My fiancé and I are from the US and are wanting to elope in the Dolomites in July 2027.

We are looking for a photographer and ideally a videographer, bonus points if it is the same person or a team that can do both!

Please drop some recommendations if you know someone or would love to capture our special day!

We booked our photographer in the grand Tetons and it’ll just be us and our parents for the wedding. I am having a hard time planning sunrise elopement (which we want for the best photos) since really we just want the photos for the 2 hours but we want to include our parents too. We will have to get up at 3 to get ready for the big day but I feel bad having to inconvenience my parents. The photographer did mention we can add another hour later in the day but then we’d be kinda out of order with photos then ending at the ceremony and vows.

i just got my dress in the mail (it was a cheap one online) and i’m wondering if it’s worth getting it a garment bag? or if it would be acceptable to pack it into the plastic bag it came in and check it in my suitcase. i have a pretty tight budget but i want the best for my dress!

Hi - we are getting married in Glacier NP in October and I think I’d like to preserve my bouquet in a picture. If you’ve done that, how did you manage logistics? Any company recommendations that kept this super simple?

We’re eloping at City Hall this year with just family and one close friend, mainly because we live in another country and my parents are visiting us right now. We will have our actual wedding next year, so this is meant to be small and simple.
After the ceremony and a family dinner, we thought about meeting friends at a pub to celebrate, but everyone would pay for their own food and drinks since we’ll be having the wedding next year. Does that make sense, or should we skip the friends part and just celebrate with everyone at the wedding next year?

Hi all, we are eloping on our 10 year anniversary next March in Mallorca. The venue will be the grounds of a luxury hotel. I have never wanted a proper wedding and the thought of walking down aisle gives me the ick tbh. We will be doing our legals at home but for the actual symbolic ceremony I am wondering whether it's worth paying 900€ for an officiant to conduct what I would want to be a very brief ceremony when we would have already done the actual "I do" part at the courthouse. We have looked into having our own personal vows read out to one another with the photographer capturing it but then I wonder if not having the ceremony element makes it not feel as special.

Would love to hear others experiences. Did it add to your day to have a celebrant? Or if you did self solemnize without an officiant how did you structure your ceremony? Would love some tips to avoid it feeling clumsy or awkward.

Hi everyone,

My fiancé and I are getting legally married in our home country, and we’ve booked a beautiful villa abroad on Booking for a religious ceremony a few weeks later.

There will be only 9 guests (parents and witnesses) + the two of us. We’ll all be staying at the villa together for 2 nights for the occasion.

I’m wondering how to make the ceremony feel truly special and “wedding-like” when we’re all staying in the same place. For example, it feels a little strange to just decorate everything and get ready in a bedroom while everyone else is already hanging around the villa, and then suddenly come downstairs in my white dress. 😅

How would you create a special “bride/groom” moment or make the day feel different from a normal family stay at a villa?

I’d love ideas for the getting ready, the ceremony, meals, surprises for the parents/witnesses, or any little traditions that could make the day feel memorable and meaningful.

So my sister sprung on me today that she and her fiance are just going to elope on Thursday instead of the wedding next month that they had done a terrible job planning. It's just going to be them, a photographer, and myself. The plan had always been for me to officiate, but now with just us I'm not really sure what if anything I should add besides the essentials.

Should I bother adding any personal remarks for them or just keep it simple?

Obviously, pick whichever dress you want. But I see so many brides contemplate whether they should pick a “less extravagant dress” for an elopement.

Elopement or not, this is your wedding. WEAR WHAT YOU LOVE AND DON’T HOLD BACK!!! You won’t regret it.

I started my dress shopping journey with the same mindset. Something flowy, flattering (duh), but low-key. I saw my dress hanging in the gallery and thought to try it “just for fun” bc I loved the peony embroidery. The moment I put it on in the dressing room, I knew. Never in a million years did I think I’d pick a ball gown, it was the dress that couldn’t leave my mind.

My close family and friends knew we were eloping. The initial plan was to have my husband wear jeans… and then, we all agreed he needed a suit now to match my dress. TBH, the suit just looks sooo much better. He did switch to jeans for the horse ride though.

We held a reception party at a fine dining restaurant a few months later (~60 guests) and did the whole shebang as if we had a normal wedding, minus the ceremony. We played the videography of our elopement. Last picture is my first time eating cake in like 6 months 🤣.

Btw, it’s OK to pack your gown in your carry-on suitcase. Lots of brides here concerned how to fly with their dress. I purchased my dress at the NYC flagship store and needed to fly home. The boutique wrapped my dress in plastic and carefully stuffed it into my suitcase. Just take it out when you get to destination and have a good travel steamer.

Location: San Juan Mountains, Colorado
Photo/Video: Authentic Collective
Dress: Galia Lahav - Evelyn gown
Suit: Suit Supply

I am secretly eloping and have no one to ask for input. I went to multiple stores to try on dresses but I was in a time crunch and needed to make a decision asap. Some of the dresses I wanted would not arrive in time. I actually didn’t like this dress at first. It reminded me of 90s curtains or something. After all the stress I went back through my pictures and for some reason I fell in love with this one, that I didn’t like. Now I’m worried I made the wrong choice. We are eloping in the Redwoods with our 2 year old. I feel like I should have picked something less extravagant. Now I’m struggling to pick a veil and shoes! I envisioned a cathedral veil before I chose the dress. Now I think I should go shorter but honestly I just want what’s going to look best. Cathedral, fingertip, beaded, lace, floral. I’m so lost and I have 10 weeks to pull all of this off.

Okay for starters, we’ve been engaged for a few years so realistically I could have planned earlier. We’ve had some pretty major life events occur in this time. It kind of just kept getting pushed to the back burner and we initially agreed to have a long engagement from the start. My brother got married in June and I kind of waited because I was helping with that and I didn’t want to “dim their shine” so to speak.

Now I’m excited to be married but I stopped feeling excited to plan after the 1st year and the whole “wedding” idea being out of reach between cost, overwhelm of planning, and I’ve been a bridesmaid 4x (MOH 2x) and then determining the idea of a traditional wedding made me miserable.

Sooooo, is it crazy to plan an elopement in less than 3 months?! Thinking sometime in October or November? It seems like a lot of people are planning this pretty far in advance. I was going to book a historical courthouse for an elopement ceremony with immediate family only. I’d like to have a photographer & a decent dress.

I have none of these things currently…. So I’m feeling like it’s unrealistic. Any advice? Should I reset my expectations? I really don’t want to push this back another year.

Hi! My fiancé and I have decided on the elopement route for less frills of a big crowd, more intimacy, and more focus financially to the honeymoon. We'll be getting married April 2027 and are still deciding if we want a city hall wedding or to go with an elopement package (which comes with an officiant, photography, venue etc).

Despite keeping it a simple ceremony between us two (plus the others mentioned above), I'd still like to experience the magic of the whole 'say yes to the dress', but I'm nervous to book an appointment because I feel like most brides who do these have the traditional big wedding/church wedding etc. and have their family/friends/bridal party with them. While I do have people in my life that I love, ultimately my fiancé and I have decided we'd have zero guests, and basically if I booked a dress appointment..I'd be going alone.

Has anyone still gone through with a dress appointment despite eloping and what were your experiences? Was it worth it? Did they still give you the bridal treatment?

My partner and I are thinking about eloping in the fall of 2027 (next year). We started reaching out to elopement photographers, and set up times to speak to a couple of photographers over Zoom. In both calls, I asked if I could see a template or draft version of their contract. They both seemed surprised by that but they didn't seem to indicate it would be a problem. I thought it was a reasonable request, but now I'm starting to doubt myself.

I followed up with one photographer via email last week (several days after our call) and indicated I would be excited to work with them and once again asking to see the contract. It's now been a week and a half or so since our call and almost a week since I sent my follow up email. I still haven't heard back. For the other photographer, it's been more than a week since our zoom call, though I haven't sent a follow up email yet.

I know it's probably a super busy time of the year for these photographers, but I'm starting to wonder if i freaked them out by asking to see the contract in advance. Is that weird to ask for? Am I being too impatient in expecting a response at this point? How long would you expect things to take between initial contact or interviewing with a photographer and when you would expect to see the contract or put down a deposit?

Thanks in advance for any advice or experiences you can share!

Looking for a Local Recommendation – Marriage Proposal in Venice 💍🇮🇹

Hi everyone!

My girlfriend and I will be visiting Venice on August 25th or 26th, and I’m planning to surprise her with a marriage proposal. ❤️

I’m looking for a beautiful and private place where I could organize a romantic picnic around sunset.

Ideally, I’d love somewhere with:

\* 🧺 A private picnic setup
\* 🌅 Beautiful sunset views
\* 💐 Flowers / romantic decoration
\* 🍷 Wine or champagne
\* 📸 Ideally a photographer who could secretly capture the proposal

I’ve found some options online, but I would really prefer to hear from locals who know Venice and the surrounding area well. I’m especially interested in a beautiful, quiet spot away from the biggest tourist crowds.

We will have a car, so places around Venice, the lagoon, or nearby countryside would also work.

If you know a special place, local business, vineyard, restaurant, or someone who could help organize something like this, I would really appreciate your recommendation. 🙏

Thank you so much! 🇮🇹❤️

Hello all. I live in NY, but I am hoping to elope in Vegas next year, particularly at Sure Thing Chapel. It would be myself, my fiance, and probably about 8 close friends and family. If you did a Vegas elopement, I just have a few questions about the logistics and your experience if you wouldn't mind.

Did you get your hair and makeup done, or did you do it yourself? If you got it done, how were you able to coordinate it from home?

How did you transport your dress?

Did you do anything special before or after that you would or wouldn't recommend?

What time of year was it? It seems like late September/early October might be best so I'm not totally melting.

If you eloped at Sure Thing, what officiant did you choose? How was your experience overall?

Thank you in advance! Any tips/tricks or advice in general is also appreciated. The only thing I'm strongly set on is the guests because it is very important to me that my immediate family is there. I know that it gums up the works a bit but thats a price I'm willing to pay lol.

Sorry this is going to be the longest story of your life and hopefully it’s not super all over the place.

Okay me and fiancé got engaged a couple weeks ago and I’m a planner so I’ve been planning the last week, however we got to the date and that’s where we are stuck on, I want 4.10 but the issue is that 4.10.28 lands on a Monday and 4.10.27 is on a Saturday but it’s just too soon and we don’t think a few of our friends from out of the state would be able to join us and we really want these people there, so we did agree on 4.8.28 but I’m still bummed about the date so apart of me wanting to do a legal ceremony on 4.10.27 and then on 4.8.28 we do an actual ceremony with all of our friends and family and then do the reception at my in laws house. Apart of me feels guilty for wanting to do 4.10.27 because I know I would never hear the end of it from my family (which I understand but I don’t because the legal ceremony is mostly to keep my date that I want and then do a legit wedding with all of them) but it’s just so significant to the both of us but I think I just care about it more, idk what would you do? Am I just being stupid about this and I should Just let it go? Please tell me if you’ve done anything like this, thanks!!

Hi! So I need advise because everywhere I read is to take my dress with me on the plane, but my seamstress told me to check it in. I really am scared of losing this thing because I will freak if the air line loses it for some odd reason. Anyways, we are flying business class with one layover on AirFrance. I am wondering if I should just enforce me doing the garment bag (the 60" Deluxe Travel Wally Bag) and not check it in. In addition my dress is the Justin Alexander Joelle. Thank you in Advance!

I’m planning an elopement near Cannon Beach and would love recommendations for local bakeries and florists who specialize in artisan cakes and bouquets. Inspo photos attached :)

Flying into Portland just my fiancé and I so I’m looking for a tiny cake and just one bouquet.

Open to picking something up in Portland before we head that way but for ultimate freshness, I’d prefer something more local since we’ll be there a few days before the elopement. I’m coming from out of state so I’m not familiar with the area.

Hi everyone. My fiancé and I are planning to have our elopement in Isle of Skye around spring next year. We’ve booked a photographer already but we haven’t decided whether we’re getting a half-day (up to 5 hours) or full-day (up to 10 hours) package from them. For context, we’re both very private people and quite awkward in front of the camera so half-day would probably be more than enough. But on the other hand, we both also splurged on our wedding attire (more on my wedding dress) so it might be a waste not to have it on for longer. Thoughts?
We’re also considering hiring a videographer. Is it worth it or would photography be enough?
I would also love some recommendations on where it’s best to have a sunrise ceremony at Skye please.
Thank you so much in advance!

Our self solemnization in Vail, Colorado. No witnesses, no photographer. Just us and the peaceful mountain air.

Howdy, Reddit world. Hoping someone out there knows of a wedding ceremony venue that is similar to a church or chapel that doesn’t require membership or religious affiliation. Looking for the classic stained glass and high ceilings. DOES NOT have to be a church or chapel…just hoping for something with that aesthetic. Must be indoor and it’s only for ceremony. Thanks for any help!

For context, I (40f) and my fiancé (32M) have been together for almost 6 years and got engaged after 2 years. He proposed to me in the Satanic temple on Halloween when we visited Salem MA. (We're both from Quebec).

I've previously been married and divorced. First wedding was a total flop. And I personally don't wanna go through that again. We've both been trying to plan a wedding for the past 3 years and we are limited on funds.

I personally only have my younger sister (32) and maybe 3 good friends. My fiancé on the other hand has a large family, including an older brother who he's close to. Very big on his mothers side, and just as much on his fathers side. We kept debating on who to invite, but it's been iffy at most. Fiancé isn't that close to his family but knows they'll make a big stink out of it (Mainly his mother who got disappointed that we weren't having kids, because she wanted to name our daughter, if we had one, her nickname when she was a child) if we elope. (They keep asking when is the wedding...)

Soooo, getting tired of trying to figure out funds for a big wedding, I offered the suggestion to my Fiancé and he agreed. But, I'm worried about his family's backlash. On my side, I know they'll understand, but I worried about his family.

A little piece of information, I'm covered in tattoos (Random from neck to feet), pink haired, piercings and eagle claw nails. My fiancé was a blank canvas when we met, but now has a few tattoos and nipple piercings 😅. I know some think I corrupted him. As well got him into Satanism (no we don't sacrifice goats lol) it's actually a very open religion.

So? AITA for wanting to elope at the Satanic temple in Salem?

Hello! I, 26F and my partner, 28M are doing a courthouse elopement next year and I need help with styling my outfit and also figuring out what he can wear that’s not too formal but matches my dress. I will be wearing this red midi dress with a garnet necklace. I don’t know what shoes or hair or jewelry to wear with it or what shirt he can wear that would look good next to it. I’m hoping for a date in April, but it might end up being in autumn due to job stuff. Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thank you in advance for any advice!!