An elopement doesn’t mean skipping out on all the details – there are still logistics to sort out, timelines to create, and people counting on you to share the big news. Add in the task of finding the perfect private wedding venue, and it quickly turns into a full-time job. Whether you’re planning to run away in a few weeks’ time or months from now, making a getaway wedding feel easy and adventurous will take some intentional preparation.
Legal vs. symbolic: settle this first
The easiest way to screw up a destination elopement is the horrible realization six weeks before you’re set to jet that legal marriage in another country requires six months of prep work, two certified translations, and an apostille on everything you’ve ever touched. The better thing to do is to knock out the legal bit at home first. Take yourself down to City Hall, sign the official piece of paper and witness with the lady at the front desk, and call it a day. Then go have yourself a lovely symbolic ceremony – a Pinterest-perfect day isn’t any less real if you’re already hitched. You’re just not spending your week in a foreign city tracking down a notary.
Hire people who already know the area
Vendor curation remotely is where self-planning generally crumbles. You’re scouting photographers on Instagram, florists via translated Google reviews, and hair stylists through a contact form with a two-day turnaround. The more you step out of your comfort zone, the likelier each unvetted variable will turn into a hiccup.
Local experts close that gap quick. A Paris elopement planner working only in the city of lights already knows which rooftops require advance permits, which parks are overrun with tour groups and local school children by 9am, and which photographers actually deliver what their portfolios suggest. That kind of institutional knowledge is sincerely hard to replicate.
Photo by The Now Time on Unsplash
Build the itinerary around the ceremony, not the other way around
Elopement stress often arises because couples don’t plan enough for the days before and after the wedding ceremony. They may have the timing of the vow exchange down, but everything else is left vague.
What’s recommended is a slow travel itinerary which includes arriving at least two days early. This offers some extra time to deal with jet lag, unexpected weather, or any minor issues that may arise – such as a bag that hasn’t arrived yet or a vendor that still needs confirmation. It is also advisable to have at least one day after the ceremony with nothing planned. You will surely need it.
The hour of the day when you’ll have the best light for your photos is more important than you might think. A good photographer will want you to be in a specific location at a specific time – a time when all other conditions will be perfect. Make sure to plan out your day’s schedule accordingly.
If you plan your elopement during the shoulder season (late spring or early fall) in most destinations, you’ll benefit in many ways. There will be fewer tourists at key sites; you’ll have a better chance to find available vendors, and accommodation will be much cheaper.
Photograph it like the documentation matters
Typical weddings these days have about 115 guests on average. Eloping gets that number right down to next to zero. The photos and video you return with will be how everyone else experiences the day.
This should greatly impact how you think about money saved. This isn’t a line item that matters less. A high-end photographer or videographer, ideally one who specializes in the sort of intimate ceremonies you’re planning in the locale to which you’re escaping, will be your biggest return on that catering-for-a-hundred money.
A short film in particular is often the biggest surprise. It is the version of the wedding that is shared, re-watched, passed around.
The officiant sets the tone entirely
In a large wedding, the officiant is one of many voices across a long day. In an elopement, they’re almost everything. The ceremony is 15 to 30 minutes. The words spoken in that window are the whole event.
Look for a celebrant who works regularly with destination couples and will put real time into a custom ceremony script. Ask to read previous ceremonies they’ve written. A generic script delivered at a stunning location is still a generic experience.
The vow exchange should feel like it was written for you specifically, because it probably can be.