DENVER — Their engagement was picture perfect and their wedding was going to be free.
“We actually won a free wedding on Instagram right after we had gotten engaged," said Vee Weir.
Weir and her fiance, Joe Bogumill, planned to tie the knot in October 2020 on a farm in Michigan.
"Part of the package was getting to spend like an hour or two petting the baby animals," Bogumill said.
"That's what he was most excited about!" Weir laughed.
Their free farm wedding plans were scrapped after COVID-19 entered the conversation.
"We realized that it wasn’t going to be fair to ask our friends and family, that are just completely across the country and every which direction you can think of, to spend one to two grand getting to Michigan," Weir said.
The couple looked to Instagram for inspiration and decided to elope with help from photographer Sean Oblizalo.
“I’m an adventure elopement photographer out here in Colorado," Oblizalo said.
The gig is exactly as it sounds.
“We just go out in nature and just take in the views and have a day representative to you," Oblizalo explained. “It can be anywhere from like Indian Peaks to Vail to the San Juan Mountains.”
Oblizalo said his summer is booking up with couples who've canceled weddings due to COVID-19.
“I've had a lot of brides reach out to me recently just basically saying like, 'hey, we wanted to do this elopement in the first place. Now we’re kind of being forced to do it, so let’s do it,'" Oblizalo said.
Weir and Bogumill reached out to Oblizalo and scheduled their elopement for Sept. 17 in the San Juan Mountains.
"[Sean Oblizalo] has a pretty intense hike planned for us, so I expect my dress to be muddy at the end of it," Weir said.
Bogumill joked that he'd likely be the one carrying their water on the trek.
“We really like the pictures of like the bride and groom wearing their hiking boots and having their day-packs on in their suit and dress," said Bogumill. "That seemed a lot more like us.”
The idea appealed to Sean Oblizalo, too, before he became an adventure elopement photographer. He and his then fiancee, Mimi, planned to get married in Colorado, but they couldn't believe the cost of renting a venue.
“They told us the price tag and I was like this is crazy!" Oblizalo recalled. "And [Mimi's] like, 'why don’t we just go elope?'"
The couple flew to Ireland and found a photographer to shoot photos in front of a castle. The experience led him to his current career.
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“This is a great way to incorporate all your loves and passions into a day where it’s really just focused on you versus planning and guest lists and food," he said.
Last year, Oblizalo said he shot 15 adventure elopements. He's booked 30 so far in 2020 including the shoot with Weir and Bogumill in September.
“I hope our pictures capture the love that we have for each other and the love that we have for Colorado," Weir said.
It's not the free wedding they'd planned, but it's bound to be an adventure.
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