YESSS! You’ve decided to elope, and you’re ready to make your dream day a reality! In this article, I’ll share everything you need to know and more about how to plan an elopement. 

Use this ultimate elopement checklist to help you with all stages of your planning process – from start to finish! I’ll answer all your questions and share every detail, from announcing your elopement and picking your location to booking your travels and writing your vows.

As a destination elopement photographer, I’ve worked with dozens of couples to plan and execute the most perfect day ever, while capturing every special moment! 

Check out Wild Aisle Photography elopement packages!

How to Plan an Elopement: An Ultimate Elopement Checklist

Let’s be honest – planning an elopement can be a lot of work. The good news? With this detailed checklist and help from an experienced traveler and elopement photographer who can also help you with planning, the process doesn’t have to be so daunting!

Here’s a quick rundown of your elopement checklist. Below, I’ll share more details to help you feel confident and ready to start planning the day of your dreams!

1. Visualize your perfect elopement day.
2. Determine your budget.
3. Hire an elopement photographer.
4. Make a guest list if you want a few loved ones to join.
5. Choose a time frame.
6. Pick your location.
7. Check the regulations.
8. Gather your documents.
9. Book flights and accommodations.
10. Book vendors.
11. Write your vows.
12. Plan your elopement day & ceremony.
13. Announce your elopement (now or after your ceremony).
14. Pack for your adventure.

*Bonus: General Travel Tips

15. Time to elope!
16. Throw a post-elopement celebration (if you’d like!).

Want your very own *free* elopement planning and packing checklists? Download them here!

Visualize your Perfect Elopement Day

First things first – what do you want your elopement day to look and feel like? Although you’ve probably spent some time daydreaming about your wedding day, maybe you’ve even created a Pinterest board, it’s time to really think about what you and your love want this day to be like.

Make a date out of this! Plan a dinner, go to happy hour, or take a walk together. Spend this time visualizing and discussing what you want your special day to be. This can be difficult, but try to steer clear of what a traditional wedding entails or what your loved ones might expect from you (unless you want that too).

Close your eyes and envision the perfect elopement day. Who’s there? What do you see? How do you feel? What’s the weather like? Doing this will help you prioritize what you want and really create an authentic experience.

Discuss these visions with your partner. Talk about what goals you share and what you may want that’s different. Identify visions you have that are the same or similar and use those to help you plan your elopement.

Determine Your Budget

Now that you know what your perfect day looks like, it’s time to decide how much you can and want to spend on your elopement. While elopements can be much more affordable than a traditional wedding, it’s still important to determine your budget and where you want to spend your money.

When you’re thinking about your budget, you’ll want to consider these things:

• Permits
• A photographer
• An officiant (fun fact: I’m a photographer, planner, and officiant!)
• Your vendors
• Marriage license
• Travel expenses, including accommodations
• Vow books
• Your attire
• Hair and makeup
• Elopement announcements
• Food and activities

Fortunately, some of these expenses can be very low. For example, if you work with a photographer who also helps with planning and can officiate for you, you can save costs. You can also eliminate things like elopement announcements, especially in the world of social media!

Hire an Elopement Photographer

When you plan an elopement, most couples who elope can agree that hiring an elopement photographer is an investment worth making. After all, you want to be able to capture moments from your big day and share them with your loved ones who aren’t there. 

Why hire an elopement photographer as soon as possible? Many elopement photographers like myself (Wild Aisle Photography) will help you with the entire planning process. Experienced elopement photographers even have some inside scoop that could help you save on costs, find your perfect destination, and have the absolute best day of your life!

Make a Guest List (if you want a few loved ones to join)

Traditionally, guests aren’t invited to elopement ceremonies. But if you want to invite a few people, you can! After all, your day is all about you, your partner, and what you want!

Are you planning to have a few family members and friends join you for your elopement? If so, you’ll want to make a guest list. This will help you decide on a location that’ll accommodate everyone and give you time to send out invites.

Choose a Time Frame

There are several things to consider when it comes to the best time frame for your elopement. Not only do you want to think about the weather, but your budget and the kind of activities you want to do will play a role.

For example, if you want to have a winter elopement in the mountains, check on possible road closures and consider unpredictable weather. On the other hand, if you’re hoping to have a relaxing beach elopement, you’ll want to plan for a time of year that offers warm weather and water temperatures.

If you’re looking to save money and avoid crowds for your elopement, find out when the off-season is for your destination. However, you’ll also want to make sure shops, restaurants, and transportation are available during the off-season.

Tip: To help you get started, make a list of what your dream day looks like. What are your surroundings? What’s the weather like? How much are you spending? Use these questions and your visions to help you pick your time frame.

Pick Your Location

Now for the fun part! It’s time to pick your location. If you’re still up in the air on your time frame, this step can help nail down the time of year you want to elope. 

If you’re having a destination wedding, you’ll need to decide where you want to go. Then, you’ll have to choose your venue location. Remember, your elopement photographer and planner can also help with this!

Similar to figuring out your time frame, think about activities, budget, and weather when deciding on your location.

You’ll also want to consider accessibility, especially if you’re having guests. For example, is it realistic to expect people to take 3 flights and an hour car ride to your destination? Maybe, maybe not! It’ll depend on your guests.

Related read: Where to Elope: Tips for Choosing the Perfect Place to Elope

Check The Regulations

One of the most important things to remember when you plan an elopement is that all locations have different regulations. You’ll need to research local marriage laws and requirements.

Some locations require a witness at your ceremony, while others (Colorado, for example) don’t. Some elopement destinations, like some national and state parks, also require permits for your ceremony.

Make sure you do your research early on for regulations on legally getting married and what permits you may need for your ceremony venue.

Tip: Skip the hassle of legally getting married in a new-to-you place. You can do the legal stuff at your local city hall and have a stress-free elopement ceremony.

Gather Your Documents

Another essential task to do as soon as possible when planning your elopement is to gather your documents. As you’re doing research and planning, make a list of everything you’ll need for travel, marriage licenses, and permits. 

You may need documents like your passport, visa (if required for international travel), birth certificate, and driver’s license. If you’re legally getting married away from home and you’ve been married before, you may also need a decree of absolution (divorce documents or death certificate for widows). 

Remember, if you choose to do the legal stuff in your hometown, you may only need a few of these documents for your elopement.

Book Flights and Accommodations

The sooner you can book your flights and accommodations, the better. Usually, you can find better deals if you book flights and accommodations well in advance. Looking in advance also lets you track flights for lower prices – just make sure to do this in incognito mode on your web browser!

I always recommend that couples who are eloping use a travel credit card. This way they can get points, travel/rental car insurance, lounge access, and more. My favorite travel credit card is the Capital One Venture X (affiliate link). I also have the Chase Sapphire, but the Venture X rewards are so much easier to redeem so that’s my #1 recommendation.

Travel tip: Plan to arrive at your destination at least a few days early. This gives you some leeway if there are any delays and allows you time to both relax and finalize things before your big day.

For booking your accommodation, try to stay close to your elopement location if possible. This makes things as stress-free as possible and reduces travel time, giving you more time to enjoy yourself. 

You could even use your accommodation as your elopement venue. Airbnb has so many unique options (like these in Washington!) if you want to go this route.

Book Vendors

Once your location and dates are finalized, it’s time to book your vendors. Vendors help you have the day of your dreams. You may choose to keep things very simple with minimal vendors or go all out on all the things. Both are okay because this day is all about you and your love!

Vendors to consider for your elopement day include:

• Photographer
• Officiant
• Planner
• Chef and/or caterer
• Musician
• Florist
• Hair and makeup artist

Remember that some elopement photographers (like myself!) can play photographer, officiant, and planner and can also help you book other vendors if you’d like.

Note: Wedding vendors may be limited if you’re thinking about a remote location.

Write Your Vows

Being able to show personalized vows for your elopement is incredibly special. While writing your vows may feel overwhelming, it doesn’t have to be. 

Dedicating special time to writing your vows and following these steps can actually help you enjoy the experience!

1. Get into the right mindset. Remember that your vows are your way to let your partner know how you feel about them, what your relationship means to you, and the promises you can make for your future together. Be true to yourself, and don’t focus on perfection. The more authentic your vows are, the more meaningful!
2. Reflect on your relationship. Take time to jot down notes about your relationship, considering what you love about your partner, how they make you feel, your favorite memories, etc.
3. Think about what you want to convey to your partner. What do you want your partner to know and feel during your elopement ceremony? What can you say to accomplish this? Think about things like why you’re thankful to be together, what your partner does that makes you happy, and what promises you want to make.
4. Take a trip down memory lane. Think about fun memories and adventures you’ve experienced together. What challenges have you overcome with each other? 
5. Bring it all together. After considering all the questions and ideas above, draft your vows. Then, use a vow book to write your finalized vows. 

Check out this article to learn how to write your elopement vows!

Plan Your Elopement Day & Ceremony

In our first step of how to plan an elopement, we talked about visualizing your dream day. This activity will make this step easy! 

What do you want your actual ceremony to look like? Is it a stop on an adventure? What are you wearing? Are there flowers there? What about guests? 

When planning your elopement day and ceremony, consider these things:

• Location
• Getting ready
• Attire
• Vendors
• First look
• Guests
• Vows
• Activities before and after your ceremony

Tip: Have a plan B in mind in case there’s unexpected weather or other issues. It’s very important to be okay with being flexible on your elopement day! With that said, it always helps to have a plan A and B.

Announce Your Elopement (now or after your ceremony)

How you announce your elopement is entirely up to you and varies from couple to couple. Some couples choose to announce their elopement before their ceremony, while others prefer to wait until afterward. As with all other parts of your big day, this will depend on what works best for you!

Here are some of my top tips for announcing your elopement and making sure it goes over well with your loved ones – because, let’s be honest, having people upset about your special day will definitely take away from the experience! 

• Tell your loved ones beforehand if you think being open and honest will be better for everyone.
• Wait until after your elopement to share the news if you think it’ll make your experience more stress-free.
• Show your excitement and share why eloping is important to you. This will help your friends and family understand your decision and hopefully be supportive.
• Include your loved ones in your elopement by letting them help you plan and shop. You can also have a celebration together and/or have them write letters that you and your honey can read on your special day.
• Share pictures of your elopement day with your loved ones.

In this article, I share more details on how you can tell people you’re eloping!

Pack for Your Adventure

Carefully packing for your elopement is key to making sure your day goes as planned! Can you imagine forgetting your dress or vows?!

Use this list to help you pack for your elopement adventure:

• Wedding dress, veil, and/or suit: Use a garment bag for your wedding clothes. If you’re flying, label it with your contact information and carry it onto the plane.
• Wedding rings in a ring box: Make sure your rings are packed somewhere safe and hidden. If you’re flying, it’s best to keep your rings in your personal bag, not in your carry-on or checked bag.
• Vows: You also want to pack your vow books in a safe place where they can’t get damaged.
• Shoes: Bring comfortable shoes for adventures and ones you want to wear for your ceremony/pictures.
• Picnic supplies and snacks: Do you plan to have a big adventure day? You might want to pack supplies for a picnic, like a basket and blanket. Depending on how far you’re traveling, you’ll either want to pack snacks or purchase them when you arrive at your destination.
• Letters from your loved ones: If you have your friends and family write letters for you to read on your elopement day, remember to pack these!
• Documents: You’ll also want to pack your documents mentioned above in a secure place. Again, these should be on you instead of in your checked luggage if you’re flying.

Other things you might want to pack for your elopement:

• Hiking clothes and socks
• Swimsuits
• Quick dry towels
• Rain ponchos
• Jewelry
• Makeup
• Small mirror
• Wrinkle spray or steamer
• Backpack
• Champagne
• Sunscreen
• Bug spray
• Battery pack for phone
• Noise-canceling headphones
• Compression socks
• Eye mask
• Neck pillow
• Reusable water bottle

When it comes to packing for your elopement, be prepared for any situation. I always say that it’s better to overpack than under-pack!

Bonus: General Travel Tips

Here are a few more elopement planning and traveling tips that are always good to know–

• If you’re flying, get a TSA precheck/global entry. This offers a smoother and faster screening process for easy travel. And it’s also usually free with a good travel credit card! 
• Avoid jet lag and make the most of your adventure by using the Timeshifter App, which helps you optimize your sleep, alertness, and health during travel.
• If you’re checking bags for your flight, bring emergency clothes and toiletries for 2 days in case your bag doesn’t arrive with you.
• Stay hydrated during your travels! Athletic Greens and/or electrolyte packets are lifesavers.
• Download WhatsApp

Time to Elope!

Now that you know exactly how to plan an elopement, it’s time for your big day! My biggest piece of advice is to be present to fully enjoy your day. There’s a chance there will be some setbacks during your planning process and elopement. But that doesn’t mean everything has to fall apart! 

Of course, every couple wants one of the biggest days of their lives to be flawless. But some of the best moments come from unexpected events.

Here are some things to remember for your elopement day to help you be in each moment and make the most of your experience. I recommend even writing these down or making a note on your phone to refer back to! You can also add things that are important to you.

• Be okay with not sticking to your plan. 
• Don’t schedule too much into your day.
• Have a slow morning. (PS it’s okay to spend this time with your love!)
• Have some time to yourself.
• Have fun with pictures.
• Don’t forget to eat. (This isn’t a traditional wedding where the couple doesn’t have time for food!)
• Intentionally stop throughout the day to appreciate little moments.

Throw a Post-Elopement Celebration (if you’d like!).

After your elopement, you might want to celebrate with your loved ones. A post-elopement celebration is a great way to do this! You can do something big or small and invite those most important to you. Remember, it’s still all about you and your partner.

Fun ideas for your post-elopement celebration:

• Stick to a traditional reception style or make it unique.
• Watch a video of your elopement ceremony together.
• Ask your favorite people beforehand to make a toast.
• Give out picture books as party favors.

How to Plan an Elopement: Final Thoughts

I hope this guide for how to plan an elopement has inspired you and brought on all the excited feels! Eloping is meant to be low-stress, everything you want it to be, and an authentic experience for you and your partner. 

If you’d like help planning and executing the day of your dreams, I’d love to help! Wild Aisle Photography (that’s me!) is a destination elopement photographer. I help couples every step of the way – cheering you on, helping you plan, and making sure your special day is absolutely perfect!
Ready to get started? Contact me!