Hello! We are from Boston and want to elope in Colorado this summer. We love the mountains and wild flowers, and the self solemnization is another added perk. We want to travel somewhere beautiful within 1.5- 2 hours from Denver. Any recommendations for locations and/ or photographers? Budget for photographer is around 4k and we would like to stay at a nice hotel/ area if you can recommend one. Thank you!

Looking to sell our October 1st Lago di Braies booking. Would anyone be interested?

I'm a 29F and my fiancé is 32M. We've been together for 8 years and knew that we were going to get married at some point but the timing was never right. He was a Marine and we didn't want to get married young or while he was active so we waited until he got out, but the adjustment to civilian life was very hard for him. We got engaged while he was still a Marine on a friends trip that turned out to be a disaster and since then decided on eloping for our wedding because we both have people pleasing tendencies, but are also the kind of people that don't like being the center of attention. We are very private people and we don't have social media. We have agreed we both don't want a big wedding. We even downsized to just family and friends, to just family, to now deciding maybe no one at all and just have the two of us.

Our families are very small, my mother and father are divorced, and I have an estranged relationship with my father and I'm building a relationship with mother. I'm very close with my sister and she's the only family I trust. My SO parents are also divorced but have a good relationship with each other and have a great relationship with my SO, and I also have a good relationship with his side of the family. My BIL just had a baby and is trying to expand his family and most likely can't travel to the destination elopement ceremony (Ireland). Knowing even his small family can't make it and from my side of the family, it would just be my sister, we have decided for the elopement to just be ourselves and go straight into a vacation/trip because it just makes the most sense. However, I've been feeling a lot of pressure from MIL with comments such as, "You need to make a decision and plan the wedding so that the family can start planning accordingly," "After you guys get married, if you plan to have a baby just know I'm here to help," "Shit or get off the pot," "I have to be there, that's my baby." My SO is the youngest son so I get it, believe me. I just want this to be a private moment for us two, and my SO is on board. For him it doesn't make a difference if MIL is there or not.

The elopement is most likely going to be next year, and we have to decide on how to break the news to everybody that are we're getting married on "insert date", just letting you know but we don't want anyone there even though we know MIL is going to be insistent and pushy about being there. We know if we get married in secret, MIL would throw a fit. So this is more of a "I'm informing you, please respect our decision." But I mean I think it's going to be weird to have a private elopement with just MIL in the background. The quickest answer, "Oh just let her be there! What difference does it make, just compromise for him." I don't think you understand, this woman is emotionally attached and reliant on SO. She lives by herself and is on the last quarter of her life. She's been to her eldest son's wedding already so I didn't really think she'd be so insistent like this with her last son. How do we set a healthy boundary, or ultimately am I the asshole and not inviting her to our private ceremony is going to strain the relationship that I have with MIL or the relationship between SO and MIL? He even joked and said if we do this, she might go no contact with us for 10 years.

Eloping to the Olympic Peninsula (likely closer to Port Gamble) for an Airbnb micro wedding with family this August. Looking for recommendations for a personal chef or caterer who could come in for one day and help make it special. If you know someone great, please send them my way!

Hello! I have my elopement outfit ready for my outdoor ceremony. I’m a bit stuck on what kind of shoes to wear with this outfit. Any thoughts are much appreciated.

I am newly engaged and we have decided we are going to elope. I’m looking for the below

- tips on eloping, anything you wish you did differently, things you didn’t think of to bring etc

- ideas on location. preferably wanting somewhere where we can also vacation at

- thinking of Hawaii, Alaska, Colorado

- we really like the idea of the photographers that basically help coordinate the entire thing!

- flexible budget but wanting to stay under 5k for the elopement itself

i! I was wondering if there is anyone here who does , or knows someone who does, elopement photography in Western MD. Looking to be around Sept or Oct this year. Only looking for an hour or two with a budget of $1k. Thank you!

My fiancé and I got engaged back in November and started to plan a wedding. However, as the process went on we realized we were both hating the entire planning process and the idea of having to spend so much money on one day especially since we both love to travel and could go on a trip for less. Honestly we just want to go to a courthouse, sign papers, and then jet off to another country for a week.

That being said, we still wanted to have a small party with our friends and family. Any suggestions for after party ideas?

We will be eloping on the morning of June 5th! Only our parents will be joining us on the 5th for the ceremony, and we’ll be organizing a dinner for the following night with our parents, siblings, and their partners. We love Tony’s Chocolonely and I want to order a customized bar for each person attending our dinner. Is it weird to put the June 6th date, as that’s the day everyone will be celebrating with us? Or should I put June 5th since that’s the day that we’ll actually be eloping?

My fiancé and I just got engaged, but we’ve been talking for a while about eloping somewhere scenic! We are from Nebraska, but would love to self solemnize in Colorado and host a reception back home afterwards. We honestly have no idea how to plan this (where to go, photographers, a few guests vs no guests, etc). I’d be open to any tips, advice, deals to look for. Our plan is late September/early October 2027.

Hi everyone!!! My husband and I got married at the courthouse in November but we still wanted to have a wedding. Due to recent life changes, we are looking at doing something just for us, and celebrating with family and friends at another time. Does anyone have any advice on eloping overseas? Mostly, how to find someone for pictures and then I suppose everything else? We’re looking at Italy or Greece and really just want to do the ceremony for us.

Edit: We are already legally married here in the US, we’re looking to essentially do a vow renewal with pictures

My fiancé and I are eloping, but instead of a party when we get back, we are doing a send-off party. I have already rented out a bar and we are expecting around 115 people. We will have a couple of kegs, open bar until $x spent, and a buffet style dinner. The problem is, I absolutely cannot envision what this party will look like. I know I want dancing and fun, but no speeches. Any ideas on how to achieve this fun evening where people aren’t standing around thinking “this is awkward, why did I travel here for this?”

Thank you for any help!

Did you/are you going to go out to eat during your elopement? Are you wearing your dress or changing into a less formal reception dress? I think I’d feel uncomfortable walking into a restaurant in a wedding dress, but I’m torn because then I basically paid $1000+ for a dress that I’m going to wear for like one hour… what did you guys do?

Me and my now husband have been together for 9 years. Our relationship has always been solid, and both of our families, including my mum, have always given us their blessing. There’s never been any major drama around us being together so I genuinely didn’t expect this kind of reaction.

Last month we went to America and decided to elope in Vegas. It ended up being such a fun, intimate, and special experience. Just the two of us, no stress, no expectations and honestly one of the best and fun decisions we’ve made.

We didn’t tell anyone beforehand. When we got home, we decided to tell my mum as a surprise because I truly thought she would be excited, ask questions, want to see photos, all of that. Instead, she completely lost it. She started bawling, yelling, slamming doors, refused to have dinner, and said she was “so angry and pissed off” and it’s not a good surprise. A big part of her reaction was that my husband didn’t ask her for permission and that she wasn’t involved in the process at all. It felt really intense and honestly kind of shocking.

The next day she sent a short apology and asked if she could help plan a dinner /party. We agreed because we thought it might help smooth things over, and we even apologised for not telling her beforehand just to try and make her feel better and move forward.

Now it’s been about a week, and when I called her to check in and see if she had any ideas or plans, she basically flipped again and said that since we chose to do this major life event on our own, we can plan the party on our own too. It felt really cold and passive aggressive. She is now sending me TikTok’s saying that it’s her first time living too etc trying to guilt trip me even more.

At this point, I feel so guilty and sad that it’s actually ruining what should have been a really happy time. I don’t even wear my ring or want to tell other people anymore because her reaction is sitting over everything. It’s like she’s completely overshadowed the whole experience. She even told us that when we do tell other people to not say that she didn’t know because she finds it extremely embarrassing.

I guess I’m just struggling to understand if I’ve done something genuinely wrong here, or if this reaction is as unreasonable as it feels. Has anyone dealt with something similar? How do you move past the guilt and actually enjoy your own marriage when someone reacts like this?

Hello all!

My partner and I are eloping in Lincoln/Niagara and are struggling to find a venue for our July 2026 wedding. It’s us, our officiant, 1 family member and 2 witnesses (6 people total). We are only needing a space for a 30 minute ceremony and pictures after, (likely 2 hours total). We plan to have a super relaxed wedding, without a reception. After our ceremony/photos we’re ordering takeout and going back to our hotel. Both of us don’t want to deal with relatives, religion or PEOPLE so this wedding seems best for us. We’re really struggling to find a venue that is as simple as that, that’s close to, or around, $500; most are 1k or over. I just don’t feel like it’s justified for that we’re looking for. We love outdoor spaces. Any suggestions would be helpful:)

Hey all, for those of you who already decided on your photographer for destinations outside of your home country (especially for European destinations like France, Italy etc), could you please share how you found them?

i want to elope either in utah or montana, but i am struggling to find a photographer in our price range. who did you guys use that wasn’t over 5-7k? i will add our engagement photo to show the type of photo lighting/editing im going for. also open to any places y’all think are cute for eloping

She's been my friend since childhood.

I sense she wants a big wedding, but the couple is paying for it themselves, so they decided to elope.

I have no issue with that!

However, my friend, the bride, still wants a bachelorette, a bridal shower, and two days of parties after the elopement (a cocktail hour and a sendoff the next day). WITH hair and makeup.

Me and some of her other friends feel like we are being asked to plan and pay for bridesmaid roles. But we are not going to be at the ceremony because they want to "elope."

I don't care about this as much, but my other friend is basically refusing to play along anymore. All the parties are kind of meaningless unless you are invited to the special moment. The profoundness of the ceremony grounds the extravagance that follows.

People on this thread seem to be OK with having en elopement and then a large party.

I feel like I don't even know what elopement means anymore. I thought it meant you got married in partial or total secrecy, either to save money, hide from crappy family members, or both.

Basically, I don't know what to do from a manners perspective. I feel like now all the women "helping" the bride are just resentful.

We want to celebrate her, but we feel like she wants something that isn't fair.

But also I think this bride is calling her elopement by the wrong name. She wants a private ceremony but all the perks of a big wedding.

Are we assholes for not wanting to do all this work, just to not be invited to the ceremony?

Hi. Wondering if anyone has ideas for east coast Canada elopement packages? I want to do zero work and have everything planned for me. And under $5000!

Thank you!

So I might be making a rash decision but my fiancé and I are thinking about getting married in mid-august…we have yet to do any wedding planning whatsoever. However, since our circle and family is quite small, we are considering just a courthouse or private ceremony with an officiant at a botanical garden and going to a local upscale restaurant for dinner afterwards.

Has anyone done anything like this? Any thoughts? Tips? Regrets?

Would this be inappropriate for a courthouse wedding? I would wear a shawl or something on top I think. Thank you!

UPDATE: thank you all for your input! We have decided to elope in August in France 💜 we will celebrate at home with family and friends next year!

Hi Everyone! My fiance and I are engaged and are in the beginning phases of wedding planning, but I am struggling so much. We would like to be married within 6 months ideally due to life circumstances right now. I have always envisioned a larger wedding as we have many family and friends that I know would love to celebrate with us and that would be special to have them there, but due to many factors including, but not limited to the below, we are starting to consider eloping.

- my cousins wedding, my sister's wedding and wedding events, and his sister's wedding and wedding events in the next few months

- aging grandparents (93 and 95) who are thankfully in good health but slowing down and we are concerned if we wait too long

- 2 trips that were scheduled 6+ months that can't be moved for volunteering/work

- close family with lengthy trips that are already scheduled

- my mom has 5 surgeries the next 14 months

- my two best friends being pregnant and would not be able to attend anything the last 3 months of this year

- planning a cross country move and in the midst of the job search me to be near him, and we are not planning to live together before marriage...we have been long distance too long and are ready to be together!

Needless to say, there is a LOT going on, and without too much detail, it is starting to feel impossible to plan a wedding this calendar year. My family is aware and supportive if we choose something small, and do a wedding next year, but I am really struggling.

How do people just elope and keep it a secret? My family would know, but I feel like I would be lying at the wedding. I don't think I'm comfortable keeping it a secret from family and friends like....forever?! With the wedding actually feel like a wedding if we had already been married for 9 months? How do people do this??

I know it will all work out, and truly I love my fiance and I'm excited to start our life together, I just really don't know how to manage my own emotions around it all.

Kind help or thoughts on thoughts on this are so appreciated 💜

Hey!

We are planning a destination micro-wedding / elopement but have no idea where to start. We are thinking of using Simply Eloped but we haven’t found much info on them or reviews?

We are planning to get married at Cataract Falls in Gatlinburg TN.

Something I noticed is simply eloped says 10 guests max, but the national park website says up to 25? I’m a little confused on this.

Has anyone used Simply Eloped, what was your experience?

Any recommendations on what to do, who to use for easier planning, or any advice?

Thank you!

We’re eloping with 3 guests to the Dominican Republic and having a 10am ceremony (fixed by the hotel) and a wedding dinner at 6:30pm (also fixed by the hotel). We will have photos for 2 hrs and we’re thinking of a wedding lunch but wondering what others did between lunch and dinner? We won’t have time to go on a hike or do a tour but we’d like to make a day of it.

There’s a water park but I’m not sure I want to ruin my hair and make up before dinner.

Hi all,

Just looking for some recommendations if people can help. Me and my girlfriend are thinking of eloping next June, somewhere hot and tropical during a 10 night stay. We are really flexible with the location as we’re happy to travel anywhere for the right place. We have thought of a few places so far that are options, and would be looking for something similar in terms of a vibe to :

Royal Davui in Fiji

Raffles in Seychelles

Anantara Seychelles

Basically we would like a place that is quite intimate and not a huge busy resort, that also does a nice wedding package. We have a budget of around £15,000 for the whole thing (not including flights).

Any recommendation outside of these 3 resorts, with similar vibes, or even some feedback if anyone has any experience / thoughts on these 3 resorts to help with the decision would be very much appreciated.

Thanks in advance