Where to Elope in New Hampshire | Outside Intimate Wedding Locations in New Hampshire 

This post is for those looking for easy outdoor places to get married in New Hampshire. You will read: 

1. About different outdoor locations I recommend for those wanting an outdoor wedding experience with low / no hiking involved 
2. Advice on how to pick a location(s) for your outdoor marriage celebration

Maybe you know you want the stunning scenery New Hampshire has to offer for your outdoor wedding/elopement experience, but you:

1. Don’t hike (or don’t want to hike on your special day)
2. Have loved ones joining where accessibility and ease are a priority

Luckily, New Hampshire has it all. Your intimate wedding or elopement can be an incredibly beautiful experience with NO hiking at all. As a New Hampshire Elopement and Intimate Wedding Photographer, I’m lucky enough to have seen the incredible variability New Hampshire’s nature can have in a marriage celebration for ALL adventure levels. 

These location ideas are just the start of what your adventure, natural, outdoor marriage celebration can look like here in New Hampshire (or maybe a combination of a few of these!). 

Easy Places in New Hampshire to Get Married: By Category 

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1) Mountain Views

You’ve decided:

1. You want to get married in New Hampshire
2. You have envisioned the scenery around you that feels most authentic/exciting, and you’ve landed on “mountains”
3. You’ve also discussed that “ease” and “accessibility” are important for your intimate wedding or elopement 

There are SO many ways to have mountains around you in your wedding celebration. Here are just a few of my location recommendations.

1-A) Mountain View Locations That Don’t Require Hiking

New Hampshire has several drive-up mountain location views that require NO hiking, but have all the jaw-dropping glory of nature to make you feel like you are the only two people in the world. Drive-up mountain views for your marriage celebration may be for you if:

• You are not looking to break a sweat
• You have mobility considerations for yourselves or family 
• You’re looking to spend your time on your elopement day doing lots of other things that don’t necessarily including walking/walking 

When considering drive-up mountain locations, I HIGHLY recommend:

1. Choosing a midweek day if you can swing it
2. If you can’t do a midweek day, consider choosing an early (like sunrise!) or sunset experience 
3. If you can’t do either of the above, consider the offseason: New Hampshire’s peak foliage season is late September – mid October, so most of these most popular spots will have the most amount of tourists here at this time 
4. Consider the probability that drive-up or no-hike-needed locations can never be guaranteed “fully private” 
5. Consider if your location requires a permit to elope/photograph there. This can be found doing some quick online research and making some phone calls  

Easy Drive Up Mountain Views in New Hampshire: An Example

Cathedral Ledge, North Conway New Hampshire

Probably one of the most popular mountain-view locations to get married with NO hiking required, Cathedral Ledge has earned its fame. Incredible views of North Conway, lakes, farm land, rocky ledges, all within a short drive to an incredibly quaint, family-friendly, lodge-friendly, delicious food, town of North Conway. 

Information: you do need a permit! You can find all necessary info at this website (and the staff are SO helpful). 

1. Permit cost: $100
2. Number: 603-356-2672
3. When communicating: share the date, time, guest count, and duration of your elopement plans
4. This doesn’t guarantee privacy! There are spots of this ledge where people can still access that are separate from the “peak” view, so just know that you may not be alone

2) Lake Views 

Maybe mountains are not the most important to you, and you’d rather have a lake view when getting married. Similar to mountains, there are so many lakes in New Hampshire where you can get married (many with mountains in the background, too!) Here are my recommendation lake categories to consider. 

2-A) State Parks

New Hampshire’s State Parks (and the dedicated staff) can create an intimate, scenic, and highly accessible experience for those looking to get married here. State Parks here are kept in beautiful condition, have a cost effective entry fee, ample parking, and there are MANY to choose from.

New Hampshire State Parks to Get Married: An Example

Echo Lake State Park, North Conway New Hampshire

Information: to purchase a day pass / reservation, plus read more about ALL of New Hampshire’s State Parks (including Echo Lake State Park), click here. 

Since I have already discussed North Conway and Cathedral Ledge, why not share an example of a lake that can literally be seen from Cathedral Ledge? Echo Lake State Park sits at the bottom of a local favorite of mine, The White Mountain Hotel, and is a stunning, emerald-green, lake that boasts wooded trails, picnic tables, views of White Horse Ledge and Cathedral Ledge, and could not be ANY easier for yourselves or family to walk from the parking lot to the glorious view.

2-B) Take a Boat: The Lakes Region, New Hampshire

(fun fact: these Lake images were taken by me as second photographer to the TALENT, Breonna Wells Photography 🙂 )

Laconia, New Hampshire

If you know you want to be on the water, but know you don’t want a “trek” for your special day, consider going by boat for an adventure 🙂 Specifically, The Lakes Region  is literally all about lake life.

Squam Lake Region: HIGHLY RECOMMEND

I can personally attest to the cozy, clean, beautiful area (I spent most of my weekends as a kid just a couple exits from the Lakes Region, and frequented Squam Lake each summer in Holderness, NH). To explore Squam Lake boat experiences, I HIGHLY recommend “Experience Squam.” Private boat tours, knowledgeable staff, and convenience. 

3) Book Your Lodging With A View

Whether you use a private home, hotel, Inn, estate, or book a home through Airbnb, VRBO, or otherwise, a private view that you literally wake up to is a simple way to honor priorities of:

• Nature
• Quality time with yourselves and family
• Lodging included in financial considerations 
• accessibility convenience for all

4) Glamping Options: Combine Water Adventures with Comfort

If you want to be nearby water but want a more unique adventure experience, consider the MANY luxury camping or glamping options New Hampshire has to offer. 

1. Baker Rocks (near the Lakes Region and Waterville Valley Region, New Hampshire) (hint: where all the A-frame winter elopement pictures above are from! Such a fun place to elope…I’d go back in a heartbeat)
2. Alpine Garden Glamping (North Conway, New Hampshire region)
3. Lumen Camps Nature Retreat ( Woodstock, New Hampshire region)

5) Waterfalls

Perhaps the unsung hero of New Hampshire locations to get married, waterfalls roaring in the background is a splendor and romantic aesthetic that you have to experience personally to fully get it. DO ITTT! 

Waterfall Elopement: an Example

Take a look at this elopement I photographed that was published in Wandering Weddings! It shines lovely light on the magic that is waterfall elopements and how to prepare for one.

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***All links are non-affiliate, non-sponsored. Suggestions are from personal experience and by no means associated with sales or promotional opportunities.***

HOW TO PICK A LOCATION FOR YOUR OUTDOOR WEDDING OR ELOPEMENT: A QUIZ

With throwing tradition out the window comes great freedom and excitement for those getting married, but it can easily get overwhelming with NO rules or framework. My top advice for couples choosing to get married outdoors is to consider the below factors. I recommend they choose the top two priorities of these four that make most sense for THEM. 

Feel free to use this “quiz” to hone in on what is most important to you when choosing an outdoor location to get married in New Hampshire. 

1. Privacy → how important is FULL privacy to you?
   1. We want to feel completely alone for our marriage celebration
   2. We want to feel as private as possible but understand that outdoor locations usually have people in and out
   3. As long as we love the location and view, we don’t really care about anything else
2. Scenery → how EPIC does the location need to be?
   1. The more adventurous, epic, the better
   2. Beautiful is important, but so are other elements to our day (other activities we plan on doing)
   3. We want nature to be part of our day but not THE sole heart of it; pretty backgrounds and feelings of being outside are great, but we don’t need “THE” view to feel happy 
3. Accessibility → how far and difficult can the trek to the spot be?
   1. We are avid adventurers and are up for a full on adventure! We don’t shy away from extensive hikes, walks, boats, etc., to reach a stunning and secluded destination. We understand this is a journey that will take intentional time
   2. We are okay to walk a bit but we have a few loved ones joining us, so it has to be a moderate to easy experience 
   3. We need as easy and accessible as possible.
4. Time → how much of our timeline do we want to dedicate to our outdoor adventure?
   1. We plan on spending most of the day traveling as that is a huge passion of ours
   2. We want an equal balance between nature, portraits, and other parts of our day like a dining experience, other outdoor activities, napping, etc.
   3. We want our outdoor experience to be the ceremony and portraits, and the rest we want to be in a more relaxed environment like a house, restaurant, cabin, etc.

Top Tips To Consider When Choosing Your Outdoor Location in New Hampshire:

1. With privacy often comes a longer trek/drive/etc
2. With scenery, the more “wow,” often the more tucked away/long it takes to get there
3. With accessibility, there are likely to be others around
4. With time, building a timeline with your photographer will ensure your top priorities are honored: if hiking/traveling to and from location is not one of them, then your timeline will focus on OTHER parts of your day that matter more to you 

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Happy adventuring, and see you out there 🙂

Consider following along the Babel Photos journey online for more inspiration, resources, and humans journeying through life together.

Love,

Kayla | Babel Photos | Adventure Elopement Photographer in New Hampshire, New England, and Beyond

All. love. lives. here.