What is an Elopement? (2024)

Eloping means saying your vows and celebrating how you want to, and not how your mother, or friends, or future father-in-law wants you to. The 21^st century style of an elopement wedding has become popular in the past 10+ years, but it became wildly popular during COVID-19 (not that the pandemic has ended, but…) for different reasons. Now, couples all around the USA and world are realizing that elopements are incredible, authentic, and epic ways to get married without all the hullabaloo.

This one’s important: Elopements may be smaller than traditional weddings, but they’re no less meaningful and no less important. In fact, many people view elopements as even more special because they’re customized to exactly what you want, and by definition nontraditional.

I’m an elopement photographer based in New York and California, and I travel all over the country and world photographing intimate, epic, beautiful, and darn fun local and destination elopements for couples who just want to do something differently. Because I’ve been photographing elopements for many years (far before the pandemic), I figured it could be helpful for everyone by writing out exactly what an elopement is—and isn’t.

In recent decades, the meaning of elopement changed to mean, “Hey…let’s do our own thing and give our crazy love a chance,” or, “Let’s skip the crazy wedding and get married on our own time.”

An elopement could mean going to the courthouse in jeans and a blouse, or it could mean flying to Norway and saying your vows above an incredible fjord. Most people elope by doing something in between those examples; by splurging on a location that doubles as a honeymoon, or a private chef, or an amazing photographer, or a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

So, that’s what an elopement is in 2022: A marriage ceremony done where you want, how you want, and with (or without) anyone you want. And yes, it’s 100% legal, and just as much of a marriage/wedding as someone who has a 400-person wedding.

Don’t get me wrong: I’m an elopement photographer and also a wedding photographer, and I love photographing both types of celebrations.

With weddings, I photograph those reactions and emotions from the guests, the fun, the music, the dancing, and the energy of the entire day. As an elopement photographer, it’s often more about adventurous couples, cool locations, small moments in an awesome environment, and the authenticity of this special moment. I’ve photographed elopements in the USA (the U.S. Virgin Islands, New York, and California are where most of my couples find me), and also in many other places: Photoshoots in Hawaii, Indonesia, Austria, Maine, National Parks, islands, and so much more. There’s so much freedom and flexibility, and I honestly love getting to know my couples and then documenting their shenanigans.

Both large weddings and elopements are great. What’s important is going with your gut and having the celebration you want.

For more ideas on what to do on your elopement wedding day—and how to make your elopement unique to you—check out this article on 55+ ideas for how to make your elopement special.

Many people elope to: a.) do something important for them; b.) avoid a million pairs of eyes on your on your wedding day; c.) save money; or d.) get married without all the stress and fuss.

Still many others elope for many other reasons, and I list many of those reasons right here.

When you elope, it means you have all the flexibility in the world. That means you can get stunning Milky Way photos, do a 4-day-long hike, do your favorite activity or nothing at all, spend the day at Disney World, see the Northern Lights, or really anything else you want.

Wedding and Elopement Terminology: Eloping and having a wedding are both legal marriages. You have to file documents with a courthouse/registrar/office and file taxes differently here in the U.S.A., and as long as you go through the legal steps in your particular location and are legally recognized as such (which sometimes includes witnesses, officiants, proof of who you are, etc.), you are married.

You do NOT have to change your name, or wear a wedding ring, or say whether you had 250 guests or ran away to a castle to qualify as being married. You had a wedding whether you had a huge wedding or eloped, as they’re all forms of a wedding, and with documentation mean you’re married. So the real difference with eloping and larger weddings are what you prioritize: Friends and family, freedom, locations, adventure, ease, speed, music, individuality, splurging, partying, silence, nature…whatever YOU like.

Of course, when it comes to eloping, as long as you two want to get married, it doesn’t really matter what anyone else thinks, does it?! So one big reason couples elope is to just escape all the pressure, expectation, worry, judgment, and more. You don’t have to prove to anyone why or why not you should have a huge wedding.

It’s not selfish at all to elope, and in fact, if we think about all the waste that’s generated from a single wedding, some might say it’s more selfish to have a large wedding. In the end, it’s about having the kind of celebration that matches your vision.

There may be backlash, and it’s often because relatives (most often mothers, sorry to say) have envisioned your day since you were a baby. Weddings are huge in every culture—especially South Asian cultures and Western cultures—and parents often see your wedding day as a way to brag about you, see friends, and celebrate in style.

Just remember: YOU should not be pressured to have a wedding for THEM. It’s literally the one day you deserve to do exactly what you want.

Want to get married on a Wednesday? You can! Want to wear black dresses or yellow dresses, or capes, or pantsuits? Yes. Want to do a handfasting ceremony in a polyamorous relationship? Do it. Want to go snowboarding while in your wedding suits? All these things are perfectly acceptable, and if it makes friends or family members angry, so be it. They’ll get over it.

This is a big one, but also the most fun aspect of eloping! Deciding where to elope is entirely dependent on you, any restrictions you have, your schedule, your budget, the time of year, and your desires (or lack thereof, because not everyone likes to travel) for an elopement or adventure

This is my list of the best places to elope in the USA, but if you can go international and make an incredible honeymoon out of it, do it! And if you want to find some great locations around where you live, awesome.

Elopements can be one hour, one day, or multiple days. Most of my clients book my photography services for around 4-8 hours, but there are plenty of options.

– Jenn and Erin decided that hiking up a mountain in Acadia National Park was their wish, so up we went to the top, where they changed, and then down on some iron climbing rungs we went

Some people choose to celebrate with an elopement-style wedding, but do the legal paperwork in their home country/state. This works well for those not wanting to deal with all the local laws dealing with religion, bringing documents, arriving early, etc. So if you already got married at the courthouse but never celebrated with the day/weekend you dreamed of, you can still have your elopement—with even less stress!

Check out this elopement day checklist for help. And if you don’t want to do the planning all by yourself, you can contact a professional elopement planner who will set up basically every detail for you, 0 stress. I’m happy to share the names of some great planners I work with.

Many couples don’t know what to expect with elopement pricing, so this information should help.

Wedding photographers and elopement photographers are not cheap. This isn’t because we’re trying to gouge people as part of the wedding industry, but because everything is SO important, and we’ve trained our entire careers for your one day. For us elopement photographers, this means having thousands of dollars worth of gear, the right insurance, training and courses, experience for years and decades, our time, and of course, the time it takes to meet, do contracts, and edit.

While photographing weddings and elopements typically takes 1-3 days, editing those photos takes weeks. I may spend 8 hours photographing an elopement, but 80 hours editing it + 10 hours on meetings, contracts, backing up, planning, prepping, etc. There’s so much that goes into our work as elopement photographers than meets the eye. In a way, we have to be great at not just photographing, but writing, planning, social media, negotiations, selling, scheduling, being a therapist, and so much more—all while capturing your day with a creative eye. This is why photography is expensive. Most of us are wedding and elopement photographers because we love it, and not because we make money from it.

If you’re splurging on your wedding day, I recommend splurging on your location, and your photos. Of COURSE I’ll recommend splurging on your photos, and it’s because they’re the only thing you’ll have besides your memories. And as far as location goes, go big or go home. What reason do you have to be boring? Do something fantastic, with fantastic views to match!

All this said, you shouldn’t pay any more or less for photography if you’re eloping versus having a large wedding. This is because photography cost is time dependent, so whether you’re having a 10-hour wedding or a 10-hour adventure elopement, you’ll pay the same prices for 0 guests or 100 guests. Believe me: For a bad photographer, having your memories ruined by someone unprofessional can be devastating. And for a wonderful, professional photographer, having the most incredibly epic memories and moments captured can make your day—and the important photos you’ll share with everyone who wasn’t there—that much more amazing.

Intimate weddings are also known as minimonies, small weddings, destination weddings, etc., and are great for those who want a compromise between a large wedding and an elopement.

Not sure if you want to elope or not? You’re not alone. Many couples want to elope, but also want to have a large wedding and party with all their guests. If you really want to pick one but aren’t sure, try writing down a list of pros and cons for each. You can also look at this list of 25+ Darn Good Reasons to Elope. I hope it helps clarify some things for you when it comes to elopements!

Whether you choose to say your vows in 5 minutes in your home, or spend an entire week with your photograph driving around Iceland and getting epic photos, your elopement should be everything you dream it to be.

I hope this elopement guide gave you all the insight you need to decide it is (or isn’t!) for you. Feel free to reach out to me with any questions, and whatever you decide to do, have the most incredible day!~