How To Pick Your Dream Elopement Location

You have officially decided to elope and I couldn’t be more stoked for you! It’s such an incredible and freeing experience. But now you might be struggling with how to pick your dream elopement location. There’s a lot of factors that can come into this.

I’m going to break it down for you so you both can have the elopement of your dreams. Make sure you really take the time to choose the perfect place because this will be the background for every photo. It will also determine the experience you have and the activities that you can do.

Let’s begin.

1. Daydream and Brainstorm

This is the one of the funnest parts of choosing to elope. Letting your imagination run wild and dreaming of what your perfect wedding day would look like without any limitations.

It’s important that during this stage you don’t put any limitations on your dream location. I want you and your partner to cuddle up with each other and hold hands as if you were saying your vows to one another. Close your eyes and take a deep breath. Think about what your perfect elopement day would look like and answer these questions.

• Where are you? Are you on a mountaintop, a remote beach, traveling to a new destination, exploring a national or state park? Or are you in an ancient mossy forest? Get really specific
• What do you smell? Are there fresh wildflowers growing in the alpine fields, the smell of the ocean from the breeze on the beach, or the smell of a forest after a fresh rain?
• What do you hear?
• Who is around you? Are you planning to invite any family or friends?
• What activities are you doing on your wedding day or after your wedding day?

This will help you paint a picture of where you elopement could be and get you started in the right direction. Where you want to be, who you want to be with, and what you want to do on the day of your wedding and after your wedding will play a strong role on the location you decide on.

2. Will you be inviting guests

When it comes to eloping deciding on who you are inviting will play a huge role on options for your elopement. When it’s just the two of you the options are almost limitless. However if you plan to invite guests then more rules come into play. Certain areas put restrictions on the number of guests you can have like National Parks for example.

You also have to think about the logistics of it. Are family and friends having to travel far to get there? Is the area accessible for them to make it to the ceremony or do they have physical limitations? There’s more logistical questions that will need to be sorted out when inviting guests.

If this is something you are wanting, I wrote an entire blog on ideas to get you thinking of how to include family and friends into your elopement day. Spoiler not all of them require them to be physically present on the day.

3. Are any locations special to you

Do you have a location that excites you every time you think of it like Yosemite National Park or Glacier National Park? Maybe it’s the place you first met your partner or the place where they proposed to you. It could also be a place you traveled to alone or with friends and completely transformed your life. How incredible would it be to go back to that place to further grow the bond you have with that location by committing your life to your partner there.

4. Exploring a dream location

Is there a place in the world you both have dreamed of exploring together like New Zealand or Iceland? How incredible would it be to plan your elopement there and make it extra special. This is why I told you not to set limitations. Seriously considering picking a place where you can get married and then stay an extra week or two for your honeymoon. After all this is a once in a lifetime experience so why not make it one you’ll never forget!

5. What kind of activities do you want to include?

Take a few minutes and think about what you two enjoy doing together. What are some of your favorites days you spent as a couple? Were you out hiking in the mountains and exploring new locations? Maybe you went on an overnight backpacking trip. Do you love kayaking and paddleboarding? Perhaps you love more extreme hobbies and want to take a helicopter to explore remote mountaintops and glaciers.

Whatever it is you love to do make sure to really consider choosing a location that will allow you to enjoy these activities. After all this is your elopement day and you get to make the rules.

6. Time of the year

The time of year you want to elope needs to line up with your vision for your elopement. You can’t expect to hike in the mountains during the winter unless you plan to snowshoe in. Certain areas will have restrictions for accessibility during the winter months. So if you want things like wildflowers in the alpine valleys consider early to mid summer. If you want colorful trees then you need to plan for fall.

A nice cheat code is if the winter works best for your elopement but you want to go somewhere warm and in the mountains, places like New Zealand and Patagonia have opposite seasons of us in North American. For examples New Zealand and Patagonia’s winter is our summer and vice versa.

Hire an elopement expert

Arguably the best thing you can do for your elopement is to hire an expert photographer (like me) who will help you with locations and ideas to make your elopement the best day ever. Picking someone who is an expert in a certain location or at least has in-depth knowledge of the type of landscape you want to get married in really helps. They can help give insight on location options, help you consider alternate locations that might be better, offer ideas for activities, and help with legal knowledge like permits.

I have traveled all around the world to places like New Zealand, Australia, South African, The Serengeti, Switzerland, France, Iceland, and more. I’ve also traveled all around the US to places like Hawaii, Arizona, California, Oregon, Minnesota, Montana, Colorado, Wyoming, and more. I hike, explore, and photograph nature everywhere I go so feel free to use me as an elopement resource. Fill out my inquiry form below or contact me here to get started. You can also check out my pricing and what’s included here.

If you’re looking for more elopement resources checkout these blogs:  10 Reasons Why You should Elope, How Much Does It Cost To Elope, The Top 10 Places To Elope In The World, How To Elope In New Zealand, How To Elope In Iceland, and How To Elope In Minnesota.