Want to elope but not sure if it's too early or too late to start? Planning an elopement can seem daunting and couples frequently contact me to help brainstorm and plan their elopements, even when they have only a limited amount of time to do so.

The reality is that you can plan an elopement in as little as one day. WHAT?! Yeah, one day! While it's not common, I've had couples reach out super last minute because they were sitting around the dinner table and said "f it, lets just elope" and a week later they were marrying themselves on the side of a mountain.

You can start planning your elopement as soon as you decide to get married—from months in advance, if that's what you prefer, or weeks before it happens. And understanding how long it takes to plan an elopement can give you confidence moving forward in your planning process.

Here is a list of things to consider when deciding when to start planning your elopement.

Decide on a Date

First, pick your date! This will allow you to narrow down your options for the rest of your planning so you don’t get immediately overwhelmed. Keep reading to find out how long it takes to plan an elopement, and how far out that date should be set.

Decide on a Location

Deciding on a location for your elopement can be one of the most important decisions you make. You want to choose somewhere that is meaningful to you and your partner, whether it's a place you've been together before or somewhere new.

• Eloping locally

  • If you're looking to elope in your hometown, there are plenty of locations around town where you can get married without having to worry about traveling.

• Destination

  • If you and your partner are planning a trip and want to tie the knot while you're away, or want to explore somewhere new, a destination elopement is a great option.

Look into Expenses

• Airfare

  • If you're flying somewhere on a whim, it'll probably be more expensive the longer you wait to book

  • Look into apps that show you cheapest flights for that weekend and head there

  • For best deals so you have money to spend elsewhere, plan airfare ahead of time

• Car rental

  • If headed out of town and needing a car, a more advanced reservation is recommended as there is a car rental shortage going on in a lot of places right now!

• Hotel/lodging

  • You can compare places like Airbnb, VRBO, Hipcamp, Hotels.com, Google Search, etc

• Meals

• Activities

Heres some more information on how much it costs to elope in Colorado.

Availability

If booking last minute, one thing you'll want to consider is the availability of what you are wanting to book. If you don't care about the details, then you can start planning later. If you want that one nonstop flight, to stay at that super photo worthy hotel, and work with that constantly booked photographer, you'll want to take this into account when you start planning. Check the availability of:

• Flights

  • If you have a specific last minute date, you'll want to double check that you're able to even get flights booked!

• Lodging

• Vendors

• Time / Season of year

  • Some times of year are busier than others

  • Seasons vary across climates

  • Some times of year are more expensive

    • Ski season in Colorado

    • Fall in Hawaii

    • Summer in Alaska

• Off season vs On season

  • Off-season elopements tend to be cheaper than their on-season counterparts, because many businesses are closed for the season or have lower prices due to the lack of demand. You'll have less options available during this time of year, but can usually save on other costs. Check out this blog post on how to have a winter elopement in Colorado if you’re interested in eloping during the off-season.

Either location or date can come first when planning.  What matters is that they align together so you can easily plan the rest of your details.

Marriage License

If you want to go the traditional route and get your marriage license from the courthouse, then be sure to check in on their policy. Some counties require couples to wait at least two weeks after getting their license before they can wed. Also check the time you have to return your marriage license (in Colorado it is 30 days).

If you're thinking about getting married by someone other than a justice of the peace or other official who processes marriage licenses (like a minister or rabbi), then it's important that both parties understand what is required by law before signing anything official. For example: do they need blood tests? Do both parties need birth certificates? Do they have legal proof that they're not already married? It could be as simple as having copies of your driver's licenses with raised seals in case one party doesn't have access to their original birth certificate; or it could be as complicated as hiring an attorney who specializes in this type of information.

Booking Vendors

Ready to start planning your elopement? I know the feeling—it's exciting, but also a little bit scary, especially if you're not sure how to go about it. The good news is that there are some common vendors that are included in elopements that can help with the process.

These vendors will vary from location to location, but they're a great place to start when planning your big day. Some of these vendors include:

• photographer

• videographer

• hair/mua

• planner

• private chef

• florist/ decorations

• cake/food

With most of these vendors you'll want to check availability for your date, location, and time frame. If you're looking to get married in Colorado, but hiring a photographer from Ohio, hiring someone from out of town might not work out as well as finding someone local. When in doubt, stick with local vendors who know the weather, roads, seasons, lighting, locations, and other vendors!

Clothing Attire

Last minute

• You can buy from an online store with fast shipping like Lulu’s, ShopGoodwill, Poshmark, or shop locally for the type of outfit you are looking for.

If you're not in a rush

• Most bridal stores take 4 to 6 months to ship dresses as they are typically made by hand and shipped from the design warehouse. The sooner you order your dress, the better of you are. That way, if anything goes wrong (like the dress not fitting), there's enough time to get something else made or just return it. Most wedding dresses take about 4 months to be shipped.

• Dress and suit alterations can take anywhere from 1-3 weeks depending on the designer and where you live.

Ceremony Location

The next thing you need to do is pick out a place for your ceremony. You may already know of a location that you absolutely love, or you might want to go to your vendors and ask them for any ideas. Thats one of the things that I help with for all of my couples, as I know the area well.

• Time constraints

  • Make sure you're allowed to get married there! If there is any doubt about whether or not you can get married at this location, check with them before booking anything else! Most places require either permits for your wedding ceremony, or permits for your vendors.

  • permits can take anywhere from instant online transactions to 4 weeks to process

Guests

If you're have a small wedding (micro wedding, intimate wedding) and you want your loved ones there you'll need to think about giving them enough time to plan:

• Will they need time off work?

• Will they need to book flights, lodging, rentals, etc?

• Do they need to arrange childcare (or a dog sitter!)?

  If you want your loved ones to attend your elopement, give them as much notice as possible.

Timeframe

Then you take all of these choices and begin to decide what aligns with that you want, and the time you have. Here are some examples of how long it takes to plan an elopement:

• Years:

  • You want a unique, once-in-a-lifetime experience that's been highly sought after by other people but is often unavailable.

  • You're looking for a photographer who's very popular and hard to get

  • If you know even a single thing (location, photographer, florist, dress) that you must have for your elopement, the sooner you begin planning for it, the better off you are.

• Months:

  • You're wanting to stay local to elope

  • You're wanting to do a destination elopement

  • You're open to a couple different vendors, but not particular

  • You'll need accommodations like flights and car rentals

  • You want to go somewhere during a particularly busy season

• Weeks

  • You're hiring local vendors who know the area well and don't need to do tons of research on locations and laws

  • You're looking to elope in Colorado where you dont need an officiate or witnesses

• Days

  • You've got a wild side and are putting your elopement planning in the hands of your local photographer who knows the area.

  • You don't care about options, you just want it to be easy breezy and whatever easy

  • You'll already be in the area, so why not!

  • You're eloping in a city or state that doesn't require blood tests or waiting periods for your marriage license.

The length of the planning process is different for each couple, and it often depends on personal preferences, how you imagine your elopement day to be, and how much time you have. However, as you look through these details, you should be able to get an idea of whether your dream elopement can be planned in a couple of months, or a day.

I truly love working with couples, helping them create a vision and plan towards it. I believe every wedding is YOUR day--you get to choose what works best for you!

I'm here to explore ideas and discuss options with you!