Sam Starns Elopements Reviews
Reviews
5.0 out of 5 rating
5.0 out of 5 rating
28 Reviews
100% recommend it
Awards
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![Rachel]()
Rachel B. Sent on 08/10/2020Elope your Life and Hire Sam!
It was awesome working with Sam! Our elopement originally was meant to happen at Glacier National Park, but due to COVID-19 reasons, we had to completely change locations 3 weeks before the big day. Sam sent over a ton of Oregon Coast location options and helped us choose the perfect spot. Our day was still so magical, wild, free and super meaningful. I was nervous about switching up locations, but the whole point is to marry your best friend, so I knew ultimately it would work out. And it did!
Sam made both of us feel so comfortable (like we could be our goofy selves), and even our friends who weren’t in attendance noticed that my husband looked way more relaxed than usual in front of the camera! It felt so good knowing we had a friend in our corner to help us feel empowered, and who we could talk to if we had questions at any time. If you’re considering eloping, really think about what’s important to you. With a traditional wedding, you can easily start to lose sight of yourself and your relationship. Be true to yourself and start to elope your life with an elopement! Then reach out to Sam. She’s got your back. -
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Rachael C. Sent on 11/15/2020Best. Day. Ever.
Okay, so Sam blended in SO well that G Pam (Matt’s grandma) thought she was a cousin, when she met up with us the night before our elopement for a game night at our Airbnb! The whole elopement process was seamless, from our client portal where I could go back and check out resources, to Sam’s “Elope Your Life” Facebook group, to the ways the two of us were able to get more connected in our relationship. Sam meshed so well, our few guests loved her, and we ended up with a new friend! Talk about a great elopement day. Our experience was pretty unparalleled.
Eloping was exactly what we expected, and even more than we could have imagined. We were real hype before, but in the moment on the day, I (Rachael) just knew that was where we were meant to be at that exact second in time. We really felt empowered with Sam doing what we wanted, and felt even more so afterward. It was very much a “fuck yeah, we did it!” type of feeling afterward, despite family members who were upset they didn’t get accommodated how they wanted to on our day. Absolutely no regrets!
Elope Your Life helped propel the “no emotional constipation” goal this year. It really boils down to doing what you want, even if it means having hard conversations. It’s really amped up what my game plan has been. Elope Your Life is a lot of big dick energy (it’s why it’s aimed to be one of your “best days ever”).
Elope (and hit Sam up). You won’t regret it! -
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Diana C. Sent on 10/11/2019Fun and magical!
After spending a considerable amount of time thinking about wedding planning the stress was getting to us and we started looking for alternatives, something that was more representative of us. In this search we came across Sam’s website and it really spoke to us, it set us on this new path and wouldn't change it for the world.
Eloping and having Sam capture it was a great experience. It was an emotional day full of beautiful places we love! Sam was a great guide through the process of planning our elopement. Yeah, there is some planning involved ;), but Sam’s elopement guide answered a lot of our questions (even those we didn’t know we had) and her timeline helped things run smoothly.
We loved having an adventure session the day before; it allowed us to get comfortable in front of the camera and spend more time together.
Hanging out with Sam was fun and laid back, like a new old-friend, no pressure. Plus, she knew about the local environment and animals - like the gray whale that hung out during our ceremony! It's also so great to look back at your photos and album - it transports you back to those moments. Eloping was such a great experience and we'd definitely recommend it! -
Katherin L. Sent on 06/01/2021
Elope Your Life with Sam, You Will Not Regret It!
Due to COVID, we decided to forgo the traditional wedding and plan the adventure elopement of our dreams. But also due to COVID, we changed our elopement location 3 times! Not only were we impressed with Sam’s flexibility, but with each step, she had an incredible repository of recommended vendors and location suggestions that fit the bill for exactly what we wanted.
How can we put into a short paragraph how amazing our 2-day elopement was across the island of Maui? We got married at 10,000ft at Haleakala National Park, explored a red sand beach with a DRONE, hiked a bamboo forest, and so much more. Sam doing what she does gave us a super solid foundation and empowerment to make our experience exactly what we wanted: spontaneous, candid, and fun. She made it so comfortable, so 2 days flew by! Her direction in front of the camera was also a great balance of serious and funny moments. We’re still laughing at, “Every guy has a condition. It’s called ‘dead hand’.” On top of all that, she knew things about the planning process (like when Google was lying about drive time, or how we’d fit our day together perfectly) that made our life so much easier. Her timeline questionnaire and timeline she crafted from it just put our minds at ease.
Sam cares SO deeply about every couple she meets. From the first conversation we had, the first thing she did was get to know us as people and what we wanted, past the epic images. Since we were all free, we met up the night before our elopement to just have dinner and talk (and share dog photos) and that really stood out to us about Sam’s process too. The whole elopement experience surpassed what we ever could have imagined. -
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![Jaclyn]()
Jaclyn L. Sent on 06/15/2021Our Perfect Day
Our day was so kickass. It wasn't stressful in the least, and the few loved ones the witnessed our ceremony had a great time too! Working with Sam was SO easy, she made us feel super comfortable in front of the camera and her resources were everything we needed. Looking to elope? Congratulations! Now go see Sam LOL! -
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Jessica H. Sent on 01/23/2022Best. Day. Ever.
Sam is COOL. AS. HELL. Working with her and Rachel was great! All of us felt right at home as our goofy selves. We wanted to feel tiny among a vast world on our elopement day and Sam totally delivered. We weren’t worried about all these wedding logistics or family drama, instead we just had an epic adventure in Moab with our dogs, our moms, and some new friends. It was freaking magic!
We loved the whole experience, from our own personal client portal (use it, trust me!) filled with resources, planning and location inspiration to all of us building this really personal relationship. At the end, we had a stress-free "best day ever", images to remember it by, and a new friend to adventure with. Do yourself a favor: Elope Your Life and hire Sam and her team!
I would do this every year if we could! It was an absolutely magical day & we are so grateful to have her help us create such incredible memories. I'm writing this on our 1 year anniversary because time just flew by! But it's perfect time to reflect on just how amazing Sam & her whole team are! -
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Nicolette A. Sent on 10/07/2020
adventurous bliss
So many times we thought “Thank goodness for Sam”. She was flexible with COVID, helped with our timeline, and was super responsive. We didn’t have to worry because she took care of us. I (Bret) wasn’t expecting that our photographer would be this involved and care enough to build a relationship with us, but Sam’s whole process, from the “getting to know you” Zoom calls to our wrap up call when we got to see our images and album draft, was fantastic and helped build connection between all of us.
Sam’s view on eloping really aligned with how we feel. Eloping really just reaffirmed that, while we do care what people think, there are days and times where we’re going to ultimately do what we feel is right for us, and that can be regarding any typical societal expectations, like buying a house or having children or how we get married.
Our elopement day was adventurous bliss. We wish we could recreate it again and again, and it was so fun working with Sam. -
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![Raissa]()
Raissa B. Sent on 08/24/2020Sam is incredible!
Working with Sam was amazing. We always wanted an intimate wedding and having one just reaffirmed our decision. We were able to be present for the whole day and Sam came to the table with great ideas, and inspiration. We wish we could tell everyone getting married that they need to have an intimate wedding or elopement, otherwise they’re missing out! We wish we could experience our wedding day over and over again.
Sam is such a fun photographer to work with, and it’s even better to know that not only does she have your back when it comes to crafting an adventure wedding, but that you’re on the same page as people too. Our initial consult and Zoom chats were great and the questionnaires she sent in our client portal were super helpful. Everything was crafted in a way that both of us could be involved in the process, and get connected with each other as we went. Sam's directions and cues got us and our families to express real emotions that she captured perfectly. Being in the Elope Your Life group was also incredibly helpful, with all the resources and other couples’ input that Sam has worked with. Overall our experience was fantastic! -
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Brittany B. Sent on 08/17/2020
Best. Day. EVER.
"Working with Sam (and her husband, Brian, who tagged along) was awesome. Even though it rained on our adventure elopement day, we wouldn’t have had it any other way. It made our day more fun and our images more intimate. Sam was super easy and fun to work with, and she knows her way around Glacier and other locations she travels to!
Even though some friends and family were confused or a little sad about our decision, we spoke to them and expressed our ideal day. They quickly realized they didn’t want to do things like get up before sunrise for a sunrise ceremony or hike somewhere. It became clear that changing our day to fit their desires meant it wouldn’t have been about us and who we were anymore. Sam was right there to back us up, too. Your wedding day won’t be important to anyone else in 2 months, but it will still be important to you. So don’t fall down the slippery slope of making one small tweak to please someone, because that can snowball into changing your entire plans.
Deciding to elope and working with Sam was one of the best decisions we’ve made. You have someone truly interested in a relationship with you and your partner, so together you can craft a day that’s totally “you.” Our day was fun, wet, cheerful, and full of laughs with Sam’s help." -
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![Gretchen]()
Gretchen D. Sent on 09/13/2020Amazing amazing amazing
From the beginning, Sam was more involved in our wedding and marriage than a typical photographer. She was invested in our elopement experience and even busted butt the day-of (with the help of our floral designer, Nicole) to create a whole new whale watching boat adventure when our initial reservations for a helicopter ride fell through due to COVID-19.
Our friends have either said they wished they got married how we did, or that our day is exactly like how they want to get married. After all was said and done on our big day, I began to think, “Why exactly was I so worried about what others thought in the first place?” I mean, I know it was societal pressure, but after the fact, it doesn’t seem like such a big deal. Sam's concept and book on "Elope Your Life" has really opened our eyes to doing things we want and not caring so much about what society and tradition says is “right” – including being a little bit more spontaneous in our everyday lives.
Something else we didn’t anticipate? Gaining a friend out of this whole thing. I read Sam’s reviews before and thought, “That surely won’t be us”, but we’re really all excited to be calling each other friends. We have someone to visit and hang out with in Oregon when we go back (and we definitely will be going back!).
On top of all of that amazingness, Sam's photos are breathtaking and we will cherish them forever. -
![Shan]()
Shan T. Sent on 10/12/2020Sam was the guru of our perfect adventure wedding
We loved our Glacier National Park elopement with Sam!
She took the time to really get to know us through phone and video chats before we met up. The first time we got together in person was for our adventure session a few days before the wedding. We scheduled the adventure session at the end of a 2-day hiking experience totaling almost 20 miles, so we were pretty exhausted at the time. Sam's vibrant personality immediately perked us up and put us at ease. Her prompts were hilarious and we ended up having a fantastic time laughing together while taking portraits. The fun was genuine and it absolutely shows in the photos!
Sam had the knowledge and experience to take us to the right places at the right times to optimize our experience of Glacier's jaw-dropping settings. She was our unofficial guide about the park, sharing knowledge and tidbits along the way. She has such an eye for beauty and light, and was able to capture our special memories in the most beautiful way. Our small group of friends all had a great time with her and her husband, Brian. Our elopement day was full of fun, laughs, Goldfish crackers (Sam and both of us love them), adventure, and authenticity. We even got to go paddle-boarding in our wedding gear; how many people can say that?
Afterward, Sam and Brian joined us at our place for dinner! It was great hanging out with two new friends after experiencing one of the best days. -
![Cindy]()
Cindy H. Sent on 09/05/2020Could not have asked for more...
"Huge shout out to Sam for making our elopement day PERFECT! Prior to the big day, she referred me (Cindy) to hair and makeup artists, vendors for florals, and answered all my silly questions for how to prepare. On our big day, she whipped out a mini tent from her car so I could change into my wedding dress. Then my honey and I went for a canoe ride while Sam followed us in a motorboat shooting awesome photos. Then she showed us the best that Crater Lake had to offer. We couldn’t have asked for more. We loved that our elopement experience was just for us. There was no one to please (except ourselves), and no one was around to judge.
On the topic of “Elope Your Life” – I have had a lot of time to think about the concept. I tend to not make a ton of decisions on my own. But since deciding to elope and knowing Sam, I’ve been more inclined to do what I want, knowing that I don’t really need anyone’s permission. In general, Elope Your Life has instilled more confidence in me and my abilities.
The cherry on top of this whole elopement experience is that we’ve gained a friend. Sam is da bomb!"
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![Lauren]()
Lauren M. Sent on 10/29/2020HOLY SH*T say YES to the Starns
Our elopement day in Glacier National Park was so beyond anything we ever could have imagined, that it needed a “buckle up” warning.
We didn’t want to be another couple spending more time stressing over our big day than enjoying it when it’s supposed to be fun! We’re both successful event planners in our respective jobs and we couldn’t seem to get this shit together – for some reason doing it for ourselves was a challenge. Sam made everything so smooth and seamless that it felt like we were on a mini vacation(and in the middle of it we liked each other that much more). The day went by so fast. Seeing everything and exploring, you lose track of time. All of sudden we were saying, “Has it been 8 hours already?!”.
Thank you, Sam. You really made everything easy for us and we absolutely stunned by our images. Sam really took care of so much and made things so simple that we thought we weren’t doing enough! Also, her expansive knowledge as we traversed the park was super educational. We love to know the story of the places we visit and Sam was dropping info bombs non stop. There was constant laughter, tears of awe and joy, views that were so unreal you felt small, and lastly our victory jump(dressed to the nines) INTO Lake McDonald to finish off our day.
As we drove along Going to the Sun Road, taking in the sights, I (Pete) turned to Lu and said, “Could you imagine being in Michigan right now shaking hands with 250 people?!”
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![Kirby]()
Kirby Sent on 06/17/2019Fantastic. Amazing. Best choice ever.
I did wedding photography for about 5 years in college, which was long enough to figure out that it is demanding, difficult, and stressful. I also gained enough experience to become very picky in how wedding pictures look. How good the images are, how cliche the poses. It’s amazing how much bad photography exists. I spent ten years in a photo lab printing bad pictures and knew I didn’t want that for myself.
So, when I knew I was getting married, my absolute #1 priority was to find a good photographer. I even told my fiancé, now husband, that I’d spend more on the photographer than anything else. Because I have very high standards. Even the prospect of finding the right photographer felt overwhelming at first.
From our first conversation, I was impressed with Sam’s knowledge, professionalism, and talent. And besides her portfolio, she’s also just a really kind, wonderful person. She helped me with deciding on wardrobe questions and finalizing a location. She had local experience that was invaluable. She gave me timelines and questionnaires to help make sure we had all our important content covered.
The day of the wedding, she was instrumental in coordinating everything. She made me feel comfortable and beautiful. I’m pretty awkward in front of a camera and very self conscious. She made me laugh genuinely. She spoke with all my vendors and helped make everything perfect and special. She even got us surprise gifts that made the day incredibly memorable!
And finally, the pictures were everything I ever thought they could be. Everyone who has seen them has commented on how beautiful they are. The composition and exposure are beautiful and she was able to capture pure, decisive moments that went by in an instant.
I really can’t say enough about her. I’d recommend her to anyone who asked. ❤️❤️❤️❤️ -
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Chloe N. Sent on 04/02/2019
Beyond Our Wildest Dreams
We absolutely loved our experience in the Redwoods with Sam. Nothing was rushed and it was perfectly 'us'. Sam caught on quickly to how we interacted and worked together to help create an amazing experience on our elopement day (particularly the local bar we went to afterward!). Dylan was worried about feeling awkward on the day, but he ended up having a blast! Sam was super communicative and made the entire process easy. She took so much stress of our shoulders, and we loved her fun personality. Our elopement experience totally exceeded our expectations! We feel like we've gained a friend who we can visit and spend time outdoors together.
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![Noelle]()
Noelle M. Sent on 12/11/2018Sam was everything and more.
We were just overwhelmed with Sam's help in finding essentially our wedding location. She planned out several different places for our actual portraits. I knew from the moment we met in crater lake for our engagement photos that she was gonna HAVE to be the one who captures our wedding day. She’s everything rolled into ONE. One of the things I loved most was how she curated a timeline for the day of. She sent it for us to review a week or 2 before the wedding so that we could go into with with eased minds. I can’t thank her enough for capturing what we were picturing in our heads, so well. I love that we have the option to download our entire gallery because we are digital people and I just think that’s a little added bonus. Not only did Sam capture our wedding day but she became a friend, who I will refer just about any and everyone to now. Thanks Sam!!!" -
Kendal Sent on 09/11/2018When we first came up with the idea to elope to Glacier National Park we talked to about 17 different photographers and weren't really sure what we wanted...until we talked to Sam. As soon as I spoke to her on the phone we connected and I knew there was no one else I would rather have in my corner to pull off the magical adventurous wedding I had in mind! Sam was super communicative, crazy knowledgeable, and just so much fun to work with! You can obviously see from her portfolio that her photos are incredible keepsakes, but what I wasn't expecting was what a sweet and fun experience she crafted for us with the combination of her effervescent personality and wilderness guile! In hindsight, I can't imagine anyone else standing by our side (or climbing a rocky waterfall with us as it were). Do yourself a solid and cancel your wedding, hire Sam, and run away and marry your sweetie like you really want to!
Sam Starns Elopements's reply:
Kendal, I had the most amazing time with you and Mike and I'm so glad that I could help make your day as special and amazing as possible. I can't wait until we meet up again because y'all are an absolute blast to hang out with! -
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