WHO WILL YOU BE WORKING WITH?

HEY, We’re Elizabeth & Zack – The Lead Photographer/Elopements Specialist and Officiant Team and the original couple behind EZ Elopements!

EZ Elopements started as a result of an adventurous couple looking for a unique yet stress-free way to tie the knot and build a life together.

We since then have an adventure of our own every year for our wedding & company anniversary of 07.07.17

THE ORIGINAL FOUNDERS OF EZ ELOPEMENTS

ELIZABETH IS

• one of the main elopement+micro-wedding specialists and planners for east coast and abroad
• one of the lead photographers/ coordinators (5 hour + elopement experiences)
• hybrid shooter (videography & drone photography)
• back up/female option for an officiant
• someone who also used to craft all the pieces of decor, florals, picnics etc until 2023 when we hired an additional part time planner, florist & decorator, Vickie

Elizabeth comes from project manager and business & marketing background, with photography skills gained from over 10 years of different industries experience, including large, 300-400 people “traditional” weddings

ZACHARY IS

• one of the lead officiants for east coast and abroad
• venue manager + fixer upper
• drone videographer
• a perfectly sarcastically subtle and fun addition to your special day + bag carrier 🙂

Zack comes in with our “veteran-owned” part of the company of 13 years in the army, and is an experienced commercial diver and scuba instructor (for those interested in an underwater wedding experience!)

>>MEET THE WHOLE TEAM

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So, what’s the full story? It’s a really special one!

BACKGROUND

Hello! My name is Elizaveta, but I go by Elizabeth here in the US. I was born and raised in Russia. When I was 17, I was given an amazing opportunity – I moved to the United States. Barely speaking a word of English and not understanding the “weird” American culture, I translated every word everywhere I went, in everything I read. Slowly, I emerged.

7 years later, after living and working in California, Hawaii, and Seattle, I’ve made it up to a Project Manager position, while pursuing a BS degree in Business Management. Somewhere along the way, I met a guy. The most supportive, strong, and intelligent man. After he proposed, in 2015, we kind-of-not-really-slowly planned a wedding. We even put a deposit on a yacht down in California (which we never got back)! We lived in Hawaii for almost a year as he went through Scuba Diving University and became a master diver, but in 2017 he decided to attend DIT, which is why we moved to Seattle. Our families are all over the place, most of mine being on the opposite side of the world. So guess what? We did not want to wait, and we did not want to have to get ourselves in any debt, so we decided to elope.

The Wedding Planning

We both are adventurous individuals that love to travel, dive, and try new things. As a result, I certainly did not want a trivial courthouse ceremony. I wanted something unique, and I could not find a small, but truly special experience that would stand out like my personality. In the end, I had to put everything together myself. I found an amazing and historical wooden boat on Lake Union, which offered simple charters, but nothing special or outrageous.

Execution

I connected with the owner, and found a captain that was ordained to be able to perform the ceremony. I posted on FB to find a photographer, who could join us for the ride to capture our moment, with hopes to find someone who would not cost $5,000 like other “elopement” and wedding photographers do. Well that’s not all! You see, we moved to a completely new to us city, but we needed two people to witness the moment we say the I Dos and sign our marriage certificate. Luckily, I found a photographer that was so amazing that she offered to not only serve as one of the official witnesses, but to also bring along her BF. He was trying to learn videography, so he recorded our ceremony and served as a witness as well!!

On 7/7/17, Everything came together. We got married! It was simple, but it was very special and incredibly unique (at least to me), and certainly, not comparable to a court house ceremony.

As soon as I said I DO, I could not think about celebrating or a honey moon. What I started to wonder is, “How awesome would it be if other couples around the world could have such unique and special experience without the hassle of trying to figure out every single detail?” I mean, besides wanting not to have to throw away thousands of dollars on a wedding, the planning and stressing out about the special day is literally one of the reasons many choose to elope.

Beginning of the Business

That day, I went home, I edited the few photos I liked (you see, I am a photographer myself, so it takes a lot to impress me with pictures), I put together a short movie using video clips, I talked to the owner of the boat, and I put together a website. My goal was to create a super easy, yet unique experience for those looking for something better than a court house ceremony.

THE LOGO BEHIND EZ ELOPEMENTS

My name is Elizabeth and my husband’s is Zachary. I called it EZ Elopements. The initials made the perfect heart, and I used the colors of our eyes for the logo. The blue and green mixed into my favorite color – turquoise, bringing the hint of the ocean we both love so much. I’ve included the world map to symbolize our passion for travel and desire to share the unique experience we have to offer with the entire world.

Two months later, on September 30^th, we married our first couple! And I simply could not describe in words the feeling I got from seeing the amazed and truly happy faces, as a result of the experience this couple had. The smiles and thank yous, they truly meant the world to me. So I kept going! My husband became ordained and, honestly, made one of the most handsome ministers out there. I started to work with other photographers and captains, and we included other little things that made the experience with us even more unique and personalized.

The Present

Overtime, we built a team of trusted individuals to take care of our couples and help us expand at other locations. Zack and I have then moved over to the east coast, where we offer our beautiful Private Forest.

In Nov of 2021 we had our daughter, Kira: she often comes along on our adventures but stays behind during the events:)

As of today, we offer a variety of different and fully customizable packages. Our options accommodate those looking to elope on a boat, couples interested in having a full day adventure away in beautiful falls or gorgeous mountains, as well as those who would like to share the special moment with closest family and friends by having a small but sweet ceremony at one of the truly beautiful and colorful local parks, or have a small to medium wedding and reception at a local venue.

EZ ELOPEMENTS | WWW.EZELOPEMENTS.COM

Come adventure with us!