Letchworth State Park Elopement With Family and Two Adorable Pups

Maria and Ryan planned their elopement in Letchworth State Park in upstate New York. These two show us how all New York elopements don’t necessarily have to be courthouse weddings, and how you can absolutely include your family, best friends, and adorable pups.

Check out all the details from this Letchworth State Park elopement. Get some awesome tips from Karen Caster Photography and from the couple on what you need to know when planning your wedding day at Letchworth.

Are you ready to start planning your elopement? Explore our elopement vendors to get started.

Details From This Elopement

This upstate New York wedding day shared a lot of similar traditions you would see in a traditional wedding. Maria and Ryan got ready in separate rooms, had a first look with each other and then their pups, and incorporated Jewish traditions into their elopement ceremony.

This couple planned their elopement but incorporated the traditions and details that were important to them from the bride’s brother officiating their ceremony to their fun mini wedding cake cutting overlooking the gorge.

Check out more fun elopement ceremony ideas.

Tips For Planning Your Letchworth Elopement

Eloping at Letchworth State Park can be an exciting and gorgeous place to elope for couples who are looking for somewhere beautiful near New York.

“Once we decided to elope it was like a weight off our shoulders. It was so smooth, easy and enjoyable! I am the worst decision decider! Once Karen helped us pick a location everything just fell into place. My hair and makeup artist was also incredible and went with my ‘just wing it’ attitude on everything. They even created a bouquet for me, and it was beautiful!” [Maria]

Check out Karen’s top tips when planning your wedding day here:

• My first tip is to arrive early and if you can, plan for a weekday. Weekends at this location are super popular, so if you are looking for more privacy consider a weekday instead.
• The best entry point is the South Entrance near Portageville. This entrance is closest to the three falls and Glen Iris Inn.
• Make sure you get a map of the park, so you can make sure you don’t miss all the amazing views throughout the park.
• If you have guests, consider renting the Glen Iris Inn or one of the pavilions.

Check out more places to elope in New York.

Memorable Moments During This Elopement

Maria and Ryan started dating in middle school, and we can tell how much love they have between them just from looking at this gorgeous elopement. Karen tells us it was raining all day until they arrived for the ceremony. Once the couple was ready to start, the sun started to poke through the clouds. Other than their emotional ceremony together, Karen tells us she loves how they had a mini cake cutting moment, and Maria also agrees this was one of her favorite moments too.

“When Ryan and I got a to sit with each other and did our little cake cutting. It was so heartwarming to just see how much joy was in his eyes. Oohhhh but also our first look, when we had our dogs come running down to us at the bottom of the steps…” [Maria]

Planning Your Elopement With Pets

Maria and Ryan love their dogs, so it was important to include them during their elopement planning. A lot of couples actually include their pets during their special day, but it’s important to always double-check with your elopement vendors and location to make sure your elopement destination is pet-friendly.

“The first look they did with their pups was also super sweet. Maria and Ryan love their dogs more than anything and treat them like their babies, so having them there was super important when we were planning.” [Karen]

Luckily, Letchworth allows dogs, so these two had the perfect day.

Advice From The Couple and Photographer About Deciding to Elope

So should you elope? We love to ask the couple and photographer for advice for couples who aren’t sure if they should or not.

The bride’s advice:

“Your wedding day is about you and your partner becoming a family. Everyone will scream ‘do what’s best for you two!’ while still trying to get you to agree with them. You shouldn’t have to worry about the length of your guest list or whether or not to have an open bar. You’re making a commitment to be your husband or wife’s person. For the good and the bad. You should have a day that reminds you how much you could never imagine being in such a beautiful moment with anyone else.” [Maria]

The photographer’s advice:

“I believe that just because you don’t resonate with a traditional wedding whether it be because you’re not the ‘center of attention’ type, you have troubles with your family, or you can’t bring yourself to see the value in spending over $10k on a party over spending it on a week long epic getaway doesn’t mean you should settle on a courthouse wedding. Even if eloping at sunrise on top of a mountain doesn’t appeal to you, there are so many other ways to elope and have it be uniquely you. I’m so passionate about making sure every couple knows this and helping them have the wedding of their dreams that I decided to put my entire focus for my business on just that.” [Karen]

Vendors

Photography | Karen Castor Photography
Alycia Smith Traveling hair/make up artist for adventure elopements

Letchworth State Park Elopement Photos