This Fort Worth adventure elopement I recently captured with Brooke and Jason might be one of the most uniquely them wedding days I’ve ever photographed.
They said “I do” at the courthouse, ate wedding cake on the steps, recreated the night they first met at a Stockyards bar, got tattooed together, and ended the evening surrounded by friends while Jason played a live set on stage.
They skipped the traditional reception and packed wedding timeline; there was no doing things just because weddings are “supposed” to look a certain way. Instead, we spent the day adventuring through Fort Worth and documenting pieces of their actual love story along the way. ❤︎
Starting Their Fort Worth Adventure Elopement at the Courthouse
Personal Vows Inside the Courthouse + Cake On The Steps
Brooke and Jason began the day at the Fort Worth courthouse with an intimate ceremony. They also exchanged vows they had written themselves.
There’s something I really love about personal vows. Even the simplest ceremony suddenly feels more meaningful when the words could only belong to those two people!
After making everything official, we stayed around the courthouse for some fun newlywed portraits inside and outside. Then they pulled out a wedding cake – and I won’t lie – watching them eat cake together on the courthouse steps immediately became one of my favorite parts of the day!
It was simple, playful, and completely unfussy. Which pretty much set the tone for everything that came next. ❤︎
Back to the Bar Where It All Started
Revisiting the Place They First Met: Filthy McNasty’s
From downtown Fort Worth, we headed toward the Stockyards and made our way to Filthy McNasty’s. And this wasn’t just a random bar stop. It’s where Brooke and Jason first met and fell in love two years ago!
Jason is a musician and plays there regularly, so he knows the staff well and has built real friendships with the people there. When we arrived, the bar was still empty, which basically gave us the entire place to play around with.
Recreating a Little Piece of Their Love Story
We took creative portraits on the pool table, wandered around the bar, and eventually made our way to the little table where Brooke and Jason first met. Those are always the moments I love most.
A beautiful location is great, but give me a place that actually means something to you and I will choose that every single time!
Their wedding photos didn’t just show what they looked like on their wedding day. They documented a place that was already part of their relationship. 🥰
Drinks, Tattoos, and a Very Nontraditional Wedding Day
What’s a wedding day without making it official in ink?
After leaving Filthy’s, we crossed the street for a drink and relaxed for a bit before their next appointment. And what was next on the wedding-day itinerary, you might ask? Getting tatted up, obviously!
We walked over to Knuckle Up Tattoo, where Brooke and Jason each got 10|90 tattooed on their upper forearms.
The meaning behind it is honestly really sweet: Love isn’t always 50/50. Sometimes your person only has 10% in them that day, so you show up with the other 90%. And eventually, when you’re the one running on empty, they do the same for you. 🥹
I loved that they chose something that actually meant something to their relationship instead of just getting matching tattoos for the sake of it. Also, wedding-day tattoos?? I’m very much here for it. 🫶🏻
Ending the Night Right Where Their Story Began
Queue “Closing Time” by Semisonic
After the tattoos, we walked back to Filthy McNasty’s so Jason could get ready for his set. By then, the staff had opened the bar for the evening. Brooke settled in with her parents while Jason played.
Slowly, their friends started trickling through the doors to celebrate with them. Instead of a formal reception, they spent the rest of the night right there at the bar. They listened to live music, had drinks, hung out with friends, and celebrated until closing time.
Adventure Elopements Don’t Have to Mean Epic Locations
Mention an “adventure elopement,” and most people immediately picture hiking boots, mountaintops, and a couple exchanging private vows somewhere like Moraine Lake in Banff. And obviously, that absolutely counts.
…Buuuut so does this!
An adventure elopement doesn’t have to mean hiking miles into the wilderness or flying halfway across the world. It can be anything that feels exciting, meaningful, and completely you.
For Brooke and Jason, that meant wandering around downtown Fort Worth, eating wedding cake on the courthouse steps, revisiting the bar where they first met, getting tattooed together, and ending the night surrounded by their favorite people while Jason played a live set. That was their adventure.
And really that’s the most important part: your adventure should be whatever your ideal wedding day looks like.
Brooke and Jason’s Fort Worth adventure elopement wasn’t built around traditions or a checklist of things they were “supposed” to do. It was built around their relationship, their favorite places, and the life they’ve created together – and that made the entire day so much more fun to photograph.
If you’re planning an elopement, courthouse wedding, or completely unconventional celebration and want to turn the day into an adventure of your own, I’d love to come along for the ride.
Reach out through my contact page to start planning your wedding or elopement!
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