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photographer / TIFFANY PHOTOGRAPHY & MADDIE BELL PHOTOGRAPHY florals / BIG SKY BOHO dress / VELVET BRIDE hair + makup / STUDIO 21 HAMILTON chocolate / NIKKOS CHOCOLATE cake / OCCASIONALLY CATERING model / BROOKE WILTBANK

10 Ways to Make Your

Elopement Unforgettable

by Jacqueline Grena

I truly believe that a wedding/elopement should be a unique expression of your love for each other so when you start planning, throw ‘traditional’ out the window and YOU DO YOU! Letting your personalities shine is the #1 way to make sure your elopement is extra special and one-of-a-kind but here are 10 more ways to make sure it’s unforgettable:

1

Choose an Epic + Meaningful Backdrop - Close your eyes and consider what you want your big day to look like. Are you on the beach? In the mountains? At an Airbnb by the lake? In your parent’s backyard? At the spot where they proposed? In your favorite National Park? Where ever you choose, make it a place that you both love!

2

Wear a Dress that makes you feel like a Q U E E N! Long, short, simple, elegant, white, ivory, or even pink! Let your personality shine through and make sure you feel freaking gorgeous when you put it on. Oh and if you can dance in it, it’s definitely a winner!

3

Include Alllllll the Personal Details - Y’all. THIS IS YOUR DAY! If you want a friendsthemed wedding, let’s do it. Star wars? “Luke, I am your (wedding planner!)” Haha but seriously, all the little details that you incorporate from vow books, centerpieces, ring engravings, signage, wax seals, guest books, custom scents, place setting cards, favors, backdrops, jewelry, pre-wedding love letters, hand-written vows..... you get the point. There are so many ways to mak e every aspect of your wedding reflect you and your lover!

4

Make it an Adventure - Your elopement should be a unique expression of your love story so let all that personality shine through. If your first date was an ATV ride, incorporate it into your elopement. If you both share a bond over cliff jumping into water... DO IT! Focus on having fun with each other because those are the stories and the experiences that make it unforgettable. Plus, your photos will be incredible!

5

Involve your closest Friends + Family - surround yourself with people who will support you, love you, and hype you up all day long so that you can leave any pre-wedding jitters behind.

6

Consider Private Vows + First Looks - It’s so easy to get caught up in ‘wedding planning’ and lose sight of what really matters: each other! Choosing to do private vows and first looks is an opportunity on your wedding day for you to connect with each other without the pressure of ‘all eyes on you’ or feeling like you need to play ‘host’. Depending on your wedding day timeline, these could be done the morning before your ceremony or even the day before. Throw out the ‘rulebook of traditions’ and do what makes you happy and make sure to take time to enjoy these special moments together.

7

Get the Bouquet of your Dreams - Your flowers are a huge part of the wedding decor and overall vibe so make sure you choose flowers that scream ‘you’. It is not uncommon to create a color palette around a bouquet that you fall in love with - especially since your bouquet will be a major focal point (besides you and your lover) in a lot of your photos. Real flowers can enhance an entire wedding and are the perfect accessory for you in your wedding attire!

8

What Unforgettable Moment doesn’t involve Food? CAN I GET AN ‘AMEN!’ I don’t think I’m alone when I say that food freaking rocks and should definitely be incorporated into your wedding. Whether you’re doing a plated dinner or an intimate picnic, choose your favorite foods to enjoy on your wedding day. Trust me, at the very least it will keep you from getting hangry, and at most, it will enhance your overall experience (as long as you remember to take time to actually eat it - which I highly recommend!

9

Use the Best Vendors (including a wedding planner!) -- the best way to make sure your elopement is unforgettable is to make sure that it is totally + completely filled with unforgettable memories - none of that pesky (but necessary) behind-the-scenes stuff. Make sure you have the best vendors involved so that you don’t have to worry about anything other than each other on your wedding day. Leave the logistics up to your planner, and yes - even elopements need planners! Yes, you get a bonus tip because I can’t let you 9.1 finish this article without re-iterating that YES, EVEN ELOPEMENTS NEED A COORDINATOR! You don’t realize the millions of details that go into planning an elopement until you’re in the middle of it and having a coordinator on board ensures that nothing falls through the cracks. We are there to be the liasion with your vendors, to hike with your bouquet, to make sure you look flawless when you change into your dress at the top of a cliff, to hype you up, to make sure your romantic picnic is set-up before you arrive, and to make sure you eat and drink (no one likes a hangry bride!) But mostly, an elopement coordinator is there to make sure that your day is flawless whether you decided to have 2 people or 200 people at your celebration of love.

Preserve your Bouquet- remember that ‘bouquet 10 of your dreams’ that I mentioned? What if I told you that there was a way for you to keep it forever? Yes, f o r e v e r! Whether you choose a pressed floral frame, a floral block.....(or both!)... you can preserve that magic of your wedding day through a unique keepsake that will serve as a constant reminder of the vows you made to each other on that day. There are only a few physical things that you get to keep from your wedding day (besides your lover, of course): your ring, your photos, and now your bouquet. Pro tip: Include this in your budget or as a ‘cash’ option in your registry so that guests can contribute to this forever-piece!

OH and...marry the love of your life, but that’s a given. ;)

Planning an elopement is more than just ‘throwing a party’ - it’s a celebration of the love and commitment that you are making to each other and that is worth making sure it’s absolutely unforgettable. So what do you think? Will you be incorporating any of these things into your wedding/elopement?

Keep Shining, Lovers!