Marien j. malloy
the elopement
Collection Guide
2026 Elopement and Small Wedding Photography Pricing
Welcome
A small wedding still deserves the whole story. I'm so glad you're thinking about me for yours.
find your way around:
How it goes
The Collections
Kind Words
Where to elope in Pittsburgh
FAQ
meet Cassis
Elopement photographer in Pittsburgh
I didn't have a photographer at mine. I got married in Pittsburgh a few months after moving here. I didn't know the city, I didn't know a single vendor, and I didn't know how to plan a wedding in a place I'd just arrived in. So we kept it small, and a friend brought her camera. What I have is six or seven portraits of the two of us, one photo of the ceremony with the officiant, and the family portraits with his side. Nothing of him seeing me. Nothing of the vows, the walk out, the lunch after. And my family, who couldn't be there, only ever saw the posed ones.
That's where photography started for me. Six years and a lot of weddings later, small ones are still the ones I take personally. I know which courthouse block to book, which park needs a permit and which one doesn't, what a self-uniting license is, and where the light is at eleven in the morning downtown. You'll be seen, you'll be taken care of, and someone who's been exactly where you are will be there for all of it. In English or Spanish, whichever feels like home.
the process
the process
what it looks like to work together
01.
Say hi
Date, where you're thinking, and whether anyone's coming. That's all I need to start. If your date's open, we hop on a quick call, in English or Spanish, and I'll tell you which collection is yours in about five minutes. First how many people, then how many hours.
02.
Save your date
A signed agreement and a 30% retainer hold your day. Weekday dates are the easiest to get, and they're also the cheapest way to get married in this city, which I'll explain below.
03.
We pick the spot
Courthouse, park, rooftop, your backyard. If you already have a place, tell me and I'll tell you what the light does there at your hour. If you don't, I'll send you three options with the permit situation for each, so nothing surprises you the week of.
04.
The paperwork
I'll send you the county's page for the license, the timing that actually works (apply at least three weeks out), and a couple of officiants I've stood next to. If you'd rather marry each other without an officiant, Pennsylvania lets you, and I'll explain how.
05.
You get married
I'm there before you arrive. I talk to you the whole time, I know where your witnesses should stand, and about ten minutes in you forget the camera. Then we walk. The best photos of a small wedding happen in the twenty minutes after the ceremony, when it's done and you're just married.
06.
Your gallery
Sneak peeks within a week, your full gallery within two, in a private online gallery with high-resolution images and a print release. Then send it to your family who couldn't be there. That part matters more than people think.
Collections
custom collections available upon request
Most couples tell me the same thing before we start: we're awkward in photos. That's usually where we begin, and it's the part I'm best at. A small wedding gets the same attention as a big one. Fewer people, more time with the two of you, and every part of the day photographed, from the walk in to the lunch after.
Intimate Elopement
from $950
2 hours of coverage
Just the two of you, or up to 10 people with you
Courthouse, park, or backyard, with help picking the spot and sorting the permit
Online gallery with high-resolution images and print release
Sneak peeks in one week, full gallery in two
$950 Monday to Thursday, $1,200 Friday to Sundayion images and print release
Best for: courthouse weddings, a ceremony in a park with your parents and your best friends, or the two of you and two witnesses.
$2,800
5 hours of coverage, any day of the week
Up to 80 guests
Getting ready, ceremony, family photos, portraits, and cocktail hour
Online gallery with high-resolution images and print release
Sneak peeks in one week, full gallery in two
Best for: a backyard wedding, a restaurant buyout, a ceremony and a long lunch, or any day that ends before the dancing starts.
A la carte
Additional coverage: $300/hour
Second photographer: priced for your day
Small album, 8x8 linen, 20 pages: $585
Additional album spreads: $25 each
How I decide which one is yours: first how many people, then how many hours. Fewer hours inside a collection never lowers the price.
Want the whole party photographed too? That's a full wedding, from $3,750, with the engagement session included. See the wedding collections → (link a pricing.marienjmalloy.com)
Pennsylvania sales tax will be added to all collections and add-ons. Travel fees apply to locations outside of 60 miles.
Albums
the perfect way to remember the moments that matter most
A small wedding fits in a small album, and it's the one your family who couldn't come will actually hold. Same linen cover, same archival pages as my wedding albums, in 8x8. Twenty pages is about forty photos, which for a two-hour elopement is the whole day.
Small album, 8x8 linen, 20 pages: $585. Additional 2-page spread: $25. Albums are prepaid, take four to six weeks including revisions, and can be ordered any time before or after the wedding.
handcrafted
Kind words from small weddings
“When I got our pictures back I cried at how truly beautiful they turned out”
“She is by far the best photographer, she's so attentive, thoughtful, kind, energetic, and is all about what YOU want. She recently did my wedding photos but I will now be going to her for all of our family & holiday photos down the line as well. Her photography goes unmatched, when I got our pictures back I cried at how truly beautiful they turned out.”
—TRACEY & MIKE
Kind words from small weddings
“We asked Marien to photograph our small backyard wedding”
“Our photos are clean and bright and colorful, which is exactly what we were hoping for. She captured some beautiful moments and great candids, too.”
—eLizabeth & miguel
Kind words from small weddings
“Beautiful pictures even with a windy, rainy day”
“She was engaging and made us so comfortable, and delivered BEAUTIFUL pictures even with a windy, rainy day. We would highly recommend her for anyone looking for a photographer for a big or small occasion.”
—carissa & david
location
WHERE TO ELOPE
Nobody flies to Pittsburgh to elope, and that's the point. You live here. You can get married on a Tuesday, in your own city, and make the whole day the wedding. The ceremony takes ten minutes; everything after it is what I photograph. Most of my couples' days look like one of these three.
The city day
Courthouse at eleven. The grand staircase of the Allegheny County Courthouse is the most beautiful courthouse ceremony in the country, and it's $25 if you live in the county. Then we walk: the courtyard, the arches across the street, Grant Street with your coat open. A long lunch in a restaurant with a private room. And at five, the Duquesne Incline, for the portrait with the whole city behind you. If it's summer, a rooftop after, Over Eden or Il Tetto, while the light is still up. If it's your bar, the one from your first date, tell me. It goes in the timeline.
The trail day
McConnells Mill or Ohiopyle, an hour and change from the city. A self-uniting license, two witnesses, and your vows on an overlook. Sandwiches from the trunk. Tharp Knob in October is worth every mile. Then a brewery on the way home with the mud still on your boots. Kelly and her husband did exactly this, and her review is a few scrolls down.
The home day
Your backyard, or your parents'. The dog gets to be there. Thirty people, string lights, and the most Pittsburgh tradition there is, a cookie table, which at a small wedding becomes the center of the whole afternoon. No permit, no clock. Elizabeth's backyard wedding is a few scrolls down too.
Every spot above is one I've stood in with a camera, and once you're booked you get my list: the parks that need a permit and the ones that don't, the restaurants with a room for 10, 30, and 80, the rooftops that say yes on a weekday afternoon, and the two flower farms I'd call first.
Everything you need to know about your engagement session
The paperwork
TThis is the part that scares people, and it's the easiest part. A Pennsylvania license costs $90, takes three days, and is good for 60 days. If you'd rather marry each other without an officiant, Pennsylvania lets you: it's called a self-uniting license, and two witnesses sign. Once you're booked, I'll send you the step-by-step, the timing that actually works, and the officiants I'd call, in English or Spanish.
Eso quita los nombres (que ya decidiste que van después del contrato), quita la frase de "I've been a witness before" que había que verificar, y deja la promesa de que tú resuelves el resto. El bloque largo que pegaste se convierte, casi tal cual, en el post "How to get married in Pittsburgh: the license, the officiant, and the self-uniting option", que es el primero que escribiría para el blog porque es el que más búsquedas tiene de todos los que hemos hablado.