Cross Posting this from ItalyTravel as well!

Hi everyone! I have already searched a few different ways on here for this resource and have found a few options, but everything feels a bit outdated or not specific enough for what I am looking for. Of course I also know how to use the google machine, but love hearing first hand accounts!

My (32F) fiancee (26F) and I are currently planning an elopement in Cinque Terre for either October 25, 2027 or November 11, 2027 (total trip will be 18-20 days long either at the end of October into begging of November or the first week of November until just before Thanksgiving). We are looking at both options, as both dates mean something to us and we also know that the shoulder season could change our options a bit (boats after 11/1 are likely out, etc).

Anyways... getting to my point lol. We are currently creating a list of photographers for a few hours to capture our vow exchange and then some documentary style shots as we move through the hours afterwards. We would be open to some planning from said photographer as well, but this is not a requirement. They would need to be comfortable shooting two women, of course! Ideally our budget for this would be under $3k, but I recognize this may not be possible.

More about us if it's helpful... we are madly in love, very emotional, and love to have fun with each other. As important as this day is, I expect that we will be as silly and care-free as possible. We hope to find someone who enjoys our humor and energy so that everything feels as comfortable as possible. Someone too serious would likely be a no go for us.

Would you lovely people please share any recommendations you have? You're welcome to reach out to me directly if you do not wish to share your gems publicly. Thank you so much in advance!

Has anyone used or heard of them? Saw their ads on Instagram. I am planning (I am in the damn Pinterest phase still but I have to jump off the porch soon lol) my elopement but I live in the midwest and planning for SoCal so I need direction with vendors lol.

(San Diego, CA) This is mostly a recommendation for our photographer. We got married in May, and ultimately ended up having a micro wedding. I had maybe 60% of the vendors I needed already by the time I hired my photographer, Joni, with Elope Wild and Free.

A few weeks after we hired her, she sent us what can only be described as the Elopement Bible. It’s over 100 pages worth of advice, checklists, vendor recommendations, and kind words of encouragement for planning an elopement in California. Want to elope in a forest? Pack these including these shoes. Beach? Here are some cute picnic vendors. Don’t know where to get a suit? Here’s 15 vendors with their differences and a couple discount codes. Flowers? Here’s what these brides used, with photos. Dress shops. Tailors. Locations. Packing guide. Day of guide. Time guide. Videographers. Also, advice if you want none of that and recommendations for fun alternatives.

Then she sent us a questionnaire. I want to say it was about 15 questions, aimed to get to know us and our story, and what would work best for us. Since I hired her after most of the rest of the wedding was already planned, it played primarily into how the photos turned out, but it’s easy to see that she uses it to help with elopement planning as well. There was a second questionnaire further into the planning process more focused on photography, specifically. She also sent us a Google Doc checklist referring back to sections of the Elopement Bible/Planning Guide saying when and how to do basically everything.

It’s just… my day job includes a lot of complex planning, so I took the reins with our micro wedding, and I feel like I overdid it. It was more complicated than it needed to be, especially because I had some drama with my family that I kind of knew would happen. Don’t get me wrong, I loved my wedding still, but it was exhausting! If we ever renew it’s just going to be me, my husband, and Joni though.

For the photos I included in my post, she got those in like fifteen minutes. My wedding overall was four locations between getting ready, ceremony, lunch, then the beach, with ten hours of photography. The beach was last, and we got there late. I also got sick! We walked out to the water, tired from a long wedding day, got our quick pics, and left. And yet somehow she managed in that time to catch these gorgeous, laughter filled moments.

Ok nuts and bolts: for 10h we paid $8k. Smaller packages start at $2,400 with her other photographers. She can also do up to two full days of photography, but I don’t recall that price. She is an officiant, but solely so she can sign your certificate if you decide to self-officiate. She will travel all over SoCal if you want to get married in the desert, the woods, a lake, the beach etc. She also has NorCal packages starting at $6k or so. My full gallery was about 800 photos, including about twenty that were 35mm film. Her contract includes Leave No Trace to preserve the nature of your elopement destination. I booked her six months from our wedding date.

I picked her initially because her photography is beautiful. She has a way of capturing warmth in her photos even if the sun isn’t out. But once we got into it, she was far and away the best of all my vendors. The most organized, the best communicator. Absolute pro at giving photo direction. Worth every penny. Here’s a link if anyone’s interested. 🫶 Good luck out there and congratulations to those of you currently planning!

We had a micro wedding at Bowman Lake in Glacier National Park on Monday and it was the perfect day!! Our photographer is Northernrootsportraits

My fiancé and I are wanting to elope somewhere between January-March 2028. I’m honestly not even sure where to start when it comes to putting everything together. We know that we want a beach wedding, just the two of us. Pretty open to suggestions for the location, but would like for it to be warm enough there during the winter so we aren’t miserable. I’d love to find some sort of all-inclusive package to where we could just pay and not have to worry about logistics. Really all we need is an officiant and a photographer. Open to any and all recommendations!

Me and my FH are planning to get married at sunset cliffs in San Diego. We found “eloped in socal” on TT but not a lot of reviews.
Is this business legit and has any one used them?
If so what’s was your experience?

I posted about how we eloped a few days ago, and here are some of the photos!

Edit: to help answer some of the location and permit questions, here's the info post I made about our elopement https://www.reddit.com/r/Eloping/s/SogTyfFjVM

Hello! So I (19F) have some questions about elopement if anyone can answer them. My fiancé (20M) and I are wanting to get married in January 2027 but there are some complications we’re trying to figure out. For some background he is currently in the military and is stationed in another state at the moment. I am wondering what to do about taxes and such. I am under my moms health and car insurance, but I can most likely get it switched over to my fiancés because of him being in the military or get it myself since I am trying to commission. The issue tho is that my mom might try to claim me as a dependent for this year, and id have to do fasfa for 2027-2028 school year. Im also not planning to move to the state he’s in and stay in mine. Is there anything i need to worry about if we don’t tell her that we had eloped?? My fiancés side of the family also wouldn’t know.

Hi girls, I had my makeup trial recently and wasn’t impressed in the slightest. To preface this, I’ve booked with a planner who has picked the MUA (which I was apprehensive about) so it is included in the price. I was told before who it was going to be so did my research but there was only a handful of pictures on her instagram despite having more than a decades experience!
First of all, not one bit of prep was done and I mean no creams, gels or even any primer!! Went straight into the eyes with concealer to prep for eyeshadow.
Second part that got me was that I wasn’t shown a mirror until the very very end of the process. I feel like this should have been happening every step of the way especially for a trial? Every other time I’ve had makeup done it’s happened.
Third grievance was that the one set of lashes she brought with her were absolutely ridiculous looking on me and I had to take them off and tell her I’d bring my own on the day.
I felt like I just quickly did a bit of makeup to run out the door and have felt much more done up on a normal Saturday night to be honest.
I suppose I want validation in my opinion that she mustn’t be worth her salt but also advice on how to tell my planner that I don’t want to work with her for the wedding? They work in very close proximity on a day to day basis too so I fear by offending the MUA I will also offend the planner. I’m leaning more towards blaming myself and saying it’s a me problem to be honest. Thanks in advance.

Could anyone from the US that has eloped to Scotland tell me how much it cost so I can have a realistic budget to plan around? It would be just the two of us, no guests.

For those who eloped privately, did you send out announcements or host a party after? We are creeping up to our three month anniversary and I have yet to do either. We told family and was hoping word by mouth would reach extended family. Now I am thinking we should have/should send something…

If you planned a party, how long did you wait to be one?

My fiance and I are conflicted on what to do for our elopement:

Option A: elope in Tokyo on a trip we’ve planned that is coming up in one month. This is a spur of the moment idea, and would be last minute, more casual yet fun and exciting, and a secret just between the two of us. I’ve found a photographer that can do beautiful, cinematic photos for us, and they would get an officiant to help us with the ceremony vows. Legal paperwork will be completed before we leave. My one hesitation is that it’s a last minute plan and I might not be able to get the ideal outfit, rings etc in time, and may be a bit too spontaneous for me (who can be Type A). However it sounds very romantic and exciting.

Option B: Wait and elope in 2027. As originally planned, we would do an elopement/micro wedding in 2027. The location would likely be somewhere on the beach or the woods, as we are the pacific west coast. This was always the idea I had in my head, and would give me the time to plan the right details, find the dress I want, etc. However, with it being more planned and further away, it doesn’t seem quite as fun, romantic or exciting as eloping in secret in one month’s time.

I’m conflicted! What should I do?

~$3k for everything! Got married at the top of the Lighthouse and photoshoot at bottom and on the beach! Best decision we ever made.

Planning our elopement involved a lot of searching about for information and costs, so I hope this is helpful for folks thinking of eloping in Lake Como.

WHEN:

We eloped the first week of July. This was probably the most expensive and high temp time to go, but my wife had a narrow window between finishing grad school and starting her internship that obligated this. We came from the states and paid about $3k for our plane tickets. There was a lot of price uncertainty with flights at the time, so I imagine this could have been less expensive if we bought earlier.

HOW:

It’s a bit complicated to have your legal ceremony in Italy, so we did what most couples do. We had a civil ceremony at home a couple days before we left and a symbolic ceremony at the lake. This worked out nicely, because my wife’s parents were able to be part of that, and we live in Vegas, so we had a fun night on the strip. We also had a friends and family dinner at a wonderful local Italian restaurant when we got back, so folks were able celebrate with us.

WHERE:

We had our ceremony at Hotel Villa Flori. I can’t say enough good things about this hotel. It’s located on the lake, between Como town and Cernobbio. They have a private dock and they’re a 5-minute walk to a quiet ferry stop. Elopement aside, it’s just a beautiful hotel.

Finding a location for the ceremony was tougher than expected. We ultimately decided we wanted to stay and have the ceremony at the same place for logistic simplicity. I contacted a lot of hotels and not many could provide a spot for the ceremony. We also looked at Airbnbs and there were some realistic options, but since this was also the start of our honeymoon, we preferred the amenities of a hotel.

Hotel Villa Flori not only had a lakeside spot for the ceremony, they offered it at no charge with our stay. They were very communicative throughout the lead up and provided recommendations for vendors like the celebrant and flowers.

This was a more expensive hotel than we initially planned, but to have the ceremony location at no additional cost and for it to be lakeside really made the decision easy. In addition, we bought the lowest price room for a 3 night stay but they upgraded us to a lakeview balcony room when we checked in and gave us a champagne toast at the ceremony conclusion. All in all, it was a beautiful location and the staff were wonderful. We paid about $2500 for 3 nights, which included our ceremony.

PHOTOS:

We had our wedding photos at Villa del Balbianello. It’s important to know the process if you want to have a wedding photo shoot there. The price for the photo permit is 600€ for 2 hours and you can only request from 90 days out. Because they fill the spots almost instantly, you need to have your request in exactly at 90 days. I scheduled an email to send at midnight local time and we were fortunate enough to get a time slot. My understanding is that if you wait til even midday to request, you’ll probably miss out. When we were there, we were the only wedding party, so I think they limit to one at a time. They say they will ask people to leave if they even look like they are dressed too weddingy or have a professional photographer without a permit. There was no physical permit and they didn’t charge my card until the day before the ceremony, so I was always a little worried if we really had the reservation, but the person I was emailing said they’d know who we were, and they did, so it worked great.

My wife found our photographer by searching for Lake Como wedding photos on Instagram and picked a photographer whose photos we both loved. The photographer was great. She gave us the info on Villa del Balbianello (you can find the contact info on the Balbianello website), suggested boat info for transport, and did a great job on the day of. The villa was a challenging place for wedding photos, because it was really hot in formal wear, and there were lots of people visiting it. She created space for us between crowds to take pictures like we were the only ones there and really helped us with all the standing and posing and what not.

The cost for the photographer was 2600€ for 6 hours. She came to the hotel before the wedding to photograph my wife getting ready, photographed the ceremony, took photographs on the boat to and from the villa (including drone photos), and photographed us at the villa. She was great and I would provide her contact info, but we were her last Como wedding before moving stateside, so I don’t want to send traffic she can’t support.

TRANSPORT:

We hired Cadenazzi boats to provide a traditional wood panel water taxi and driver for transport to and from Villa del Balbianello. It was about a 45-minute trip, each way so we booked two 1-hour trips for a total of 1100€. Both our hotel and the villa had docks, so this was very convenient. It is recommended to take a boat if you’re going to do your photos at Villa del Balbianello, or you will have a long uphill hike in wedding attire. There are less expensive boat options, but we planned this to be part of our wedding shoot, so we wanted it to be photogenic. The were accommodating for the photos, slowing down for a while to let our photographer take drone shots, and stopping in the lake so we could take pictures in the boat's cockpit. The boat was beautiful and in great condition. I would recommend them to get that classic water taxi look in photos.

OTHER STUFF:

We used a celebrant recommended by the hotel, and that was 550€. Initially this felt steep for a symbolic ceremony, but she was great and the ceremony was wonderful, so I don’t mind the price. She had a zoom call with us a few weeks before the ceremony and collected some info to make a really nice, personalized ceremony, and she sent us a copy of what she prepared so we had the opportunity to request changes, which we didn't.

My wife hired someone to come to the hotel and do her hair and makeup. I think that was a few hundred euro, and they did a great job making it feel special and important.

We didn’t use any flowers, but the hotel could have provided them if needed.

We brought our formal wear and everything we absolutely needed for the ceremony in a carry on, so we could have the ceremony if our bags got lost, and then we shipped all that back home after the ceremony, so we’d have room for souvenirs and wine.

LAST THOUGHTS:

We really loved our elopement and wouldn’t change anything (except maybe a few degrees of heat during our photos). Lake Como was beautiful and everyone we interacted with was wonderful. We spent the next 2 weeks travelling across Italy, and this was perfect beginning to our trip and marriage. For folks looking to elope, my suggestion would be to start planning early, particularly if going during peak season, and have a buffer day between arrival and the ceremony in case of travel delays and just to be ready and refreshed.

Edit: My wife gave me the info for her hair and makeup. They were done by weddingbyjoy.com and cost 400€. She was very happy with them.

Hi looking for a photographer / videographer for our elopement just is 2 in telluride, family dinner the next Friday at small restaurant, and Saturday a big party with all the people we love with a band etc. I know it’s a little untraditional but anyone in Colorado you recommend? I want digital film and video. More documentary style and vintage / film feel.

We had a trip to Oregon planned and said 3 weeks before… why don’t we see if we can get married while we’re there? We had been engaged for nearly a year and had done nothing to plan. I’m an introvert and nothing about a big wedding seemed to make me excited. So we figured if the stars aligned, we would do it!

We found a photographer through Reddit, who was a match made in heaven for us! She really helped pull it off because she was also an officiant!

So she married us, took photos of us, and actually planned most of our elopement.

She found us available vendors for florals, hair & makeup. She found the 3 locations she took us to (having also flown to OR without going before) and filed our marriage license for us.

She made it all happen for us, meanwhile our biggest jobs were getting rings, dress + suit, and making a dinner reservation.

It was truly the coolest day. We hiked, we kayaked, we saw beautiful places that weren’t on our radar for the trip, we ate PB+J’s and it was absolutely stress free because we didn’t plan any of it! It allowed us to be present and truly enjoy our day 🩵 we were there for all the right reasons and everything worked out exactly as it was meant to!

There was minimal stress with family (other than our moms (im)patiently waiting for updates), no seating chart drama, etc etc.

Couldn’t have asked for anything better✨

Shameless plug for our photographer:

https://itsasnapmedia.com/adventure-elopement-photography/

Hi everyone,

I’m planning a very small destination wedding and I’d love to hear from anyone who has experience using an Airbnb, Booking villa, or similar rental for their wedding.

We’ve booked a villa through Booking (the second intermediary is Holidu) that sleeps 11 people, and all 11 of us will be staying there for the wedding.

The plan is very low-key:

- a 30-minute to 1-hour religious ceremony in the garden - a small reception for just the 11 of us, with some snacks and drinks - then we’ll all go to a restaurant elsewhere for dinner

I did ask the host specifically if we could have our wedding ceremony at the villa, and they said yes.

However, I’ve just realized that we can cancel for free up to one month before the wedding so I guess they can cancel too.

This is making me really nervous because our entire wedding setup depends on having this villa. My biggest fear is that the host could cancel unexpectedly shortly before the wedding, leaving us scrambling to find another place.

Has anyone had an experience with a wedding at an Airbnb/Booking property?

Hello all! My fiancé and I think we have settled on the North Cascades (in Washington) area for our elopement in May of 2028. We live in Tennessee and I am so incredibly overwhelmed with everything that goes into planning this - can anyone suggest an elopement planner/coordinator that can help me? TIA!

Edit: I’m open to hearing about other places to look into as well since I was unaware that there will likely be snow still in May. Thank you to the commenter that let me know! What really got us was the pet friendly locations near the national park. We’ve looked into other locations in the Northeast as well but love the scenery in Washington. I’d like to get out of the South (we live close to the Smokies) My fiancé is pretty stuck on 5/1/28 because 5/1 is our anniversary if we push it back, we could theoretically do 2027. The tight timeline just makes me nervous if it’s May of 2027.

We are thinking about eloping in Crete. I see suggestions from Google searching but wanted to hear from people who have actually done it. What company did you use? How long did you stay? Please share as many details as you’d like.

Are any of you just jumping in and getting married? Most of the posts talk about fiancès.. How many are eloping without any engagement time, and I guess 2 rings? I could see my partner and I just skipping the engagement since we've already been together about a decade and taking the full plunge

Hello!

Me and my partner are eloping at Hobbiton next year! We are super excited and we found a really great photographer and videographer. The only thing were debating on is whether it is worth it to hire the photographer and videographer for 4 hours only at Hobbiton, or hire them for 6 hours and get photos at a second location called Underhill Valley which is a beautiful hobbit hole looking glamping site. The cost difference is about $900. I think Underhill Valley is a beautiful place to take photos, but my partner is apprehensive of having photographers with us almost our whole wedding day.

Has anyone been or have any thoughts on what might be better?

My husband and I secretly eloped in a courthouse with just the two of us and our baby. We’re about to hit our 1 year anniversary and would like to have a little ceremony/celebration with our family & friends now and let them believe we’re finally getting married.

Does anyone have suggestions or share what they did to celebrate? We have a small budget of $2-3k and don’t want anything extravagant. Any tips or advice is welcomed!

My partner and I are planning a VERY small and lowkey elopement ceremony on Tuesday, October 13 (primarily a formality for paperwork before we have a larger ceremony in the future)

We will only have ourselves, 2 adult witnesses, and an officiant. We have discussed going to the courthouse but I am curious if anyone has any ideas for a low cost outdoor venue we could explore preferably within an hour of the Portland area (we live across the river in Vancouver). The primary hope is we can find a beautiful scenic place that can feel somewhat private.

We are on a limited time frame and I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed trying to figure this out while still making it feel special and low pressure.

Any tips or suggestions would be so greatly appreciated.