How To Get Married In The Pandemic

Tips + Advice For Changing Your Traditional Wedding Into An Elopement

The COVID-19 pandemic has really changed things up a lot for everyone, and it's hard to have a clear vision of what the future holds. This pandemic has left so many couples with the choice of either postponing their wedding or changing their wedding plans significantly. With bans on large gatherings and closures of many businesses, it can be hard to stay optimistic.

A lot of places are starting to open up slowly, but many non-essential businesses are staying closed and nearly everywhere you go there are limits on gatherings of people. With so much uncertainty right now, trying to get married might seem super overwhelming. 

If you had a wedding planned, it’s likely that you’ve dreamed up this day and spent a lot of time choosing details and perfecting everything. With these limits on gatherings, closures of venues, and the general risk involved with bringing people together, having the wedding you’d planned just might not be possible. 

We know you’re probably feeling a whole range of emotions during this time—uncertainty, confusion, disappointment, and feeling generally overwhelmed by even the thought of changing your wedding plans is completely understandable. If you’re here, that means you’re looking for some help figuring all of this out.

Even though this pandemic means you’re not able to have that big wedding you’ve been planning, that doesn’t mean you can’t get married at all (or that your only other option is a courthouse wedding). There’s still a way to have a beautiful, fun wedding day that celebrates the love you share while still incorporating things from your original wedding plans! 

Take a minute and think about your DREAM day. Not just your dream wedding day, but your dream day in general. If you could plan the best day ever with your partner, how would it look? What would you do, from the moment you wake up to the time you go to bed? 

That’s what your adventure elopement day can be.

Adventure elopements are essentially a wedding day boiled down to its core, without all of the stress that traditional weddings can bring (especially during the pandemic!). They’re unique, memorable, and focused solely on celebrating the relationship that you and your partner share. You’ve both been on a journey throughout your lives that has led you to this point, and an adventure elopement is the perfect way to take time out of your busy lives to relax and focus on the love you share with your partner. 

You might be feeling overwhelmed by the thought of planning an elopement while also cancelling your wedding plans, all while dealing with the many other stresses the pandemic is bringing. Right now you’re facing the choice of postponing your wedding or changing your wedding plans, and neither of those are favorable. You might even be wondering if you can still get married at all.

If you’re trying to figure out how to have a wedding during this pandemic that’s beautiful and special, having an adventure elopement is the answer.

Why An Adventure Elopement?

Having an adventure elopement can be a solution to many of the wedding-related logistical issues you’re facing because of this pandemic. This pandemic is affecting us all a little bit differently, so we’re all going to have our own unique problems and concerns… but the great thing about adventure elopements is that they are, in a sense, whatever you want them to be. 

Elopements are essentially a wedding boiled down to its core—a day full of significance, connection, and love. They give you the opportunity to slow down your wedding day and have a powerful, intimate, and emotional experience that lets you focus on the connection you and your partner share, without the stress that a traditional wedding brings. 

Picture this: You and your partner are hand in hand, standing in a field of wildflowers and long grass that flows peacefully in the gentle breeze as you say your wedding vows to each other. The birds chirp as the sun sets over the snow-capped mountains in the distance, and the stress of the world has melted away. The only thing you’re thinking about is how much you love the person standing in front of you. As your partner slides the ring onto your finger, you’re enveloped by the pure, raw emotion of this moment. You’ve spent the day together laughing and exploring the great outdoors, you’ve had your ceremony, and all the while you’ve been completely focused on each other. 

Sounds amazing, right? That’s just one example of what an adventure elopement can look like.

A lot of couples have a traditional wedding because they don’t realize there’s a good alternative. Or, maybe they’ve thought about eloping but have a traditional wedding instead because of pressure from family and friends. Since you’re here, we’re guessing that you’re in search of a good alternative to the traditional wedding you had planned and looked forward to. Elopements are just the solution you’re looking for.

Isn’t the reason you’re getting married in the first place because you wanted to celebrate the love you have for each other? Getting outside and spending the day exploring a gorgeous new place together and reading your vows in a beautiful location is an amazing way to celebrate your love. By switching to an elopement, you won’t have to deal with the hassle of rescheduling all of your vendors and trying to make sure they’re all available on the new date you choose. Plus, you may be able to get back some of the money you’ve already paid! 

Having an elopement now will reduce your stress while still letting you have a beautiful wedding full of significance and connection, on (or around) the same day you’d been planning. It’s likely that you picked your wedding date because it’s significant in some way, and you may have had your date picked out for months or even years. 

You looked forward to your wedding because it marks the official start of your new life together as a married couple, and now that we’re in the midst of a pandemic you’re faced with the choice of either postponing your wedding or changing how your wedding day looks. 

Having your wedding NOW by eloping lets you get married while following local guidelines and health protocols, and keeps you and your loved ones safe.

Since you were going to have a “normal” wedding, you probably had a lot of traditional wedding things planned out, like guests, first dance, toasts, etc. But eloping doesn’t mean you can’t still have those wedding traditions on your elopement day! 

Every elopement is different and your elopement is a chance to plan your BEST DAY EVER, which could mean so many different things. Maybe you want to go on an epic hike together, or maybe you want to have a quiet day spent exploring a cool spot. If you like the water, you could go canoeing on a lake and read your vows to each other while you’re out there. If you like climbing, you could go climbing together (yes, even in your wedding attire!). If you simply want to take a drive to a beautiful spot and have a picnic together, you can do that too! 

Your elopement day can look however you want it, which is why they’re the perfect solution for getting married during this pandemic. You can do super fun things and get married in an epic spot (Utah’s diverse landscapes offer endless choices), all while incorporating the things you’d been planning for your traditional wedding! 

So… How Do I Actually Do This? 

Changing your wedding to an elopement is probably stressful to think about because of how much time you’ve already put into planning your big wedding. You’d picked out a guest list, found an awesome venue, planned the perfect reception food and so much more. Even though your elopement won’t look exactly the same as the big wedding you’d planned, you can still do all of those things you wanted to do.

Guests

Asking your loved ones to travel, especially those put at risk by the virus, might feel a bit selfish. Adventure elopements take care of this issue by reducing the number of guests or cutting them out all together... but that doesn’t mean your loved ones can’t be there for you or take part in your elopement experience.

Having loved ones there for you on your wedding day is something that is important and meaningful for many people, but venue closures, restrictions on gatherings, and social distancing protocols reduce the ability of loved ones to be physically present on your wedding day. But just because they can’t be physically present with you doesn’t mean they can’t be present or participate at all.

One of the easiest ways to include your family in your elopement experience is to have them write letters to be read by you and your partner at some point on your elopement day. You could even read them aloud as part of your ceremony.

If you choose a ceremony location that has cell reception, you can have your loved ones present via Zoom, Skype, Facetime, etc. so they can watch the ceremony wherever they are.

We’re ordained ministers and can sign marriage certificates, so another cool way to include people in your ceremony would be to have someone close to you (parent, grandparent, best friend, etc) “officiate” your wedding on live stream and have us sign the certificate at the end of your ceremony.

Going off of this, another great way to include your loved ones in your elopement would be to have a video toast with them through Zoom, Skype, Facetime, etc. This could also be an opportunity to have quick speeches from the Best Man, Maid of Honor, parents, or other loved ones.

If video calls aren’t your thing, a super cool way to include your loved ones in your elopement day is to have a video compilation of messages from your family and friends to watch at some point during your day. Put a parent or friend in charge of sending out video instructions/guidelines to people closest to you (we’ll provide those), and have them gather the videos and send them to us. We’ll take those videos and put together a super special video for you to watch on our iPad wherever we are! This one is awesome because it is a special surprise on your day and you’ll always be able to go back and watch it.

Lastly, if you really can’t stand the thought of getting married without your loved ones by your side, condense your guest list down to 10 people or less. This option is riskier for everyone involved but if you’re set on having guests physically present, this is a good option.

Clothes

If you already have your dream dress, you can use that as long as you can move around comfortably! If your dress is tight, restrictive, or has delicate details that could break, we suggest finding a different dress to use for your elopement so you’re comfortable throughout the day! 

If you don’t have a dress, keep looking and make sure to choose one you could spend a whole day in. We suggest picking a dress that’s flowy, made of a light fabric (chiffon, cotton, etc) and is easy to walk around in. Dresses that are tight from your waist down won’t be comfortable to spend the day in and will restrict your movement, which would be no fun. Photographer’s tip: flowy dresses look awesome in pictures! 

If you need a suit, you can rent one easily—check below for a few suit rental options that are open and can send the suit to you via mail. 

One last piece of advice is to find some seamstresses in your area that are open, in case you need alterations to your dress. 

Food

Having an adventure elopement means you don’t have to worry about catering for a whole bunch of guests, just about your own food for the day! A great option for your elopement day food would be to bring a picnic from your favorite restaurant. You could also get treats from a bakery and bring your favorite drinks (wine, champagne, beer, or even just a good soda!).

If you’re choosing to have guests at your elopement, another possibility to consider would be setting aside time in the day to have a meal with them. As with anything else in your elopement, you’re really only limited by how far your imagination can take you. Just be sure to make reservations well in advance and keep an eye on local restrictions as businesses slowly open back up. 

Cake

If your original baker isn’t available to make a small cake for you, go to your favorite local bakery and get some sweet treats for your day! Donuts, cupcakes, macaroons, etc can be delicious and memorable alternatives to wedding cake. 

Venue

This one is easy—the outdoors are beautiful (and free in most places), plus you have nearly unlimited location options! Utah has SO many diverse landscapes that there’s literally something for everyone. There’s snow-capped mountains, fields of wildflowers, expansive deserts, epic overlooks, and endless canyons to explore. 

We have a super long list of awesome locations throughout the whole state of Utah which you can choose from once you book (if you don’t have anywhere specific in mind already). In the meantime, check out our list of Five Epic Elopement Locations In Utah to get some ideas flowing!

Officiant

As we mentioned above, we are ordained ministers which means we can sign your marriage certificate for you. You don’t HAVE to have an officiant at your ceremony, you can read your vows to each other without one. If you really want one, there are plenty of officiants who can come to officiate your elopement wherever it is and we can help you find one that is perfect. Also remember that you can have a loved one “officiate” via live stream!

First dance

Having an adventure elopement doesn’t necessarily mean sacrificing all aspects of traditional weddings. If having a first dance is something you can’t imagine your wedding day without, there’s no reason to settle for less. We’ll carry a bluetooth speaker and play the song you picked out, so you can still have that intimate moment together.

Toast

If you were looking forward to having toasts at your wedding, you can still do that! We can bring your favorite champagne and have your friends and family join us via livestream with their own drinks to toast. This is also a perfect time for your parents, best friends, or others close to you to give a quick speech so you can all toast together, even though you’re not physically together!

Bridal party

If you had a bridal party picked out, you might be sad that you can’t include them in your elopement—but even though they won’t be there physically, you can still include them! If you had a Maid of Honor or Best Man, have them write a speech to say on a video call during your ceremony or toast.

Remember that video with messages from all of your loved ones we talked about? You can have your Maid of Honor, Best Man, or a parent be in charge of collecting the videos and sending them to us. 

Another way to include your bridal party is to get them to help you pick out a ceremony location and activities from our list! 

Lastly, you can have your parents or a few members of your bridal party help you get ready for your elopement, either the day before or the morning of. This lets you spend time with them on your wedding day without having a large gathering. 

If you’re comfortable going out, another option would be to get your nails or hair done with your Maid of Honor, bridesmaids, or mom. 

Reception

You can still have a reception! 

One option is to plan a smaller, scaled down version of your reception and host it at your house or a friend’s house. Invite a handful of your closest friends and family, but make sure to keep the gathering small to abide by local guidelines and health protocols. You can do a cake cutting, ring ceremony, or anything else at this reception if you really want people to be there in person for it.

You’ve probably had these reception details planned for a while, so it would be super disappointing to postpone everything you’d looked forward to! Getting married now and having an in-person reception later allows you to have an amazing wedding and start your life together as a married couple, while still obeying regulations and keeping everyone safe. 

COVID-19 has changed the way we live our lives and made many of our plans go out the window. If you had a wedding planned, you’re probably facing the decision of either postponing your wedding or changing your wedding plans. Trying to get married in the midst of the pandemic might seem super overwhelming, especially if you already had a big wedding planned, but if you have an adventure elopement you can still get married AND have a freaking awesome day. Your elopement day is your chance to live out your dream day and have your best day ever, and you can do that while incorporating the important parts of the wedding you had planned.

We’re experts at this whole elopement planning thing, so if you choose to have us photograph your elopement we’ll guide you through the whole planning process. We’ll take care of planning the logistics of things, figure out the timeline, and do all we can to give you a smooth experience so the only thing you’ll feel is excitement.

Send us a message and we can get started! In the meantime, check out these other great resources to help you get started.

RESOURCES

Ultimate Elopement Planning Guide: Tips, Tricks, and Advice

Five Epic Elopement Locations In Utah

Five Best Places To Buy An Elopement Dress

Hey friend! We photograph adventure elopements and small weddings, and our ultimate goal is to create experiences that allow you and your partner to find peace in nature on your wedding day, in a way that works best for you and your unique story. We love the idea of making the best day of your life into the day that you want to have, and we do that by helping you design a powerful, intentional, emotional elopement experience that’s just as special as your relationship. We use our skills, knowledge, and passion to help you plan your dream day and we’re there to help you every step along the way. We’re so stoked to help you plan yours!