How I Plan Elopements (It’s Probably Not What You Expect)

How I plan elopements is probably not what you expect. Not because I’m anti-location or anti-inspiration, but because I’m very anti-copy-and-paste.

I absolutely care where you elope. I care about the landscape, the vibe, the season, and the feeling you get when you picture yourselves there. And if Pinterest made you stop scrolling and think, “wait… that would be sick,” then good. That’s information.

What I care about most is making sure your elopement isn’t just a recreation of someone else’s day, but a reflection of who you actually are. If that means we end up under a waterfall in Iceland then fantastic. And no I didn’t just try to plant that seed in your head…. or did I…

Most People Think Elopement Planning Looks Like This

Pick a pretty place.
Pick a date.
Throw on an outfit.
Say vows.
Boom. Eloped.

And sometimes? That is the vibe. But a lot of the time, couples come to me feeling like they’re supposed to follow some invisible elopement rulebook they never asked for.

Like there’s a “right” way to do this.
Like if it doesn’t look a certain way, they did it wrong.

That’s usually where I step in and gently (or not-so-gently) say: we’re not doing that.

How I Plan Elopements Starts With You, Not a Template

Yes, I want to know where you’re drawn to.
But I also want to know:

• Are you slow morning people or up-before-sunrise people?
• Do you want quiet and private or chaotic-in-the-best-way?
• Are you crying during vows or cracking jokes because emotions are scary?

How I plan elopements is less about recreating a moment and more about understanding how you move through your day together. Because the same location can feel insanely different depending on who you are and how you experience it.

And that matters more than the view.

I Care About Location… I Just Refuse to Let It Do All the Work

Location is important. Obviously. We’re not pretending a parking lot and a mountain pass feel the same.

But how I plan elopements means the location supports the experience—it doesn’t replace it.

A stunning place won’t magically make a day meaningful if:

• you’re rushed
• you’re stressed
• you’re performing instead of being present

I’d rather you be somewhere that makes sense for you than somewhere you picked because it looked cool on someone else’s feed.

(Again: inspiration is great. Blind replication is not.)

How I Plan Elopements Is Very Feeling-First, Timeline-Second

I don’t start by asking what time you want to say your vows.

I start by asking:

• When do you want to feel calm?
• When do you want to feel connected?
• When do you want to feel like you can actually breathe?

Then we build around that. Thats the secret sauce.

Sometimes that means slow mornings and coffee before anything “important” happens.
Sometimes that means wandering without a strict plan.
Sometimes that means doing things wildly out of order and calling it intentional.

Spoiler: it usually is.

How I Plan Elopements Is Not for Everyone (And That’s Fine)

This approach is for you if:

• you care more about meaning than tradition
• you want your elopement to feel like a day you’d choose even without an audience
• you want something that reflects your relationship, not someone else’s highlight reel

If you want a carbon copy of a viral elopement timeline, I might not be your person.

But if you want a day that feels honest, intentional, and yours?
Yeah. That’s my thing.