The Elope Asheville Story

Our Goal: To give you the wedding experience everyone wishes they would have had.

Apart from providing beautiful, romantic, fun, and stress-free weddings, we at Elope Asheville are passionate about supporting our local economy, being ecologically conscious, and supporting the belief that all love is equal.  

Above all, we aim to be warm, real people for your wedding day.  You are putting a lot of trust in us to be a part of one of the best days of your entire life.  We aren’t just providing your wedding, we are advocating for you every step of the way. 

Elope Asheville was created because we believed there was a better way to do weddings – less stress, just as beautiful, more customization.  We don’t believe in going into massive debt just to say, “I do.”  

This is our team – all of us experts in what we do.  Thank you for trusting us with your wedding day.  We can’t wait to meet you!

Jon-Paul Brown

Founder / Co-Owner / Lead Officiant
Jon-Paul started Elope Asheville in November of 2010 while planning his own wedding. His was “only” going to have about 50 guests, but the budget and stress both went through the roof. He dreamed of a wedding experience that was beautiful, fun, yet inexpensive and stress-free. He decided to create that experience for others, and the business took off! He and his wife Heather have since had twin girls (in 2013) and currently live just outside of Asheville.

Paul "Judd" Pires

Officiant
Paul has been officiating weddings with Elope Asheville since 2013. A Bermuda native, Paul loves nature and spending time outdoors and has a background education in philosophy and religious studies.

Amanda Berk

Co-Owner / Lead Photographer
Amanda is co-owner of Elope Asheville and is the head photographer as well as main contact for all incoming communications. She has been shooting with Elope Asheville since the beginning and is full of creative energy! Amanda has a light and calming demeanor and takes the time to get to know you and put you at ease to get the most natural shots.

Sarah Dooley

Photographer
Sarah is one of Elope Asheville's photographers and has been shooting with us since 2019. She also owns her own photography business at https://www.sarahdooleyphotography.com/ where she specializes in destination elopements all over the globe!