Who Actually Elopes? (You, if you want to)

Thinking about eloping, but not sure if it’s the right move? This blog breaks it all down—no pressure, no fluff. Whether you're an avid hiker or someone who’s never set foot on a trail, this guide will help you figure out if eloping feels like the right next step for your love story.

Question 1:
Do you want to elope?
[  ] Yes
[  ] No

Question 2: See above.

That’s it. That’s the whole checklist.

Not outdoorsy? Doesn’t matter.

Not a hiker? Doesn’t matter.

Not sure what shoes to wear? Great, we’ll figure it out.

(And if you do identify as outdoorsy - if you’ve got a favorite trailhead, trail snacks dialed, and a reverence for wild places - then you already know. Let’s go make something that feels like it belongs to you.)

But you actually don’t already have to be some kind of wild desert fairy or gearhead with a Garmin watch and a solar-charged espresso maker. You don’t have to already know where you want to go, or how to read a topographic map, or have strong opinions about sleeping pads or stove systems.

None of that is required. You just have to want something different. Something that feels more like you than a day that passes by in a blur surrounded by pinteresty signage and monogrammed cocktail napkins. And that’s enough.

people who elope are:

• tired of performance

• craving something more personal

• overwhelmed by planning a traditional wedding

• secretly (or not so secretly) introverted or ambiverted

• a little rebellious

• practical

• romantic

• curious

• already married, and doing it again on their terms

• in love, and trying to do this thing with care and in a way that feels right
  

Some people who elope are ultra-adventurous. The kind who backpack across glaciers and bathe in mountain streams.

Others are, frankly, not that outdoorsy (or not that outdoorsy, yet). They just want to kick off their lives together by saying their vows in a place that feels alive. Or quiet. Or real. 

Some, like me, identify as outdoorsy but like, with glitter eyeliner. We love a sunrise hike and a good outfit change. (If that’s you, welcome to the glitter fairy dirt goblin club.)

so is eloping right for you?

If you’ve been asking that question, there’s probably already something pulling at you. 

Maybe you want:

• fewer eyes on you

• a deeper experience

• a ceremony that feels more like a memory and less like a to-do list

• something small, but still sacred
  

Or maybe you don’t even know what you want yet. Just what you don’t want. That’s valid. That’s a start.

I’ve worked with couples who’d never slept in a tent. Who wore boots for the first time on their elopement day. One of my favorite sessions started with, “We don’t know exactly what we want. We just know we don’t want to do what everyone else is doing.” And we built it from there.

I’ve also been that person staring down something unfamiliar and wondering, “Am I even allowed to do that?” Can you build a new kind of story from scratch?

Yes. You can. You don’t need permission. Gate’s open… Come on in.

eloping isn’t about being outdoorsy…
it’s actually just about being honest.

If a traditional wedding feels like a costume – something you’re supposed to wear for the sake of someone else – then maybe it’s time to try something else on. 

Because what inspires us to be braver than we thought we were? What makes us leave the familiar, or choose the harder thing, or take the leap?

Usually, love.

you don’t need permission

And if you’re standing at the edge of this idea- of eloping, of choosing something different, of making your own rules - and thinking, “but I don’t even know where to begin”... yeah. I know that feeling. 

I know what it’s like to badly want something but not even have a toe in the world of it. I’ve made that kind of a leap before. More than once. And what I’ve learned is: sometimes the leap is the way in. 

Sometimes the thing you’re curious about - that you feel pulled towards, even though it’s unfamiliar - ends up becoming one of the great joys of your life. 

so… who should elope?

You should, if you want to… That’s it.

If you're ready to start dreaming up a day, and a beginning that feels like yours, I'd love to help. You don’t have to have it all figured out. If you’re feeling a pull, that’s enough to start.

Come with questions, come with wonder.