Table of Contents:
- Why Your Elopement Deserves An All-Day Celebration
- How Long Is an Elopement?
- 5 Tips for a Stress-Free Elopement Timeline
- Sample Elopement Timelines
There are a lot of misconceptions about eloping, but one of the biggest is that an elopement is just a quick ceremony – get in, take a few photos, get out. Because eloping is for couples who don’t want to invest time, money, or effort into their wedding day. It’s for couples who just want a quick way to get married… right? Well maybe that’s what eloping used to be about—back in the days where it was Vegas chapels and drunken decisions—but those days are long gone now. You can read all about what eloping means today here, but in this guide I’ll be talking all about elopement timelines – how to make them, what goes into a timeline, and the answer to the question of “how long is an elopement?”
Why Your Elopement Deserves An All-Day Celebration
Before you start getting into the nitty gritty of creating your elopement timeline, it’s important to understand why having a timeline is so important in the first place: it allows you to have your dream day without having to worry about being on time, running late, knowing where to be at what time, etc. While some people still think of elopements as short and sweet, here’s why I think your elopement should actually be an all-day event, and how having a well-planned-out timeline will help make it amazing!
You Deserve to Celebrate Your Union
Let’s get one thing straight: eloping isn’t any less meaningful than a traditional wedding. Read that again. The important part of a wedding day isn’t applause after your ceremony, or line dancing, or being tagged in Instagram stories all weekend– it’s the day that you and your partner commit yourselves to one another. That’s all that really matters, and you deserve to celebrate that however you please.
Being intentional about how you want your wedding day to go, and choosing to elope because it actually reflects who you are as a couple, doesn’t make your day any less important– and it certainly doesn’t mean your elopement deserves any less care, attention, or celebration than a big wedding! This is still the day you get married to the love of your life. And if anything, I’d say the fact that you’ve decided to focus on what actually matters makes elopements even more meaningful. Traditional wedding coverage lasts 8, 10, even 12 hours – so why should yours be any different? It’s not just a ceremony – it’s an entire day dedicated to celebrating the beginning of your marriage.
Besides, from a photography standpoint, I’d argue that you’d want more coverage of an elopement than a wedding, since there aren’t any guest’s photos to remember it by! If you want to share the story of your elopement day with anybody that wasn’t there, you’ll need photos to walk them through your day.
You Should Enjoy Your Day
A lot of couples decide to elope because the thought of planning a big wedding and spending the day surrounded by a hundred people sounds stressful. So don’t make the mistake of only scheduling a couple of hours for your elopement day – because you’ll feel rushed, and stressed out by any curveball or slight delay, when you should be spending the day enjoying yourself, and cherishing every moment.
As for what moments you’ll be cherishing, that’s up to you! Imagine yourself years from now, looking back on your elopement day as the best day of your life. What did you do? What does that look like?
Doris and Bill’s Rialto Beach elopement is a fantastic example of making an all-day celebration out of your elopement. Instead of just heading to the beach for a quick ceremony, they intentionally dedicated a huge chunk of time in the morning to getting ready together, allowing themselves the time and space to be present and enjoy the time together. They snuck bites of their cake for breakfast, made steaming cups of coffee, and snuggled up on the couch of their Airbnb—all before even getting into their elopement attire. After a windy but romantic as hell ceremony at Rialto Beach, they signed their marriage license on the ferry back to Seattle and celebrated all the way until we arrived at the terminal. It was the most memorable day from beginning to end, and just wouldn’t have been the same if they only gave themselves an hour or two of festivities!
How Long Is an Elopement?
Before you get into creating your elopement timeline, you need to figure out how long your elopement is and how many hours actually go into the timeline. By now, you’ve probably figured out that the answer to “how long is an elopement?” isn’t just “a ceremony and a few photos.”
But then the question becomes, what do couples do on their elopement day? How can your elopement take more than a few hours?
Here’s what happens during an elopement, and how long each part of the day may take!
Getting Ready | 1-2.5 hrs
Your elopement day begins with getting ready, which is, in my opinion, an extremely underrated part of the day. Getting ready is truly one of my very favorite parts of an elopement day to capture; in fact, I put together an entire blog post dedicated to Why I Love Getting Ready Photos for Elopements!
The excited butterflies, the anticipation building. Your last few moments before a hugely important life change. Looking back at the photos from this part of the day, you’ll see yourself doing your hair (or getting it done), and putting on your wedding attire – but you’ll also remember how you felt before your vows.
You’ll also see what your partner looked like during the few hours of the day you might have been apart – how they couldn’t stop smiling, how they put the finishing touches on their vows, how excited they were to marry you.
Getting ready photos can take anywhere from 1 hour to 2.5 hours, depending on how much you’d like documented. If it’s just the two of you without any special activities planned, an hour is probably enough time! But if you both have loved ones present and are getting ready separately, or are incorporating any additional activities, I’d recommend aiming closer to 2-2.5 hours. This is also because I’ll be using this time to photograph all of your details and decor, so if you have quite a few details you’d like documented and/or intricate decorations, tablescapes, etc., then add a little more time to account for those photos as well!
One other factor to take into account is whether you have any friends or family members getting ready with you, and how long it’ll take them to get ready. If your makeup artist has 3 faces to finish before your ceremony, it’ll take a lot longer than if it’s just you; consider hiring more than one makeup artist/hair stylist if this is the case to speed things along.
First Look | 30 min.
If you aren’t getting ready together, I recommend doing a first look! This is where the two of you first get to see each other all glammed up in your elopement attire. There are a few ways to do this, but normally, one or both partners will turn around (with one walking up, or both of you standing back-to-back).
If you want to keep things a little more traditional and wait to see each other until the ceremony, you can also do a first touch (stand on opposite sides of a door so you can hold hands and talk without seeing each other), write each other letters to read, or give each other a gift.
I recommend setting aside at least 30 minutes for your first look. I know this may seem like a lot—after all, won’t you just be turning around to see each other, and it’ll be over within a minute or two? Technically, sure, but especially if you’re eloping with guests, this can be a really great way to get some time to yourselves before the ceremony – so many couples say their nerves melted away after they saw each other for the first time. This is also a fantastic time for a few couples portraits together before the official stuff begins, so having a little extra time can never hurt.
Click here to read all about first looks, and first look alternatives!
Ceremony | 15-45 min.
The main event! When people ask “how long is an elopement,” they’re often picturing just the ceremony – which is why they can’t believe an elopement can last all day! The ceremony itself can be anywhere from 10 minutes to half an hour long. If you’re keeping things simple with reading vows and exchanging rings, it can go by pretty quick. But if you’re incorporating something like knot tying, handfasting, or any kind of cultural or religious tradition, it can take a little longer. If you have an officiant for your elopement, ask them how long they think it’ll take!
No matter how long the actual ceremony itself is estimated to take, I always recommend adding in some buffer time to account for travel and unexpected situations. Especially if you have guests—they’ll need to be wrangled up at some point, and you’d be surprised how hard it is to get a group of people together on a busy elopement day. You may need to drive, park, coordinate transportation, go to the bathroom, unload your car, walk to your ceremony spot. . . all of these will add extra minutes to the ceremony portion of your day, so don’t underestimate how much time you need to make space for in your timeline.
Click here for a list of unique ways to personalize your ceremony, including how to write your vows, my favorite officiants, and traditions to consider including!
Photos With Guests | 30 min.
If you have guests, you’ll usually take some photos with them after the ceremony. Of course, how long this will be in your elopement timeline depends on how many guests you have! I usually recommend about 30 minutes for this portion, unless you have a big family or a longer guest list. Again, you’ll need to wrangle folks up, find a spot with good lighting, and get everyone to stay around long enough to get through your shot list.
Pro tip: if you’re doing a first look, you can take photos with your guests before your ceremony instead of after! This is a great way to knock out a majority of your posed portraits as early in the day as you can; oftentimes once the ceremony is over, guests are ready to party and move onto the next part of the day. If you can check off your portraits before the ceremony, then you’ll be free to do whatever you want once your ceremony has wrapped up!
Couple’s Photos | 30 min.
The great thing about eloping is that your couple’s photos aren’t going to be the traditional “stand over there and smile” kinds – we’ll be taking photos throughout the day, so that when you look at them you remember the actual moments of your elopement day – time spent exploring and celebrating your marriage, not time spent posing. I recommend keeping this in mind as you make your timeline – budget some more time so that you can stop for photos throughout the day, and some time after the ceremony for a few formal portraits. Aim for at least 30 minutes in total, but the more the merrier!
Adventures and Activities | 1+ hrs
This is the part that truly makes each elopement day unique. Your day should reflect the two of you – so think about what would make this the best day of your life. What do you want to do on the day you get married? It can be a hike, a boat tour, a helicopter ride, a picnic, a small post-elopement reception with your guests… anything you can think of! Activities such as picnics can range from 30 minutes for just the two of you, to 90 minutes for you & a few guests, whereas hikes or other outdoor adventures will typically take at least an hour. Budget more time than you think you’ll need to ensure you don’t have to rush anything!
5 Tips for a Stress-Free Elopement Timeline
When you’re creating your elopement timeline, here are a few things to keep in mind to set yourself up for a successful, stress-free day.
Add Extra Time
As a rule of thumb, people tend to underestimate how long an elopement day is and how long everything will take. It’s always better to have extra time than not enough, and leaving some buffer room between activities or events will save you a lot of stress! In case of traffic, or if it takes everyone a little while to get out the door, you’ll have plenty of time and won’t have to worry.
Plus, adding a little extra padding allows you to take time to just be. Enjoy yourselves, and take it all in.
Be Flexible
While I do recommend even at least a basic elopement timeline to make sure you and everyone else knows what’s what, this isn’t the same as a traditional wedding timeline! Sometimes things don’t go according to plan, sometimes you see an overlook you want to stop at while you’re driving – so don’t be afraid to be spontaneous.
Think of the timeline as an outline, not a strict set of rules (unless you’re meeting your guests somewhere or need to be at the park at a certain time according to your permit, but in general – this day is all about you and doing whatever feels right!)
Have Backup Plans
On that same note, you should always, always have a backup plan (or multiple) for an elopement, especially one that takes place outdoors. You never know what may happen on your elopement day—a road might be closed, your trailhead might be inaccessible, the weather could be terrible, you might get stuck in traffic. . . the more you can account for unpredictable scenarios like this in your timeline in advance, the better. I’d much rather you budget TOO much time in your timeline than have to rush because your plans changed on the fly!
This is especially important in a place like the PNW where you never know what the weather will bring, even on what’s supposed to be a warm and sunny day in July. To make sure you’re prepared no matter what Mother Nature brings, check out my guide to How to Embrace “Bad” Weather On Your Elopement Day!
Trust Your Vendors
It can be difficult to put together an elopement timeline if you’ve, well, never eloped before—so I always recommend getting help from your vendors (especially your photographer and planner). Ask them how long they think you should budget for their part of the day (e.g. how long the florist thinks it’ll take to set up their arrangements, or how long hair/makeup will take). They’re the ones who have done this many, many times, so trust that they know how to take care of you and give you the best day possible!
Hire an Elopement Photographer
With your full day elopement, you should also have your photographer there for the entire thing! Each part of your day is important, and you deserve to have every moment documented, so that when you look back on your photos, you see the story of your entire day.
As a photographer who specializes in elopements, my mission is to make sure every couple gets the day of their dreams – and that looks different for everyone! So I’ll be there to help you through the planning process, which includes brainstorming what kind of elopement experience will work for the two of you, and creating a custom timeline. If you have any questions, or are ready to start planning, contact me!
Want to make sure that the photos of your day turn out as beautifully as possible? Be sure to read my blog post with 4 Tips for a Breathtaking & Photogenic Elopement Day.
Sample Elopement Timelines
Now that you know what goes into a timeline, let’s see some samples! And these are pretty bare-bones, in that they aren’t jam-packed with activities.
Half Day Elopement – Just the Couple
1:00 Hair and makeup begins; getting ready & detail photos
2:15 Drive to trailhead
2:30 Start hiking
3:30 Arrive at summit, change into wedding attire
3:45 First look
4:00 Ceremony
4:15 Photos & exploring
5:45 Picnic & champagne
6:45 Head back down
7:45 Return to Airbnb
8:00 Post-elopement hot tub session & snacks
9:00 Coverage ends
Full Day Elopement With Family
9:00 Hair and makeup begins; getting ready & detail photos
11:00 First touch, read letters from each other
11:30 Drive to ceremony location
12:30 Ceremony
1:00 Family photos
1:30 Lunch with family
2:30 Family drives to Airbnb Couple takes time to themselves, couple’s photos
4:30 Drive back to Airbnb
5:30 Reception – first dance, dinner, cake cutting, champagne pop
7:30 Family starts saying goodbyes
8:00 Sunset photos
9:00 Coverage ends
Hi, I’m Marla! I’m based in the Pacific Northwest and specialize in photographing elopements, aiming to create a stress-free experience for all adventure levels. In other words, whether you want to hang out by a lake all day or trek 8 miles into the mountains, I’m here for it!
I help you navigate the entire planning process, from choosing your perfect location to finding the best vendors, creating a timeline of activities and helping you apply for the right permits. I’d love to photograph your adventure!
Click here to see more PNW elopement resources, or browse through some of my faves below.
