5 General Elopement Tips
Look, eloping is an exciting and amazing thing but it’s important to keep a few things in mind. Before you start to feel bad about skimming through this introductory paragraph, let’s just dive right in to these 5 tips!
Bring Your Close Community Together
This is one of the biggest misconceptions of elopements that I see out there. There was a time when eloping meant literally running away together and not telling anybody but now things have changed. It’s not that way anymore, you don’t have to be alone for your elopement at all! Elopements are so much more than just saving money or getting married in secret in Vegas. It’s about shifting the focus to just you and your partner in an intentional way. It’s all about crafting a perfect day for the two of you and having your close family there to share that with you could fit into your definition of perfect! Telling somebody that you aren’t allowed to have their family there on one of the most special days of their life doesn’t seem too fair, so I’m here to tell you the opposite. Bring the 5-10 people that are the absolute closest to you and your partner. If you still want your dad to walk you down the aisle of dirt on a mountain elopement, that’s definitely possible! If you want to have a first dance with your mom after you dance with your wife, make it happen!
2. Take Your Time!
This one is huge for me. Don’t just plan a quick ceremony and call it good for the day. What kind of memories would you form from the 1 hour elopement ceremony?! That doesn’t even give you enough time to feel what it’s like to be there in the moment. I’ve literally had longer dinners at restaurants than some people’s entire elopement experience. You deserve the absolute best and taking a few more minutes to think through what you want the rest of your day will 100% pay off! Just because you're eloping doesn’t mean your marriage has to kick off with a 10 minute ceremony and off to watch Netflix at your AirBnB. This is all about having an incredible and meaningful experience that you can look back on with a warm heart and fond memories. When I’m shooting people’s elopements I also tell them to just take a minute right after their ceremony and have a moment of stillness to take it all in. You’re only standing on a mountaintop on your elopement day once, so take your time, get your vendors for the full day and appreciate the stillness.
3. Choose your DREAM location
This tip might be one of the main reasons you’re choosing to elope over having a traditional wedding and for good reason! There’s soooooo many rad places to go get married. Hike in the mountains, elope on the beach, next to a river, at an alpine lake or even under the Northern Lights. The opportunities are truly endless. It can definitely seem overwhelming but something I like to explain to couples is to choose an experience, activity or hobby you want as part of your elopement to help narrow down the options. For example, if you both looove surfing together then hitting up the beach might be the best bet. If you enjoy skiing or rock climbing, maybe head towards the mountains. There’s a lot of great resources out there on different elopement spots but if you’re coming out to Colorado, check out this article on some of locations here:
4. Hire a Photographer AND VIDEOGRAPHER!
Maybe this one seems obvious but you want these memories to be captured. You may want to freeze these moments in time forever or relive the experience through video. Also, I mean, come on… you’re getting married in the most epic location ever so “pics or it didn’t happen” can certainly apply to this situation. Beyond that, since you opted for an elopement and not a traditional wedding there’s a lot of people in your community that couldn’t see the ceremony live and definitely want to be able to share that with you. Photography is a great tool for capturing those moments in time but videos allow you to hear your vows spoken exactly how they were on the day or see the burst of laughter when the rain began to fall after your first dance. A majority of an elopement budget should be spent in these areas since there really aren’t many other expenses and having a photographer and videographer you connect with can make or break the day. Make sure you pick somebody who you get along with well because they’ll be with you during your entire elopement experience, all the way from planning the itinerary to finding hiking trails with beautiful overlooks or lakes. You should 100% have one phone call at a minimum with your photographer or videographer and provide them with as much information about you to help them help you.
5. HAVE FUN!
This may not seem like much of a tip but let me explain. When you’re planning the whole elopement day it’s easy to get stuck in the weeds. Thinking about what dress you want or where to stay is equally exciting as it is nerve wracking. However, when your elopement day finally rolls around and you wake up in your AirBnB or tent somewhere, it’s game time! You’ve put in the effort up front so you can just be present and in the moment. Your videographer and photographer (and sometimes officiant…) are going to be there to guide you through the entire process on the day so there’s no need to worry. By booking with experts, you get expert care and you can just let go and have a total blast! Dance your heart out, appreciate the beauty, eat three handfolds of cake, go wild. It’s your day and there’s absolutely no rules to an elopement so be yourself and enjoy the amazing process of committing yourself to your partner!
I hope you enjoyed these 5 Helpful Elopement Tips! If you are recently engaged or starting to plan your elopement, I would really love to help guide you through planning your dream elopement and be a part of such a special day! You can contact me >HERE< for a free consultation and talk about how you envision your elopement! I always love talking to new couples so please reach out, even just to say hi :)
SHOULD I ELOPE?
This is a great question and definitely an important one! I would say that if you have an adventurous spirit and desire to have an intimate experience with the focus on you and not your guests on your wedding day then eloping is the perfect choice for you! It’s a tough question to think through but eloping is all about having a meaningful and stress free experience all the way from the planning stage to the signing of your marriage license Starting your lives together on an epic adventure and committing your lives together in a place you’ve always dreamed of can be an extremely positive and liberating experience for a lot of people.
If you’re looking for an elopement videographer (and photographer AND planner, we do all of it!) then we would be so incredibly honored to be a part of your special day
You can contact me >HERE< and I cannot wait to talk to you about your elopement!