Okay, so you’ve probably heard the word “elopement” about a million times by now.

Maybe you picture two people running off to Vegas. Maybe you picture a mountaintop somewhere in the middle of nowhere. Maybe you picture a tiny ceremony with just the two of you and a photographer who somehow convinced you to hike three miles in your wedding clothes.

And honestly? All of those things could be an elopement!

But elopements have changed a lot over the years. They don’t necessarily mean running away in secret or getting married at a courthouse with two witnesses. And when you add a destination into the mix, your wedding day can become so much more than just a ceremony.

So if you’ve been wondering what a destination elopement actually is, what one could look like, and whether it might be right for you… let’s talk about it!

So… What Exactly Is a Destination Elopement?

At its simplest, a destination elopement is a wedding where you travel somewhere specifically to get married.

That could mean hopping on a plane and getting married somewhere completely new, driving a few hours to a beautiful destination nearby, or planning an entire adventure around your wedding day.

And no, you don’t have to disappear to the other side of the world. But you could if you want to!

A destination elopement could be in the mountains of Colorado, along the coast of Maine, in a national park, somewhere in the desert, on a European coastline, or even in a city you’ve always dreamed of visiting.

The best part? There really aren’t that many rules.

Your destination elopement can be just the two of you, or you can bring along your closest family and friends. You can spend the morning getting ready together, hike to your ceremony location, have a picnic afterward, explore the area, go out for dinner, and end the night watching the sunset.

It can be as adventurous, relaxed, romantic, or completely unconventional as you want. Because at the end of the day, it’s still your wedding!

Why Do Couples Elope?

There are a lot of reasons couples choose an elopement, but one of my favorites is simply that they want their wedding day to feel more like them.

Maybe you’ve never dreamed of a huge ballroom wedding with 200 people. Maybe you’d rather spend your wedding day exploring somewhere beautiful than worrying about a seating chart. Maybe the idea of having everyone you love in one room sounds amazing… or maybe it sounds completely overwhelming. Maybe you just really love to travel and want to combine two fun things: getting married and going somewhere new!

And sometimes, couples simply want a more intimate experience. There’s something pretty special about getting to slow down and actually experience your wedding day instead of feeling like you’re constantly rushing from one thing to the next. You get to spend more time together and can be intentional about where you go, what you do, and how you want the day to feel.

And yes, you can still have the dress. You can still have flowers. You can still pop champagne. You can still cry during your vows. You can still have beautiful portraits.

You’re just doing it somewhere that means something to you.

But Wait… Does Eloping Mean It’s Just the Two of You?

Absolutely not! This is one of the biggest misconceptions about elopements.

If you want your parents, siblings, best friends, or a small group of people there, bring them! You can have ten people at your destination elopement. You can have twenty. You can have your immediate family there and then spend the rest of the day just the two of you. There’s no magic number that suddenly makes something a “real wedding” instead of an elopement. And honestly, I think that’s one of the best things about eloping. You get to decide who gets to be part of the experience.

Maybe your ceremony is just the two of you, but your family meets you for dinner afterward. Maybe your best friends come along and turn the whole trip into a mini vacation. Maybe you want to keep the ceremony intimate and then celebrate with everyone when you get home. There are so many ways to do it.

What Does a Destination Elopement Day Look Like?

This is where things get fun because your wedding day doesn’t have to look like a traditional wedding timeline.

You could wake up somewhere beautiful, have coffee together, and take your time getting ready. Maybe you put on your dress, help your partner with their tie, and share a special moment before heading out.

Then you could head to your ceremony location, exchange your vows, take some portraits, explore, grab lunch, hike somewhere new, have a little picnic, or just wander around together.

And then? You get to keep going!

You could change into a second outfit for dinner. You could go to a favorite restaurant. You could cut a tiny wedding cake. You could dance somewhere completely random. You could watch the sunset together and spend the evening taking in the fact that you just got married!

There’s no rushing everyone onto a bus. No worrying about whether 150 people are having fun during cocktail hour. No trying to fit every single tradition into one day just because you feel like you’re supposed to.

Your day can actually be about the two of you. And as a photographer, I love that. Because I’m not just there to photograph your ceremony. I get to document the entire experience.

You Still Get All the Beautiful Wedding Photos

One of the things I hear from couples who are considering eloping is, “But I still want the pretty wedding pictures!”

YES. I’m with you!! And you can absolutely have them.

You can have the romantic portraits, the veil blowing in the wind, the close-up of your rings, the dress hanging in the window, the emotional moments, the candid laughs, the dramatic landscape shots, and maybe even some photos that would be pretty difficult to get at a traditional wedding.

Imagine standing on a cliff overlooking the ocean in your wedding dress, or hiking through the mountains together after your ceremony, or running through the streets of a city you’ve always wanted to visit, or even just sitting together somewhere completely quiet while the sun goes down.

Your location becomes part of your story.

And that’s one of my favorite things about destination elopement photography. The photos aren’t just documenting what you looked like on your wedding day. They’re documenting where you were, what you did, and how the whole experience felt.

Okay… But Is a Destination Elopement Right for You?

Honestly, I think this comes down to one question:

What do you actually want your wedding day to feel like?

If you’ve always dreamed of having everyone you love together, a big celebration might be exactly what you want. And that’s amazing! If that sounds like you, check out this blog on how to build the perfect wedding day timeline.

But if the thought of a huge wedding makes you want to run away… maybe you should actually run away.

If you love traveling, exploring new places, being outside, having experiences together, or simply want a wedding day that feels a little less traditional, a destination elopement might be worth considering. And you don’t have to know exactly what it looks like yet. You don’t have to have your destination picked out or know what your timeline will be. You don’t even have to know whether you want to bring anyone with you.

Start with the feeling: Do you want your wedding day to feel adventurous? Peaceful? Romantic? Intimate? Spontaneous? Maybe a little bit of everything? Once you figure that out, the rest can start falling into place.

Your Wedding Doesn’t Have to Look Like Anyone Else’s

I think this is the biggest thing I want couples to take away from the idea of eloping. There is no single “right” way to get married.

Your wedding doesn’t have to look like the weddings you see on Pinterest. It doesn’t have to follow every tradition. It doesn’t have to fit into a ballroom. And it definitely doesn’t have to be a huge production just because that’s what you’ve always seen weddings look like.

Maybe your perfect wedding is 200 people on a Saturday night. Maybe it’s 15 people on a beach. Maybe it’s just you, your person, your photographer, and a mountain. All of those are weddings. And if you’re going to travel somewhere beautiful to get married, I think you should actually let yourself make a whole experience out of it.

Go somewhere you’ve always wanted to see. Wear the dress you’ve been dreaming about. Take the long way to your ceremony. Stop for coffee. Laugh when something inevitably goes wrong. Spend way too long taking portraits. Have dinner somewhere amazing.

Let the day be completely yours.

So… Where Should You Elope?

Well, that’s a whole other conversation!

There are so many incredible places to elope, and the right destination really depends on what kind of experience you want.

Mountains? Beaches? National parks? European cities? Somewhere close to home? Somewhere completely new? The possibilities are basically endless. Check out this blog for my top destination elopement recommendations!!

And if you’re considering a destination elopement, let me know what you’re dreaming up. Whether you already have a destination picked out or you’re still in the “wait, could we actually do this?” stage, I’d love to hear from you!!