Smoky Elopement Day Information

I hope this post helps you feel inspired and well-informed to prepare for a potentially smoky elopement day. One of the things I’m most frequently asked about elopement days is “how do we navigate *insert weather type here*?!” Let me first reassure you that as a photographer, most of my favorite images come when the weather isn’t clear skies and sunshine!

Visually, smoke tends to look similar to fog. It can reduce visibility and give things a moodier look than they would typically have! The biggest difference, though, is that depending on the air quality report, we may have to adjust your elopement day to exclude more strenuous activities, such as hiking, to stay safe.

How to Track Air Quality for Your (Potentially) Smokey Elopement

A resource I like to use to track the air quality for smoky elopement days is AirNow.org. This website makes it super easy to get an idea of what the air quality is currently, the forecast for the air quality, and also what the current air quality status means (is it unhealthy, precautions you should take, etc.).

Smoky Elopement Day Inspiration from Schylar and Paul

Schylar and Paul’s smoky elopement photos in Glacier National Park were absolutely stunning. Their original wedding plans were canceled multiple times due to COVID-19, so they decided to take a cross-country road trip from their home state of California and explore what Glacier National Park had to offer. It’s fairly common in late August through early-to-mid September to encounter smoke from wildfires throughout the western United States (and potentially in Montana, too). I don’t want that to deter you from embracing the conditions in the park if it looks like you’ll be having a smoky elopement day! Rather, I hope these images bring you inspiration about the beautiful elopement images you’ll still be able to get in the process.