Jason Lanier’s Real Wedding, Helicopter Excursion Workshop in Anchorage Alaska (June 2019).
Hi everyone, Jason and Emily here. We went to some really awesome places in 2019 and want to share some of them with you. The first two days of June, Jason held a real wedding workshop in Anchorage Alaska. The bride and groom, Kiley and Austin met us in Anchorage to not only shoot but marry the couple! You read it correctly; Jason married Kiley and Austin. Before we get too ahead of ourselves, we would love to share the story with you from the beginning.
Austin, a long-time friend and follower who attended several workshops reached out to me and asked to shoot his wedding. Austin wanted to Elope with his Fiance, Kiley. The planned for their Wedding to be on June 2, 2019. Light heartedly, Austin asked Jason to shoot his wedding and he agreed. Before we knew it Jason signed up online and could marry Austin and Kiley in Anchorage, Alaska.
We originally planned the workshop as follows: June 1, 2019, the attendees would photograph models for a mock wedding, learn the fundamentals of wedding photography before the ceremony and then on June 2, 2019, the group would charter 3 helicopters on glaciers and be ready to photograph the couple on their big day. Well, as Emily arranged for models Jason and Emily thought to themselves, “why on earth are we hiring a fake bride and groom when we have a perfect couple right here!?” So, we proposed to Austin and Kiley the chance to do a first look with the bride and groom the day before. Given Jason’s experience shooting weddings, he has learned that doing a first look with the bride and the groom the day before not only optimizes the amount of shots the couple gets together but also relieves stress from the couple on the day of the wedding. Austin and Kiley understood that they were presented with a unique opportunity to have two full days of picturesque couple wedding photography at no further cost. They loved the idea and agreed to partake.
One slight change was that instead of doing the first look the day before, Austin and Kiley agreed to move their wedding day from the second to the first of June. This solution maintained Austin and Kiley’s wishes while also allowing for the most shoot time in the helicopters. Instead of doing the ceremony on the glacier we can get right to shoot. Getting married on the first day in the forest seemed to be the best way to go!
The day before the wedding, Jason and Emily scouted locations to hold the wedding ceremony. Since the wedding was going to happen on the first day rather than the second Jason and Emily searched for a gorgeous forest scene. After hours of driving and scouting, we stumbled across this amazing forest backdrop. The deep woods were filled with lush greens that beamed with light onto the ferns. The forest also offered a perfect archway made of a huge sweeping tree for the two to stand under. Jason and Emily documented when the light was best in the forest and took the group there the same time the following day. Later that afternoon we met the group at the hotel and returned back to this 60s style AirBnb for a pizza party.
The crazy thing about Alaska in June is that there were tons of sunlight. It didn’t get dark until nearly midnight. So here we were, chatting away with the group, eating pizza, reminiscing and even acquainting all the way to midnight. It was a fantastic bonding experience before the workshop began.
It was the day of the wedding. The group met us at the Airbnb. Emily was still doing Kiley’s hair and makeup so Jason started getting ready shots with Austin. On the property of the Airbnb was this really old, beautifully rusted, and overgrown yellow truck from the 1940s. Jason posed Austin in front of, next to, and inside of this really awesome truck. Jason captured unique shots during this set and the group did the same.
About an hour or so later, Kiley was ready and Austin went and played pool in the basement of the vintage Airbnb. Jason and the group photographed Kiley getting ready in the woods. Next, it was time to head to the woods for the ceremony. To keep Kiley from being seen by Austin, she hopped in the car with us and we drove her to the woods. The group and groom followed behind. Once we got to arrived, Austin was positioned under the arch created by the forest. To avoid having a parking lot or road in the background, Jason chose to photograph into the forest instead of against it. This required Austin to turn his back while we made an isle for Kiley to walk down with her back to the forest. Austin turned around and closed his eyes as his fiancé walked beside him in her gorgeous wedding attire. Emily turned on Canon in D from the car and finally, Kiley was able to walk down. She looked marvelous.
The beauty of Jason holding the ceremony was that he had the luxury of slowing it down. For example, Jason had Kiley stop walking just as the light would shine through the trees illuminated her. Kiley paused in the beaming light and the group took amazing shots. This moment wouldn’t have been possible given a typical wedding ceremony environment. Austin then turned around and was in awe looking at his beautiful wife to be. The moment was a dream and extremely heartfelt. As Jason married the two, Emily photographed it. After the ceremony, the couple briefly reenacted the kiss and exchange of rings so Jason could have a chance to photograph it too. It was truly a memorable experience.
It was about 4:00 PM after the ceremony and we still had a full day of sun left ahead of us as it didn’t set until about midnight. Jason certainly utilized all the light he could. The agenda for the first day of the workshop called for a two-hour mock wedding shoot, but the group instead got a 12- hour, full-day, real wedding couple shoot. We stopped at several locations scouted by both Jason and Emily and requested by the bride and groom. The locations after the ceremony included: portage glacier, an unused Alaskan train car, and a waterfall. Some images taken at these locations are listed below. Jason photographed the couple with the Sony A7Riii and Godox AD600 modified by the 48” Westcott Rapid Box XXL. At about 11:00 PM, as the light started to diminish we decided to get some rest and call it a day.
The next morning, Kiley and Austin arrived for day 2 of hair and makeup by Emily. At about 11:00 AM we drove to the helicopter charting service and met the group on-site. At the helicopter chartering service, we weighed in ourselves, our gear, and were appointed seats on the helicopters. Jason rode shotgun in one helicopter and Emily had the front seat in another. This allowed us to get some awesome footage of each other taking off and landing. That footage can be seen on Jason’s Instagram and a much more extensive version will be released when the video to the real wedding workshop comes out.
In the helicopters, we stopped at three different locations that can only be reached by air: lake George shoreline, Knik glacier, and grasshopper point. Each location presented us with amazing photo-taking opportunities. At lake George shoreline, we hiked down a large hill and stood on land at the base of a lake and glacier. Jason placed the couple on a large rock at the edge of the water for perspective. This put their heads above the horizon and separated them from the background. Jason and the group did both couple shots, grooms shots and bridal shots at the location. The light was so bright down here Jason was firing the AD600 bare bulb!
Next, we were off to Knik Glacier. This was the coldest location and one of the most spectacular. At Knik Glacier, we landed three helicopters directly on the ice. It would appear that the ice would be slippery when in actuality it was quite crunchy and sharp like glass. Standing on Knik Glacier felt like a whole other universe as we were totally surrounded by ice and dreamy blue glacier water. Take a look at the gallery below to see some images take at Knik Glacier.
Lastly, we stopped at Grasshopper point. It was getting later in the evening and people were extremely cold; however, we wanted to use as much time in the helicopters as we could so we made one last stop to Grasshopper point. This location was on top of a giant mountain with what appeared to be endless hills and glaciers in the background. Jason photographed the bride and groom as much as they could handle before having to warm back up. It was very cold at Knik glacier and we wanted to keep Kiley as warm as possible in her dress. With about a half-hour to spare, the couple needed to warm up so Jason photographed the attendees on top of the mountain. Just before departing Austin and Kiley remembered to bring their marriage license and Emily and Jason signed it on top of Grasshopper point. The group gathered for a group shot and we all loaded back up into our helicopters and enjoyed the aerial views before heading back to the base. After landing back at base we grabbed some dinner and said our final goodbyes before returning back home.
The helicopter excursion real wedding workshop was truly one to remember. It was the first time in a long time where Jason had the ability to provide a couple with 16+ hrs of solely wedding couple dream shots. Sometimes we get stuck in the pattern of only doing what we are used to or what we are comfortable with. Due to Austin and Kiley’s unique request to elope in Alaska allowed us to capture timeless, gorgeous photos. Their out-of-the-box thinking and flexibility offered them timeless wedding shots at a variety of incredible locations. Austin and Kiley are fantastic examples of how flexibility, and being different can really work in your favor. Instead of having just one 30 minute couple’s shoot, they had 16+ hrs of shoots giving them countless gorgeous images to take home that will last them a lifetime. Let’s face it guys, after a wedding you only go home with your spouse and your pictures and they certainly chose the route to get the best content.! About a month later, Austin and Kiley held a celebratory reception with family and were so pleased to show some of the shots taken at the event. They relived their special day and couldn’t have been happier.
Thank you Austin and Kiley for being an amazing bride and groom; it was such a pleasure to work, connect with and spend time with you both. Thank you to the attendees for joining us; we just love you guys. Kevin, thank you for filming you were such a huge help! We always love having you join us. And thanks to all of those out there that support what we do. If you want to sign up for a workshop, check out our schedule at www.jasonlanier.com/register
We can’t wait to see you there!
Thanks,
Jason and Emily
