In this blog post:

Elopement Planning Tips for Couples
How to Choose Your Elopement Location
How to Pick Your Elopement Date
How to Pick Your Elopement Vendors

Elopement Planning Tips for Couples

Choosing the right date, location, and vendors are the second most crucial steps to take to have a successful elopement day.

The first step is finding your budget. Once you have put one together for your special day, you’ll have a much better idea how much money you’ll be able to spend on the things that will make your day an unforgettable experience.

Keep in mind that elopement planning can take from 6 months up to a year. This is not only to allow you to prepare all the components of the day but also to ensure there’s availability of vendors and locations for your desired date.

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As you go through this step of the process, I encourage you to take your time and write down notes as you move forward. Having all your elopement ideas written down in one place will make it easier to refer to when you need to!

Ready to find out how to pick the best elopement date, location and vendors for you? Let’s get started!

How to Choose Your Elopement Location

Planning an elopement can easily begin to feel a bit like a task if you get too stuck in the ‘what ifs’ of the process. That’s why it’s so important to dream it as big as possible first.

Let’s get mentally creative and think of what the possibilities can be.

Close your eyes and think about it; Where do you envision your elopement ceremony and photos taking place?

Do you hear the beach, see a mountain, or feel the bustling city lights in the background?

What about the season? Are you in Spring or in Fall? If you had a preference, what would you choose?

The beauty of eloping is that it can happen almost anywhere in the country (and the world) so long as you research the permit process and pay any required permit fees.

This will also allow you to see how much you’ll need to budget to reserve your spot or if you need to adjust your expectations and look for a different location!

What if there are too many choices?

Having many options can get overwhelming too if you’re not clear on what you envision for your day. To avoid this from happening, here are 3 key aspects you should focus on:

Meaning

Do locations have meaning to you and your partner? If so, make a list of all the spots you’ve been to together where you made memories before.

This can be a place where you had your first date, or the city where you got engaged!

It could also be a list of places you’ve visited together for the first time like National Parks or international destinations.

Aesthetic

What surroundings do you feel most comfortable in? If you like greens, the redwoods would be perfect. If you like boho, a beach elopement would fit best. Think about what kind of background you’d like to be surrounded by.

A few other examples that come to mind are the desert, cliffs, mountains or even an urban setting.

Accessibility

Be mindful of accessibility to your chosen elopement location.

If you’re eloping in the outdoors and you and your partner are avid hikers, then you know what to expect. However, if you are choosing to invite guests, consider their ability level before making the choice.

An alternative to this would be that you have your ceremony at a place that is easily accessible for all, and then have your bridal portraits just for you too wherever you wish to.

Answering all the questions above and keeping those location aspects in mind, work with your partner to come up with a list of places that are significant to you both. These should also work well with your wants and needs.

Through your ELOPEMENT LOCATIONS research, here’s what you’d need to do:

Pick at least 3 locations you’d like to consider for your elopement day
If each of these locations are in different cities/states, research one backup location in case of weather restrictions
With the list of locations that you have now, research what requirements you’ll need to meet, how to obtain their wedding permit, and what the cost would be to have your elopement or intimate wedding there

How to Pick Your Elopement Date

Traditional weddings are usually scheduled for weekends because that’s when most of the invited guests can attend.

But unlike those weddings, elopements provide much more flexibility. This is especially true if you’re eloping without attendees!

The best elopement planning tip for choosing the best date is to look at the bigger picture. Ask yourself the following:

Is there a date that’s has great significance to you and your partner that you’d choose for your elopement?
If not, what season do you envision your special day happening in?
Would you want to travel to a destination or be close to home?
If you’re inviting guests, how much time would you be okay giving them to arrange their details to attend?
If your chosen location doesn’t have your desired elopement date available, are you open to being flexible or would you prefer to go in another direction?

Location-Specific Considerations

Once you’ve constructed a more detailed vision of your day, you’ll need to do a bit more research that goes together with the locations that you picked in the previous section.

When picking a date, you need to make sure that your chosen location will be available, open, and accessible.

The last thing you’d want is to finish most of your elopement planning without realizing that the road to get to your destination closes because of usual snowfalls!

If you’re choosing public lands, like a National Park or State Beach, opt for a weekday to avoid a large majority of the crowd. The best days are Tuesdays through Thursdays.

By choosing those dates, you can expect the opportunity to have a more intimate experience as it’s less crowded than during the weekend.

Additionally, think about what month of the year you want to marry! This will greatly impact the weather. Some of the most common months to have an elopement are in Spring (April to June) and Fall (September to Early November).

Vendor-Specific Considerations

The date you pick will highly impact vendor availability too. This is critical if you already have vendors in mind that you’d really like to work with and don’t want to have to look for replacements.

If you don’t have any vendors in mind, you have room to work with but that shouldn’t mean you’ll reach them at the last minute. Let them have time to prepare for your day!

It’s easier for a vendor to provide the best service when you inquire about their services with time in advance rather than a month out.

And since weekends are usually booked out for traditional weddings, it’s likely that choosing a weekday will allow you to have a higher guarantee that they’ll be able to work with you.

It’s even possible that they may be able to provide a much more intimate wedding experience and sometimes even offer weekday discounts.

Guest-Specific Considerations

If you’re not inviting guests, feel free to skip to the next paragraph.

If you’re planning to have your closest family and friends with you during your ceremony or the photos, would a weekday work for them too?

The answer will depend on their work and family lifestyle, of course, but the more time you give them to make travel arrangements or request time off from their jobs, the better chances you’ll have that they can make it to your special day.

If you’re inviting more than 10 guests thought it’s possible to make it easier on yourself and them by booking a wedding venue for the weekend.

This way you can host them from the ceremony through the dinner or reception all in one place.

Through your ELOPEMENT DATES research, here’s what you’ll need to do:

Pick at least 3 dates that you’d like to have your elopement on
Research what your elopement location destination is like during those dates (take notes on weather, sunrise or sunset time, and any holiday or potential weather closures)
Check with your elopement location choices for availability on those dates
Check with any important guests you’re thinking of inviting for date preferences

engaged couple prepares for elopement day

How to Pick Your Elopement Vendors

By now you have a list of dates and locations that you’re seriously considering for your elopement day. Maybe you even picked your final choice!

If you’re not there yet, don’t rush. Dedicate as much time as you need to picking your elopement location and date because it will make your vendor search a bit easier on you.

When you reach out to vendors, they’ll want to know those things. In addition they might even ask for your budget. So if you don’t have one already, take some time to write down your elopement budget plan for vendors first.

Once you’re ready to move forward, here are some key things to keep in mind and to look for in your search:

Keep in Mind Your Priorities

All elopement vendors will equally create magic for your day. But it’s clear that every couple and elopement is different.

There will be different priorities for what to splurge on or who to work with. So, what you do will depend on what your priorities are for your elopement.

The order in which to book your vendors will impact your budget so take a moment to rank your must-work vendors from high priority to low priority.

In this rank, ‘high’ would be whichever vendor you’ll spend whatever it takes to book them; and ‘low’ would be what you’re willing to compromise on with a budgeted approach.

For example, if your makeup is the most important aspect of your day and you have a favorite makeup artist you’d like to book, then they should be the first thing on your list.

You wouldn’t want to leave this booking for later only to realize then that you can’t afford their service anymore because your budget is running low.

If there are no preferences on this though, I usually recommend couples to book in this order:

Elopement Photographer
Elopement Videographer
Officiant
Hair and Makeup Artists
Florist

The reason why I recommend booking an elopement photographer first is because they usually help with vendor recommendations. Elopement photographers have connections with vendors that may be local, reliable and fit your budget.

Some photographers may even have inclusive packages that cover all those services too. Any vendors beyond this list can be booked after you’ve had these major ones sorted out.

Think About Your Values

Working with vendors that align with your values will make you feel more comfortable. There’s no better feeling than supporting businesses that support you back!

When doing your vendor research, remember there is a ‘perfect’ vendor for all of us so don’t feel like you have to settle with one that doesn’t fully check your boxes.

Some common values to keep in mind are transparency, openness, honesty, respect and accountability.

And if you prefer a better connection with them, look for vendors that have deeper values like yours in areas like environmental sustainability, social awareness, and inclusivity.

Doing this will only elevate your experience with them!

Think About The Experience

This one is up to you because not every couple will truly care about getting an experience from their vendors. Sometimes they just want the service and nothing more. That’s okay!

If you’re wondering what the difference is: An experience would make you feel supported and heard through the process; While a service is when you pay for the job and get the deliverables. In short, a service feels fully transactional.

For your elopement, think about how you want your vendors to take part of your day.

If you’re looking for the experience, read up on every bit of information they provide on their website and check their reviews. Hearing from other couples will help you understand how the vendors will work with you.

Through your ELOPEMENT VENDORS research, here’s what you’ll need to do:

Make a list of types of vendors you’d like to book for your day
Rank them in order of importance to you. If you don’t have preference, follow the recommended order given above
For each type of vendor, research at least 3 different businesses and write down their contact information (emails preferred so you can receive their cost proposals in writing!)
Email each business to ask for a price quote for your wants and needs. Don’t forget to include the day and location of your elopement

Unsure if eloping is for you? Read more about what is an elopement and why couples like you choose this intimate experience over a traditional wedding!

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