When planning an elopement, there are many things to keep in mind. Planning and coordinating a wedding in itself can be overwhelming enough. When you cut out all the other wedding elements, the list becomes more manageable. Planning an elopement is not for the faint of heart. However, it doesn’t mean it can’t be fun and exciting.
Here’s how you can plan your perfect elopement.
What is an Elopement Timeline?
Elopement timelines are a way to visualize the events in your elopement. Usually, elopements are simple ceremonies followed by dinner or celebration but elope wedding planning can be more complex and time-consuming. When you have to coordinate multiple vendors to arrive at the same place on the same day for one ceremony.
Elopement timelines allow couples to prepare their own eloping plans without being bound by someone else’s constraints on when things must happen, thus giving them freedom and flexibility to make their special day truly individual.
Creating an elopement timeline also helps to elope couples and their families avoid problems by managing expectations.
Determine The Purpose of Your Elopement Timeline
The elopement timeline creates the foundation for the elopement. Beginning with getting dressed in the morning to saying goodbye at the end of the reception. Although elopers might think that picking out attire is simple enough. Sometimes even this part can be confusing since everyone has different ideas about what may or may not be appropriate for elopers on their special day.
Include All Major Events
The elopement timeline should include all major events. An eloper will participate on the day of their elopement. This may include getting ready (hair, makeup, clothing selection), and picking up the marriage license and rings. Arriving at the courthouse or temple/church/mosque/synagogue for the ceremony, and then receiving family members after the wedding ceremony is performed.
Key Elements of An Elopement Timeline
There are some very important elements that your elopement timeline must include. By having these elements included in your elopement timeline. You will have a guide to follow and keep you focused on the important details. If there are some elements that you don’t want to include in your elopement. Then simply leave them out of the elopement timeline.
There are six essential key elements that should appear on any elopement timeline:
1) Start time — this is when you wake up, which is essential to ensure you’re on time for elopement-related events throughout the day.
2) End time — this is when your elopement ends, either before or after sunset depending on whether you eloped during daylight hours or had a late wedding ceremony. This element will also include how long it took elopers to return home from their elopement, especially if other activities are planned upon returning (a honeymoon).
3) Transportation – elopers should make sure they know where they are traveling in order to get to and from elopement-related events. Elopements can be held in multiple locations (for example, getting married at a courthouse and doing the reception afterward at another location), so elopers should map out elopement-related locations to make sure they know how to get there and back.
4) Appointments – elopers should jot down elopement events that require an appointment, from hair/makeup appointments to picking up the marriage license or wedding rings to eloping at a certain location. This element is very important because elopers may forget by the time elopement day comes if this event is not written on their elopement calendar.
5) Photography – all elopers will want photographs of their elopement ceremony since it is one of the few times in which their family members may see them dressed in traditional ceremonial clothing (for example, wedding dresses for women and formal wear for men).
6) Plan – elopers should map out elopement-related events on their elopement timeline and make sure they know when everything needs to happen because elopers do not want to miss an event or end up running late.
Even with an elopement checklist, elopers will still need to create their elopement timeline so that they can cross off every item as it’s completed. An elopement checklist is only a guideline; an elopement calendar (or wedding planning binder if you prefer) is the final authority on what events take place and when.
Don’t Want to Do Any Planning? Lucky Little Chapel Can Help!
If elopers find themselves overwhelmed with elopement planning. An elopement package at Lucky Little Chapel can offer elopers all the key elements of elopement planning. Without having to do any of the work. With our packages, elopers will have everything already done for them and their elopement day will be planned down to every detail. Elopers may not even need to create their own timeline!
Elope in Las Vegas and let us help you celebrate your love today!