Toni & Dave Bagarella Why did you choose to elope? We first pictured our wedding day being just the two of us on top of a mountain saying our vows together, but after going through my dad's passing and David finding himself after divorce, David and I built such a strong and understanding love. It made us think of our plans at a deeper level. Although we didn't officially " elope " like we thought we always would, we had the best of both worlds by having a very small, intimate backyard wedding (40 people). Kelsey met up with us at 3 a.m. two days later to hike in the mountains with us and our dog. We got to the top to a perfect sunrise and used that time to reminisce on our wedding day. It helped me so much because I also felt like I was visiting my dad in the clouds. What was your favorite part of eloping? I loved walking up to the peak of the summit and seeing the bright pink sunrise. I actually started crying because I couldn't believe how beautiful the sky was. I took it as a sign from my dad that he was there. My dad wasn't here to walk me down the aisle during our backyard wedding, so to see that sky on our hike felt like that was him guiding me and handing me to David from the sky. We also loved being able to be ourselves. We had packed our PB&Js and truly just enjoyed each other's company. We felt no stress or had any real timeline for anything. A traditional wedding can feel very structured and stressful, and we felt the complete opposite! New Hampshire Magazine's BRIDE | 51