Big weddings are not for everyone. You might just want to truly savour every moment of this day, you don’t want to worry about formalities and timeline of a typical wedding celebration, you want to spend this day only with your partner or surrounded by a few loved ones and beautiful nature. And let’s not forget that eloping is also a comparatively low budget wedding. So before you start checking for best places to elope or elopement wedding packages. 

Think with your heart
Sit together with your partner and imagine a perfect day - day when you are going to get married. Where are you? In the forest? On top of the mountain? Is it an ocean shore, field with flowers or a picturesque village?
Who is with you?
What time of the day is it?
Do you have flowers or a cake?
Don’t think of logistics, money and difficulties, try to feel this image, imagine you’re already inside of it and decide whether it makes you happy, whether it’s something how you want to spend this day. This is thinking with your heart and this is a first thing you need to do before you start planning anything. Your wedding day is not about following certain traditions or pleasing someone, it’s about you and your partner celebrating your love.

Invite only those who mean the world to you
There are no rules on how many people should be with you on this day. There can be only two of you, or you and your witnesses, parents or a couple of friends. It’s totally up to you, this day is about making everything your own way and about being surrounded by only those people who are really important to you.

Hire an elopement planner. Or don’t

Again it’s something what you can definitely go for or omit. If you care only about two of you, beautiful location and beautiful photos, then you’d only need an officiant and a photographer. Or if you’re an artistic person and feel like you can create some decorations yourself and take care of food and other details, I’m sure you’ll be able to work it out.
But if you need help with finding a place to stay, if you want some catering, decorations, someone to take care of logistics, then you'd need to hire a professional. Often elopement planners are skilled at floral designs and/or ordained, so they can help with creating an arch, floral arrangements and then marry you ;) It’s almost like having an all inclusive elopement package (which is also a great option, by the way).

Be sure to make it official

You’ll have to do some research regarding marriage license and how much time in advance you need to apply before the actual wedding day (in England and Wales it’s 28 days), check what kind of officiant you can have, how many witnesses you need. If you want to make it easier, especially for international locations, you can get married first at a local town hall but exchange your personal vows only on the elopement day.