The Ultimate Guide to Planning Your Perfect Elopement Timeline

Fortunately for you, I’ve gathered all my best tips based on years of photographing couples to help YOU plan your perfect elopement timeline. Trust me: you’ll feel a million times more confident after reading through this guide. We’ll start with a couple of frequently asked questions related to elopement itineraries, and then dive into my best advice for creating yours!

How Long Does the Average Elopement Take?

This is a hard question to answer, as every couple and their elopement is totally unique. Based on the vast majority of my couples, though, I’d say the average elopement ranges from 8-11 hours. This may take place throughout a full day, though typically couples who opt for a longer elopement will spread their time over a couple days of festivities. Trust me, the last thing you want is to be rushing every part of your elopement because you’ve packed your timeline too tight—more on how to avoid making that mistake later!

While all elopements are one-of-a-kind and will require different amounts of time, below are some general estimates of how long certain parts of your elopement may take (key word: may). Again, please keep in mind that all of this will completely depend on the unique details of your day, and factors such as travel time, transportation, activities, ceremony rituals, guest count, time of day, etc.

Getting ready: 2-3 hours
First look/private vows: 45 minutes
Ceremony: 30 minutes
Portraits with guests: 30 minutes
Sunset portraits: 1-1.5 hours
Post-elopement celebration: 3-4 hours

How Many Hours of Elopement Photography Do You Need?

Ahhh the age-old question: “Sarah, we know we want to elope, and we know we want to plan an AMAZING adventure. But how long do we hire you for?!”

Deciding how much photography coverage to book for your elopement can be tricky, since chances are you’ve probably never done it before. How the heck are you supposed to know how long certain things will take? What if plans change at the last minute? What happens if everything somehow goes wrong and you have to completely adjust your timeline day-of?!

Allow me to reassure you real quick, and tell you that even if that were to happen, hopefully you’d have an experienced photographer by your side who would help you flex your plans on the spot, and be there with you every step of the way. The mark of a great elopement photographer isn’t how beautiful their pictures are if everything goes perfectly according to plan—it’s how well they’re able to adapt and support their couples along the way.

Now back to the big ol’ question of elopement photography coverage: once again, every couple and every elopement is going to be completely different. I honestly recommend just chatting with your photographer about this, because they’ll be able to give you their best suggestions based on the unique elements of your elopement.

Here are a few basic estimates to start pointing you in the right direction:

4 hours is best for. . .

Couples looking for a quick and easy way to elope on a weekday, with only a few guests and minimal activities.

8 hours is best for. . .

Couples seeking an all-day elopement with 1-2 activities, in one area that doesn’t require much travel time.

2 days is best for. . .

Couples craving a laid-back experience with 2-4 activities, multiple locations, plenty of time to slow down + be present; and/or couples who want to spend one day with loved ones, and the other on their own (or two full days to themselves!).

At the end of this guide, I’ll be sharing a few sample timelines to show you what each amount of coverage could realistically include. Feel free to skip down to those if your curiosity just can’t wait!

What Do You Do During an All-Day Elopement?

I get this question a LOT from couples who are interested in having an all-day (or even multi-day) elopement, but initially aren’t sure how to fill the time: “What do we. . . do for that long?!”

Whether your elopement takes place over the course of a single day or multiple, it should reflect what you love doing together; it should revolve around your unique hobbies and interests that make you who you are. Do you like to hike, kayak, or eat pizza while you watch the sun set? Is there something you’ve always wanted to do together, maybe take a helicopter ride to the top of a glacier in Alaska, go kayaking through icebergs in Iceland, or ride a hot air balloon over the desert?

You’d be surprised at just how quickly your elopement will go by; I know that 8 hours or two days of celebrating might sound like a LOT right now, but once it begins it’s going to pass by in the blink of an eye. This is why it’s so key to plan a timeline that allows you to enjoy every single moment, and be present through it all, rather than one that simply tries to pack in as much as possible + knock way too many items off your bucket list.

Keep on reading, and I’ll tell you exactly how to curate an elopement experience that does allow you to check those bad boys off your list, without creating too much stress.

9 Tips for Building Your Perfect Elopement Timeline

Now let’s get into the meat of this guide, shall we?

I could seriously talk FOREVER about the best ways to plan your elopement timeline, because there are sooo many things to take into consideration. However, I’ll have to save that for my booked couples who need my guidance—reach out now to become one so we can start curating your perfect timeline!

1. Build in buffer time

If you don’t take ANY of these other tips to heart (but please do, lol), then I beg you to at least remember this one: build in buffer time. This is honestly the key to creating a timeline that doesn’t stress you out, and one that allows for the day to flow naturally as it wants to. You can plan what you think is a perfect timeline months in advance, but you’re never going to be able to fully predict what will happen day-of. So if you can intentionally build buffer time into your elopement, you’ll have plenty of time that can be used in case somebody is running late, or traffic takes longer than you expected, or you don’t quite keep up the pace you planned for your hike. I recommend building in an extra 15-30 minutes for each element of your day, whether it’s getting ready, your first look, or the ceremony itself.

2. Prioritize a low-stress day

Above all else, your timeline should prioritize a low-stress, effortless day that allows you to enjoy every single moment. It shouldn’t make you feel like you’re rushing to get places or like you have to arrive at every location at the exact minute you planned to—because honestly, that just doesn’t sound like a very fun way to experience your elopement.

Your wedding day shouldn’t feel like a stressful, rushed, all-day photoshoot. It should be laid-back and fun—full of candids of you two experiencing the best day of your lives. I photograph couples actually enjoying their wedding day, not just posing for it!

By incorporating the rest of the tips I’m giving you in this guide, you should ideally end up with a timeline that prioritizes a smooth, stress-free experience—NOT one that causes you even more stress because you’re worried about following it to a T.

3. Plan for everything to take longer than you think

This one kinda goes hand-in-hand with tip number one, which was to build in buffer time: the whole reason we want to build that extra space into your timeline is so that, if anything goes wrong or unexpectedly, you have plenty of time to make it work. Practically, that means adding an extra 15-30 minutes to each part of your day like I mentioned earlier—but mentally, you also need to get in the right mindset beforehand!

If you can go into your elopement ready for everything to take longer than you thought it would, then you’ll never be surprised when it actually, well. . . happens. It can be super frustrating when things run behind schedule, when you get held up by traffic, or when grandma shows up 30 minutes late. But if you’re mentally prepared for that to happen before it ever does, you’ll be wayyy more ready to go with the flow, adapt on the spot, and avoid letting things like this ruin the vibe of your day. After all, it is called an adventure elopement—and what’s more “adventurous” than embracing whatever chaos may come your way? 😉

4. Have backup plans in place

Backup plans are going to be your BFF on your elopement day, seriously. Just like you want to be prepared for things to go off schedule, you also want to be prepared to change your plans if needed. You never know when a random rainstorm might wash out the road you were planning to drive on, or when snow will fall earlier than expected + cover the trail you wanted to take to your ceremony spot. There are SO many things that can go wrong if you’re eloping outdoors (it’s just the name of the game), so having backup plans in place before your day begins is crucial.

Let’s say you’re planning to go on a hike in the mountains—here are a few types of backup locations you might want to have in mind just in case:

1-2 similar trails nearby, in case your original one is closed for any reason
A trail at a similar elevation 30-60 minutes away, in case the area you’re in gets bad weather that prevents you from being able to hike
A trail at a lower elevation nearby, in case snow falls at the elevation of your original trail and you have to stay lower on the mountain

Your photographer should absolutely be able to help you make a Plan B (and maybe C, and maybe D) so that you can go into your elopement ready for anything Mother Nature may throw at you.

5. Build in a break or two

In an ideal world, your elopement would be totally stress-free and allow you to be fully, wholly present every moment of the day. But realistically that may not be the case, for whatever reason—which is why I recommend building a break or two into your timeline, especially if you’re inviting guests. These can just be 10-15 minute chunks where you’ll be able to sit down, take a breather, and simply be together, or escape from your guests if you have any. It’s going to go by pretty dang fast, so the more opportunities you can give yourselves to simply enjoy the present moment and slow down, the better.

6. Consider your activities

No matter how long your elopement is, I recommend including no more than 1 or maybe 2 activities per day, to ensure your schedule doesn’t get too packed. This obviously depends on the types of activities you’d like to do—for example, rock climbing or hiking 5 miles will take much longer than setting up a lakeside picnic for a champagne toast. Think about what you love to do normally: do you surf? Play an instrument? Spend your summer days white water rafting? We can incorporate that into your day so that it’s completely unique to you and your love story, and we’ll make sure to account for travel time, transportation, any necessary prep and recovery time, etc. If you need some help coming up with ideas, I created a killer list of Bucket List Adventures to Have On Your Elopement Day!

7. Keep an eye on road + trail statuses

In the days and weeks leading up to your elopement, be sure to monitor the status of any roads and/or trails you plan to travel on. Things like rainstorms, landslides, snowfall, ice, wind, wildfires, and other weather conditions can sometimes cause roads or trails to be blocked off for a certain period of time—so be sure you know that in advance in case it does happen, and you can make new plans accordingly. If you’re eloping in a national park or state park, their websites will often have a page where you can monitor park alerts and conditions in real time.

8. Anticipate longer travel times

Any of us who live in a big city know that traffic can be the death of a person—so when calculating your travel times for your elopement, I suggest anticipating longer travel times than usual. You might run into unexpected traffic, or it might take you forever to find a good parking spot; you’ll never know until the day arrives. Don’t plan for the quickest route Google Maps shows you, or the fastest possible time it tells you a road may take to travel; plan for the longest and the worst-case scenario.

9. Rely on your photographer

Finally, you should absolutely rely on your elopement photographer to help you with ALL of this. As an elopement photographer myself, I offer my couples custom-curated elopement timelines based on what activities and locations fit their dream day, so they can just show up and have the best day ever. They’ve got a lot more experience creating timelines than you do, so ask them any questions you have + make sure that you hire someone that offers timeline support in the first place!

3 Sample Adventure Elopement Timelines

I wanted to wrap this up by giving you a few example timelines to look at, because I know it can be hard to visualize what’s actually possible unless you see it laid out. Remember that every elopement looks different and even the below timelines may look different depending on the season, time of day, weather, etc.; these are simply to give you an idea of what different amounts of coverage could look like!

4-Hour Adventure Elopement Timeline

For a casual fall elopement in Arches National Park

1:30pm – Meet at trailhead & hike to ceremony spot

2:30pm – Ceremony under an iconic arch

3:00pm – Explore the park for newlywed portraits

4:30pm – Photographer leaves

8-Hour Adventure Elopement Timeline

For a spring elopement in Moab

11:30am – Getting ready together & details at your Airbnb

1:00pm – Head to ceremony spot in the desert

1:30pm – Private vow exchange & portraits among the red rocks

3:00pm – Head to nearby dunes for a sandboarding & offroading adventure

5:30pm – Go back to Airbnb for dinner cooked by a private chef

7:00pm – Cozy couples portraits in the hot tub

7:30pm – Photographer leaves

2-Day Adventure Elopement Timeline

For a summer elopement in Iceland

DAY 1: Let’s Elope (6-7 hours)

10:30am – Photographer arrives

11:30am – Getting ready, breakfast, & first look at your Airbnb

1:30pm – Head to lupine field for private vow exchange

2:30pm – Head to waterfall for a short hike & newlywed portraits

4:30pm – Head back to Airbnb for a celebratory cake cutting & champagne

5:30pm – Photographer leaves

DAY 2: Post-Elopement Adventure (3-4 hours)

11:00am – Head out to helicopter meetup point

11:30am – Helicopter tour to the top of a glacier

12:30pm – Ice climbing & glacier portraits

3:30pm – Head back to Airbnb

Do you feel like a total elopement-timeline-planning-pro yet?! Don’t worry if not, because as your elopement photographer, I’ll be right by your side to curate your entire elopement experience with you, from helping you plan your activities to building the perfect timeline for your stress-free day. I can’t wait to see what your unique itinerary looks like; contact me now about your adventure elopement and let’s make it happen, yeah??

Not ready to leave quite yet? Browse my Blog for more elopement planning resources just like this!

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I’m Sarah, an elopement photographer traveling around the United States in my campervan.

I spend months at a time at each location I travel to, diving deep into the local elopement market in that area, so I can bring the important information to you from the comfort of your home.

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