7 Elopement Tips for your Adventure Elopement

If you’re starting to consider eloping (or maybe you’re a good bit into planning), you will quickly learn you need some insider elopement tips!  As elopement photographers, planners, and officiants, we love to offer our couples insider elopement tips to help their planning go smoothly!  But more importantly these elopement tips will help your actual elopement day go smoothly and be full of adventure and meaning!

You came looking for elopement tips, so let’s dive in, shall we?!

Elopement Tips Overview

1. Plan your elopement for you two.
2. Give a lot of thought of your elopement location.
3. Include activities that are meaningful and leisurely to you.
4. Only invite life-giving relationships.
5. Choose wedding attire that is functional and fits your vibe.
6. Hire a photographer that will help you plan, get legally legit, and specializes in adventure elopements.
7. Create a full day (or a few days of) elopement experience.

Related: How to Elope, Pros and Cons of Eloping

Elopement Tip #1:

Plan your elopement for you.

I can’t know the real reason why you’re eloping.  I can’t know why you’re needing elopement tips.. But I know our couples often need elopement tips because they have been tempted by others to create a wedding day full of what makes others happy.  We’re here to offer the most important elopement tip of all: plan your elopement for you.

Even if you bring guests along (which is 100% up to you), keep your values in mind rather than make your day revolve around guests.  There are plenty of ways to make them feel special and included, and this is only the beginning of our elopement tips!  Contact us about your elopement and get all the elopement tips on how to make your guests feel important while keeping you central.  One of our biggest elopement tips is to truly answer how you should elope based on your values. 

Elopement Tip #2:

Give a lot of thought to your elopement location.

Gosh, this is one of the most exciting elopement tips!  There are probably hundreds of elopements tips wrapped into this one, but it cannot be overexpressed how diligently you need to research and plan around your elopement location.  Our elopement tips for couples choosing their location always includes picking somewhere stunningly gorgeous to you (elopement tip 1 coming into play again), accessible for your physical capability, and appropriate for the season you want to get married.  Check out these Best Places to Elope in the US to start browsing some awesome options!  You’ll find options ranging from the Best Places to Elope in California or the full guide on how to Elope in Oregon!

Elopement Tip #3:

Include activities that are meaningful and leisurely to you.

One of the major perks of choosing an elopement is that you get to create an elopement day chalked full of awesome elopement tips like this one–including balls-to-the-walls thrilling activities!  Even if your activity of choice doesn’t make your heart skip a beat, you should be intentional to include activities that have meaning and make you feel at peace.  An example of this might be hiking in North Cascades National Park because you spend your weekends hiking with your boo!  Another example is to kayak Lake McDonald in Glacier National Park with your love so you have a leisurely, yet epic, activity for your elopement day.  This is one of our favorite elopement tips, and couples love when they introduce something into their wedding day they never thought of–like watercolor painting or fishing!  Check out How Does an Elopement Ceremony Work to see how to make your ceremony meaningful too!

Elopement Tip #4:

Only invite life-giving relationships.

Sometimes elopements involve just you two, and other times you may decide to bring along a few meaningful relationships.  One of our biggest elopement tips for couples is to consider carefully what type of elopement experience you are looking for in reference to your social activity.  Weddings often make you feel pressured to invite acquaintances or important people that you often don’t super love being around.  Elopements give you the freedom to invite no one if that’s more peaceful for you or invite a few guests that will enrich your day, not bring it down.

Elopement Tip #5:

Choose wedding attire that is functional and fits your vibe.

It is like you’ll be adventuring around on your elopement day, so one of our biggest elopements tips for this is to consider carefully what you’ll choose to wear.  Try to choose wedding attire that works well with the type of adventure you’re planning.  Usually this means a dress that is free-flowing at the hips so you can move freely as you hike and traverse!  Lulu’s and BHLDN usually has great options! Suits will need to be made of stretchier materials for the same reason.  You don’t want a rip on your wedding day that will show up in all those glorious pics!  Although, we do keep a sewing kit handy because accidents happen in the Great Outdoors sometimes!

Elopement Tip #6:

Hire a photographer that can help you plan, get legally legit, and is experienced in elopements.

I’m not just saying this because I’m an elopement photographer who offers planning assistance, but hiring the right elopement photographer will be the make-or-break decision of your elopement experience.  They are the source of all the elopement tips you never knew you needed.  They will be your guide to finding the perfect location, eloping legally in the state of your choice, finding you the most stellar vendors, helping you plan for travel, and be your boots on the ground in so many ways that only someone who helps couples plan elopements can do!  We do all of this and more by offering our undivided attention (and love) in our elopement packages so you have access to us and our elopement planning experience 24/7.  Not to mention, we’re going to get some dope pics too, amirite?!  Contact us about helping you plan and photographing your elopement or keep reading to get to elopement tip #7!

Elopement Tip #7:

Create a full day (or a few days) of an elopement experience.

A lot of couples believe the misconception that an elopement is a quick ceremony in a beautiful place!  You get your photos, say your vows, and go home.  We encourage couples to dream big as a part of our elopement tips list!  Your elopement timeline can involve so much more than you’re probably dreaming of, and we’ve seen that eloping couples are most satisfied when they have considered the importance of capturing every moment of their elopement day.  One of our hottest elopement tips is to prioritize making the whole day the event and covering getting ready, an adventure, your ceremony, adequate portrait time, and any celebrations (either just for you two or with guests).  Your wedding day deserves to be documented and lived to the fullest, so consider this elopement tip a biggie!

Bonus Elopement Tip just because we love ya!

Contact us about photographing your elopement because these are only 7 elopement tips of the thousands of insider elopement tips we love to share with our eloping couples!

We exist to help couples create wedding days full of meaning, authenticity, and creativity in the outdoors.  Let’s talk about your elopement to create a stress-free wedding day for ya!