So, you’ve decided you want to elope, and you wanna do it SOON! Heck yeah, we love that!

As seasoned elopement planners and photographers, we’ve helped make many a last minute elopement dream come to life. With as little as a week to pull it all together, we’ve created incredible wedding days full of love, meaning and beauty.

In this blog, we’re going to share all of our top tips for pulling off a last minute elopement that still feels deeply special and meaningful.

What is a last minute elopement?

There’s no set definition in all honesty: for some, 6 months might feel pretty fast, while others are going to say ‘Heck it, let’s elope tomorrow!’. We personally would say anything under 2 months is pretty last minute, as the planning process will need to be fast-tracked and you won’t be following any kind of ‘normal’ wedding planning timeline.

That’s not to say you can’t pull your elopement day together even quicker than that! You absolutely can. We’ve had couples book with us one week and then elope the next!

Whether you’re planning to elope next week, or in the next few months, you’re going to find the advice we share here helpful as you piece it all together.

All the images you see in this blog are from last minute elopements planned in pretty short timeframes, to serve as inspiration for what can be accomplished even when you don’t have months and months to plan.

Why choose a last minute elopement?

There’s a multitude of reasons you might opt for a last minute elopement, here’s just a few:

• Your partner is military and getting deployed soon and you’d like to seal the deal before (s)he takes off.
• You’ve already got a vacation planned and realized it could be really fun and easy to get married while you’re on that trip. 
• You’d like to get married sooner rather than later to benefit your personal insurance situation.
• You started planning a big wedding and soon realized it wasn’t worth the stress and you’d rather just do the deed!
• You’re spontaneous by nature and this is just so ‘you’!

Why we like last minute elopements

We honestly love a last minute elopement and here’s why…

The less time you have to plan, the less time you have to stress!

We’re firm believers that giving yourself toooooo long to plan your wedding is asking for trouble:

Give yourself 18 months and you’ll stress for 18 months. No joke! You’ll over plan, start second guessing yourself, change your mind ten times over, compare your day to others… And end up making yourself miserable.

But if you give yourselves just a few weeks to plan, there’s simply no time to stress!

You pull together the few things you actually need (we’ll tackle that below!) and then you just get to go with the flow. Que sera, sera!

And, honestly? That’s when the magic happens.

Deciding if a last minute elopement is right for you

For some, a last minute elopement is romantic, spontaneous and exciting. You’re the kind of couple who embrace whatever comes your way, you’re willing to let go of control and trust the process and you know that whatever happens on your wedding day you’ll have an adventure together and make memories!

That’s not the case for everyone, and that’s ok.

If you’re more of a perfectionist, ‘Type A’ planner, very detail orientated and like to be fully in control of things, a last minute elopement might not be the best option for you. You might be better off giving yourself more time to meticulously plan and slowly piece together your perfect wedding day!

Our top advice for planning your last minute elopement

MANAGE. YOUR. EXPECTATIONS.

Last minute elopements are absolutely beautiful – we’ve shot several that have blown us away – but they’re not going to have the same level of complexity as a wedding planned out over 18-24 months.

By its very nature, your day is likely going to be simpler and more organic. 

Personally, we love that!! You get to ditch all the show and production of a big wedding day and get back to the very heart of what actually matters… Marrying your person.

But it does mean you have to set yourself up with realistic expectations so you don’t end up disappointed. You need to go into the planning process with an open mind and with a willingness to be flexible.

For example, you might find yourself disappointed if you go into this thinking ‘I must have extravagant florals, specifically white peonies, for my day to be a success’. Whereas, if you go into thinking ‘Hmmm, if a florist is available, a bouquet of seasonal flowers would be great, but if not nevermind’, you’re far more likely to be satisfied.

We’d also suggest mentally dividing things up into ‘Wants vs. Needs’ and not getting too hung up on things that are not essential to your day.

For example, a marriage license? That’s a need. You cannot legally elope without one.

Whereas a 3 tier cake? That’s a want. It might be a very-strongly-want, but it’s a want all the same.

You must check off all the needs, and hopefully you can check off a few of the wants, too. But you need to be willing to let some things slide when you’re planning a last minute elopement.

How to plan your last minute elopement, a step by step process

Set a budget

We love a good daydreaming session when it comes to planning your elopement, but before you start daydreaming toooooo big, it’s important to set yourself a realistic budget!

It doesn’t matter whether your budget is $500, $5k, $10k or $20k, that’s personal. But it’s essential you and your partner discuss what that looks like, before you start planning as it will impact a lot of the choices you make.

So, decide how much $$$ you have available/are willing to spend, and also try to break down how you’d like to allocate that money. Is photography important to you? Do you want a nice outfit? Would you rather spend the cash traveling somewhere new?

There’s no right or wrong here, every couple will be different, but ignoring the budget aspect of eloping is asking for trouble.

You can check out the realistic costs of eloping in this blog.

Pick your location 

You’ve got a few options here.

You may decide you’d like to stay local to keep life super simple for your last minute elopement. Perhaps check out if your local courthouse is pretty, or if there’s a nice state park close by?

Or, you may decide you’d like to turn it into a bigger adventure and travel out of state!

We’ve had couples from the East coast come out to Colorado and Utah to elope with just ten days of planning! So, trust us when we say it’s possible.

We do recommend you pick an easy state to elope in and, by that, we mean a state that has an easy marriage license process.

Colorado, for example, doesn’t require a legal officiant or witnesses, so that keeps life suuuuuper simple.

Utah is also really easy as they have an online application process, meaning you don’t have to physically go to the county clerk’s office when you arrive.

Other states are not so simple, and may have a waiting period, blood test requirements or other barriers to a quick and easy last minute elopement.

The best way to find out is simply to Google something like ‘Colorado marriage license requirements’.

TOP TIP: we’d hiiiiighly suggest picking a location that does NOT need a permit as often they take many weeks to apply for. This is something we advise all our couples on, you’re not expected to figure out the details alone! But, as a general rule, national parks and state parks DO require you to have a permit to get married there, whereas national forest and BLM areas do NOT need one.

Pick your date

When choosing your date, we have two pieces of advice:

1. Try to be flexible. If you’re trying to lock in a photographer for a last minute elopement, you’re going to have a lot more success if you ask ‘What dates do you have left this month?’ than if you’re set on a very specific date.

2. Aim for a weekday if you can! More vendors – photographer, florist, baker, hair and makeup etc – are likely to be available for a last minute weekday than for a weekend which often book out months in advance. And, bonus, popular spots are less busy in the week so you’ll have a higher chance of privacy.

Book your photographer

Once you’ve picked a general location and loose date for your last minute elopement – for example, ‘Utah, in the next 6-8 weeks ideally’ or ‘My local courthouse on the first date they have available’, then we hiiiiiiiiiiighly suggest locking in your photographer as the next step.

Most of us elopement photographer specialists also help a ton with the planning, so we’re going to make the whole process a bazillion times easier for you! You do not need to figure this all out alone.

We, for example, provide all of our couples with personalized location recommendations, a recommended vendor list, travel and accommodation suggestions, activity ideas, a custom timeline for their day etc.

We’re going to work right alongside you to piece your day together even in the shortest timeframe!

You can learn more about our packages here if you’d like.

TOP TIP: to find your photographer, try searching on Google (something like ‘Utah elopement photographer’, for example), or using hashtags on Instagram (eg. #coloradoelopementphotographer).

We are a husband and wife team offering planning, photography, ceremony officiation and optional video across Utah and Colorado. Check out out packages!

Book your officiant if you need one

Depending on where you’re getting married, you may need a legal officiant to marry you. You can find out by Googling the marriage requirements of the state you’re eloping in.

Sometimes your photographer might provide this service!

For us, we’re a husband and wife team and one of us is ordained: so, while one continues to photograph, the other leads a fully personalized ceremony for you and then signs off on your marriage license.

Book any other vendors you want

If you’d like a bit of extra help on your elopement day, now would be the time to start looking at other vendors.

Would you like fresh florals to add a bit of luxury to your day and a beautiful pop to photos?

Would you like someone to do your hair and makeup for you?

Would you like a cute cake to cut into to celebrate?

Remember, it’s important to distinguish between Wants vs. Needs when you’re planning a last minute elopement. You may find that you want some of these vendors but there’s simply none available last minute. So, you’ll need to be willing to let things slide if that’s the case.

TOP TIP: see if your photographer has vendor recommendations for you! They’re likely plugged into the local network and might even be able to put out some feelers for you since you’re working on a short timeframe.

Book travel and accommodation

This might be as simple as an Uber to your home town’s city hall and a nice hotel for the night to spoil yourselves, or you might need to book flights, a rental car and a place to stay out of state.

We recommend using Skyscanner for getting a feel for what flights are available but then booking directly with the airline so you have support should there be any issues on your travel day.

And AirBnB, VRBO and Booking.com are all great places to look for accommodation.

Buy your outfits

This part can be super fun but also a little nerve wracking when you’re planning a last minute elopement!

You have two main options if you’re planning to wear a wedding dress:

1. Go to your local bridal store(s) and see if they have an off the rack section of dresses that you can walk away with that same day (as opposed to dresses that take months to order).
2. Order online.

If you order online, we suggest ordering from a place that has a good return policy (such as Lulus) and buying a whole ton of different styles and sizes. That way, you can try lots on and then return the ones that don’t work. Don’t forget to read reviews and consult sizing charts before ordering!

You can find more advice for choosing your elopement outfits in this blog.

Buy rings

If you’re planning to exchange rings as part of your ceremony, go ahead and buy those rings!

You may decide if you’re planning a last minute elopement that it’s moving a bit too fast and you don’t have time to pick out your perfect rings.

In that case, just pick up a cheapo ring that you can exchange for the symbolism, and then look for your forever rings down the line. We’ve literally had people use a $50 ring from Target before and it looked great!

Write vows

If you’re planning to exchange personal vows rather than just the traditional ‘I Dos’, it’s time to start putting pen to paper. Do not leave this till the morning of your elopement!

Start making notes of any little thought that comes to mind, then slowly start padding it out.

And don’t forget to order some cute vow books to write them in!

You can find more advice on writing your vows in this blog post.

Make a plan to apply for your marriage license

Every state is different when it comes to obtaining your marriage license. So be sure to read up on it and make a plan.

For the vast majority of states, you need to obtain your marriage license in the state you are getting married in. So, for example, if you’re from Tennessee but eloping in Colorado, you need a Colorado marriage license. (There is the odd exception to this rule. A Texas marriage license, for example, can be used in a different state.)

In some states, such as Utah, you can apply online in advance, but in most states you will need to go in person to apply for your marriage license, so be sure to factor this into your travel plans. Make sure you check the county clerk’s opening hours!

There are also rules on how far in advance you can apply for your license, and whether it’s valid immediately or if there’s a waiting period so, again, be sure to do your research!

Plan out the flow of your day

It’s time to start imaging what your elopement day actually looks like!

Your ceremony is obviously the heart and soul of the day, but you’ve got allll day to do whatever you please.

Are their traditional elements of a wedding that you’d like to include in your last minute elopement? A first look, for example? Or a first dance? You can still do these things!

You might even want to include some non-traditional activities such as a little hike, or some light off-roading, checking out a national park etc.

You’ll find tons of inspiration in this blog: ‘100 Epic Elopement Ideas’.

Think about celebratory food and drink

Food and drink is often how we as humans celebrate all major life events! So, have a think about how you’d like to mark this most special of all occasions.

Perhaps you like to cut a cake and pop some champagne? Don’t forget to reach out to a baker!

Perhaps you’d like a cute little picnic set-up. You could DIY it or have someone set it all up for you.

Or maybe you’d rather go out for a fancy dinner? Go ahead and make a reservation for that place you’ve always wanted to go.

Buy any little personalized details you might want

This is very much in the ‘want’ rather than ‘need’ category, but if you’ve already checked off all the main planning items and have spare time, you might want to think about some fun, personal details to make the day truly yours.

We’re talking about things like custom cake toppers, jackets, shoes, socks etc.

Embrace your elopement day when it comes around!

You’ve done all the planning you could with the time you had available…. Now it’s your wedding day!

Take a breath, let any little stresses go and soak it all in.

Live in the moment, make memories with your new spouse and don’t forget to have FUN!

And lastly… Here’s your last minute elopement checklist

We know that was a lot of information to take in, so here’s a little checklist to help you keep track of everything as you plan your last minute elopement.

You can Pin it if you’d like, or even print out a tangible, physical copy to check off as you go through the planning process.