Wondering how to plan an elopement that suits you? I recently planned a styled elopement shoot in Trentham alongside some fabulous fellow vendors and it got me thinking of any advice I would give to couples planning their own. First and foremost, this is by no means a cookie cutter guide. There are no hard and fast rules and each couple and elopement are completely their own. These are just a few gems I’ve picked up along the way, I hope they are of use to you!
TAKING SOME TIME TOGETHER
1. A good place to start is taking some time together without distractions to think about how you want your day to feel and look. This could be one night a week at home, or out for dinner to talk everything through. Things that will affect the overall look are time of year, location, and even time of day. Finding the right spot is important – you could have it all in the one location, or break it up with a gorgeous outdoor ceremony (hopefully somewhere that means something to you) followed by a meal somewhere you’ve always wanted to try and ending the day in a gorgeous accomodation. Just because you are not having the typical wedding, doesn’t mean you can’t make a full day of it. This leads me onto…
INCORPORATING WHATS IMPORTANT TO YOU
2. When you start to plan an elopement that suits you, incorporating what’s important to you is key. This could mean including your pooch, or incorporating your hobbies such as starting the day with a swim at your favourite spot. Or, hiring a private chef for the evening. Another idea for your ceremony is incorporating your loved ones. Asking your most important people to write you both a letter to read on the day, whether that’s in the morning, or even during the ceremony can be something really special to share on the day. Two items I feel are a must have, are a portable speaker with some of your favourite tunes and a bottle of bubbles to pop afterwards.
WHO’S THERE?
3. Who’s there? Just because you’re eloping, it doesn’t mean it has to be only the two of you. Though it also can! You could have just your parents for part of the day, or even two of your closest friends. Another option is eloping during the week as the two of you and having a party on the weekend with all of your nearest and dearest to celebrate. If you are not having guests on the day, you will still need two witnesses to sign your papers. This may mean it being your vendors, such as photographer and florist / stylist.
WEEKDAY VS WEEKEND
4. Something just worth mentioning is, considering weekdays for your elopement. This can definitely help with the budget and is much easier to make happen when you don’t have 100 people trying to get a day off midweek!
YOUR A TEAM
5. Select your A team. As elopements are smaller affairs to plan, this generally means you can really focus in on the details. Once you have decided how you want your day to feel and look, reach out to vendors you resonate with. Often once you find one, this can lead to a recommendation to another, and another! I had a strong idea who I wanted to work with for this shoot to help make the springtime garden elopement come to fruition. Other than the look, the people who you will be spending time with is important. Such as a celebrant who you connect with and a photographer you feel comfortable around!
THE DETAILS
6. Think about the flow of the day. As I mentioned before, why not make a day of it? Even though you don’t have a classic wedding day timeline to think about, it’s still nice to plan out the day. You can have some time to relax in the morning, whether that’s apart, or one of my favourites for elopements – getting ready together! You could even plan your ceremony for the afternoon so you get that soft light and are going into golden hour for some portraits with your photographer. Something also worth considering is if you would like your elopement to go straight into your honeymoon! This can work well if you are planning on eloping somewhere overseas. If you are opting for this, its often best to have a legal courthouse ceremony in your place of residence before a symbolic ceremony overseas, as many places do not allow you to get legally married there. Of course, this can be researched before hand.
SHARING THE DAY WITH YOUR LOVED ONES
7. How to share your elopement with others? Even though you have eloped, you might want to share the memories of the day with those who weren’t there. One option is writing cards to send to your loved ones accounting your marriage and sharing a couple of photos from the day. Or, even having them over for dinner once you have your wedding album and looking over the day together with a glass of wine.
I hope these tips have helped plan an elopement that suits you! If you would like to see some more of the styled elopement shoot in Trentham you can head over to… https://polkadotwedding.com/2023/11/a-springtime-country-garden-elopement/
Vendors involved in the Trentham Elopement:
Venue: The Estate Trentham https://www.lyndagardener.com/stay/the-estate-trentham
Makeup Artist/ Hair Stylist: Ashley Morales https://www.ashleymorales.com.au
Dress: Lola Varma https://www.lolavarma.com
Suit: Houndstooth Tailors https://houndstoothtailors.com.au
Celebrant: Sue Begg https://www.suebegg.com
Flowers from: Fleurs De Lyonville https://fleursdelyonville.com.au
Floristry by: Handpicked Ethical Floristry https://www.handpickedfloristry.com
Cakes: Fig and Salt https://www.figandsalt.com
Styling: Black Finn Weddings https://www.blackfinn.com.au
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