Seceda Elopement - Wild Connections Photography

Contents show

Disclaimer - Some posts on this website contain affiliate links. I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you if you make a purchase using my links, which I'll almost certainly use to buy more skis and climbing gear.

Seceda is one of the most famous locations in the Dolomites. The Seceda ridgeline is iconic, with the green meadows that rise up into jagged peaks that drop off dramatically into the Val di Funes on the other side. It’s also one of the most popular locations to visit, and with the easy access due to the cable cars, it’s not just avid hikers who can get there but anyone. And that means it can get busy. Which doesn’t really make it an ideal location for an intimate elopement ceremony. But there are a couple of ways to have your dream elopement on Seceda while avoiding the crowds, which I’ll share with you at the end.

A small group of people stand on the edge of the Seceda ridgeline on the Dolomites in Italy for an elopement wedding ceremony

Megan & Christian’s Unique Seceda Elopement Experience

Megan & Christian wanted their elopement day in the Dolomites to be a truly unique adventure that intertwined their love story with traditional Dolomites scenery, food, and culture. I connected them with Jlenia, the best wedding planner in the Dolomites, who designed and created the most unique and incredible experience for them.

Their home base for the week was the gorgeous historic San Lorenzo White Deer Lodge hidden away on the mountainside. They wanted a chalet where they could stay with their family and they fell in love with the rustic charm and warm hospitality of the owners of the lodge.

San Lorenzo Lodge mini golf green two men plan golf with mountains in distance

Their elopement day was simple and intimate, as they wanted the ceremony to be the focus of the day, but every detail they did include was perfectly considered, from the alpenhorn wakeup call that Christian organized at 7am in the lodge to the subtle blue lobster details that were a key part in their love story and therefore had to feature in their wedding day.

Megan & Christian had the idea of taking a helicopter to a stunning location for their elopement. They chose Seceda as their location for their intimate elopement ceremony because they fell in love with the green meadows in combination with the striking peaks and dramatic ridgeline.

Arriving in separate helicopters after a nailbiting tour of the dramatic Dolomites peaks, Christian waited on the Seceda ridgeline for Megan for the mountaintop elopement ceremony.

Megan walked down the Seceda ridgeline with her dad to their ceremony location to a recording of her singing & Christian playing guitar to Bob Dylan’s beautiful song Make You Feel My Love. They wrote their ceremony and vows themselves, with every family member reading an except chosen by the couple.

After their emotional ceremony, their family hiked back down to the Sofie Hut for post-ceremony champagne and canapes while Megan & Christian enjoyed the views of Seceda and Val Gardena just a little while longer before joining them.

We wrote our ceremony and were our own officiants, so the program and readings reflected our precise vision. The afternoon was utterly gorgeous (I mean stunningly picturesque), and we cultivated such a special and intimate moment. The vows were astonishingly powerful. Sitting down for dinner while listening to the traditional Alpine music, seeing the flowers from our bouquet hanging above us, and smelling the insanely delicious meal being prepared for us was unreal.
Megan

Megan’s bouquet & Christian’s boutonniere were made from wildflowers by local florist Florales Atelier. And when they returned home that night, they found their dinner parlor decorated with the same wildflowers, hung intricately in bunches from the chandelier above the table.

What Is The Best Time of Day To Have A Seceda Elopement?

During the day when the lifts are in operation, Seceda is an extremely busy location, and for that reason I wouldn’t ordinarily recommend it for your elopement. However if you are willing to embark on a little adventure, there are two ways of having an elopement ceremony here without the crowds.

The sunrise at Seceda is magnificent, with the sun rising behind the peaks. However that means an early start, especially if you’re planning on doing hair and makeup beforehand, and not all couples want to get up so early on their wedding day.

To have a sunrise elopement on Seceda you need to sleep in a mountain hut (there are two options that I recommend close to Seceda) and hike up to the ridgeline. However the huts close to Seceda still are between up to 2 hours hiking from the ridge (uphill), so this does mean an early start and hiking in the dark if you want to be up there for the sunrise itself. You can read more about staying in mountain huts in this post on planning a Dolomites elopement.

The other alternative is to have an evening elopement on Seceda and either stay overnight in a mountain hut or hike down to the valley afterwards or take a helicopter and arrive when everyone else has gone home – and that’s what Megan & Christian chose to do. Since the lift closes at 5 pm, most of the day visitors were leaving when we landed just after 5. With the heli as trasport, we could arrive later, enjoy the beautiful evening light, have some champagne and food in the Sofie hut and fly back to their private chalet for a late supper before nightfall.