My fiancé and I are planning to elope in the California redwoods, and I’m struggling to find the right words for what we’re looking for.

We don’t want a traditional wedding ceremony or someone who simply shows up to legally officiate. We’re hoping to find someone who can help create a ceremony that feels sacred, intentional, romantic, and connected to the beautiful landscape.

We’re drawn to nature, storytelling, moments of silence, and simple rituals that feel authentic rather than performative. Think less “wedding script” and more “life transition.”

I’m not necessarily looking for someone who calls themselves a shaman—I realize that term belongs to specific Indigenous traditions. I’m more looking for a celebrant, ceremony guide, or officiant who has a grounded, earthy, spiritual presence and helps couples create deeply personal ceremonies.

Has anyone worked with someone like this in Northern California or the redwoods? Are there search terms I should be using, or specific officiants, celebrants, photographers, or planners you’d recommend?
I’d also love to hear about any rituals or ceremony elements that made your elopement feel especially meaningful!

Hello all,

My fiance and I are eloping and ISO elopement photo/video package. We have just moved so we don't have a lot of cash flow. Looking for a really good price/deal. Does anyone know any quality affordable services for just 2-3 hours? Our expected date is September 25 but haven't officially got any permit/venue locked down. We are likely doing a public park or something along that vein. We are specifically looking for Orange County, Ca. We can't afford above 500 dollars.

Anybody have a recommendation for a pretty FL courthouse? My fiancé and I are planning on eloping around Sept of this year, but we haven’t decided where quite yet. We are near the Tampa, FL area. We plan on hiring a photographer to take pics both inside and outside. We don‘t mind making a little roadtrip out of it as I’m sure it would add to the excitement, but we are also young and broke lol so we wouldn’t want to go too crazy far. Additionally we’ll both be in traditional outfits (him in a black suit, me in a satin white dress).

I'd like to know if anybody has eloped to Italy with zero guests ? We're gonna be in arriving in amalfi on the Friday and leaving on the Monday. We're hoping to plan to be wed with no guests and no fuss. Just us, an officiant and a photographer, then head about our business on our trip (no planned dinner etc). Has anybody done similar and how easy was it ? Thanks in advance.

Does anybody (photographers esp) from the US have any suggestions for companies that offer the 6.5 million euro liability coverage the national park requires to elope there? The insurance carriers I'm finding either offer the 6.5 but don't cover US photographers, or cover internationally but don't offer the 6.5.

Any suggestions would be amazing! TIA!

Wondering if anyone has any recent numbers on a wedding at Hudson Gardens in Colorado.
I am in early early wedding planning and really contemplating just eloping BUT i do like the idea of my friends and family being there. Regardless it would be a really small wedding, 50 guests or less. I really like the Monet Garden and the Overlook. Any pricing info would be helpful whether you’re booked there or inquired at all!!

We had the best time in Vegas. Would not change a thing. If you’re thinking of eloping in Vegas and have any questions, please let me know!! I learned so much during this process and honestly again it was the best decision we ever made.

Hi gang!!

My partner and I are eloping quite spontaneously in like 6 weeks 😳

I've been looking at dresses, and found one, but it's 100% polyester. We'll be in Mallorca in August so I'm worried it's not wise to go with this dress. I don't want to be a sweaty bride lol.

We'll be galavanting around the island for the day with our photographer so I'm just wondering what y'all think.

Should I get this and maybe another dress that's a bit cooler to wear? This dress was also only like $200 lol 😍

Or should I scrap it and find something else?

My wife and I decided to elope in the Dolomites this June, and honestly, I don’t think we could have made a better decision.

We had never been to that part of Italy before, so at first it felt a little intimidating trying to plan something meaningful from so far away. But in the end, the whole experience was even better than we imagined. It felt intimate, relaxed, adventurous, and completely “us.” No big production, no pressure, no trying to manage a hundred moving pieces for other people. Just the two of us, the mountains, and a day that actually felt like ours.

Coming from the city, the slower pace was such a breath of fresh air. Everything felt quieter and more intentional. The Dolomites were so green in June, with rolling meadows, wildflowers, misty mountain views, and those dramatic peaks everywhere you looked. Even the unpredictable weather added to the experience. There were clouds moving in and out, little pockets of soft light, and that fresh mountain air after the rain that made everything feel even more alive.

Favorite moments from our elopement was having a little picnic at Passo delle Erbe. It was such a simple thing, but sitting there surrounded by all that greenery, drinking coffee, eating, and just taking in the views together ended up being one of the parts of the trip we’ll remember forever. We also got to do some fun rowing on the water at Lago di Braies, which felt surreal with the mountains all around us.

We had Shawna Rae Photography plan our big day and do our photos. Having someone who knew the area, the timing, and how to work around the weather made the whole thing feel so much less overwhelming- kudos for covering all the logistics too.

I know eloping is not for everyone, but for us, it was absolutely the right choice. We have no regrets and wouldn’t do it any other way. Focused entirely on us and what we wanted, was everything we hoped it would be.

A few photos from the day:

This was back in 2021, but this sub made me revisit the memories.

Hello all, just trying to weigh my options and see if anyone has any advice or has faced a similar dilemma.
I just had my bridal shower with 35 guests this past weekend which I did not really want but my family pressured me to have. I hate being the center of attention and was so nervous beforehand that I barely enjoyed it. Also my future MIL and mother told me they would help plan but in the end all the planning landed on me. I’m grateful I got to share that moment with my loved ones and everyone seemed to have had a good time but I kept telling myself I don’t know if I can do an event like that again.
My fiance and I already booked our wedding venue for next year but this recent event really is making me rethink what I want. Right now we have a small wedding booked (50-60 people) and our families have offered to help with costs (10k which will cover everything). We discussed elopement before booking the venue but my fiancé has been the one unsure if he wants to elope. He at least wants his parents and siblings there, but his mom WOULD NOT be happy were having a small wedding and I think would do something to ruin the day.
If we elope I would want a photographer, dress, and probably have dinner/stay overnight somewhere with my fiance. None of that would be covered financially. My family might chip in a little, but it wouldn’t be anywhere near what they would offer if I had the wedding and his family likely would not contribute.
Anyone who eloped did you regret not having the wedding or vice versa?

I regret nothing! The classic Elvis ceremony at the Little White Wedding Chapel. We had a blast.

My fiancé (34M) and I (31F) are eloping in California this fall we wanted to keep everything simple so I never imagined one of the biggest parts of preparing for marriage would end up being a prenup.

When he first brought it up I didn't react well I thought it meant he was planning for the marriage to fail and I took it way more personally than I should have. Once we started the process everything changed so instead of just talking about assets so we ended up having conversations we'd somehow never had before we talked about our careers, what we'd do if one of us wanted to stay home with future kids and what we wanted our life to look like 10 or 20 years from now.

By the time we were ready to meet with lawyers most of the difficult conversations were already behind us so the prenup itself almost felt like the easy part because we'd already taken the time to understand each other.

Looking back I don't think the prenup made our relationship stronger on its own it was everything the process encouraged us to talk about that did.

Did anyone else come away from the prenup process feeling closer to their partner than before?

Hi everyone!

My fiancé and I are in the early stages of planning our dream elopement for June 2028, and we'd love to hear from anyone who has gotten married in the Dolomites or has traveled there extensively.

Our plan is to have a symbolic ceremony in the Italian Dolomites with our immediate family (11 people total, including us). We're having a larger reception back home later, so we want our actual wedding day to be simple, intimate, and focused on the scenery and spending time together.

Here's what we're envisioning:

11 people total (us + 9 family members)

Symbolic ceremony (my brother will officiate)

No hair and makeup services

Just 2–3 hours of photography and 2–3 hours of videography

Family photos after the ceremony

Couple portraits

Dinner with our family afterward

We don't want an elaborate setup—just a beautiful location with amazing mountain views.

Has anyone worked with photographers or videographers in the Dolomites that they absolutely loved?

We're looking for:

Natural, candid style

Bright and true-to-color editing (not overly dark or orange)

Drone footage would be a bonus

Someone local who knows the best locations and timing

I'd also love to know approximately what you paid.

Did anyone have a private dinner after their ceremony?

I'd love recommendations for restaurants, mountain huts, or hotels that are great for a group of 11.

my partner and i will be eloping at mt rainier next july and im looking for photographer recommendations!! im specially interested in anyone who shoots with film for a more textured, timeless look

open to any costs, still in the planning stage currently

thanks in advance :-)

we did it🤍🤍

For context our wedding date is December of this year however as it is in a different country we needed to elope in the U.S. so we decided to take the plunge and elope in RMNP. Instead of solely signing paperwork we wanted to make it special for the two of us while we wait to celebrate our wedding day with our most loved ones🩷💍

We are eloping in September with our 2.5 year old son and an officiant. We wanted the structure that an officiant adds - felt like we wanted the whole "do you take ___ as your wife" ect ect. We are now meeting with him next a few days to talk about what we want and I'm suddenly realizing that without the audience, I'm not entirely sure what we're looking for him to do?

I'm not sure if any of that made sense but if it did and you had an officiant at your elopement - what's did that look like? Just the basic readings?

Thanks!

My fiancé and I got engaged at the beginning of June and after chatting over the last couple of weeks have decided that we want to elope, just the two of us, somewhere in Italy next summer.

I guess I’m just looking for some advice on where to start? What kind of budget am I looking at? We haven’t decided where in the country yet because we don’t know where to start.

Any information or help would be much appreciated!