Eloping gives you the freedom to do whatever you want and create your dream day. After all, this is the start of your marriage, so of course it should be all about you two! Often couples will ask, “can we do XYZ?” and the answer is always of course! The best part of elopements is that there are no rules! If you can dream it, you can do it.

So let me ask you this. What is your dream day together? If you could do anything together, what would it be and what would your experience look like?

I know that planning an elopement at times can feel overwhelming. There’s no set cookie cutter structure for the day, so the possibilities for activities can be endless! In order to help narrow down what feels like the right activities for you two, we’ve compiled a list of fun, unique elopement activities to make it a day you’ll never forget.

Have a Picnic

Get a cute basket and a blanket and share a picnic together! You can bring charcuterie boards, takeout, or cook a meal together and bring it along to eat while watching the sun set. You can also pop champagne or share your favorite local beer / wine / mocktails and relax together.

Check out this cute elopement picnic basket too!

Enjoy Water Activities

If you’re near a nice body of water, you can go kayaking, canoeing, paddle boarding, boating etc. together. Or if you’re an adrenaline junkie like me, you can cliff jump together and enjoy swimming. Elopement activities don’t mean you have to be dry and on land the whole time! There’s nothing like being just married and running through water without a care in the world.

Hire a Private Chef

Eloping definitely saves a ton of money compared to a traditional wedding. So why not splurge a little and hire a fancy private chef, and have a gourmet dinner together? It’s the perfect excuse to share in fine dining together. You can have a beautiful candlelit private dinner at an airbnb, or a delicious sunrise brunch picnic amongst wildflowers, whatever your heart desires!

First Look

Do a first look, I promise it will be so worth it! I’ll help coordinate and plan the timeline so you don’t see each other until it’s time, and it’s so sweet to see each other in your wedding attire and have a quiet moment together before the start of the day. It’s a real tear jerker on my end as well.

Getting Ready Together

On the flip side, you can absolutely forgo a first look and instead spend time getting ready together! Have a nice slow morning eating breakfast, writing letters to each other, and helping each other get dressed and ready for the day.

Letters

A sweet and intimate activity to share is writing letters to one another. You can do it together the day of, or write them beforehand and exchange during your elopement. Another sweet idea is to have family and friends write you letters, and open together on your elopement day!

Art Museum / Museum

Go explore an art museum or just a museum in general together. It can be a really fun, relaxing, and enriching experience together, and makes for really unique photos as well!

Stargaze Together / Blue Hour

Golden hour is pretty, but blue hour and twilight or a whole other level of beautiful. Staying up past sunset during your elopement is a wonderful experience because once it gets fully dark, you can watch the sky come alive with stars. Stay up late and stargaze, point out constellations and even watch for shooting stars!

Get tattoos

A badass and unique way to commemorate your elopement day is to get matching tattoos together. This one you’ll want to schedule ahead of time, unless the place you’re planning on going to takes walk ins, and make sure you eat and drink water beforehand!

First Dance

Just because you ditched the traditional wedding doesn’t mean you can’t still have traditional elements. Share a first dance together and I’ll even play your favorite songs through my camera bag speaker! This is a wonderful way to share a quiet moment together and enjoy being newly married.

Horseback Trail Rides

Horseback trail rides are the perfect relaxing activity for a unique elopement experience! It is so peaceful riding through the woods and enjoying nature together, and also is quicker and easier to get to faraway locations that would be harder to reach on foot.

Dessert Cutting

Because maybe cake isn’t for everyone. Share a delicious dessert together and cut a pie, cinnamon roll, cookie, or whatever sweets you have in mind!

Blue Hour: Sparklers, Glowsticks, Lanterns and more

A super fun way to decompress and end the day, is with blue hour. Blue hour is the time right after the sun has set over the horizon, making the atmosphere look cooler in colors, and makes light glow. Dance together amongst fairy lights, explore with lanterns, or take fun photos with glowsticks and sparklers! Remember to only use sparklers or fireworks in appropriate, safe areas and check for restrictions!

Get artsy together

Spend some time painting, drawing or writing and playing music together. Have your own wine and sip, or get messy and take a pottery class!

Pop Champagne or Sparkling Juice

It’s your wedding day and you’re freaking married!! Pop that champagne and share your favorite drinks together. Nothing says newly married like a shower of champagne and toasts.

Play Board Games and Card Games

Playing board games, card games, or even video games is a super chill and fun activity for your elopement. Especially if it ends up pouring rain and the timeline needs to be rearranged, this can be an awesome backup plan as well!

Include your Pets

Bring along your pups or adventurous kitties and spend the day exploring nature and spending time with your fur babies and new spouse!

Cook together

Get an airbnb and scour for some delicious recipes. Cooking together is a fun way to spend quality time together after a long elopement day, and wind down with some good food. Or hey, maybe you could make breakfast together, and start the day with some pancakes and coffee while getting ready.

Bonfire + Camping

Don’t want the adventure to end after it’s dark Have a bonfire or go camping! End your elopement with a bonfire, roasting smores, and some good music. You can stargaze, and enjoy a hot cup of coffee as the sun rises. This is especially fun for a multiple day elopement!

Hot tub soak + Swimming

Swimming is a super fun activity to include in your elopement experience. Whether it be soaking in a hot tub together after a long day of hiking, soaking in natural springs, jumping in pool at the end of the day, snorkeling for cool rocks, or chasing each other into lake waves. And it’s a great excuse to have a second outfit too!

Thrifting and Antiquing

Spend some time together perusing local thrift stores and promenade the aisle of antique shops or book stores together! This is another super relaxed and fun activity that might feel like a true reflection of you two. And it is another great back up for stormy weather as well!

Wine Tasting / Breweries / Bar hopping

There are some INCREDIBLE wineries, breweries, and taverns in Indiana and Michigan. Have a little adventure tasting wines and exploring a vineyard at sunset, or barhop together and sing karaoke (or watch others sing karaoke if that’s not your thing lol) and bask in being newly married!

Ride Bikes

Riding bikes together is a super fun activity that makes for awesome photos as well. Ride bikes on trails, along the beach, or through downtown together!

Skating Together

Another great active activity is skating together. You could roller skate, rollerblade, ride skateboards, or even go ice skating together!

Explore Gardens

Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio are home to some absolutely breathtaking gardens and botanical conservatories. Spend time exploring gardens and appreciating all flowers and birds together!

Relax and have fun!

Most importantly, remember to make time to relax. This is your elopement day, and it should be enjoyed, not rushed or stressful! Be sure to have fun, relax, and really feel the emotions of the day, and create memories that will last a lifetime!

---

Hey friend! I’m Corinne, an elopement photographer + guide to your dream elopement day. I’m so excited for you to break the expectations of traditional weddings, and choose to share a meaningful wedding experience instead. I believe in documenting elopements & intimate weddings in a heartful and honest way, to gives you imagery that reflects your hearts. If you need help planning your elopement activities or don’t know where to start, let’s connect and I’ll help you craft a wedding day you’ll never forget!