The Ultimate Helicopter Elopement Guide
Are you looking for a once-in-a-lifetime experience for your once-in-a-lifetime epic adventure wedding? Are you looking for something unlike you’ve ever seen before? Then, a helicopter elopement may be just what you’re looking for.
Eloping on a helicopter ride is surely an epic way to kick off your marriage. Not to mention, you get to see so much scenery and ground that you normally wouldn’t be able to cover just hiking on your elopement day. You’re able to adventure remote mountain tops that normally aren’t accessible, land on glaciers, and so much more.
What is a Helicopter Elopement?
Whether you just stumbled on the idea by exploring Pinterest or Instagram, or you’ve always dreamed of flying in to a scenic spot where it’s nearly impossible to visit by car or foot, you might not yet be sure exactly how this works.
A helicopter elopement is a one-of-a-kind wedding day excursion where you hire a touring company or helicopter pilot to fly you over some of the world’s most beautiful wild places — and the best ones will even include a few landings for you!
This allows you to see the outdoors from a birds-eye view, and gives you the chance to walk around on foot in a place only few people have ever been.
For the tours that do allow you to get out on foot during a landing, this means that you get to fly in the helicopter in your wedding attire, and then say your vows, do a first dance, or something else entirely when you land — without anyone else around!
The Best Helicopter Elopement Locations
Alaska
Hands-down one of the best locations for heli tours is The Last Frontier: Alaska! Couples who elope to Alaska find that it offers a breathtaking combination of glaciers, waterfalls, snow-capped mountains, wildlife, and a whole lot more. Many of the tour companies in Alaska also allow landings, making for a super unique elopement experience. Some of these packages even have an add on to kayak in a glacier pool—I mean HOW EPIC!
Hawaii
For couples who dream of being somewhere tropical and warm, Hawaii is one of the best choices in the US. Although each island is unique, one of the best perks about eloping to Hawaii is that you get a beautiful combination of tropical forest, waterfalls, mountains, and some of the best beaches in the world.
California
California is home to many different landscapes, giving so many different and amazing helicopter experiences across the state. Some of the most popular places for helicopter tours include Catalina Island, the coast around San Francisco (including Big Sur), Lake Tahoe, and Los Angeles.
Tahoe Helicopters - Lake Tahoe
Specialized Aviation - Big Sur, San Francisco, and Yosemite
Helico Sonoma - Redwoods, Napa Valley, and Coastline
IEX Helicopters - Catalina Island
Iceland
Iceland has one of the most unique and diverse landscapes giving views of glaciers, lava fields, waterfalls, volcanoes, and beaches. The best way to see it all during your time there is from the sky—getting an express ride from landscape to landscape. You can even fly at night during the Northern Lights (I mean come on, WHAT?!).
New Zealand
New Zealand is scattered with incredible mountain landscape, colorful lupin flowers, and breath-taking fjords. The best part? It’s located in the southern hemisphere, giving it opposite seasons as the northern hemisphere. This means escaping the bitter cold in December/January and going to a warm mountain oasis for your elopement.
COMMON QUESTIONS
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In mountainous locations, I recommend planning a helicopter elopement late summer through early fall. This is the safest time with the lowest chance of cancellations due to inclement weather. If you are choosing a location that is in a warmer climate like Hawaii or Southern California, you can truly plan a heli-elopement year round (including winter!).
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On average, a one hour private helicopter tour for 2 costs around $1,200-$1,500. However, the cost may increase if you’d like to include more people or a landing.
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I would recommend booking your helicopter as soon as you have decided to have a heli-elopement for peace of mind. I would book at least 1-2 months out.
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There are 3 main types of helicopter tours you will see when looking at companies: standard tours, photography flights, and private charter flights. The best option for your elopement day is going to be a private-charter flight. These are completely private and tailored to the couple & usually include a landing! The standard tours are NOT private and will have other passengers on board with you. Photography flights are built for professional photographers to capture aerial landscape shots—this is not what you want to book.
Hey, I’m Sally! I’m a destination adventure elopement photographer based in Washington, but traveling worldwide!
Check Out My Free Elopement Planning Guide & Checklist!
This freebie gives you a step-by-step guide on exactly how to plan your dream adventure elopement.
