Winter Elopement at Devil’s Lake State Park in Baraboo, Wisconsin | Shannon & Paul

Shannon reached out to me at the beginning of the year about potentially shooting her elopement with her fiancé , Paul. She mentioned how she had seen my past elopement I shot at Devil’s Lake State Park and absolutely LOVED how the photos turned out. She explained how Devil’s Lake was such a special place for her and Paul, saying they loved going there during the warmer months to hike around and spend quality time with each other there.

Since baby number two was on the way for them, they wanted their elopement to be as soon as possible to make sure there was plenty of time before the baby came. After emailing for a while, we decided March would be the perfect time for their elopement. It would be warmer than January or February but not warm enough that the lake would be thawed. Shannon wanted to make sure the lake was still frozen so that we could walk out onto it for the ceremony and photos afterwards.

As the day approached, we watched the weather closely. There had been some winter storms and high winds earlier in the winter, and we needed to be sure we wouldn’t have bad weather for their big day.

Thankfully, when their elopement day came, the sun was out with only a few clouds in the sky! Unfortunately, the temperature was not on our side, reaching a high of 18 degrees Fahrenheit.

We met at the South Shore. Shannon pinned a corsage onto Paul’s jacket, laughing the whole time because she wasn’t sure how to put it on so it wouldn’t fall off.  Once everyone was there and ready, we took the short walk down onto the lake for the ceremony.

The ceremony was short (because it was so cold) but very sweet. Shannon and Paul had written their own vows, and as they exchanged them, there were lots of happy tears. After the ceremony, Shannon, Paul, and their witnesses took turns signing their marriage license. Once they were finished, we were ready to go exploring.

We drove to the North Shore for their couples photos, starting out on the frozen lake. There were only a few other people in the whole park, so we had no issue with people in the background. After we were finished with photos on the lake, we took a walk down the Tumbled Rocks Trail for the last little bit of their time with me.

The whole time we were together, Shannon and Paul were smiling and laughing. Anyone who passed us (which wasn’t very many people) could tell they were so happy and in love. I’m so glad I got to document this beautiful day for them!

Want to book an Elopement with me? Check out my pricing or reach out and let’s talk about your vision!!!