A Lake Braies & Mountain Elopement With Their Two Daughters

Jessica and Michael decided to elope in the gorgeous Dolomites. They planned the first part of their elopement adventure at Lake Braies and then exchanged vows up in the mountains. We love how they included their two daughters, including their littlest one, and Jessica’s sister. Get all the details from their day below.

Are you thinking about eloping somewhere in Italy? Use our elopement directory to start planning your own adventure.

About This Intimate Lake Braies Elopement in Italy

“Jessica and Michael’s elopement took place in the Dolomites. We agreed to meet at Lake Braies at dawn, where the couple had reserved the lake just for them for about two hours. We took the boats and took some photos completely alone at dawn. Together with them, there were also their daughters and Jessica’s sister who assisted her throughout the day. For the second part of the elopement, we moved to the Tre Cime di Lavaredo, in the heart of the Dolomites. Here Jessica and Michael exchanged vows. It was a really intimate and touching day.

I loved the mood of this family very much, so friendly and calm. It was really nice to work for them like this. Of course, I loved the attention to detail Jessica and Michael put into their family’s outfits. All the colors matched perfectly, and the flowers were beautiful too.” [Emanuele, the photographer]

Planning Your Elopement at Lake Braies

“There are no special permits to request, both Lake Braies and the Tre Cime di Lavaredo are accessible to the public. At the lake there is a guarded paid car park, while for the Tre Cime di Lavaredo you have to pay for access to the park and then be able to move as you prefer. If you want to take a boat tour on Lake Braies, you need to reserve one.” [Emanuele, the photographer]

Explore more places to elope in Italy.

Top Tips Eloping Here

“Surely when thinking about an elopement in the Dolomites or on Lake Braies the first thing to plan is the time of year. Each season will have its temperature and colors, so it is essential to understand what you want. In spring and summer, there will be mild temperatures, while in autumn and especially in winter there will be more rigid temperatures. This elopement took place in October. It wasn’t very cold, but we were lucky because a few days later it snowed and temperatures dropped by several degrees.

Furthermore, detailed planning can be useful to simplify the photo shoot. Specifically, Michael and Jessica had contacted the stilt house on Lake Braies to book the lake for us for about 2 hours. We arrived there at around 7 in the morning and having the location reserved for us was very useful, because we optimized the times as there was no one around.

The last tip is not to plan the times perfectly. The place is so beautiful and the area so vast that having a tight timing could make you lose views or colors and this would be a shame. Better to be flexible to be able to change your plans even at the last moment.” [Emanuele, the photographer]

Deciding to Elope

“The honest answer is that Jessica and I have been married once before and went the formal wedding route. We decided that a small, intimate, and personal “ceremony” is all we needed to celebrate our love for one another. Plus, by doing so, we could set the backdrop of our special day wherever we wanted… and the Dolomites of Italy were the top of out list.

The planning was easy. We wanted something simple and easy. We told Emanuele and Frederica what we were looking to do and they did all the rest. We knew we wanted to be at Lago Di Braies and they went above and beyond to make sure we got that and more!” [Michael, the groom]

Memorable Moments During This Elopement

From the photographer:

“One of our favorite moments is definitely when we found ourselves in the center of the lake. It was amazing, it was like being in another world. The lake was booked just for us and in the lake, right in the middle there was just Michael and Jessica in one boat and us in another a short distance away. Being there with that silence was beautiful.

Another moment was the vows. We were on the Tre Cime di Lavaredo, surrounded by these huge mountains, and after finding a place with no one around, Michael and Jessica read their wedding vows in front of their family. The moment in which the daughters handed over the wedding rings was beautiful.”

From the couple:

“Our favorite part was the ability to be fully present in each moment. Everything was so naturally beautiful and we were allowed the opportunity to soak in the surroundings as well as our time together as a family.”

Elopement Cost Breakdown

Getting there and the elopement costs:

Travel $3.5k
Photography $2.5k
Videography $1.5k
Flowers $500

The total estimate is $10-12k if we’re counting food and rentals. Learn more about elopement costs here. 

Final Words of Advice

“For this type of elopement, I recommend careful but not tight planning. If you want to have a nice day and there are very few people with you or if there are just the two of you, prioritize your time. Don’t occupy your day with schedules and reservations that could then make you have to rush and risk missing important moments. The strength of this elopement was just that.

The only thing I recommend booking is the stilt house on the lake. Lake Braies is a very touristy place, so being able to guarantee two hours of exclusivity I assure you that it will make a difference.” [Emanuele, the photographer]

Vendors 

Photography | In Bianco e Nero

Wedding Dress | Sarah Seven
Flowers | Piante Design

Groom Attire | I B M

Photos From This Elopement