What to Do on Your Elopement Day and How to Make it Special

Elopements, Resources

November 22, 2023

Last updated on November 1st, 2025

So, you want to elope, but you don’t know what this means or how to do it. Do you just exchange vows, kiss, sign your papers, and leave? The short answer is: It’s up to you. If you want something quick and straightforward for your elopement celebration, go for it. But, in most cases, many couples I work with like to spruce it up so that their big day is full of special little memories.

Think of it this way: You’re probably familiar with certain wedding traditions—the walk down the aisle, the first dance, the reception and the after-party. These are all ways that couples celebrate their love throughout the day. 

Now, apply the same logic to your elopement: What activities and unique celebratory acts can you incorporate into your day to make it feel special? In this article, I’ll provide my top ideas for what to do when you elope and how to make it special and feel unique to you and your love!

Table of Contents

Questions to Ask Yourself

Choosing specific activities for your elopement can come in the later stages of the planning process, as I’ve outlined in my guide to eloping. When you get to this point, start by asking yourself questions to help with brainstorming. I recommend reflecting individually and then coming up with answers together as a couple:

  1. What would make my elopement meaningful?
  2. Are there any mainstream wedding traditions that I really love?
  3. How do I want to be shown love on my elopement day?
  4. Who do I want to celebrate my elopement with?
  5. What kind of activities make me feel happy and alive?
  6. What would I want to happen on our elopement day if there were no limits?
  7. What does “special” mean to me?
  8. What would make my identity feel seen and honored?
Vows, greenery, rings, and a "we eloped" sign.

What to Do On Your Elopement Day: 10 Unique Ideas

Now that you and your partner have brainstormed, it’s time to throw all your ideas out there to see what sticks. Consider writing them down on a whiteboard and slowly filtering out your top contenders afterwards. Here are some unique elopement activities and ideas to get you inspired:

1. Have People Write Letters or Toasts Beforehand

If an intimate elopement is your style, you likely won’t want everyone in your life to be physically there for the ride. But this doesn’t mean they can’t celebrate with you in other ways! Ask your friends, family, and other close connections to write letters or toasts before your elopement day. Then, when you and your new spouse have a moment to yourselves, read them aloud to each other to feel all the love and support behind you.

2. Have a Celebratory Video Chat With Those You Love

Whether you intentionally planned a private elopement or some of your family and friends can’t make it to your celebratory activities, try scheduling some time to video call the ones who can’t be there. This can be as casual or formal as you’d like—you can plan sentimental messages beforehand or just go with the flow! 

3. First Dance Under the Stars

If your location and the weather permit, plan your first dance under the night sky. Bring a speaker and play a meaningful song that resonates with you and your partner. This is the perfect opportunity to have a moment with just the two of you. Or, if you plan to celebrate with a small group of people, this can also fit perfectly into your itinerary, whether you’re all hanging out until the sun sets or plan to have a late-night celebration.

Couple holding lanterns in the dark during their elopement.

4. Celebrate With An Adventure or Your Favorite Activity

If you and your partner love a bit of an adrenaline rush, consider planning an adventurous activity after your elopement, like kayaking, ziplining, or hiking. Keep in mind that adventures don’t always have to mean adrenaline rushes—you can opt for other types of activities, like searching for seashells along the beachfront or taking your dog for a walk.

Read More: Adventure Elopement Activity Ideas

5. Leverage Your Creative Passions

Are you and your partner artists? Musicians? Writers? Whatever creative passions you two love, try finding ways to celebrate your elopement with them. For example, consider sketching or painting the location of your vow exchange or writing songs and singing them for the first time together (or to each other) on your elopement day. 

6. Visit the Place Where Your Love Began

If your elopement location is near where you and your partner first met, take a trip down memory lane to take in the incredible journey you two have been on (and will continue to go on!). You can do this with just the two of you or your loved ones. Either way, you can retell the memories out loud and experience a full-circle moment bound to fill your hearts with even more love and gratitude.

Couple having breakfast together during their elopement.

7. Virtual Guestbook

Thankfully, with everything being so digital, there are many platforms out there that allow you to celebrate online. If you have a small number of people attending your elopement, try using a virtual guest book so they can snap photos, share messages, and give thoughtful words of wisdom from the convenience of their phones. Even if you don’t plan your elopement to include guests, you can use the guest book to have your loved ones share some words on your big day from wherever they are in the world.

Read More: Do You Have to Invite Guests to Your Elopement?

8. Create a Time Capsule

Put special mementos from your elopement, like maps, accessories, letters, or Polaroid photos, into a box and open it back up on a future anniversary. You can also have close family and friends contribute to the time capsule to make the celebration even more special!

9. Dance It Out

Dance party for two, anyone? If you don’t have guests at your elopement, why not have a dance party together? You can have your first dance in a memorable place and then bop the night away until you’ve filled your happiness bucket—or get sleepy. If you have a small group of people attending your elopement, consider creating a shared playlist where everyone can add their songs to keep the party going.

Couple dancing together.

10. Surprise Each Other

If you and your partner love an element of surprise, consider setting aside some time in your day to surprise each other. There are a few ways you can go about this:

  • Set two separate blocks of time for each person’s surprise.
  • If one person likes surprises more than the other, have one surprise.
  • If you have guests coming to your elopement, consider incorporating them into the surprise or having them help you execute it.

Up to this point, you and your new spouse have likely planned everything together. Surprises can be a unique and meaningful way to show how much you love and care about each other, so consider mixing up the celebration with one or two of them. A surprise could be anything—a gift, a dinner, an activity, you name it.

How to Make An Elopement Special

At the end of the day, your elopement is about the two of you—your story, your connection, and the way your love feels in real life. So instead of thinking about what you should do, try focusing on what would feel meaningful. I like to ask couples: What makes you feel seen? What makes you feel cared for? What feels like “us”? Your answers to those questions can be the foundation of the day. Along with the ideas I provided above, consider additional ways to bring intention into your elopement. For example:

  • Set the tone from the very beginning. Slow down your morning. Make coffee or tea together. Write in a journal. Play your favorite album. The key here is not to rush!
  • Choose a location that feels like “yours.” Whether it’s the mountains, a quiet lake, your backyard, or somewhere totally new, your setting can carry so much emotional weight.
  • Make your vow exchange feel sacred. That could mean reading hand-written vows, sharing private promises, or having a quiet moment of grounding before you speak.
  • Incorporate something personal. For example, a song, a poem, a keepsake, a ritual, or a shared hobby can make the day feel truly special.

How to Plan Your Itinerary

As your elopement photographer, I can help you plan your day with your chosen celebration activities and ideas to ensure you have enough time to soak in every moment and enjoy each other’s company. The last thing you want is to pack your day to the brim and feel rushed when hopping from one thing to the next.

When planning your itinerary, we’ll consider things like:

  • How long it takes to get ready
  • How long it takes to get to your elopement location
  • How much time to budget for breaks and rest
  • When the sun rises and sets
  • When the best photo opportunities are
  • What your priorities are (this can help us roughly allocate more or less time to particular activities)

If you have too many good ideas and can’t narrow down what you want on your elopement day, you can discuss your options with me—I can provide a more objective perspective on what works and what might not be realistic. If you’re still tied between options and can’t pick the activities most important to you, consider leaving it up to fate with a random online generator or drawing your ideas from a hat.

Rainbow in the background. Text reads: Pro Tip: The activities I listed above are for any type of elopement size, whether or not you decide to have guests. Your guestlist (or lack thereof) may shift how you plan your itinerary. If it’s just the two of you, you can focus solely on yourselves. But, if you plan on incorporating others into any element of your day, you’ll have to budget time for everyone to arrive and settle in.

Pro Tip: The activities I listed above are for any type of elopement size, whether or not you decide to have guests. Your guestlist (or lack thereof) may shift how you plan your itinerary. If it’s just the two of you, you can focus solely on yourselves. But, if you plan on incorporating others into any element of your day, you’ll have to budget time for everyone to arrive and settle in.

What to Do After Eloping

So, you planned all these cool activities for your elopement. What’s next?

There’s something really beautiful about the in-between moments after your ceremony—the joy, the stillness, the depth of it all. You don’t have to rush away from that. In fact, I always encourage couples to plan a little pocket of time after they’ve said their vows to just be. Let it settle. Let yourselves feel it.

Whether you have a meal together, go for a walk, video call your friends, or have a little fire and roast marshmallows, there’s no right or wrong next step.

Read More: Post-Elopement Honeymoon Ideas

What to Do On Your Elopement Day FAQ

Focus on what feels meaningful to you—not what’s expected. That might look like writing private vows, planning a slow morning together, choosing a location that feels like “you,” or incorporating a tradition you love. Your elopement doesn’t need to be elaborate to feel deeply memorable.
Think about what lights you up as a couple. Maybe that’s hiking to a sunrise viewpoint, having a cozy breakfast picnic, playing music together, taking a canoe out on the water, or dancing under the stars. Fun can look wild and adventurous or soft and quiet.
After your ceremony, you might have a private meal together, call loved ones, take Polaroids, watch the sunset, or plan a mini celebration at home later. Some couples even throw a larger reception or dinner party weeks or months afterward—there’s no timeline you need to follow.
Not necessarily. But many couples do choose to include some kind of intentional moment. A ceremony can be as simple as reading vows, exchanging rings, or sharing a letter you wrote to each other. There are no rules here.
Absolutely. They can join you in person, write letters or toasts, send voice messages, or join via video call. Presence doesn’t have to mean being physically there!

Capturing Your Elopement Moments

No matter how you sprinkle your elopement with memorable moments and celebrations, you’ll need someone to capture these memories so you can look back on them forever. That’s where I come in! As a queer elopement photographer, I go beyond just taking photos; I’m here to help tell your unique love story, capture who you are as people, and make your elopement dreams everything you’ve ever imagined. Ready to get started? Reach out to me today! I can’t wait to meet you.

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