Are you planning to elope in Montana? I’ve got you covered! I love joining couples for their Montana elopement because it’s one of the most gorgeous states with many unique landscapes and fun activities — perfect for adventurous couples.
In this article, I’ll share helpful tips, the best locations, and Montana elopement packages to help you plan your dream wedding getaway. From the legal details, when to have your elopement, how to travel to and around Montana, and an overview of stunning destinations, let’s get you ready to say, “I do!”
Should you elope in Montana?
You should definitely elope in Montana if you’re looking for a gorgeous destination, outdoor adventures, and a simple marriage process.
Montana has two national parks, nine national forests, and over a hundred mountain ranges. There are also lakes, rivers, and waterfalls. With so many outdoor places to elope in Montana, some of which don’t require permits, this is the ideal place for a budget-friendly elopement.
The process of getting married in Montana is also relatively easy, as you can apply online and then pick up your license when you arrive.
How to Elope in Montana: The Legal Details
To legally get married in Montana, you’ll follow these steps:
- Marriage license: Apply online for your marriage license with the county clerk where you want to elope. You may need to print your application form to submit in person upon arrival.
- County clerk’s office: Before you arrive, you might need to make an appointment at the county clerk’s office to pick up your marriage license at the county clerk’s office. You and your partner will both need your driver’s license, birth certificate, and proof of divorce if applicable. You’ll also need to pay $53 for your Montana marriage license.
- Ceremony permits: As with any location you might choose to elope, you’ll need to see if your venue requires ceremony permits and pay for these if needed. These can be up to a couple of hundred dollars. For example, all national parks require a permit, and you’ll want to apply as far in advance as possible.
- Witnesses and officiant: To legally get married in Montana, you’ll need two witnesses and an officiant. I’m an officiant, so this step is easy for couples I work with. Your witnesses can be loved ones or even others in the area where you’re having your ceremony.
How to Get Married in Montana Without a Ceremony
If you want to skip having a legal ceremony in Montana, you can take care of the legalities in your home state before or after your trip. This way, you can still enjoy an intimate vow exchange in Montana without worrying about officiants, witnesses, or permits. Many couples choose this option for a stress-free experience that prioritizes exploring and celebrating instead of navigating the legal process on their elopement day.
When to Elope in Montana
Although Montana is beautiful and fun year-round, every season offers a unique experience.
Summer and early fall are the best times to elope if you’re looking for warmer weather and colorful scenery. Meanwhile, winter and spring have cooler weather and are less crowded.
Summer
The most popular time to elope in Montana is summer. This is the busy season when the sun’s out, days are warm, and evenings slightly cool down. The nature is also beautiful, with colorful wildflowers, vibrant greenery, and flowing waterfalls.
Fall
If you want to avoid heavy crowds, fall is an ideal time for your Montana elopement. You can also enjoy colorful foliage and local fall festivals. While the weather is generally nice, it can get chilly and may even snow in late fall.
Winter
A winter elopement in Montana is stunning, but it’s very cold and snowy. If you like winter sports, this can be a great time of year to get married in Montana.
Spring
If you’re looking for very low-key vibes with little to no crowds, spring is a good time to be in Montana. That said, it can be chilly, and many attractions are closed for the season.
The Best Montana Elopement Locations
Whether you’re dreaming of a waterfall or mountain elopement, getting off the beaten path, or saying “I do” in a popular national park, the options are endless in Montana. Although I can help you find your perfect elopement location in Montana, I’ll share an overview of some of my favorite options below.
Missoula
Missoula is a small town in western Montana filled with charm and picture-perfect scenery. The county is the second largest in Montana, so there are many nearby attractions for an adventure elopement, including valleys, parks, trails, and rivers.
Downtown Missoula is the perfect place to explore during your wedding getaway, with unique shops, restaurants, cafes, and art galleries. It’s also the perfect area for taking fun mountain town pictures with your love.
Butte
Butte is a historic mining town in Southwest Montana and one of the best Montana elopement locations for couples who like getting off the beaten path and exploring lesser-known places. As the first major city in Montana, it’s filled with history and stunning architecture.
There are several interesting spots throughout Butte for taking unique elopement photos, including:
- Columbia Gardens Arch – A tourist attraction with an interesting archway said to be from a historic amusement park
- Thompson Park – A dog-friendly park with hiking trails, tunnels, and wildlife
- Blacktail Trestle – an old railroad bridge with beautiful views
There are also a few wedding venues in Butte if you want an intimate wedding ceremony for your elopement, including Front Street Station.
Libby
Libby is another unique small town and a hidden gem in northwestern Montana. It’s an incredible location for an adventure elopement in the Kootenai National Forest.
The forest is perfect for exploring and taking photos with your love. It’s full of natural beauty with mountain wilderness, glacier peaks, hiking trails, and recreational activities.
There are several inns and bed & breakfasts in Libby. It’s also fun to visit the local parks and hang out on the Kootenay River.
Bozeman
Bozeman is an incredible destination in southern Montana if you want to exchange your vows in a popular mountain town with many fun things to see and do. This is one of my favorite places for an adventure elopement because of its gorgeous mountain scenery, hiking opportunities, and other outdoor experiences.
Hyalite Canyon Reservoir is an amazing place for an elopement, with a stunning lake and hiking trails. You can also camp at the reservoir if you’re up for the adventure.
Bozeman is also home to Custer Gallatin National Forest, a large mountainous nature preserve. Custer Gallatin National Forest has endless stunning backdrops for your elopement ceremony and pictures. It’s also where Montana’s tallest mountain is — Granite Peak.
Whitefish
If you want to elope in Montana with a national park adventure, Whitefish is ideal. Whitefish is a charming resort town in northwest Montana and a gateway to Glacier National Park.
Not only can you explore the park’s glacier-carved peaks, valleys, trails, and wildlife, but there are other fun adventures like cycling and camping. Whitefish Lake, the state park, and a ski resort are also beautiful areas for pictures and fun places to make new memories with your love.
Columbia Falls
Columbia Falls is also in northwestern Montana, a short drive from Whitefish. It’s also close to Glacier National Park, other Whitefish attractions, and Flathead National Forest. Flathead is an incredible place for eloping in Montana, as it’s filled with beautiful lakes, over 2,000 miles of trails, and wild rivers. It’s also great for camping and easy to explore over a few days.
If you want to chase waterfalls for your elopement, check out the Columbia Mountain Trail, where you can find wildflowers in spring and summer and several waterfalls whenever there’s been rain.
West Yellowstone
If you’re dreaming of a Yellowstone National Park elopement, you’re definitely in for a treat! West Yellowstone is a town in southern Montana where you can find one of the most incredible national parks in the United States.
Yellowstone National Park covers almost 3,500 square miles of wilderness on top of a volcanic hot spot. Although most of the park is in Wyoming, a portion is in Montana. The park has dramatic canyons, alpine rivers, lush forests, and its famous geysers.
To have a ceremony in Yellowstone National Park, you’ll need to apply and obtain a special use permit at least a month before your elopement.
Curious about what other locations are available for your Montana elopement? Contact Among the Pines Photography, and I’ll help you find your dream destination.
The Best Montana Elopement Activities
One of the best reasons to elope in Montana is that you can enjoy so many fun activities to create new memories with your love.
Some of my favorite experiences for couples in Montana include:
- Hike to a scenic spot
- Ride horses to your ceremony
- Kayak or boat on a lake
- Go whitewater rafting
- Ski or snowboard on a mountain
- Spend the evening stargazing
- Watch the sunrise or sunset
- Build a campfire and make s’mores
- Have a romantic picnic
- Attend a local festival
- Hire a private chef for a celebratory dinner
- Take a scenic helicopter tour
- Soak in a natural hot spring
How to Get to and Around Montana
Montana is pretty easy to get to and around. There are five international airports, making flying convenient.
Major Montana airports include:
- Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport (BZN)
- Billings Logan International Airport (BIL)
- Great Falls International Airport (GTF)
- Missoula International Airport (MSO)
- Glacier Park International Airport (FCA)
If you’re flying to Montana for your elopement, I recommend choosing your elopement destination and then booking your flight. These airports are fairly spread out, so there should be one within a couple of hours of your destination.
If you’re flying in, it’s best to rent a car to make the most of your elopement experience. With various interstates and highways, driving through Montana is fairly simple, too.
Montana Elopement Packages
Not only can I join you for your elopement to take authentic pictures of all the big and small special moments, but my Montana elopement packages also offer planning assistance.
You can choose a multi-day, full-day, or mini-elopement experience. Each Among the Pines Photography elopement package includes:
- Phone consultation
- Location scouting
- Timeline planning
- Vendor recommendations
- Access to all-inclusive elopement planning resources
- Custom online gallery with all edited high-resolution images
- 48-hour sneak peek photos
- Rights to printing
Let’s Elope in Montana
Montana is one of my favorite places for elopements, and I’d love to help you plan and capture your special day if you’re looking for a Montana elopement photographer. I help adventurous couples have a unique and personalized intimate wedding or elopement, and Montana is easily one of the best destinations for this!
kinsley + caden
“Brooke was the perfect choice for our wedding day! We had a micro wedding at Sapphire Point in August. I had never been to Sapphire Point and Brooke was so helpful suggesting vendors, picture locations, parking, marriage license info etc. She was so kind and helpful before and during the whole process and was a large part of why the day went so smooth. She does so much more than just show up and take pictures, Brooke will truly go out of her way to make your wedding day perfect! The photos are gorgeous and I keep getting so many compliments! I truly cannot recommend her enough!”
"Brooke was a large part of why our day went so smooth and will truly go out of her way to make your wedding day perfect!"
We chose Brooke to capture our Colorado elopement and she did exactly that and more. She made it easy to plan our day out with locations and timelines so that we could focus on ourselves. We decided last minute to change our afternoon/evening elopement to a 6am sunrise one so beat the heat of the day. Brooke accommodated us without hesitation and even created a new timeline for us so that we knew where to be for the perfect sunrise. She was kind and understood what we wanted in terms of our elopement and we are so grateful to have her capture the day. Our photos turned out beautiful and truly helped us relive the day. I would recommend Brooke to anyone wanting their special day photographed.
"Brooke accommodated us without hesitation and even created a new timeline for us so that we knew where to be for the perfect sunrise."
erica + stacy
kirstie + colin
Brooke not only photographed our mountain elopement beautifully, but she put so much thought into the details and knew all of the answers the questions I didn’t even know to ask. She really puts a lot of thought into each photo and brings her expertise while still remaining very open to what we wanted and ideas we had. She even helped pick the perfect spot for us and advised us on the logistical details like securing a reservation at the mountain lake where we wanted our ceremony. She is SO easy to work with and very friendly and chill. My husband and I are super awkward in front of a camera but she made it so natural and easy - and the shots came out better than we could have imagined.
"She really puts a lot of thought into each photo and brings her expertise while still remaining very open to what we wanted and ideas we had."
amanda + jace
Brooke is many things; talented, calm, flexible, experienced/ knowledgeable, patient, incredibly responsive, organized, resourceful in a pinch, supportive, creative, professional yet a blast to work with, and goes above & beyond w her clients. Our wedding was a spectacular dream and we couldn't be more grateful that she made that single day last forever. Whether she's photographing nature or an intimate event, her pictures tell a story of peace, love, whatever your vision may be. We couldn't recommend her more and we look forward to booking with her for all of our vow renewals, seasonal and family pictures for as long as she'll have us.
"Whether she's photographing nature or an intimate event, her pictures tell a story of peace, love, whatever your vision may be."
linden + brent
Working with Brooke was a dream come true! Before we even met, my husband Brent and I were impressed by her portfolio. After meeting, we were even more convinced that her photography skills and knowledge, and her fun and easygoing personality were exactly what we were looking for in an elopement photographer. Brooke was able to take our vision and facilitate everything so that it worked out beautifully, especially when it came to finding the perfect location (the incredible mountains surrounding Ouray). Throughout the entire planning process, she was honest and flexible, and made it clear that her goal was for us to be 100% happy. In the end, her creativity and our happiness totally shine through in every single photo.
"Throughout the entire planning process, she was honest and flexible."
lauren + branden
I can't begin to express my gratitude for the intimacy and beauty behind Brooke's photographs. In capturing our wedding day, she went above and beyond to document our story, our families, and the depths of our love in ways that I'll forever be grateful for. Brooke has an eye for not only capturing the adventure and magic of your love, but deeply connects with your personal story, understands your relationship, and then gives that back in the most incredible way. She is truly an artist and tells your story in an authentic and creative way for you to look back on for years to come. We are forever grateful to Brooke for spending the time to get to know us, our story, and capturing the memories that we'll relive for years to come.
"Brooke deeply connects with your personal story, understands your relationship, and then gives that back in the most incredible way."
heather + jedd
“If you're contemplating which photographer to go with, THIS IS YOUR SIGN TO CHOOSE BROOKE!!!! She is so so so talented and was able to capture our elopement exactly how I pictured and wanted! We eloped in Ridgway, CO this past September and she was so helpful figuring out picture locations, recommendations of timeline for the day, and just made the whole day feel so smooth. She schedules multiple check ins, phone calls, etc., leading up to the big day to ensure everything is as you want it. Brooke has such a calming, down to earth presence and is one of those awesome people you feel like you've known forever after just the first time of meeting."
"Brooke has such a calming, down to earth presence and is one of those awesome people you feel like you've known forever."
christy + austin
Brooke is the absolute best. She truly went above and beyond for my fiancé and I to be able to get our engagement photos taken with the fall colors. Brooke is so sweet, fun, personable and incredibly talented. We could not be more in love with our engagement photos! Our engagement session with Brooke was such a special experience and a memory we will cherish forever.
"Our engagement session with Brooke was such a special experience and a memory we will cherish forever."
