50 ways to make your elopement special
Your elopement day should be an experience to remember. After all, it’s the day you’ll celebrate as your anniversary for the rest of your lives! If you’d like to take your elopement day up a notch, here are some ideas of things to do and adventures to go on to turn your elopement into the extra special day you deserve. Some of these ideas are location or season-specific, and some can be enjoyed anywhere at any time. Feel free to pick and choose multiple activities for your day, or draw inspiration from them to come up with your own!
Getting Ready
1. Rent a cute and cozy airbnb to wake up in!
2. Make breakfast & write your vows together
3. Get ready together
Who says you have to get ready separately? Often times, some of the sweetest moments come from you two getting ready together, such as when you’re helping your partner zip up her dress or adjust/tie his bow tie!
4. Have a first look with each other or with your parents
If you choose to get ready in separate rooms, you can still have a first look with each other if you choose to have one! If your parents are present at your elopement, you might choose to do a first look with them too - this often results in some of the sweetest and most treasured photos!
5. Exchange gifts
Ceremony Things
6. Read letters from friends & family
This is a great way to include friends and/or family who cannot be present for your elopement. If you’re having a two-person elopement, having friends and family write letters to the both of you is a great (and sometimes incredibly touching) way to feel their presence with you!
7. Invent your own unity ceremony or ritual
Unity ceremonies revolve around the idea of joining two separate parts of something into one. Traditionally, couples would light a unity candle, but you can choose a different form of a unity ceremony or invent your own! There are also rituals such as handfasting, ring warming or having a champagne tower to signify the merging of your lives together.
8. Have your pet be your witness (*certain states only!) or pet-of-honor
9. Write personalized vows to each other
10. Pop champagne! (Or sparkling water!)
Adventurous Activities
11. Take a hot air balloon at sunrise
12. Rent paddleboards, canoes or kayaks
13. Renting a private boat charter
14. Go sightseeing in a private plane
15. Take a helicopter to a glacier
16. Go on a multi-day backpacking & camping trip
17. Hike to waterfalls (and exchanging your vows under one!)
18. Go iceskating
19. Go Sledding/Tobogganing
20. Explore caves on the beach
21. Go Paragliding or Parasailing
22. Go off-roading in a 4x4!
23. Go snorkeling off the coast of a tropical island
24. Take a night hike
25. Go rock-climbing
Relaxing Activities
26. Visit a winery
27. Take a mini road-trip up the coast in a convertible
28. Go apple-picking in the fall!
29. Play yard, board or card games
30. Get massages on the beach
31. Relax in a hammock under the trees
32. Soak in a hot tub or in hot springs
33. Go horseback riding
34. Sing songs around a campfire
35. Have your first dance by firelight, under the stars!
Reception Things
36. Hire a private chef at your airbnb
37. Have a potluck if you’re having guests
38. Roast s’mores
39. Have a cake-cutting ceremony
40. Cook over a campfire or a JetBoil (if you’re backpacking/camping)
41. Make a charcuterie board
42. Swing by your favorite restaurant, or try out a new one!
43. Go on a spontaneous restaurant-hopping spree
44. Have a BBQ!
45. Picnic/tailgate at a scenic overlook
General Elopement Things
46. Travel someplace new, or knock off a bucket-list destination
47. Try out a new activity (or activities!)
48. Go on a multi-day adventure
49. Split up your day (or days) to include friends & family
50. Elope somewhere that’s special or means something to you