimate group of their closest friends and family. We were immediately greeted with open arms, and Adam and I could tell it was going to be an absolutely incredible day!

After getting some soft music set up, L + D walked down the “dirt aisle” for their ceremony. They had one of their good friends officiate, and she did beautifully! She completely captured who they are individually, as well as who they are when they come together as one. L + D are amazing people, and their love was so evident in this Glacier elopement. It’s moments like these that truly make us feel so blessed to call this our job.

When they kissed and sealed the deal, we all cheered! It was perfect timing, too, because the sun was just rising! We hurried to capture some sunrise portraits before huddling together in the sun to take some group photos.

Exploring Glacier For Your Elopement

After a stunning sunrise on St. Mary Lake, we had a full day of stops along the Going-to-the-Sun Road. L + D piled into our car, and we started adventuring back towards West Glacier. Their friends all went separate ways to explore on their own. Some chose to hike around St. Mary and check out St. Mary and Virginia Falls! This is a great trail to do in the area since it’s only 3 miles round trip with very little elevation gain. Plus, you get the awesome reward of two beautiful waterfalls!

While their friends were exploring, we stopped at Logan Pass first to check out Big Bend. We had the area to ourselves while L + D danced, ooh-ed and aah-ed at the mountains and valley below, and laughed together as a newly married couple! Big Bend is definitely one of our favorite places to stop. Almost all of our couples want to check this spot out on their Glacier elopement adventure because it’s ICONIC. Afterwards, we continued on until we got to a spot along the McDonald Creek. There are several awesome pull-outs and places to stop, so we recommend scouting beforehand!

Post-Ceremony Lake McDonald Dip!

Right after exploring some neat spots on the western side of Glacier, we drove to Apgar Village on Lake McDonald. It was warm enough that these two decided to jump into the lake in their wedding suits! We documented it before jumping in with them! It was the perfect end to our morning coverage with them.

After spending some time at the lake, we packed up and went our separate ways for a few hours. We took naps, and refreshed ourselves with some snacks and water!

A sunrise to sunset timeline isn’t for everyone. It can be extremely exhausting! But in most cases, it’s 100% worth it (and often we all just need a midday nap). Not only were we able to get up before sunrise and have a popular ceremony spot all to ourselves, but we were able to stop at 3 other locations afterwards to capture some incredible couples portraits! And believe it or not, that’s not even when our time together ended. We were able to take an afternoon break, and meet back up to document the evening portion of their day! It was so beneficial for these two to have a sunrise to sunset day, so that everything could be documented. We were able to tell the full story of their day, from their morning ceremony to private time together during the day, to their Airbnb dinner reception in the evening. Now, they have those memories captured forever!

Airbnb Elopement Dinner in Kalispell

We met back at the Airbnb that L + D had rented for their Glacier National Park elopement adventure. They had hired The Chef Guys in Kalipsell to cater their intimate reception. We were served The Chef Guys’ signature bison meatballs as an appetizer (which were to die for), and an incredibly delicious dinner of steak, salad, mashed potatoes, and broccoli florets. After capturing some dinner moments, we sat down to eat with them!

After popping some champagne and cutting into their wedding cake, their friends and family toasted to L + D’s marriage. Not only is it incredible to see how much our couples love each other, but it’s always amazing to see how much love friends and family have for them, too. I feel like we learned a lot about L + D just from all of the beautiful things their close circle had to say about them.

Sunset Dock Dance Party!

Okay, now for the COOLEST reception we’ve ever been a part of!!! After stuffing our faces with delicious food, we went down to the rental’s private dock. L + D shared an intimate first dance before breaking into some Mama Mia choreography and jumping off their second dock of the day! If there’s one thing I learned from the day, it’s that L + D know how to having a freaking good time. They somehow managed to convince all of their friends to jump off the dock at sunset… in their clothes! Everyone jumped off multiple times, while dancing as the sun went down on the other side of the lake. Adam and I couldn’t stop smiling the whole time! To be honest, we didn’t want to leave. The energy that everyone had was amazing!

Full Glacier National Park Elopement Film & Gallery

Can’t get enough of this LGBTQ Glacier elopement?? Watch their film and keep scrolling to see more photos from their sunrise to sunset adventure. It was truly one of the most incredible elopements, and we’re so thankful for their friendship!

Here’s what they had to say afterwards: “If you are looking for an amazing photo/video combo for your wedding, hit these two up RIGHT NOW. Not just for Montana, but literally open to travel anywhere! As a gay couple getting married in Montana, I would be lying if I said there weren’t lingering thoughts in the back of my head of whether vendors would work with us or if we would feel welcomed. But these two made us feel an overflowing amount of comfort and hype from our first inquiry call, through all the prep, and made us feel like royalty on the day of. They even joined us in the lake after they finished their coverage! 10/10 quality product. 10/10 quality people. If I’m allowed to give a gay stamp of approval, this is it.”