2024 US Elopement Guide

If you are looking for more information on how to elope, we are sharing some of the ins and outs of elopements in the United States.

What is

An Elopement?

This isn’t the good ol’ days. It’s whatever you want it to be.

Seriously.

Don’t listen to others when they say you have to “run away” to elope. You can create a day you will always remember and don’t have to worry about planning it super far in advance. You can hike a mountain, go kayaking, take a jeep tour, go camping with your closest friends or just the two of you, or travel to an epic place. There are so many options.

We keep our elopements to 10 people and under, but there is so much you can do. We think it’s the perfect way to celebrate your love and if you love the outdoors, we can do something insanely epic and memorable.

Most of our couples book between 2-10 months ahead of their day (of course some have shorter or longer time frames too).

CALL TO ACTION

THE US ELOPEMENT GUIDE

Top 4 Reasons to Elope

You can have a more intimate experience

You want your day to be memorable for the both of you (and your closest friends/family if you want). You have way more options with less people and that’s perfect for you both. You can even invite a chef to cook for you (and have way more options!).

You can adventure more

You can camp, hike, and do all the fun stuff a lot easier with less people. You have so many more options of getting to the gorgeous places and getting permits for some of the locations too (not all need permits — we can help with that!). You can choose to chill or have an insane itinerary to create some epic moments.

You can have more epic photos

Sunrise and sunset, it doesn’t matter. Your photos will be beautiful and you will have much more time to explore to some insanely beautiful spots if you elope. Your schedule will be much easier and flexible with less people. You can have those epic sunrise, sunset, starry night photos sitting by a campfire if you elope.

You can save money

Sometimes we don’t know if we need to mention this, but eloping with less people is much more cost effective than with 200-300 people. You can splurge on great food, a gorgeous dress, cool lodging and experiences, among other things you might want.

How To Plan the Elopement

What to think about when eloping:

WHY

First off. Think about the why. Why do you want to elope? It could be so many different reasons like:
– You want something easier
– You want to do WHATEVER you want
– You want something more memorable and more of an experience
– You want to escape some family drama
– You want to save some money
– You want to explore a new place with the love of your life.

It doesn’t matter what the reason, but it matters that you are both on the same page about the why and what you envision together.

WHERE

Sit down, grab some coffee/tea/beer/wine and brainstorm some of your favorite or bucket list places. When you two sit down, and chat and think about places, what pops into your heads? Waterfalls? Mountaintops? Beaches with mountains? Jeep rides? Hiking? Think about who will be there and what will work best too for that # of people. You can always hike together and share your vows, and then have a ceremony with family/friends later.

WHEN

What type of weather do you want to be in? Do you like the fall leaves, the summer heat, the snow? Do you want to go when it’s less busy at the location?
Another thing to think about is whether the time of year matters with your work or not. Locations are always less busy during the week, rather than the weekend. Can you manage to get away during the week? Do you have time off available to make your elopement a little longer and more of an adventure?
Do you want to make an entire getaway of it all and combine your wedding with a vacation? Because elopements are amazing for that!

WHO

Who do you want to be there? Think long and hard about who you couldn’t imagine not being there on your day. You don’t have to have anyone, but sometimes our couples still want some of their family and friends around. You can still include some of your closest people even when you elope. You can hike together and have your own moments and then meet up with them after (or even before). If you want them there for everything, there are always more options to include them in all the festivities.
If you just want you two, that is always an option and we always support our couples to do whatever they want.

Deciding on Vendors

It all depends on your budget and what vendors do you want to be there of course, but here are some you might want for your day. We can suggest some vendors to help your day be amazing too.

Photographer (oh, hey)
Officiant (some locations you don’t need and can self-solemnize)
Florals/Design
Hair+Makeup
Chef/Food
Accommodations/Lodging
Outfitters/Adventures
Live Music (mostly at our intimate weddings)
Videographer

US Elopement Locations

Here are some of our location ideas. There are so many amazing options in the US!

*indicates places we have been. Other state and national parks are also great options and we can help with any permitting and location scouting.

– Rocky Mountain National Park*
– Great Sand Dunes*
– Telluride – San Juan Mountains*
– Crested Butte*
– St. Mary’s Glacier*
– Maroon Bells/Aspen*
– Black Canyon of the Gunnison*
– Bryce National Park*
– Zion National Park*
– Moab (Arches National Park, BLM Land)*
– Canyonlands National Park*
– Capitol Reef National Park
– Dead Horse Point State Park*
– Glacier National Park*
– Yellowstone National Park*
– Grand Teton National Park*
– Horseshoe Bend
– Lake Powell
– Sedona National Park
– Grand Canyon National Park*
– Saguaro National Park
– Glen Canyon – Horseshoe Bend
– Las Vegas*
– The Cascades
– Cannon Beach*/Oregon Coast*
– Snoqualmie
– Mount Ranier National Park*
– Olympic National Park
– Kootenai National Forest
– Big Sur
– White Sands National Park
– Redwoods National Park*
– Yosemite National Park*
– Joshua Tree National Park*
– Lake Tahoe area
– Jackson Hole*
– Antelope Canyon
– Death Valley*

– Adirondacks
– Acadia National Park
– White Mountains
– The Catskills
– Taughannock Falls
– Martha’s Vineyard
– Cuyahoga Valley National Park
– Hocking Hills State Park
– Appalachian Mountains*
– Shenandoah National Forest*
– Blue Ridge Mountains*
– Appalachian Mountains (trails)*
– WV Mountains (Dolly Sods, Spruce Knob, Blackwater Falls, Seneca Rocks)*
– New River Gorge area*
– Potomac Highlands*
– Red River Gorge
– Ohiopyle State Park*
– Chincoteague/Assateague
– Great Smoky Mountains*
– Providence Canyon
– Asheville area*
– Swallow Falls State Park*

– Marfa
– Austin (hill country)*
– Monahans Sandhills State Park
– Big Bend National Park
– Black Hills National Forest
– The Ozarks
– Pictured Rocks (Michigan)
– Badlands National Park

– Denali National Forest*
– Hatcher’s Pass – AK*
– Matanuska Glacier – AK*
– Seward area*
– All the islands of Hawaii

What to Wear

The fun stuff!

If you’re hiking for your elopement, you can choose to hike in your dressy clothes or change when you get out to the ceremony location. We have had some brides have two dresses too, one for hiking and one for the ceremony and the rest of the day. We have even had some couples have an evening outfit to change into also. The choice is really up to you!

Some of our couples might plan their day more last minute, so what to wear can be stressful sometimes. Here are some awesome stores that can work for your day: