How to Plan an Epic Elopement
With the year 2020 shaking the very foundations of the wedding industry, more and more couples are looking to elopements as an attractive alternate option to having a large wedding.
A traditional elopement is solely with the couple and photographer and perhaps an officiant, making a very tiny group who are able to travel to more remote locations, ensuring privacy during their event.
In 2020 however, the definition of elopement expanded to include “micro-weddings” which were hosted with the bride, groom, immediate family, and sometimes even a few very close friends.
As a wedding photographer I have helped many of my couples navigate the planning process of such micro-weddings and although the event ends up being small, it is by no means a “simple” thing to plan and orchestrate!
Because with Elopements you usually do not have a lot of vendors helping you to organize and coordinate, a lot of the moving parts of an elopement are navigated by the bride and groom themselves!
To help with those couples looking at planning elopements and micro weddings I’ve put together this blog with a couple tips and tricks I’ve learned along the way of helping Kate Holt Photography Couples plan epic elopements fitting to their wedding dreams! So take a look and drop me a note with any lingering questions you may have about planning your intimate wedding event!
Tip #1
Size Matters
The first thing to decide about your elopement or micro-wedding is how big it is going to be. That is, how many guests will you have and who are those guests?
It is a very different thing to plan a micro wedding with 5 people than it is to plan one with 30. It is also a very different thing to plan a micro-wedding with your grandfather in attendance than it is if you are only inviting your best friends who all happen to be 20-something year old outdoor enthousiasts!
I once had a bride who was forced to downsize her wedding by the pandemic in 2020. She was looking for a beautiful space to have her wedding and ideally wanted it to overlook the Columbia River Gorge. The kicker was however that she still had about 20 people she wanted to have in attendance and her 86 year old grandfather would be the one who was going to walk her down the aisle!
It was quite a challenge, but I managed to find a location which had fairly even ground and which you could drive right up to the spot where we were going to place the ceremony, which was perfect for her grandfather. It also was set back a bit from the very edge of the Gorge which helped with some protection from the wind so that the guests could still clearly hear the ceremony and the couple’s vows.
Figuring out the size and attendance of those who will be at your micro wedding is the first step to narrowing down what type of a location you’ll be looking for and will save you the heartache of picking a beautiful spot that dosen’t have enough parking or accessibility for the size and make-up of your guests!
Tip #2
Book a comfy room close by!
Just because your elopement is going to be somewhere epic and remote does not mean you have to sleep in a tent and get ready in the backseat of your car!
Consider renting a really great Air B+B in a nearby town so that you two can enjoy a warm fire to snuggle up to the night prior to your wedding. Booking a room also gives you a beautiful place to get ready before you hit the trail for your epic ceremony.
If you are planning a micro wedding you can even find a whole house or cottage to rent out, that way your guests can enjoy the whole weekend with you as part of your intimate wedding experience.
Looking into available lodging nearby is usually something that will need to be booked rather early on in the planning stages, especially if you are planning your event in a national park or nearby a popular tourist destination so once you’ve decided on a location, put finding lodging at the top of your Elopement to-do list!
Tip #3
Bring a fantastic rug, flowers, or a framed altar to set off your ceremony.
Yes, the location you’ve chosen for your micro-wedding or elopement is most likely stunningly beautiful and probably dosen’t “need” extra embellishment. However, adding personalized elements like candles, flowers, rugs or an altar piece can really take your ceremony look up a notch.
Be realistic with your items however, as they will need to be hiked into your ceremony space and then back out again! Rugs on the beach can get especially heavy once they get wet, so make sure you have some strong members attending your wedding who are eager to put their muscle to good use!
Also keep in mind fire safety! Sure, candles adorning the woods around a low-light ceremony sounds amazing, but let’s not run the risk of starting a forrest fire if it is summer and the woods are especially dry!
Tip #4
Bring two sets of shoes!
Wedding shoes are normally not fit for the type of trekking you might be doing to get to your micro-wedding’s ceremony or to those truly epic Bridal Portrait locations.
Most dresses are long enough to cover up your shoes anyway, so don’t hesitate to throw on some trusty hiking boots to keep you safe while you climb amid rocks and uneven ground!
This tip isn’t just for the bride too- keep in mind men’s dress shoes are normally very slippery and have very little tread, so make sure your groom’s footwear is also safe for whatever type of trekking you plan to do during your elopement experience.
Tip #5
Research Parking/Recreation Passes or Permits you may need to purchase and come prepared!
In many of the state or national parks, you must minimally purchase a Recreation Pass to park within the park’s borders. Some parks require additional permits to hold events as well.
Especially if you are planning a micro-wedding, it will be pretty obvious that you are hosting an event when you set up 5-30 chairs, set up an arbor and tote in flowers! So, avoid the heartache of getting kicked out of your ceremony location because you didn’t apply for the correct permits!
In the Pacific Northwest you can check with the national forest service if you plan your event on federal land. If you are looking to use a state park, check with the Parks and Recreation department of whichever state you will be in.
Also- don’t forget to apply for your marriage license in the state in which you will be having your ceremony! Most state licenses are only valid if the ceremony is performed in the same state or county as the license was obtained from, so keep that in mind when you register for the legal documentation of your wedding.
I hope this gives you a base of basic information to set your feet on the right path as you begin to plan your micro-wedding or elopement!
As always feel free to contact me with any further questions you have about wedding planning or wedding photography! I love love love helping couples with all things weddings, so seriously- reach out!
Also, check out my other blogs on weddings in my Tips and Tricks blog section, there is a ton of free info there for you that I wrote just to help couples like you to create the most magical wedding experience possibe!
Have more questions about Elopements and Micro-Weddings?
Interested to see if Kate Holt Photography is a good fit for your wedding celebration?
