Coming Soon to Elopement Buddy

Elopement Buddy started with one simple but powerful idea: to stop photographers from tripping over each other on the same mountain, beach or castle ruin.

Proximity Alerts were our first answer to a very real problem. But let’s be honest: clashes are just one of many headaches that come with shooting small, adventurous weddings.

Elopement photographers need tools built for their world — not watered-down wedding software, not bloated CRMs designed for huge teams, not yet another “all-in-one” platform that adds complexity instead of cutting it. We need something different. That’s why Elopement Buddy isn’t just an app. It’s becoming an entire system designed for photographers who specialise in elopements.

This post is our roadmap. A look at what we’ve already achieved, what’s coming next, and why this isn’t just about features — it’s about building a stronger, more sustainable industry together.

Why Elopement Buddy Exists

If you’ve ever:

• Shown up at a trailhead only to find another photographer already leading a couple up the same route.
• Tried to manage an entire elopement workflow with a giant, wedding-focused CRM that makes you feel like you’re running an event company instead of a one-person creative business.
• Lost hours digging through emails, contracts, notes, and random scraps of paper when a couple messages you mid-travel asking for a detail you know you’ve got somewhere…

…then you already know why Elopement Buddy had to exist.

The problem isn’t that we’re bad at organising. The problem is that the tools available were never made for us. We’ve been hacking together systems meant for big-budget weddings and forcing them into situations where they just don’t work.

Elopement Buddy was born out of frustration — but also out of love for what we do. Shooting elopements is different. It’s intimate, messy, adventurous, unpredictable. It deserves its own tools.

Proximity Alerts: The First Step

Let’s start with where we are now. Proximity Alerts launched as our flagship feature, and for good reason.

If you’ve never had the misfortune of showing up to shoot an elopement only to discover another photographer leading their couple up the same trail… trust us, it’s not fun. The couples feel awkward, the photos lose their magic, and you spend the day dancing around each other like you’re at some bizarre professional double-date.

Proximity Alerts fix that. When you create a job in Elopement Buddy, you drop a pin on your ceremony location. If another photographer sets up in the same area at the same time, you both get notified. No surprises. No “oh crap” moments. Just clear, simple communication before anyone gets up at 4am to hike a mountain.

Scenario: You’ve got a sunrise vow exchange booked at the Quiraing on Skye. You log the job into Elopement Buddy and get pinged that another photographer has the same spot at almost the same time. Instead of a 5am traffic jam on a tiny path, you chat ahead of time, tweak the plan, and both couples get the privacy they deserve. That’s the whole point.

The CRM Elopement Photographers Actually Need

After Proximity Alerts, the next logical step was clear: a CRM built from the ground up for elopements.

Why? Because the tools we’ve been stuck with don’t fit our work. They’re either:

• So bloated with features we’ll never use that they just create more admin.
• Or so stripped back they don’t cover the essentials of running a real business.

Here’s what our CRM will look like:

• All your info in one place — timelines, vendor notes, contracts, payments, ceremony details, travel plans. No more switching between apps, emails, and spreadsheets.
• Currency exchange built in — international couples are the norm in this business. Why should you have to mess around with conversion rates and fees every time?
• Custom contracts — with clauses that make sense for adventure weddings, like injury waivers, weather reschedules, and location-specific risks.
• Offline-friendly — because not every mountain summit has 5G, and you shouldn’t be stuck if your phone goes dead halfway through the day.

Scenario: You’re halfway up Ben Nevis and your couple suddenly asks, “What time are we supposed to meet the celebrant later?” Normally you’d panic, scroll through emails, or admit you’ll have to check later. With Buddy’s CRM, you open one app, one timeline, and the answer is right there — even offline. That’s the difference.

More Features on the Horizon

Emergency Job Coverage

What happens if you wake up with the flu on the morning of an elopement? Or you break your leg a week before flying to Iceland? In the current system, couples are left scrambling, and your reputation takes a hit.

With Elopement Buddy, you’ll be able to mark a job as “open for coverage.” Nearby photographers get an instant notification. Couples get peace of mind. You get to save your brand — and maybe even salvage your fee through coverage agreements.

Scenario: You’re based in Edinburgh, booked for a Glencoe elopement tomorrow, and your kid comes down with chickenpox. Instead of letting your couple panic, you push “coverage needed.” Another Buddy user nearby steps in, the couple still gets their day, and you don’t take a total loss.

Second Shooter Job Board

Elopements are often solo jobs — but not always. Sometimes you need an extra set of hands, whether it’s for coverage, experience, or just to make the logistics work. The job board will connect you with second shooters who understand elopements, not just weddings.

This means newer photographers can get experience without being thrown into 12-hour banquet hall weddings, and established shooters can find the right support for tricky days.

Search by Location & Date

Thinking about taking a last-minute booking in Glencoe? Want to know how busy the Isle of Skye will be that week? With our location/date search, you’ll see how many ceremonies are already happening in an area. That means smarter planning, fewer surprises, and better experiences for your couples.

And Then There’s Wedding-Day Buddy

Not every elopement photographer sticks solely to elopements. Plenty of us still shoot traditional weddings alongside them. And the truth is, the same tools that work for elopements can make weddings easier too — they just need to scale.

That’s where Wedding-Day Buddy comes in. It’ll use the same philosophy — simplicity, clarity, and tools that actually help instead of overwhelm — but designed for larger events. Because if you can organise a 200-person wedding with these tools, managing an intimate elopement in the Highlands will feel like a breeze.

Where We’re Headed

The long-term vision for Elopement Buddy isn’t just features. It’s about creating an industry-wide standard. A place where:

• Couples know their day is safe, private, and well-coordinated.
• Photographers have backup plans, community support, and tools that let them focus on the art, not the admin.
• New photographers can find safe ways to gain experience without burning out.
• The industry as a whole feels less cut-throat and more collaborative.

In five years, we see Buddy as the backbone of how elopements get planned and shot. Not just an app, but the infrastructure that makes this kind of work possible on a larger scale without losing the intimacy that makes it special.

Building with the Industry, Not for It

Here’s the most important part: Elopement Buddy isn’t something we’re building in a vacuum. It’s not us guessing what you need and then shoving it out the door.

Every feature, every roadmap decision, is shaped by the photographers already using it. We’re asking questions, listening to feedback, and iterating based on what you actually need to run your business.

Because here’s the thing: when elopement photographers thrive, the whole industry thrives. Couples get better experiences, locations get less pressure, and we all get to keep doing this work without burning out.

What Happens Next

We’re building these features step by step. Proximity Alerts are live right now. The CRM is in development. Emergency Coverage, Second Shooter Board, and Location Search are on the horizon. Wedding-Day Buddy is just a little further down the track.

If you’re reading this, here’s what we need from you:

• Join now. Use Proximity Alerts. Get comfortable with the platform.
• Tell us what you need. Every bug report, every feature request, every “wouldn’t it be cool if…” helps shape what comes next.
• Spread the word. The more photographers we have using this, the stronger it becomes.

Elopement Buddy isn’t “ours.” It’s not a top-down product. It’s a platform we’re building with you, for you, and — hopefully — for the next generation of photographers who’ll thank us for laying the groundwork.

Final Thoughts

The elopement industry has exploded over the last decade. What started as a niche corner of wedding photography has become a movement of its own, with couples choosing adventure, intimacy, and authenticity over big, traditional events. But the tools haven’t kept up.

That’s why Elopement Buddy matters. It’s not just about apps and dashboards. It’s about saying, “our work is different, and it deserves different tools.” It’s about creating a safety net for photographers and a smoother experience for couples. It’s about building something together that makes our industry stronger, more sustainable, and a hell of a lot less stressful.

So — what’s coming next? Everything we’ve talked about here, and more. And we’d love you to be part of it.