How to Make the Most Out of Your Elopement Experience
If you are eloping, you should consider adding some unique elopement ideas to your day! I’ve had many couples that don’t know what to do on their elopement day other than their vows and photos. So they go into planning their elopement thinking they only need 4 hours of photography coverage. But when we talk about what types of things they like to do together and how we can incorporate those things into their day, they end up booking 8-12 hours!
Why it is Important to Include Activities on Your Elopement Day
After photographing a wide variety of elopements, ranging from 4 hours all the way to 12 hours, I am adamant that you need at least 8 hours of coverage to fully tell the story of your elopement day through photos. 4 hours is really only enough time for your ceremony and photos at the same location or a location nearby. But with my 8 hour package only being $800 more than the 4 hour package, booking 8 hours is easy!
I understand that you don’t want your elopement to be an all day photoshoot. So what are some unique elopement ideas that you can fill your day with? I’ve created a list of 45 ideas that you could incorporate into your elopement to make it an epic adventure! But if you have your own unique elopement ideas, I’m all ears and excited to hear what you are thinking! This is your wedding day, so I want you to dream big!
Pre Ceremony Ideas:
I love when couples choose to spend the whole day together. So, here are some unique elopement ideas that you can do together before your ceremony!
- Coffee and/or Breakfast: Start your morning with a cup of coffee together, enjoying the quiet moments before you have to start getting ready. Or, cook your favorite breakfast foods together, then get ready for an adventurous day!
- Yoga/Workout: If you usually start your day with something like yoga or a workout, then you should absolutely incorporate it into your elopement day! In fact, yoga even means “union.” So what better way would there be to start the union between the two of you?! Or, if yoga isn’t your thing, you could do some rock climbing or kayaking together!
- Meditation/Sound Bath: You want to make your elopement day as stress free as possible, so being mindful of yourself, your partner, and your day through meditation could be a great way to start the day!
- First Look: If you still want to incorporate some of the traditional wedding practices, you can still do a first look before the ceremony! This would mean getting ready separately and coming up with a location for a beautiful backdrop for your first look. And during this time you’ll want to allow for time to just be still and soak in the moment.
- Get ready together: If you don’t care much about having a first look, getting ready together is always a sweet and intimate time to have with each other!
- Soak in a hot spring: There are some cool natural hot springs around Utah! Could you imagine catching the sunrise/sunset while hanging out in a hot spring?! That would be pretty dang cool.
- Go for a hike or walk: Starting your day together with a hike or walk, therefore doing a little exploring in the location you’re getting married in! This is a great way to include your fur babies if you are wanting them to be apart of your day!
- Catch the Sunrise: You could start your day by watching the sunrise together and enjoy some coffee or tea together. Or, you could hiking to an epic location in the dark under the stars to cathc the sunrise! And then you could enjoy some coffee and donuts together and take in the serenity around you.
- Visit a greenhouse and get a unity plant: If you are struggling on what to do during your ceremony, one idea is to buy a plant that you both like and can grow together in your home! Going the day of your ceremony to pick one out would be so sweet. And imagine getting some beautiful photos in a greenhouse!
- Private Vows: If you are planning an intimate wedding with your closest loved ones, consider private vows before the wedding.
Ceremony Ideas:
- Vows and exchanging rings: This is pretty standard, but personalizing your vows is always a sweet moment to capture. You could even spend some time writing them together!
- Handfasting: Handfasting is an ancient Celtic ritual where a couple has their hands tied together as a symbol of unity.
- Read letters from friends and family: If you aren’t inviting anyone, having your loved ones write you letters beforehand of love, celebration, and well wishes can be a great way to still incorporate them on your wedding day.
- Pray together: If you are religious, praying together for each other and your marriage is a sweet addition.
- Smudging: This is a spiritual practice performed by the burning sacred herbs, plants, resin, or wood, and is used to purify. Smudging is a sweet and meaningful way to bless your marriage. Sage, sweetgrass, cedar, and lavender are the most common ingredients used in wedding ceremonies. Sweetgrass is used in marriage blessings because of its ability to purify the mind and heart of negative emotions. Sweetgrass is also used to welcome positive thoughts, love, and harmonious energy. Sage is said to bring wisdom and protection into a union. Cedar encourages mindfulness and meditation in ceremony. And lastly, lavender has long been associated with good luck, serenity, love, and devotion.
- Unity Ceremony: For unity ceremonies, you can use candles, sand pouring, plant/water a tree together, log cutting for my fellow Germans, or one of my favorites – a wine or liquor box! You can put letters to each other in the box with your wine/liquor and seal it up. Then celebrate your first anniversary by opening it and reading the letters!
- Share a joint together: While this isn’t legal in Utah (I have to mention this), if you are getting married where it is legal, this could be a fun thing to do together. Especially if it’s something that you two already do together!
- Have your loved ones bless your rings: If you are having an intimate wedding with your loved ones, you can pass your rings around and ask your guests to say a blessing over them before exchanging rings.
- Play music and/or sing together: If you love doing music together, you can bring your instruments to play! Unless the location says otherwise (like in a national park).
- Gift Exchange: A gift to your partner to commemorate your elopement is a beautiful addition to remember the day by!
Post-Elopement Activity Ideas:
Thinking of activities for your elopement day is where a lot of couples struggle. They know they want to whole adventure elopement experience. But figuring out how to fill their day can be challenging. Here are some epic and unique elopement ideas to elevate your elopement day!
- First Dance: Another way to incorporate some more traditional wedding practices, you can share a first dance together! I carry a speaker, so let me know what song you want to dance to, and I’ll have it ready!
- Celebratory Drinks: Pop some champagne or you could even make your favorite drinks together if that’s your thing! Or bring them along on our adventure with you to celebrate doing the damn thing! If you like taking shots, shot skis are also really fun!
- Horseback Riding: This is a great alternative way to see some beautiful locations without having to hike to there!
- Cake!: Another traditional but fun way to celebrate your new marriage, is by cutting and eating cake. Or whatever dessert you love if cake isn’t your thing. And your photographer will love you if you share some with them 😉
- Explore a National Park: If you are eloping in a national park, I highly recommend taking the time to explore the park after your ceremony. This is a great time to get some epic photos in that landscape.
- Make a fire: This a nice way to relax and soak in the day. You can even make s’mores or campfire food over it, and crack open some drinks! But be sure to check if there are any fire restrictions in the area you are eloping in!
- Have a picnic: This is a fun and sweet way to celebrate with some food after. Grab your favorite foods and drinks and have fun with it! Pizza, burgers, a charcuterie board… Whatever you want! I also have a picnic table and some decorations you can use if you’d like 🙂
- Helicopter/Plane/Hot Air Balloon Ride: If you’re looking to see the area from a view that most don’t get to experience, I highly recommend doing a private helicopter or plane tour! See the beautiful location you chose, from above! Or another unique idea to see everything from above, is to do a hot air balloon ride!
- Rent a Jeep or ATV’s/UTV’s and go off roading: I’ll be honest, as a Jeep owner myself, this is probably one of my favorite activities to do with couples! I love the thrill of going off roading more than most things haha. And if you’ve never been off roading, you can hire a guide who will make sure you have safe adventure!
- Kayaking/ Packrafting/ Canoeing/ Paddle Boarding: If the two of you love being on the water, consider renting some water toys and having fun on a nearby lake!
- Snowshoeing: If you are getting married in the winter, snowshoeing is a great option. You could also pair this with something like hot toddies, hot chocolate, or soup to keep warm!
- Stargazing: We can keep the party going well after the sun goes down, and get some cool photos of the two of you under the stars or moon!
- Cliff jumping and swimming: If you are getting married near a body of water that allows swimming, you could cool off with a dip in the water! This could be a great way to cool off after being outside on a hot summer day. Bonus if theres cliffs where it is safe to jump in! If you want to get a little wild, you could even jump in with your wedding attire on 😉 If there’s not body of water but there is a pool or hot tub where you are staying, this is also a nice relaxing way to wind down after an epic day.
- Hire a private chef: Listen, who doesn’t enjoy good food?! You can’t go wrong with hiring a private chef to come to you and make you dinner after your ceremony! This has always been a very enjoyable experience for my couples (and me haha) who have opted for this.
- Do a guided tour specific to the location you are eloping in: I’ve listed activities that can pretty much be done anywhere, but look into what is popular in the area you are eloping in! I’m thinking taking a helicopter to a glacier in Alaska and doing some glacier trekking, Canyoneering or rock climbing in Moab, sand sledding at the sand dunes… The possibilities are endless!
Lodging Ideas:
Where you stay for your elopement can help elevate the experience you have during your stay! Here are some cool and unique elopement lodging ideas to consider for your stay:
- Glamping: If you like to camp but want something more luxurious and upscale, I highly recommend glamping! My most recent couple just stayed ULUM, a luxury glamping resort in Moab, and were kind enough to let me stay in the second tent they got, and it was honestly the coolest place I’ve ever stayed!
- Camping: If glamping just isn’t your style and you want a no frills experience, there are many places to pitch your tent and cozy up to a fire! Whether you want to stay in a campground or want to be more off grid and remote, there are tons of camping sites all over Utah!
- 5 Star Luxe Resort: If you’re looking to go all out, Amangiri is the place to go! This secluded resort located near Lake Powell is perfect for any couple looking for a desert escape and adventure rolled into one!
- Cabin: If you don’t know by now, I am OBSESSED with A-Frame cabins. So if you stay in one for your elopement, know that I will love you forever haha. But any kind of cabin would be cool! Especially if the scenery around it is insane. One of my couples stayed in this A-Frame in Mesa County, Colorado, and it was so romantic and secluded. The stars were amazing!
- Domes: Another cool glamping experience, dome tents allow you to see the nature around you. Check out The Domes here in Utah!
- Camper Van or RV: Rent a camper van or RV that you can hook up to your own truck and SUV and explore different areas where you are eloping! Or make a roadtrip out of it and bring your own and do some sightseeing along the way!
- Cave: You read that right! At the Bedrock Homestead here in Utah, you can stay in a literal cave, which would definitely make for a new and unique experience!
- Yurt: Yes, another glamping option. But a cool one, none the less! You can get a yurt that has been converted into one giant room for a couple or one that has multiple bunks for everyone to stay in.
- Sorrel River Ranch: This is the perfect place for a romantic and adventurous getaway, located in the middle of red sands and majestic canyons!
- Treehouse: If you have a small party and want everyone to stay in one place, consider this Modern Tree House at Sundance. Or if it’s just the two of you, this Dreamy Treehouse in Park City, complete with a skylight, is the perfect romantic getaway!
I hope all of these unique elopement ideas help you when planning your own elopement. And if you need more ideas that are location specific, reach out and I can help you!
