How We Will Help Plan Your Elopement
You’ve probably never done this before and are feeling a mix of nerves and excitement as you set off on your elopement journey. We’re here to demystify the process and make it easy and fun.
We’ll provide you with all of the resources you need and work alongside you the entire way while you plan your own elopement! Think of it like you are in the driver’s seat and we are your trusted copilots.
Updated January 2024
“They felt like old friends that we had known for years, just as excited as we were to plan our wedding day. They created an absolutely incredible portal/website to help us not only choose our elopement location but also gave us recommendations for vendors, accommodations, hikes, and activities in the area, and a timeline to keep us on track as we planned. Having the comfort of the portal, timeline, questionnaires, and chat function made it so I didn’t have to stress at all about our wedding day, but rather could enjoy the whole process! We live in NC and eloped in CO, so we had to put all of our trust in Lisa and Alex and their suggestions, and we are SO glad we did!”
We planned our own elopement in 2016. We recognized that a big wedding, and all of its expectations, just wasn’t right for us. We wanted our wedding to be adventurous, intimate, and completely us. What we didn’t realize was that there is so much freedom when planning an elopement, and there aren’t very many resources.
When you plan a traditional wedding, you can get advice from hundreds of websites, you can buy a guidebook, and you can talk to your family and friends who have planned their own weddings. Most couples even hire a wedding planner!
This isn’t necessarily the case for elopements. Many couples are overwhelmed by the lack of traditional structure involved in planning an elopement. Luckily, through the process of planning our own elopement and working with over 200 couples, we’ve streamlined the process and learned how to make planning an elopement fun, stress-free. Which is the way it should be!
When you can do anything for your elopement, how do you decide what to do?
We do not offer planning help outside of our Photography and Photo + Video packages.
Elopement Planning Disclaimer:
We provide our couples with the resources, information, ideas, structure, and support to plan their own elopement. We do not offer formal planning or coordinating services (such as design help, decor/furniture set-up, vendor booking/communication, budgeting, venue walkthroughs, or clean-up).
Outfitting and Guiding Service Disclaimer:
Vow of the Wild is not an Outfitter or Guiding Service. We are not responsible for accommodating or transporting our couples or their guests. We will not provide any equipment, supplies, or materials related to our couples’ elopements or for their time in the outdoors. We do not serve as leaders, guides, or teachers for our couples or their guests. Our couples are solely responsible for choosing their elopement locations and ensuring that they and their guests have the equipment, skills, and health levels to complete all activities on their own, without any guidance from us.
“We knew we wanted to have a small wedding in Colorado, but living in a different state we had no clue where to start with planning. We stumbled upon Vow of the Wild’s website and immediately were drawn to their photography and loved the fact that Lisa and Alex would help guide us through the planning process. They went above and beyond to help us plan our wedding day. From helping us find the perfect location for the ceremony to creating a seamless timeline for our big day, they were both always there to help us. We are SO thankful for that.”
We’re here to bring your dream elopement to life
In addition to elopement photography and videography services, each of our couples will receive:
Online Planning Portal + Mobile App
100-Page Elopement Planning Guide
Elopement Planning To-Do List
Location + Activity Ideas
Permit Guidance
Custom Elopement Timeline
Vendor Recommendations
Interactive Vow-Writing Guide
Ideas for Eloping with Guests
Information on Leave No Trace Principles
Practical Colorado Elopement Information
We will empower you to craft an elopement day that feels just like you and exceeds your wildest dreams.
“While their photos and videos are out of this world, Lisa and Alex also shine in planning an elopement. The online portal they use to help with the planning process was immensely helpful. Their recommendations led us to finding our locations, officiant, and hair and makeup professionals. They provided suggested deadlines to finish tasks, that made everything extremely easy. We were never stressed at any point of planning our wedding, which is saying something considering we were all traveling out of state and had never been to the location! Without their help, it would have been overwhelming making everything feel monumental, personal, and adventurous all at the same time. We honestly cannot imagine a better day, and it’s all because of their help.”
Elopement planning designed by spreadsheet people for spreadsheet people
(or those who could use the extra help staying organized)
Why Elopement Planning With Us Is Different
Many elopement photographers offer planning help with their packages. For most photographers, this includes providing you with the resources and letting you run with it.
Instead, we provide the most comprehensive planning possible. Our main goal is to keep you organized all in one place and be available to answer your questions and give you advice every step of the way. Our Planning Portal provides all of that. You’ll have access from your computer when you want to sit down and via the mobile app when you’re away from home. There’s space to talk over ideas and ask for advice, a comprehensive to-do list that breaks things down step by step, vow writing tips, blogs full of interesting elopement ideas and locations, and anything else we have ever thought might be helpful.
Your Personalized Elopement Planning Portal
After booking, each of our couples receives their own collaborative elopement Planning Portal. It’s hosted online, so we can all update, view, and discuss it at the same time! Think Google Drive or Microsoft Teams, but BETTER!
In the Planning Portal, we will guide you through the entire process of planning your own elopement. You no longer need to worry about keeping things organized, wonder if you are forgetting something, or be unsure of what to do next!
Ways your Planning Portal will keep you on track:
To-Do List - We provide you with a custom To-Do List with due dates. This way you always know what you should be thinking about next and keep you from feeling overwhelmed by providing one thing for you to do at a time.
Location Recommendations - Once you have a clear vision for your elopement day, we will create a custom list of locations that we think best fit your vision. Having trouble deciding between all of the gorgeous locations? We’re here to chat things through so you feel confident in your choice!
Timeline Creation - Using our years of experience, we will begin weaving your ideas and favorite locations into a timeline. We’ll keep in mind the weather, crowds, and the light to really make your day become tangible.
Instant Messaging - Sometimes you have a question or need help talking through an idea! Your Planning Portal allows us to easily send messages back and forth.
Notifications and Mobile Viewing - Your Planning Portal is available as a phone app, so you can easily check in while on the go. Enable notifications to see when changes or messages are received.
Vendor Recommendations - Whether you’re looking for a hair and makeup artist, a florist, a private chef, or a Jeep rental, we’re here to provide you with great, location suggestions! Inclusivity is very important to us and we strive to recommend other vendors who have similar values as we do.
Helpful Elopement Tips - In addition to your Elopement Planning Guide (more details below), your Planning Portal will be packed full of helpful information. This ranges from information about the weather, to altitude sickeness, to a customizable packing list, to links to our informational blog posts. And if you’re still not finding what you’re looking for, we’re only an instant message away!
The whole process has been designed to give you peace of mind through every step. We are here as a sounding board for your ideas, as your personal elopement cheerleaders, and to make planning your elopement almost as fun as living it!
Want to see more of the Planning Portal? We’ll walk you through it all over Zoom!
Your 100-Page Elopement Planning Guide
After booking with us, we will mail you your very own 100-page Elopement Planning Guide! This guide was made specifically for Vow of the Wild couples and was created to be used in conjunction with your Planning Portal. We know 100 pages sounds huge, but you don’t have to read it all at once! We’ll break it down into bite-sized pieces throughout the entire planning process.
And instead of being an online guide, we have decided to send each of our full-day elopement couples their own physical copy. That way you can take notes, write in the margins, and use it to bring your ideas to life. The Elopement Planning Guide will give you ideas, things to consider, and help you make informed and personalized decisions throughout your entire elopement planning journey!
“We were the couple who had to google “How do you elope?”... We were clueless! We didn’t realize there would be so many decisions in a “simple” elopement, but VotW had the process so streamlined, it was approachable and fun. I was so impressed with how patient they were as we worked through various iterations of our timeline. Looking back, the day was perfect, because of their careful planning and expertise. They cared about our elopement day vision and hopes/wishes just as much as we did. It’s clear they take great pride in the service, experience, and quality of everything they do.
Location Ideas
This is our favorite part of elopement planning! Once you’ve completed your questionnaire, we will spend some time taking in all of your ideas and begin to brainstorm locations that we think will be the perfect fit for you. If you haven’t fully narrowed in on the exact area you’d like to elope in, we may give you ideas from a few nearby regions to help you decide.
What kinds of location recommendations you can expect:
Ceremony Sites - Keeping your guest count in mind, we will recommend ceremony sites that fit your vision. If you disclose your budget to us, we can also keep that in mind when creating your ideas list.
Examples of ceremony sites might include small venues, campgrounds, picnic areas, event-friendly home rentals, National Parks, State Parks, and sometimes even locations within the National Forest.
Adventure Locations - Each couple has a different definition of adventure and we truly believe that you don’t have to hike in order to elope. This is the time spent with just the four of us, going out, having fun, and capturing some stunning photos in a gorgeous landscape.
Examples of adventure locations might include mountain viewpoints, hiking trails, alpine lakes to relax next to or kayak on, a golden aspen grove for enjoying the fall foliage, off-road Jeep trails, a meadow for a picnic, a mountaintop to stargaze from, and so much more!
Accommodations - We’ve spent a lot of time scouring the web for unique and beautiful accommodations throughout the state. So once you’ve chosen the perfect region for your elopement, we’ll recommend nearby places to stay.
Casual Reception Locations - Whether you imagine a backyard celebration or a meal in a cozy restaurant, we’re here to send you ideas and recommendations.
Each location idea will include important information to help you make your decision. This includes photos, links to blog posts from previous elopements we’ve captured, information about what it takes to get to the locations (hiking? off-road trail? helicopter ride? simple drive or walk?), suggestions for what time of day they are best at, what you can expect from the location’s weather and foliage, and more!
“They are so professional - superb project management, very responsive, organized and so experienced in their craft that they think of everything and can adapt to anything - truly flawless. They had a clear vision of how to build our day and were wonderful to collaborate with when we had impromptu ideas. It’s also the not-so-little things - even their client portal for planning, their timeline, and process - makes so much sense and is streamlined for efficiency and is thoughtful.”
Step-By-Step Elopement Planning To-Do List
If you’re anything like Alex, you enjoy a bit of spontaneity and the feeling of discovery and awe that comes with something a bit unknown. And if you’re anything like Lisa, you enjoy order, lists, and arriving at least 10 minutes early. Maybe you even have a spreadsheet for every aspect of your life, Lisa. Or, you fall somewhere in between.
Your To-Do list will be the centerpiece of your planning journey. It will help make sure you have your pick of all the best locations and all the best vendors, help you know when to secure them, make sure you aren’t completely unprepared for your vows, and give you a schedule for all the other critical pieces of your elopement. We understand that planning may not seem on the surface to align with the spontaneous crowd, but we promise it will.
Following these steps will help you have a wedding day that can be full of calm reflection and discovery knowing you’ve done the prep work to make everything stress-free.
Permits + Marriage Licenses
What we love the most about elopements is that you don’t always need a traditional venue. One of the ways our couples save money is to have their ceremony out in nature. The locations available for your ceremony will depend on how many guests you have, but National Parks, National Forests, State Parks, and smaller designated ceremony sites are all great options for your elopement. Each location will have its own rules regarding permits for elopements, so we will help you navigate this! Permit fees will vary greatly depending on your location choice and your guest count and can range from $150-$1,500.
Couples eloping here in Colorado are in luck because we are one of the few states that offer self-solemnizing elopements. That means that you can pick up your marriage license and sign it yourselves - no officiant or witnesses needed! This gives you a ton of freedom to plan your ceremony in a way that is completely unique to you!
“My husband and I didn’t stress about our wedding at all due to the level of experience and calming presence that Lisa and Alex bring. As a Type A person, I can’t oversell how wonderful it was to have incredibly talented and capable people handling everything. It is obvious how much passion Lisa and Alex have for their work and couples, and the amount they care shows through in everything they do. They provided invaluable help planning our wedding and were incredibly detail oriented. They listened to everything we said and implemented our requests seamlessly into the day. Their images were true works of art and I have never seen wedding pictures and videos of this quality before.”
Elopement Day Timeline
Once you’ve chosen your elopement locations and activities, we will create an elopement day timeline for you. One of the beautiful things about eloping is that there is flexibility, and we make sure to build our timelines with that in mind. When creating your timeline, we are thinking about the best light, avoiding crowds, the weather, and making sure you have plenty of time to completely immerse yourself in each other and nature. Our goal for every elopement is to keep it stress-free and flexible.
Once the elopement day comes along, the timeline is just a guideline and we are always open to going with the flow! It will be our job to keep a loose eye on the time while you completely immerse yourself in each other and nature. Our goal for every elopement is to keep it stress-free and flexible.
“AHHHHH! Quite the full day but it makes me so excited and feels so true to who we are and what we want. Again, thank you sooooo much. This process is so exhilarating and you both are a huge reason why. Planning is reaaaaaaaally getting fun now.”
“Thank you so much for putting these wonderful timelines together (and doing it so quickly)! This is the first time since starting the wedding planning process that we are able to truly visualize the day. We are amazed that you were able to take our random thoughts from the questionnaire and turn it into a day that feels like us!”
Ceremony Guidance
Many elopement couples worry about what their ceremony will look like. We’re here to help walk you through all of your options so that you can craft the perfect elopement ceremony.
Some of our couples choose to have a family member officiate their ceremonies, others hire professional officiants, and many even have Alex legally officiate for them. If you’re eloping in Colorado, you can even choose not to have an officiant at all!
Couples who book with us receive a complimentary copy of our Vow-Writing Guide!
Are you feeling overwhelmed about writing vows for your elopement?
Check out our step-by-step guide & workbook for writing your own vows! We’re here to help you get over your fear of the blank page and guide you in writing personal and thoughtful vows.
“The dedication of these two to their couples throughout the entire planning process is astounding. They work SO incredibly hard to create an experience that is true to each couple’s vision and come to you with no judgment. On top of all this, they are truly wonderful human beings! Their artistry and talent are somehow matched by their humility and graciousness. They are true to themselves and their work - a genuineness that is so endearing and can be hard to find.”
Ideas for Eloping with Guests
Your guest count will have a big impact on your location choices as well as your timeline.
Most of our couples crave the “true” elopement experience of venturing out into the wilderness just the two of them. But in addition to the outdoor adventures, most of our couples want to spend quality time with the people that mean the most to them.
We are here to help you balance those two things so that you don’t have to make any sacrifices to your experience.
Information on Leave No Trace Principles
Leave No Trace is a set of guidelines that helps us be responsible and respectful while in the outdoors! We are certified Leave No Trace photographers who believe in protecting the land that we get to explore.
You may not know much about Leave No Trace yet, and that’s okay! Each of our couples will receive an informational booklet outlining why these guidelines are so important and how to easily incorporate them into your elopement.
We fought through COVID-19, Colorado’s historic wildfires, ceremony relocations, and so much more. They helped us through all of it so effortlessly and with so much insight we just didn’t have over Colorado even though we live here too, and that comes from their experience which was invaluable to us! There’s a reason we chose to invest in Vow of the Wild, and we were not disappointed! These brides could not speak more highly!
Vendor Recommendations
Last but not least, we’ll help you find the rest of your dream elopement team! We’ll provide a list of our favorite vendors and you can book and coordinate with them based on your finished timeline. Here are the most common vendors we recommend to our couples:
Hair + Makeup Artists - We work with a lot of teams who do an amazing job and are even willing to get up for your sunrise elopement!
Florists - Whether you’re looking for a bouquet and boutonniere, or if you’re also looking for florals for your intimate dinner tablescape, we can help recommend florists who don’t have huge order minimums.
Cakes + Sweets - We’ve both got a big sweet tooth, ice cream being our favorite. So whether you’re looking for a cake, cupcakes, pies, cookies, or anything else, we can recommend some delicious options for you!
Caterers + Private Chefs - Even if you don’t have any guests, hiring a private chef can be a really special way to end your elopement day. We’re happy to recommend our favorite small catering teams, food trucks, or even restaurants to you!
Picnic Foods - Many of our couples choose to have private picnics during their wedding day. We love recommending small businesses creating beautiful and tasty charcuterie boards.
Jeep Rentals + Tours - If you’re planning on going on a 4WD adventure on your elopement day, we can recommend Jeep rentals or tours near your wedding location.
Furniture Rentals - Whether you’re looking to rent an arch and chairs for your ceremony, or tables and chairs for your casual reception, we can help you find rental companies serving your area!
Practical Elopement Information
While a majority of elopement planning is fun and exciting, we’re also here to help you with the mundane things such as:
Permitting, marriage licenses, packing lists, how to travel with your wedding attire, weather, and other things that will help prepare you for your elopement in the outdoors.
Are you ready to start your elopement adventure?
We’re Lisa + Alex (those goofballs in the photo above). We are photographers and videographers who focus solely on elopements. We are passionate about giving our couples the most incredible elopement day possible. We work closely with each of our couples to offer location options, vendor recommendations, and fun ideas to personalize their wedding day.
Each couple who books with us will receive their own, collaborative Elopement Planning Portal. We know that planning your elopement can seem overwhelming, but we’re here to make the planning process easy and fun.
