When I was planning my own Alaska wedding, I thought for sure I didn’t need a planner’s help because I’m a wedding vendor myself! Right? Turns out, I knew everything about the wedding day...noooot so much about the PLANNING process beforehand. Where to find high-quality vendors? How to structure everything? What needs to get done when? So much to figure out.
Enter, Madison.
Madison runs Wild Hearts Events, a wedding planning business here in Anchorage who specializes in intimate Alaska adventure elopements. As an Alaska-native herself, she knows all the tricks and secrets to eloping in Alaska without freezing your butt off. She also went to school for hospitality, so she is a pro at making your event unique to YOU (and going off without a hitch!)
I had the pleasure of interviewing her on IG Live last week for my series of Alaska Vendor Features. Here’s what we talked about!
R: Hey Madison! So glad to have you on today! Can you tell us a little about yourself?
M: Hey! Happy to be here! I was born and raised in Alaska. I live in Anchorage with my husband & two fur babies. We love exploring Alaska, going on adventures, and being a part of our community here in Anchorage.
R: That’s awesome! How did you get into planning?
M: My family has a hospitality business, and I went to school in Arizona for hospitality. When I came home I worked for the State but I really didn’t love it. I talked to my friends one day about how I needed to get a new job I was passionate about, and they all encouraged me to get into event planning because I am the friend who LOVES to host parties and do elaborate table decor and all that haha. So basically I combined my passion for Alaska’s outdoors, hosting, & connect with people into an events planner business.
R: I love that! Can you give me a quick summary of what you do as a planner? What do you take off the couples plate? And how does a planner benefit them?
M: Sure! Once you book me, I walk you through the entire process and what to expect. Most of the time it’s people’s first time getting married (especially in Alaska), so I will walk you through how to apply for a marriage license in Alaska, how to dress in proper attire for the Alaska wilderness, picking a color palette, creative ideas, decorations, list of vendors, recommendations, places to stay, etc. etc. I love helping plan honeymoons in Alaska too!
I could talk about Alaska all day! I wanna make sure everyone has a great time, not just on their wedding day. But yeah…there’s a lot to consider, especially if you’re not from here. Things like getting your marriage certificate in Alaska and everything, not everyone thinks about those details.
R: That’s amazing. I have a question here from a follower, Miranda: What does a typical elopement day look like from start to end?
M: Elopement days can be anything you want! That’s the beauty of it. You can have all the traditions or not. It’s what you want. A wedding day should represent you two, and that’s the cool part of elopements.
A typical day though? You can have hair and makeup come to your hotel. And then, we meet up at a location, do the ceremony, take pictures, have a little picnic, cut the cake - all that good stuff that goes along with elopements in Alaska. Usually people finish the evening together at a nice restaurant in Anchorage or the area.
My goal at Wild Hearts is to create a day that represents the couple. So if you want traditions...we can do all that! Or if you wan a more unique, intimate elopement - we can do that too!
(You can see a list of elopement adventure ideas on Wild Heart’s website HERE.)
R: What is your favorite part about your job?
M: It’s such a hard question because I love so much of it. I love connecting with my couples, bringing their vision to life… creating an easy, stress-free Alaska elopement for them so they can really enjoy their day & create those memories.
I love hearing a vision that someone has, and seeing it come to life. Truly representing what THEY like. For example, a lot of my couples bring in their bring in hobbies. One of them went fly-fishing on their first date, so they did it on their wedding day, just the two of them. I love that.
R: So true! I have a question here from a fellow vendor: What can clients do to make YOUR job easier?
M: I send a checklist of how to prepare for each Season. And on the phone, I talk about how to dress as for an adventure wedding here in Alaska. Basically, just to be prepared for Alaska elements. It makes my job easier, because I want you to be comfortable and be able to actually enjoy your day. Basically, the best way to help me is to let me help you, haha. And for you to really embrace the day, letting go of all the nerves, being yourself and having fun.
R: Is there anything else that you would like to share with couples about hiring, planning, looking to elope in Alaska etc?
M: Definitely I would say, hiring an Alaska planner will make the process a lot smoother for you. So on the day-of, you're not running around picking up your flowers or your cake. You can really slowly enjoy getting ready and the day, taking it in.
It’s not in everyone’s budget but it will make your experience more stress-free. For example: I was actually on a glacier today, and apparently they had a wedding there a few days ago and it was -15. Everyone there was from the States, and they had on dress shoes (!!)... and everyone was freezing. They didn’t hire from the local Alaska wedding vendors, and they were unprepared. Today? My couple had boots on. They were warm in the Alaskan elements because they were prepared. Your vendors need to make sure they know the elements, and you’re really prepared for Alaska outdoors. Alaska is pretty in photos but you need to be ready in real life.
R: ABSOLUTELY. One thing I wanna add too: I think it’s important to have a planner outside of your friends & family so they aren’t tied up in responsibilities & can truly enjoy your day with you.
M: I think a lot of times people think their friends will help on the day-of, but you want to enjoy the time WITH them, and not have them coming up asking you a bunch of questions throughout the day.
I hope this interview with a local Alaska vendor was helpful & gave you a picture of what you’re looking for with intimate Alaska adventure weddings.
If you wanna hear about Madison’s business: Wild Hearts Events - then you can find her online HERE:
