Vendors & Lodging

Things to Consider when eloping

The amount of vendors you bring along for your day depends entirely on your vision! Some frequent vendors I see at elopements are florists, hair/makeup artists, and officiants. But you can find all kinds of vendors to help you bring your vision to life! Private chefs, luxury picnics, musicians, videographers – so many options. I recommend choosing vendors that are going to help bring your vision to life and who are experienced with elopements! For lodging, is there a cabin you’d want to stay and get ready at? A campsite? A local Air Bnb that matches your vision? Find a spot that you love, but that also makes getting to your dream location easy!

Logistics & Details

Are there any intentional or cultural or meaningful things you want to incorporate into your elopement ceremony? For other activities, think of some things you two LOVE to do that would be cool to incorporate into your elopement day! I have a blog post you can check out here with elopement day activity ideas for more inspiration! If you’re planning some sort of an adventurous outdoor elopement, your attire also has to be a little more strategic than most traditional weddings! You want to make sure you’re wearing something comfortable that you can move around in, as well as potentially hike in! It’s also super important to keep the climate in mind when picking your attire. I don’t recommend heavy long sleeve dresses for summer, and if it’s cold outside then consider packing a cute jacket or shawl!

Weather, Permits, & Choosing a Date

Choosing a date is obviously a very important part of planning haha. The date you choose will determine what kind of activities you can do, what kind of weather you might encounter! If it’s the busy season, will your spot be filled with tourists? If it’s the off season, are there any accessibility items to take into account such as seasonal roads, or a long hike in the snow? Look into weather patterns for your time of year from past years! Is it usually stormy? Windy? Biting fly season? Most public lands (and some private) also require some kind of permit to hold a ceremony or take photos there! So make sure to look into your location to see what may be required.

After you’ve got a location in mind, you can really dive deep into planning! This is where you’ll really start honing in on some of those ideas and inspiration. Your vision for your day will dictate just how many details and various logistics you’ll need to coordinate. Most of my couples reach out to me in either this step or the one before to help them along in this process! Just know there’s not one single way you need to plan your wedding, and you can plan however you want. After photographing years of elopements, I have a good idea of how to make planning as stress-free as possible, and you can take this list and curate it to your specific planning needs!

Activities, Details, & What to Wear

You won’t be having the traditional large amount of guests to bank on capturing these moments, so most of the time the only things you have to remember this day by are going to be the photographs your photographer delivers to you. So, pick a photographer whose work you LOVE, who is going to help guide you to having an incredible experience! I frequently work with couples who haven’t set a date or location yet, and most typically book with me either before or right after figuring out a location! The sooner you reach out the better – it breaks my heart to turn couples away if I’m already booked!

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