50+ THINGS TO DO ON YOUR ELOPEMENT DAY
Because You Didn't Plan an Entire Wedding Just to Take Photos for Four Hours.
Here's something I need more couples to hear:
Your elopement does not have to be a ceremony followed by an aggressively long photoshoot.
Please don't hire me for four, six, or eight hours and then think we need to spend every minute of that time staring lovingly at each other on progressively different rocks.
I love taking your pictures.
I do.
But go do some shit.
Make breakfast together. Go kayaking. Bring your dog. Get married. Eat pizza. Take a nap. Go horseback riding. Have a picnic. Play Mario Kart at your cabin. Hike somewhere ridiculous. Get ice cream. Jump in the river. Sit around a fire and drink beer.
Your photographs don't have to be the activity.
The photographs can come from the life you're actually living.
That's one of my favorite things about elopements: without 150 guests, a seating chart, seven formalities and somebody's aunt asking when you're cutting the cake, you suddenly have room to build a wedding day around the two people actually getting married.
So what do you want to do?
Ideas to Elevate Your Elopement Experience
START THE DAY SLOW
One of the best parts about eloping (at least in my opinion) is the fact that you don't have to worry about sticking with the old tradition of not seeing each other before the ceremony!
The morning of your wedding can be a great time to relax and soak in the fact that in just a few short hours, you'll be a married duo.
Ideas for a romantic morning:
- Wake up and watch the sunrise
- Rent out an AirBnB
- This could be a space you have all to yourselves or you could rent a larger space for loved ones to stay in as well (hello after party!!)
- Take a romantic bath or shower together
- Get ready together
- Or you can get ready separately and do a First Look
- Make your favorite breakfast together
- This gives the perfect opportunity for a little countertop make-out session. 😉
- Go on a walk and talk about your future
- Pick up your favorite coffee and donuts
- Enjoy the presence of each other while you write your vows
MAKE GETTING THERE PART OF THE FUN
Whether you're making a grand exit, taking your leave, or just looking for a fun experience before or after the ceremony, there are plenty of ways for you to ride in style on your big day... some a bit crazier than others. 😜
Ideas for you to ride in style:
- Hire a horse-drawn carriage
- Rent or borrow:
- a car you’ve always wanted to drive
- a vintage vehicle
- a stretch limousine
- a camper van or RV
- ATVs
- motorcycle (for props... unless you have a license)
- a party bus
- horses
- Take a:
- scenic train ride
- jeep tour
- helicopter ride
- personal flying lesson
- hot air balloon ride
- zip-line canopy tour
- boat/yacht/kayak/canoe/paddleboard ride
EAT SOME GOOD FUCKING FOOD
FOOD - an important, yet often overlooked part of your wedding day - I mean, we've all gotta eat, right?
Ideas for a delicious day:
- Hire a private chef to prepare an intimate dinner
- Plan a romantic picnic
- Pop some champagne
- Celebrate with shots after your first kiss
- Eat at your favorite place (even if that’s a burger and fries from Wendy's!)
- S’mores by a campfire or fireplace
- Visit a local winery / brewery
- Two words: charcuterie board
- Plan a pizza picnic date
- Cook your favorite (or a new) dinner together
- Late night snack food, all-day
- Mimosas for brunch
- Cook together and prepare a candlelight dinner
- Get drinks at your favorite bar
- Create your own wine or beer brew at a local place
- Sign up for a cooking class
MAKE THE CEREMONY ACTUALLY YOURS
The ceremony is probably the most important part of your day - and you should put your own creative spin on it to make it your own.
You may choose to incorporate traditional elements, create your own ideas, or use a mix of both. However you choose to celebrate, you should commit yourselves to each other in a way that’s special to you as a couple.
Ideas that can make your ceremony extra special:
- Say "I do" in a place that's special to you
- Say "I do" somewhere with a gorgeous view
- Incorporate your child(ren)
- Incorporate your pet(s)
- Exchange personalized, handwritten vows
- Read love letters
- These could be written specifically for your wedding day or could be previous letters you've written to each other
- Cultural or religious rituals/traditions
- Perform a unity ceremony
- wine/beer mixing
- wish lantern
- sand/glass/paint pouring
- lasso
- handfasting
- tree planting
- wine box
- Include music that’s meaningful to you
- Hire a live musician or band
- Hire a live painter to paint the moment of your first kiss or first dance
- Share your first dance together
These ideas take some pre-planning by friends and family, but can make for some amazing memories:
- Read letters from loved ones
- Watch video toasts from loved ones
- Surprise each other with a meaningful gift
- Create an Anniversary Timecapsle
- The couple and their loved ones collect tokens of the newlyweds' love, such as photos, trinkets, tickets, letters, and other keepsakes
- Seal them up during your ceremony and open the container up on your 5-, 10-, 15-, 20-year anniversary
gO OUTSIDE and DO SOMETHING COMPLETELY UN-WEDDING-LIKE
There are endless possibilities when you're deciding what to do to celebrate your epic love and new marriage.
Do you want to spend your day relaxing? Adventuring? Thrill-seeking?
Whatever you want to do to celebrate your love, you should DO IT! Even if it seems boring, wild, or dangerous.
Ideas to make your elopement day extra fun:
- Relax together in a hammock
- Stay in and play your favorite card and board games
- Explore a state park
- Go horseback riding
- Visit the local zoo or aquarium
- Visit a museum
- Attend a concert
- Attend a sports event
- Take dancing lessons together
- Rent a bouncy house
- Plan a romantic picnic
- Watch the sunset from the highest point you can find
- Go stargazing
- Take a hot air balloon ride
- Go on a scavenger hunt prepared by your loved ones
- Go camping/backpacking
- Ride roller coasters at an amusement park
- Take a scenic hike
- Take a scenic train ride
- Stay in and watch your favorite movies
- Bonus points if you rewatch movies you've seen on date nights over the years!
- Go off-roading in a jeep or ATV
- Have a nerf-gun battle
- Take a zip-line canopy tour
- Go on an ice cream date
- Hit up the local skating or bowling rink
- Play an escape room (though this is more fun with friends)
- Go axe-throwing
- Visit a smashroom
- Go boating / sailing / kayaking
- Take a dip in a swimming hole
- Go searching for waterfalls
- Visit some hot springs
- Cuddle up by a campfire or fireplace for smores and hot chocolate
- Attend a wine tasting (or host your own at home)
- Go rock climbing
- Take a bike ride
- Get a couples massage
- Go antique shopping
- Have dinner at your favorite restaurant
- Attend a paint & sip
- Attend a pottery or arts & crafts class
YOU DON'T NEED TO INVENT AN “ELOPEMENT ACTIVITY.”
This is where couples sometimes overthink the shit out of it.
You don't need to suddenly become Outdoors People™ because you're eloping.
If you've never hiked together in your lives, your wedding day probably isn't the ideal time to discover that one of you fucking hates hiking.
Instead, think about your actual relationship.
What do you already do when nobody's watching?
Where do you go on dates?
What do you waste money on together?
What would you do with a completely free Saturday?
What's something you've always wanted to try?
What's your comfort food?
What's an inside joke we could somehow turn into part of the day?
What would your perfect weekend away look like if Pinterest had absolutely no say in it?
Start there.
Your elopement doesn't need more activities.
It needs the right activities.
That might be hiking five miles to exchange vows at sunrise.
It might also be getting married at the courthouse, eating Taco Bell in your wedding clothes, and going home to play video games.
I would photograph the absolute shit out of both.
YOU DON'T NEED TO FILL EVERY MINUTE.
That's the other side of this.
You absolutely do not need to look at this list and plan seventeen activities because Aireal gave you ideas.
Leave room to breathe.
Leave room to change plans.
Leave room to sit somewhere beautiful and do absolutely fucking nothing for twenty minutes.
The goal isn't to create the world's most elaborate elopement itinerary.
It's to make your wedding feel like a day you would genuinely choose to live.
And if you want somebody there who can help you figure out the logistics, build a photography timeline around the experience instead of the other way around, and document all the weird little shit that happens along the way?
Hi. 👋
That's kind of my thing.
WANT TO GO DOWN THE Elopement RABBIT HOLE?
I've already done some of that work for you.
I'm Aireal.
A West Virginia Wedding & Elopement Photographer
Professional overthinker. Foster parent. Neurospicy human. Occasional bad influence.
If you're going to trust me to follow you around for one of the most emotional, chaotic, expensive and deeply personal days of your life, I think you deserve to know who the hell you're inviting.
So... hi.
Let's get uncomfortably acquainted.
