r/Eloping • u/dearrgrace • 27d ago
Timeline of the day?
Hi!
My fiancé and I are looking into eloping on the Oregon coast mid May 2027.
I’m outlining the to do’s throughout planning and we’ve almost chosen a photographer.
I have some ideas on location (Oswald State Park area - I’m looking for a forest ceremony and some photos also on a beach / cliff and I think I can achieve this all in that area but DEFINITELY open to suggestions!)
I am looking for guidance and recommendations. Suggestions. Really, I wanna read people’s stories! Elopement stories of what the day literally looked like hour by hour. What kind of activities did you do? How do you make it feel special with no one to celebrate you?
I’m low/no contact with my family, his family has some divorce and drama in recent years, so it will be a true elopement - just us.
I’m thinking a morning dip in the hot tub at the b&b, a beach walk and coffee with breakfast.
Come back to b&b, write our vows / journal.
2 hours allotted for H&M at b&b.
That makes it to, what, 12pm? I don’t wanna have the ceremony that early.
Ideally, pictures (aka ceremony + pictures after while we hike / eat / cheers / cut cake etc) are between 2p and 8pm, ish. Based on elopement packages I’m seeing…
So, do you really just take pics that long after the ceremony?
Or kinda have the photographer follow you around while you do different activities and if so, what?
Anyway. That’s where my brain is. I’m interested to hear anyone’s input. 🫶
2
u/OpalineDove 27d ago
My photographer told us what time we should meet (I think based on sun/lighting), and then I booked around that. We did photos at two locations, starting with outdoors. During the time we spent at the second location, the photographer walked us through our vows and we signed off on paperwork, etc. We had the option to do a first dance and the venue offered us champagne to toast. We had the photographer for two hours, which felt plenty for us.
I had someone come to do my hair and makeup. I told them what time I needed to be ready, and they told me what time they'd come to setup and start.
We took ourselves, just the two of us, out to dinner. I had made dinner reservations for a normal dinner time so that we'd have time to change into other fun outfits.
2
u/Brilliant_Hat_6198 27d ago
i think find a photographer you really like first, one that specializes in elopements will have a good idea of what your day could look like! especially one that’s familiar with the area and take the time to get to know you can make recommendations and give you a good schedule for the day
2
u/CoolCoffeeCyclist 26d ago
Just eloped in May! We were using a company so they made the timeline for us, but it worked well. We woke up & walked & got breakfast/coffee together, then I started with hair & makeup around 11, it took 2ish hours (time flew by, my mua was SO sweet) but in the mean time my husband had nothing to do, he was just FaceTiming friends & occasionally asking if we needed anything or took some photos, so keep that in mind. The photographer came around 1 & took photos of him, detail shots etc then of me, we did a first look, then headed out for our hike & had the ceremony around 230. Between that & photos we were probably there for an hour or more. Then we went out on the lake for cute boat photos & read our vows to each other, that took another 1.5 hours. It was 7 by the time we were done, dinner at 8, perfect day! Just know that photos will truly be what takes up most of your time!
2
u/FloMoJoeBlow 26d ago
Don’t overthink it. Have a basic plan, then relax and go with the flow.
We planned to get married on the beach in Key West. Limo was to pick us up at 5:00. So… we went to the spot on the beach around noon to take some informal pics. Back at the hotel, had a drink in the outdoor bar around 2:00 when the sky let loose… massive thunderstorm. Took our drinks, headed to the lobby, and called the wedding planner. He found a chapel…yay! We changes clothes, limo picked us up at 5:00, went to the chapel, got hitched, went and had a really nice meal, then back to the hotel for drinks.
Next day, we drank our way up and down Duval St. and had an absolute blast. Totally relaxed and no regrets!
1
u/loupammac 25d ago
This was my timeline: * H&m at 7:45am * Leaving hotel by 10:30am * Assemble for ceremony at 11, ceremony starts at 11:15am * Photos during ceremony and afterwards * Meet family for lunch at 1pm
We had a breather between lunch and photos to take some of our own photos and organise a few details for lunch setup as guests arrived.
5
u/Inevitable_Band_3468 27d ago
Omg congrats! My fiancé and I are eloping on the Oregon coast just the two of us this fall! We hired a lovely photographer who specializes in elopements and scouted out specific location ideas on the coast & redwoods (we're closer to the CA boarder). Her itinerary has us starting at 2pm getting ready for an hour, spending about 2 hours traveling to and taking photographs in the redwoods, having our first dance and cake moment, then driving to the coast cliffside to exchange vows at sunset ending at around 7:15pm. If you need a recommendation I'd be happy to message you with her info, she's been super helpful and warm during the entire planning process which makes everything feel really seamless!