How to Look Good Hiking for Adventure Weddings

Read on for our top 10 tips on how to look good hiking for your adventure wedding.

Bringing a makeup bag can be a lifesaver during hiking elopements! Some essentials to include are a compact mirror, a small comb/brush, mattifying powder, travel-size hairspray, lipstick, blush, and tissues (both for dabbing sweat off your back and tears from your eyes)

As photographers we always have a good supply of bobby pins and some hairspray in our bags, but sneaking a few more bobby pins into a suit pocket means as soon as you feel your hairstyle loosen you can re-secure it immediately.

Choose a hairstyle that’s going to hold in place regardless of conditions. The Canadian Rockies are known for windy mountains, and the west coast is known for rain, so plan a style best suited for the most likely weather outcome of the day.

Some of our favourite hiking-proof hairstyles are braids, ponytails, and loose piecey buns that look naturally ‘undone’, so flyaways are no biggie.

Hiking in the Canadian Rockies usually involves some serious elevation gain, and it’s often impractical and unsafe to do the whole hike in a suit or dress. That’s why we have most couples change once we’ve arrived at the top. Don’t worry though, you can still get cute hiking wedding photos with your backpacks afterwards!

If it’s windy, incorporate decorative bobby pins like Luna + Stone to hold your hair in place. Accessories like a wide-brimmed hat dual as rain protection and a cute bridal look! Anthropologie has some great light-coloured hats to fit any bridal style.

Every makeup artist knows that these two steps are crucial to keeping a makeup look locked in place, and you can easily do this too if you’re planning to do your own makeup!

This will help a little to minimize sweat-induced shiny foreheads, though a mattifying powder after hiking works best! Don’t be shy, both guys and gals can use powder too 😉

A lot of stylists (like Blush & Coco in the Canadian Rockies) are willing to come along for the hike with couples, and can do hair and makeup right at the top! How’s that for the coolest getting ready location ever?

We aren’t running a marathon here, we want you to enjoy the hiking experience! Be realistic when planning how long it will take to hike; it’s always better to have planned too much time than not enough! Take your time going up, don’t be shy and take lots of breaks whenever you start to feel out of breath. We love breaks!

When all else fails, embrace what Mother Nature throws at you! This is an adventure elopement. It’s about capturing authentic moments and who you truly are, flyaways and all 🙂