5 ways to make your elopement an adventure
Most people, at least in Australia, are still relatively new to elopements. The majority of people I speak with have 1 of 2 different views on what an elopement is, namely that it is either a wild adventure to a remote cave in the depths of Iceland, or it’s a quick trip down the courthouse on a Tuesday morning to sign some papers. That is to say, it’s either some kind of once in a lifetime, fantasy world adventure (that would cost you more money than you could imagine), or it’s bang on boring and devoid of all romance and intimacy. WRONG. Whilst both of these can be true, there is a vast amount of grey in between these 2 extremes.
A lot of people therefore find themselves somewhere in this 99% when contemplating their elopement, unsure how to make it epic, and keep it from being boring. That is where I come in. There are so many things you can do to make your elopement day one that is truly amazing, adventurous and once in a lifetime, so let’s have a look at just a few ideas.
What do you love?
One of the easiest ways to fill out your elopement as well as make it more personalised to you! One of the complaints a lot of people have with weddings is that they tend to follow a template a lot of the time. But elopements can be full modified and personalised to you.
Love coffee? Maybe you met at a cafe…why not visit a cafe on your day, or even cooler, head to Melbourne for your elopement and do a cafe hopping adventure in the morning.
Coffee not your thing, but skating is? Maybe you met at the skate park. Why not hit the skate park before your ceremony, or after.
It doesn’t matter what you’re into as a couple, the point is that you can do what you love on your day, there are no rules, just make sure you bring me along for it because I want to have fun too!
Make it a weekend?
This one works really well, especially if you want to bring some guests along, but aren’t sure if you want them to be a part of your intimate ceremony (if you want more on how this works, check out this post). But even if that isn’t you, and you don’t want any guests, this is another way to make your elopement an adventure!
Now this point can be taken 1 of 2 ways, totally up to you. The first way is that you make a weekend of it, meaning you choose to elope somewhere you could spend a few days (obviously it doesn’t;t have to be a weekend). Let’s just say you choose to elope in Tasmania, in Cradle Mountain National Park because you love the hikes there. You could elope down there, spend a solid day exploring parts of the area and getting married in the most scenic place, and then the following few days enjoying more of the above (or whatever takes your fancy).
The second way is to make it a multi day elopement. Again, take Tasmania as an example, now let’s say you wanted to do the Overland Walk (which will take a few days) and you wanted to elope at the very peak, you could do this. Obviously you would have the entire journey documented, from sunrise to sunset, the highs and lows, the entire adventure. If this is your thing, what a way to elope, right?
Combine it with your honeymoon
This is one I see all the time. People are eloping somewhere near me (Newcastle, in NSW Australia), and then flying off to New Zealand, or Tasmania, or the Whitsundays for their honeymoon. They’ll then tell me they’re struggling to find a cool place to elope, and are wondering how to make it epic. That is when I suggest taking their elopement to where they are honeymooning.
Think about it, you’re heading to this destination for a reason, it’s either special to you or it has a bunch of things you want to do, places you want to explore…so why not? Let’s say you’re going to New Zealand because you’ve always wanted to do Milford Sound by ground, sea and air, why not do a sunrise fly over (don’t even get me started on how much of a bucket list idea this is for me), then get ready in Queenstown, drive down, through the most scenic drive in NZ. Elope amongst the otherworldly landscape, do your portraits (how could you not in this part of the world), and then finish up with dinner on a cruise through the Sound. Tell me that doesn’t sound like one of the most, if not THE MOST amazing day of your life.
Regardless of what it is, or where you’re travelling too, this is a sound idea for taking your elopement to the next level.
Try something new
Ever wanted to go bunny jumping, but couldn’t bring yourself to do it for one reason or another? Maybe you’ve always wanted to do an epic 2 day hike in New Zealand, but it just never lined up for you…here’s your shot!
This is going to be the most epic day of your life, if you can’t do it today, then when? No matter what is it that you’ve always wanted to do, you can make it happen with a little bit of planning (which is what I am here for, remember I plan for all of my couples).
I have a couple later this year (2023) who have always wanted to see the Great Barrier Reef (they are from the US and love diving), so I suggested we do a cruise the morning of their elopement, and they can dive the reef. Once they’re done, we can go back, get all done up, get them hitched and away we go! Just imagine what you’ve always wanted to do, and this could be you!
Do something ‘once in a lifetime’
This one kind of piggybacks off the last point, but there are usually things in our lives that we have always wanted to do, but for one reason or another (usually it’s money) we haven’t done them. Well today is the day!
A simple but really cool one could be hot air ballooning. So many people have talked about it but never done it. So why not start your day right with a sunrise hot air balloon together? Or maybe you’ve always wanted to do a private helicopter flight to a dream location, do it, fuck, why not take your celebrant with you and do your ceremony out there?
It could even be something as simple as hiring a car. I shot an elopement a while back where the groom was a huge motor head, loved his 60’s and 70’s style American Muscle cars. He had always wanted to drive a GT351, but never figured it worthwhile…until his elopement. So he rented one for the weekend, and spent some time on their wedding day road tripping from spot to spot, grabbing epic shots, eating food and just living that life.
Whatever it is for you, your elopement day is the day to do it, just tell me and I will help factor it into your plan!
So make it an adventure!
You probably get the point by now, there is an endless amount of ways to make your elopement an adventure. There are countless ways to make it epic. The only thing holding you back is your imagination, which is usually how it goes, most people cannot see their ideas or dreams being a reality. But I can. This is what I do, I take outlandish dreams and ideas that you might think are dumb, and find a way to make them real. So if you want an adventurous, out of this world elopement, contact me, let’s do this!
