Unusual Photography Ideas & Inspiration for Destination Weddings and Elopements

Welcome back, besties! This blog is for creative and quirky people who want to express themselves through colorful, out-of-the-box photography. 

My name is Laura. I’m an Annapolis, Maryland-based destination wedding and portrait photographer who thrives on creating wild, imaginative, and vibrant images that capture your unique personality. I’m currently obsessed with Chappel Roan (I mean, who isn’t?) and am always planning my next tattoo. 

Read more about me here and give me a follow on Instagram!

Today, we’re going to take a deep dive into my bucket list and Pinterest boards. Because this blog is all about my dream wedding and photoshoot locations!

Because here’s the thing. I fucking love traveling. I love seeing new places, meeting new people, and eating 👏 good 👏 food 👏. I’ve lived in too many states to be content staying in mine, which is why I became a destination wedding photographer!!

Why You Should Consider a Destination Wedding or Elopement

People plan destination weddings for a ton of different reasons. Sometimes, people are like me and they have this wanderlust they can’t satiate. Your wedding can be an amazing excuse to take a once-in-a-lifetime trip with the people you love most!

Many destination weddings take place in a location that is special to the couple. Maybe they met in that particular city, or grew up there, or visited once in college and fell in love with it. Getting married at a sentimental location can make your wedding feel that much more special.

For some people, though, elopements and destination weddings are the perfect opportunity to get away. Sometimes they bring their immediate family and friends, and sometimes they just take their fiance and go. And honestly, I can’t blame them.

Planning a wedding can be really overwhelming. Add in some family conflict and it just isn’t fun anymore. Destination weddings are a great way to get away from the drama and focus on what actually matters: you and your partner(s).

Your wedding is about you. It’s about your commitment, your love, and your future. At the end of the day, nothing else matters.

….But getting amazing wedding photos at a stunning destination never hurts, either.

Whatever reason you choose, destination weddings are cool as fuck. You get to go somewhere amazing with the person you love. For the rest of your life, you will have photos of the most important day ever – and they’ll just so happen to be in an amazing place.

So, whether or not you’re considering a destination wedding, here are my top five destination wedding locations in the U.S. I hope you explore the options below and get inspired by what’s available right here in the U.S.A!

5 Dreamy U.S. Cities for Destination Weddings & Elopements 

New York City, New York

You shouldn’t be surprised by this. If you’ve been following along for a little while, you know I spent some formative years of my adulthood living in NYC. If you’re new here, read this blog to learn how I went from an NYC actress to an Annapolis, MD photographer. (P.S. It involves me falling love 😍).

So of course I want to shoot destination weddings and elopements in New York. But it’s not just because I’m sentimental. 

New York City has some of the most diverse locations for photos – and they’re all only a subway ride away. Want to look glam on the steps of the Met? And then have a picnic in Central Park? Oh, and let’s stop for some bright, colorful photos in Times Square! 

Whatever your vibe is, we can find it in the city. New York has been the backdrop for thousands of romances and – dare I quote Alicia Keys – it’s the concrete jungle where dreams are made of. 

Let’s go make some wedding day dreams! 

New Orleans, Louisiana 

This one shouldn’t be surprising, either. I am a photographer who loves COLOR. I’m a theatre nerd with a baby doll head sitting on my desk because why wouldn’t I? YES, I want to go to New Orleans! I want to go to the most colorful city, full of live music and haunted hotels. 

I believe New Orleans, Louisiana, is the perfect city for a destination wedding. It has old-world charm, Spanish, French, and African influences, festivity 24 hours a day, and the best food you’ve ever tasted. 

If you and your partner are party people, consider getting married in New Orleans during Carnival! There is truly nothing else like it. We can see the most intricate parade floats, collect a tower of beads, and add to the merriment because you’ll be married! 

Los Angeles, California 

Allow me to start with this: beaches. 

Listen, I was born and raised as an East Coast girlie… but the California waves have my heart. There are a million ways to get married on the beach in LA, and every option involves a perfect sunset on golden sands. 

But hey, maybe beaches aren’t your thing. Don’t worry, LA has anything else you could possibly want for your destination wedding. It’s got cathedrals. It’s got a vibrant downtown. It’s got vineyards. It’s got museums. It’s got clubs. It’s got courthouses. 

Whatever experience you want for your wedding day, we can find all that and more. Los Angeles is a truly beautiful city. In fact, it’s hard to take a bad picture there. 

Plus, if you have your destination wedding in LA, you get major bragging rights.

San Diego, California 

Okay, okay, I just really want to shoot a destination wedding in Cali 😭. 

One of my favorite parts of San Diego is the La Jolla Cove. It’s a small beach surrounded by cliffs. It’s one of the most photographed locations in California, and it would be perfect for a destination elopement. 

You know how I know? I’ve shot there before 😍. 

While San Diego and La Jolla give you the perfect beach wedding, it’s also the perfect city for desert boho weddings! You can have the beach, cacti, and a mountain range all in one photo. San Diego has incredibly diverse landscapes and a million options for wedding venues, food, flowers, and beyond.

Any City You Want, Anywhere In The World 

Those four might be on my destination wedding bucket list, but what about you?? What cities speak to your soul and light you up inside? Like I said at the beginning of this blog post – Your wedding is for you. It is about your love, your commitment, and your future together. 

So where do you want to get married? Where do you want to remember as the place you vowed your life to your lover? What pictures do you want to hang on your walls to commemorate that beautiful day? 

Wherever you want to go, I am with you. I am only a plane ticket away from capturing your love in a place you feel the most at home. 

Because ultimately, at the top of my bucket list is a city where there is lots of love – and that is wherever you are! 

So if you’ve been dreaming and scheming about a destination wedding, let’s chat! Fill out this form to tell me all about your dream wedding, and we can find a way to make it happen. 

As I like to say… let’s just do the damn thing! 

XO, Laura 

P.S. I have so many more wedding destinations on my bucket list that didn’t fit into this blog post but deserve an honorable mention:

Las Vegas, Nevada 

I can just picture myself in Vegas, can’t you? Vegas is also home to Sure Thing Chapel (the CUTEST retro-themed chapel you’ve ever seen) and the Neon Museum, home to hundreds of brightly colored neon signs that tell Vegas’s rich history.

Texas

I didn’t attach a city to this destination because (surprise, surprise) Texas is MASSIVE and there’s so much I want to see. But at the very top of that list is the Prada Marfa Art Installation outside of Valentine, TX.  

If you’ve never heard of it, you should check it out. And if you know my photography style, you know I will get some hot-as-hell editorial photos there. I want to cry just thinking about it. 

What U.S. City Do You Dream About Getting Married In? 

Okay, it’s your turn now. Reach out on my website or shoot me a DM on Instagram and tell me all about your favorite wedding destination locations!! I’m all ears 👂 (and eyes 👀). 

Bye for real this time!!

Laura