2-Day Dolomites Heli + Hiking Elopement – Trang & Shawn
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Trang & Shawn were such an absolute joy to work with for their elopement. Because of their busy lives, they handed over the full control of planning their elopement to Jlenia and I. Being trusted with creating someone’s elopement day and knowing they fully trust you to create something magical for them, it’s such an honor. Even though some road closures and scheduling complications with the helicopter forced us to make some last-minute schedule changes, Trang & Shawn didn’t care. They were open for everything and just wanted to fully immerse themselves in the majesty of the Dolomites.
For their second day, they wanted a relaxed hike that took them through varied and changing scenery and included some great local food too.
I’m going to hand over them to tell the rest of their story…
How did you get engaged?
Trang: We didn’t have a formal proposal or traditional engagement. We just decided to have a commitment ceremony! We’ve been together for so long but never resonated with the traditions and fanfare surrounding weddings. And we loved that we got to wake up every day knowing we’re willingly choosing the other person, with or without a marriage certificate. But after over a decade of being together and celebrating so many other relationships, we felt we were long overdue for a celebration of our own. We called it a commitment ceremony because we wanted a day of celebrating our love and to reaffirm our commitment to one another. We also wanted to celebrate ourselves for all the hard work we’ve put into our relationship.
Shawn: None of the more traditional wedding stuff ever resonated with me. I had been to weddings where it felt like the bride and groom were being rushed from one thing to the next and never really had time to sit and soak in their moment. Then post-covid there were a lot of weddings that got booked over a compressed time period to make up for ceremonies that had been postponed, so it felt like all of our vacation time was being taken celebrating other couples. Luckily we did experience a few weddings that felt very thoughtful and authentic to the couple which I think opened us up to the idea of doing something fun and authentic to celebrate our commitment to each other. When we found Cat, saw her specialization in elopements a then talked to her she just “got it” and we both felt really excited about having a time booked to celebrate the two of us!
Any funny stories leading up to your wedding day?
Trang: This was not part of the original plan when we initially booked our elopement dates but we ended up having to relocate from LA to the Bay Area before our trip since Shawn was starting graduate school the week after our trip. Needless to say, it made for a very chaotic couple of months leading up to us leaving. One of the most memorable things that happened was us accidentally packing the wedding rings and other accessories like the tie and cufflinks, into the moving containers. So 2 days before we were supposed to fly out to Italy, we had to go to the mall and re-shop for everything. We decided to risk it with our rings though. We already had a tough time finding rings that felt right and meaningful for us and we didn’t want to spend more money on something we didn’t love. We also just didn’t have the time or the energy to do anymore shopping so we decided to see if there was anything we could find once we got to Venice. Luckily, our wedding planner Jlenia recommended some great vintage jewelry stores that we were able to check out. We ended up getting these matching Venetian felicity rings that are meant to bring good luck and happiness and well love them more than our original rings!
Shawn: In the midst of our move + pack frenzy, I let our rings get packed up into a moving truck and taken off. This provided more adrenaline than needed right before leaving Los Angeles and flying to Italy. But to be honest, our original rings didn’t have much sentimentality for me. However, losing our rings and then having to go on a hunt for new ones in Venice felt a little bit like a treasure hunt. With the help of Jlenia we found a wonderful shop and bought Venetian braided silver rings and now that’s the one I wear everyday!
How did you decide on your elopement location?
Trang: It’s always been in my head that if I were to ever get married, I wanted to say my vows on top of a mountain, on the edge of the cliff. Bonus points if it’s overlooking the ocean. I couldn’t tell you why exactly, but this has always been the singular image I could conjure up about my wedding day. Secondly, Shawn and I have a soft spot for Italy so when it came time to look at where to elope, I knew I had to start in Italian Alps. And then we got extremely lucky to have found Cat!
Shawn: I do have a soft spot for Italy. I also love mountains, but to be honest I’m not the biggest hiker in the world. One thing consistent in our relationship though is that Trang loves new experiences and pushing us out of our comfort zone. What better place for us to bring in something warm and inviting (Italy, pasta, beauty) with something pushing us (hikes, peaks, helicopters!).
What were the biggest challenges you faced in planning your elopement?
Trang: None! Working with Cat and Jlenia made everything so smooth and easy that we sometimes would forget about the elopement, in the best possible way. But if I had to say something, I’d say the biggest challenge was trying to fit in everything we had to do because we didn’t plan for enough vacation days. If I were to go back and re-do it, I’d plan for at least a month in Italy and at least a week in the Dolomites.
Shawn: Since neither of us had been to the Dolomites before, it was sometimes hard to picture what we were signing up for in terms of the route. But working with Cat and Jlenia was so wonderful because we really didn’t need to worry about a thing. It felt great to just show up and experience the beauty of a new place.
Do you have a favourite moment or memory from the day?
Trang: This is a tough one because everything about it was pretty magical. Because we let Cat and Jlenia take the lead in planning, every moment felt like a pleasant surprise and every moment exceeded our expectations. But one moment that really stands out for me is the picnic on top of the secluded mountain after we said our vows. Getting to bask in the moment after saying our vows and to enjoy that time with just us, some apple strudel, coffee and the birds was perfect.
Shawn: I was initially on the fence about the helicopter ride, but that ended up being the coolest and more surreal experience of the day. And in addition to that, the helicopter took us to peaks where hikers can’t access. So it felt like we had the whole mountain to ourselves. This was perfect for when we shared vows and had a nice little morning picnic to celebrate. I loved that experience.
Is there anything you are really glad you did? Or didn’t do?
Trang: I’m really glad we chose to do a 2-day elopement instead of one. We were wavering between the two and wasn’t initially sure if it was worth it to do the extra day with Cat or just explore on our own. Ultimately, we chose to do 2 days because we wanted a second day that was less about getting dressed up and looking a certain way for the elopement photos and more about just capturing memories of us having fun together. We often forget to take photos of ourselves when we go out and so we thought it might be nice to have someone worry about that for us. We also realized that letting Cat guide us on a hike would give us the best experience since we wouldn’t have to stress about any of the planning.
I’m also really glad we did the helicopter ride because it offered us a one-of-a-kind perspective of the landscape and terrain. Getting to ride around anywhere on a helicopter is inherently pretty special but getting to do it in the Dolomites is something else. Granted, this was also my first time in a helicopter in general so I’m sure I’m biased but there is just something very humbling about flying through and around those mountain ranges, getting to see something so grand so up close. It almost felt illegal, like we’re not supposed to be up here. And of course, just being able to be in such a secluded area for our vows and it being pretty much exactly how I imagined it was surreal. The best part about it is that I’m not even sure if I’ve ever really explicitly mentioned it to Cat or Jlenia that I wanted to say my vows on the edge of the cliff. It’s always been an absurd daydream of mine that Shawn knows but I think everyone else thinks it’s a joke so I didn’t actually expect it to come true. And knowing that that wasn’t actually meant to be our original vow location makes it even more special.
Shawn: Again I’d say the helicopter. You’ll never have that kind of vantage point through the mountains and it allows you to access points others can’t reach. This can give you a privacy that’s unmatched for your special day.
What advice would you give to other couples planning their wedding?
Trang: If you’re working with Cat and Jlenia, just trust them. Share your vision with them, but let them worry about the details. For us, a huge perk of not having to plan a traditional wedding is the stress, or lack thereof. So we really leaned into that.
Shawn: There was an intuition working with Cat that she just “got it” and “got us”. Not everyone understands the idea of having a non-traditional wedding but we really felt like Cat could put to words things the two of us struggled to express to others. So make sure that you’re working with someone like Cat who really gets the two of you, so that way you’re not pressured into doing things that don’t resonate on such a special day.
What wedding planning resources did you use whilst planning your elopement (if any)?
Trang: I mostly used Pinterest for inspiration and to help keep my ideas organized. Outside of knowing that we didn’t want a traditional wedding, we had never given much thought to what we did want so when it came to making decisions about attire, flowers, hair, etc., I had no idea where to start. So Pinterest was a big help. I also read a lot of Cat’s blog posts. The ones that detailed certain wedding and/or elopement traditions and why they may or may not be a good fit for you were really helpful. The one explaining how to talk to people about your elopement was also a big help!
What was your favourite thing about working with Cat?
Trang: From our first phone call, I knew that we were going to get along well, but my favorite thing about working with Cat is that while you know she has a wealth of knowledge and tons of experience, she never forces any of her opinions on you. She takes the time asking thoughtful questions to understand who you are as individuals and a couple and what you’re looking to get out of the experience. Then she makes suggestions so even though we didn’t know the specifics of what we wanted, she was really instrumental in helping us bring our vision to life.
Shawn: Ditto to what Trang wrote. Cat really just “got us” and we felt so comfortable for our very first zoom call. This made a huge difference on our actual elopement day because that comfort really came through in our experience and ultimately on the beautiful photos she captured. I’m still not sure how she got some of the shots she did, but I’m amazed every time I look at them.
Creative Team Credits
Photographer & Hiking guide – Wild Connections Photography (me)
Elopement Planner – Jlenia Costner
Hair & Makeup – Viki Aichner
Flowers – Marie Floral Studio
Helicopter – Elikos
Accommodation – Mi Chalet
Dress – Daalarna (Thrifted)
Suit – Armani