When Michelle + Ryan first reached out, they were hoping to elope at Gatineau Park near Ottawa. The plans eventually pivoted, Michelle contacted me to see if we can move the location to the Laurentian Mountains in Eastern Canada. She found a gorgeous AirBnb, le lagöm, just 30 minutes away from Quebec City. A winter Airbnb wedding in the Quebec mountains has been on my bucket list for ages, so of course I said yes!

Notes from the couple about their snowy Quebec elopement day:

Your thought process and inspiration when planning your wedding day?

When we decided to elope, we knew it was because we wanted to commit to each other in a way that was “us”. Having a private ceremony and reception was where we started the planning. We love being outside, especially in the winter; skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing, you name it. So we knew that something in the cold of February would be at the forefront. We built our wedding day around ourselves. We picked some of our favourite things and brought it all together for the day, and the following few days.

What did you love about your AirBnb wedding location?

We wanted something simple and secluded, both ceremony and reception locations did exactly that for us. Being on top of a mountain at sunrise is probably as secluded as it gets. The airbnb that we stayed at as our reception was elegant yet totally simple in design, perfect for an elopement.

What was most important to you when planning your airbnb wedding?

We are morning people, and have done hikes and runs before the sunrise at a special spot. We’ve done an anniversary sunrise run every year. We knew that a sunrise snowshoe to the top of a mountain was really important. Luckily, the sunrise in February isn’t until 7 am, so we didn’t have to wake up too early!

What memory from your wedding do you remember the most strongly?

Aside from saying the entire thing, it was finally getting to the top. Golden hour was just about to begin and we were looking out into the Laurentian Mountains. Realizing that all of the planning was over, we were about to say our vows to each other, exchange rings, and enter the next chapter of our lives together. We got changed at the top too, so the cold and wind has burned that into our memories!

Funniest moments on during your airbnb wedding?

There are three that come to the top of mind! One was being outside and literally chasing each other in the snow and falling down countless times. Another was after we changed into our wedding day sweatsuits, and we started goofing around, voguing at the same time without realizing it. Finally the funniest thing was Mary calling us at 5:30am saying that her car was stuck at the bottom of the mountain. Us rushing down to try to push her car up! We decided against it and left it down in the parking lot, but we still laugh about how ridiculous it was to even try to do that.

What wedding advice do you have?

We think the best advice that we can give to couples is to have your day represent you as a couple. Whether that be having a big family party, a small group of friends there, or eloping on a mountain in the dead of winter with just you two! We are so fortunate that we have a day to look back on and say “This was so us!”. The real “best advice” might be to hire an amazing photographer to capture those memories so you can look back on it whenever you like!

What was it like working with your photographer?

Working with Mary was amazing, truly such a pleasure. Having never done a photoshoot together, or ever really. We were worried that we wouldn’t get candid or even nice posed photographs. That we would look awkward. Mary was an instant friend behind the camera and made us feel incredibly comfortable. We got along right away and she was incredibly flexible when we had to make changes based on our creativity and having the elopement out of town.

Michael + Ryan

AirBnb: le lagöm // custom ceramics: miche ceramics

If you enjoyed this AirBnb wedding, you may also want to check out this Ottawa Beach Elopement.

Looking to get your elopement documented? I travel all across Canada, Europe and Mexico get in touch and lets plan your elopement