the ELOPEMENT + MICRO

WEDDING GUIDE

By Hayley Jade Photography

YOU’RE GETTING MARRIED!

Elopements are so special to me and are by far my absolute favorite thing to photograph. I love the relaxed feel that they have and all of the personality that is in elopements. Elopements really offer more intimacy, less stress, more flexibility and can take place virtually anywhere you want it to be; local, destination, indoor, outdoor.

Ideas to do on your elopement day with me: grab coffee or food, drive to the location, walk or hike to the location, getting dressed together in the car, vows, and ring exchange.

I am so excited to hear all of your plans for your elopement and I can't wait to help you in any planning or ideas for your elopement.

Wedding planning can feel overwhelming and it can be hard to know where to start and what decisions to make. I have made this guide to help you go through step by step through some of the most important questions when it comes to planning a wedding big or small! As someone who has got married and attended many weddings being a wedding photographer, I have done my best to add all of my best tips and trips into this ultimate wedding guide to help you have the best wedding planning experience.

What is an elopement

An elopement is a wedding ceremony that is performed with only a small number of people in attendance. Elopements are often chosen by couples who want to keep their wedding a private affair, to get married somewhere in nature, or who want to save money on a traditional wedding.

Why do I like elopements as a photographer?

One of the main reasons why I love photographing elopements opposed to larger weddings is because of the ability to spend a whole evening up to 2 days with my couples, documenting their real love, storytelling them in a cinematic and artistic way, not rushing anything, the couples not having the stress or drama that usually comes with weddings, and the ability to go anywhere and finding a place that means a lot to the couple or is really exciting to them.

Elopements are intimate and personal. They are a way for couples to celebrate their love with just each other, without the pressure of a big wedding. This can create a more relaxed and intimate atmosphere for you to photograph.

Elopements are often more adventurous. Couples who elope are often looking for a unique and memorable experience. This can lead to you shooting in beautiful and exotic locations, or capturing the couple's love in a more creative way.
Elopements are more flexible. There are no set rules or traditions when it comes to elopements. This gives you the freedom to be creative and have a day that is truly unique to you.

Here are some specific reasons why I love photographing elopements:

I love capturing raw emotions. Elopements are often more emotional than traditional weddings. This is because couples who elope are usually more present on this day and are able to just enjoy every step and part of the day. As a photographer, I get to capture these raw emotions and preserve them for the couple to cherish forever.
I love being in nature. Many couples who elope choose to do so in beautiful outdoor locations. This gives me the opportunity to photograph the couple's love in a natural and serene setting.
I love being creative. Elopements are a great opportunity to be creative. I can experiment with different styles and techniques to capture the unique personality of the couple and their elopement day.

Overview step by step process to planning your wedding

Step 1

Choose a date and time, find a wedding planner (if applicable), venue/location and then your dream photographer. Nail down what type of elopement size, and style you are wanting.

Step 2

Choose a location. Start shopping around for and booking additional vendors based on which vendors you determined you wanted.

Step 3

Get an engagement session done, decide on stationary for the wedding, send out save the dates and get your wedding attire tailored.

Step 4

Plan the timeline for the day, book getting ready location and put together a list of things you want to get / be included in detail shots. Finalize out your guest lsit.

Step 5

Get marriage licenses. Have a timeline phone call finalizing details with the wedding planer, photographer and confirm plans with vendors, and bachelor / bachelorette party.

Step 6

Final wedding attire fitting, get together your getting ready bag, get together your list or box of detail shots, get LOTS of rest.

Step 7

YOUR BIG DAY! Enjoy every moment of it and let your photographer capture every detail and precious memory you make on that day!

Don’t worry, you’ve got his! Just remember…

Be flexible. Things don't always go according to plan, so it's important to be flexible and roll with the punches.
Don't forget the details. Even though you're having a small wedding, it's still important to pay attention to the details. This includes things like your wedding attire, your flowers, and your food.
Take your time. There's no need to rush through your elopement. Take your time, enjoy each other's company, and make memories that will last a lifetime.

With a little planning, you can easily plan an intimate elopement that is both special and memorable.

INTIMACY + GUEST COUNT

Think of your special day what do you picture in your head. Now ask yourself a few questions, who is there? Is it those who are closest to you, a big grand party? Do you picture those people because it is tradition or is it because it is who you want there? How long do you picture your celebration? A weekend, day, half a day… and why? What makes your day special? What makes it you? Who do you want to share that with?

Perfect for those couples who want an intimate wedding shared only with those who they are closest with or going fully private with your photographer and officiant.. Generally these have 2-15 guests (2 witnesses are required for signing the license). Elopements can be local or destination places.

Reasons why I love elopements + micro weddings: I love how emotional these types of weddings feel, It is so private and in my opinion always filled with the best of people who support, love and give nothing but good feelings towards the couple. They are also often times in very unique locations, cheaper all around, and limited stress and drama that can be caused with large groups.

Pro tip: your officiant(or family/friend) and photographer can sign as your witnesses if you didn’t want any other guests., in some states your photographer can register to be an officiant and then if you wanted only your photographer and one other person in attendance as a witness it can be done that way as well.

ELOPEMENTS + MICRO WEDDINGS

Perfect for those couples who want to share their day with all their family and friends and not leave anyone out. They also can have such a grand and special feeling to them. Some couples go into planning and think they want an elopement but then change their minds and that’s totally okay! Do what will make you and your partner happiest!

Reasons why I love medium to big weddings: I love the hustle of everyone getting the day ready, and the excitement of the big and grand gathering.

Pro tip: Intimate and cozy corners can still happen with medium and big weddings. It is even possible to make the ceremony feel intimate which is something not most people think is a possibility with medium or big weddings.

MEDIUM + BIG WEDDINGS

LOCATION TYPE +LENGTH

Now is time to decide where and for how long you wedding will be! It can feel a little daunting to decide sometimes but I always say go with your gut and what feels most rewarding and exciting to you!

Local weddings are great for people who want the ease of the location being close and It is also great if there is any spot that means something to you and your partner or that you visit often.

Pro tip: Visit a variety of local locations and or venues before deciding on one.

LOCAL WEDDINGS

Destination weddings are generally considered anything that is beyond reasonable driving/ commute time from your house or your guests houses, 3+ hours is how I normally categorize it. These are perfect for couples who have a specific outdoor location, venue, or want to be closer to specific vendors or families.

Pro tip: Destination weddings are best paired with wedding weekends.

DESTINATION WEDDINGS

1/2 DAY - FULL DAY

For those who want a more traditional itinerary/list of activities to happen on the day of.

Great for those who want the celebrations to last and who have activities planned the day before with some or all of their guests. Often times guests all stay together.

Pro tip - Get and Airbnb or Vrbo for your guests to make it feel more intimate and for everyone to be able to stay together and not have to worry or deal with other guests that would be in a hotel.

ELOPEMENT WEEKEND

VENUES + LIGHT

First is is important to decide which style or theme you are wanting and then finding a venue or location that fits what you have choose. Check out my Pinterest board which has lots of different styles and themes to help you decide which you want.

You can also check different wedding planning sites like The Wedding Wire, Rocky Mountain Bride, The Knot, The Venue Report, JuneBug Weddings, Green Wedding Shoes, Google search as well as looking on instagram and Pinterest for venues. (the list could go on and on of great resources).

Aside from the normal established venues here are alternative options that are often times my favorite.

Backyards (even rental backyards like Airbnb), bars, campsites are great and turn out being some of the most fun because of how laid back they are and how comfortable the guests feel.

Public lands, national and state parks are my ALL-TIME favorite. I love the outdoors and the variety that they can give. If you are considering this idea make sure to check if you need permits (generally national and state parks do but public lands don’t, permits are generally under $400). These locations can usually save a pretty buck or two not having to rent out a venue!

Pro Tip: If you want to set up a little ceremony you can pick a location were you can drive up to set up and take down easy and or you can get a wagon to pull supplies to the spot and have guests carry their own chairs.

Remember the leave no trace rule.

These are some of my favorite elopement places in Utah

Antelope Island
Moab Utah
Capitol Reef
Cottonwood Canyon
Springville Museum of Art
Utah Capitol Building

Anywhere is the world is a good place to elope and I am very confident in finding places no matter where I am or go. The most important thing is that it is a place where you can feel joy, excitement, peace or calm (whatever your vibe is) and that the place makes you happy to be there, even better if the place has significance to you. I have a list of bucket list locations that I offer discounted or waived travel fees, to see the full list click here.

No matter where you decide to get married I recommend being intentional about your getting ready space. For example If you choose to get ready in a crappy hotel bathroom, with bad lighting, everyones luggage around it generally is the equation for not feeling your best, feeling frustrated and isn’t going to have a very special feel. Here is an example of a wedding I did where the bride rented a hotel just for getting ready that was 10 minutes away from the venue. The space and light was beautiful and provided a fun and relaxing place to get ready in.

I have even photographed getting ready photos in cars as well as at the outdoor (private) location that turn out just to beautiful and dreamy! My biggest urge is to have getting ready photos!!!

Pro Tip: Bring your own hanger! It is so worth it to bring a nice wood, or personalized hanger, photos look much more high end and classy and then there isn’t the worry of breaking or snapping the cheap plastic ones!

This topic can feel a little daunting but trust me after this you will be a pro at identifying the types of light and seeing which one you are wanting!

Pro Tip: Remember that when you are viewing a venue or location that the sun will be rising and setting in different position and times due to the season that your wedding will be in. Make sure to use the sun seeker app as well as google to find out the times and positions to best plan out where you should place your ceremony and what time. Also feel free to reach out to me during the planning and I will give you my suggestions and ideas!

Uneven light : This type of light is the least flattering (generally speaking… don’t get me wrong you can do some pretty artistic things with it but as far as weddings it is least flattering). This type of light is essentially really bright in some areas and really dark in others ex: One face is lit up like a Christmas tree and the other is dark and in a shadow. It also causes loss in colors, details and often has some guests eyes burning. If you can’t avoid uneven light the best thing to backlight meaning have the light positioned directly behind you. (like pictured in the picture of hands)

Now let’s talk about Light!

Uneven light to avoid

Uneven - Backlit (best alternative in this lighting situation)

At all costs avoid having the sun be positioned upwards, it is hard on the guests, creates sunburns and creates “ugly” shadows on peoples faces making it difficult to get decent up close and detail shots.

Reception and indoor lighting: The more lights that you can add the better! There can never be to much light in a venue! Low light cause poor image quality, loss of details and total reliance on flash which does not capture all details resulting in having poor images and relying on editing them in black and white to salvage them. My best recommendation is by adding candles and string lights, there are great deals on amazon as well as Costco. Patio or restaurant lights tend to be a lot better than Christmas lights.

Below is an example of bad lighting and then below the same venue but with more added lights

There is always the option of flash photography on top of added lights but it does have a very unique and specific vibe, it’s more bold and daring which sometimes isn’t the right vibe for the moment (the cake cutting picture above is purely taken with flash). This is on top of my camera, doesn’t need an outlet but is limited to one angle of light which is direct.

There can be mixed lighting of natural light, string lights as well as my professional studio lights which is to the right of the cake cutting picture, if you look close you can see the lights next to the white pillars.

A few things to consider with my studio lights:

They need outlets to plug into
They take time to set up
Every event of the night the lights need re-arranged meaning your MC needs to be in close communication / have a “runner” to communicate to me giving me a 5 min. warning before the next event is happening to give me time to prep the lights (otherwise the lights aren’t set up resulting in poor lit photographs)

ElOPEMENT + MICRO WEDDING DAY TIMELINES

SAMPLE TIMELINE: View Gallery

Great for a micro wedding

8 hour photographer coverage

10:00 - Bride and bridesmaids begin getting ready at the hotel (15 min from the venue)

2:00 - Photography arrives and for 1 hr of getting ready photos, putting the dress on and pictures with bride and bridesmaids

3:00 - Bride and Bridesmaids eat

3:00 - Photographer heads to the venue to set up lighting equipment

4:00 - Videographer arrives

4:00 - Bride and bridesmaids arrive

4:00 - Groom begins getting ready

4:20 - Getting ready photos of the groom

4:45 - Groom opens gift from the bride

5:00 - First touch (30 min)

5:30 - Officiant arrives, Bride, groom and officiant mic up.

5:45 - Gather bridal party, chat with the photographer and videographer, line up.

6:00 - Ceremony (vows, unity candle)

6:45-7:45 - 10 min of portraits and 30 min of family and group photos (dinner being served)

7:45-8:15 - Bride and groom eat during toasts

8:15 - Cake Cutting

8:25 - First dance

8:30 - Parents dance

8:45 - Garter toss

8:50 - Bouquet toss

8:55 - Open dance floor

9:30 - Sparkler send off

FLAT LAYS

Having a flat lay of details on your day is totally optional. If you don’t care for a flat lay I will photograph details through out the day naturally.

If you do want a flat lay, decide what your detail shot list is and let me know as well as have a bag ready with all of it so that I can photograph every beautiful detail and do flat lays for you (in faster time), If you have a bag ready it can go fast and only about 10-30 minutes is needed to be planned into the timeline for me to capture the flat lay detail images. If the items are not gathered beforehand it often takes 10-20 minutes to gather the items and then another 10-30 for me to photograph them.

Ideas for what you can add into your flat lay

Wedding rings
Ring box
Vow books
Stationary, wedding invites
Shoes
Fabric Samples
Flowers or greenery
Perfume
Jewelry (necklace and earrings)
Watch
Lip Stick
Polaroid Pictures from the day of
Post card (of the city you are in or a city that means a lot to you)
Other: candles, rocks, pearls, books, wax seals, stationary of your names, a quote or poem

last but not least

BONUS TIPS, IDEAS + ADVICE

Tips and things I have learned while attending weddings

If you want to lengthen your ceremony time (to enjoy the moment even longer) invite a few guests beforehand to come up and share well wishes or advice during the ceremony.
Be careful of tan lines leading up to the wedding
Don’t wear your watch, bra, or tight socks while getting ready or you might have indents or red marks on your body while walking down the aisle.
Practice walking in your dress and shoes before the wedding (like around your house)
Tell me (your photographer ;) any creative or artistic photographs you are wanting to capture beforehand
Create a mood board of ideas and inspiration for your wedding or photography.
Take mental notes or pictures through out the day to help remember and soak in the day
Appoint a friend or family member as appointed phone picture taker (without interfering with the photographer) if having behind the scenes pictures and videos is important to you
Appoint 1 - 2 people to be in charge of group photos, who has the group list and knows the faces of the people. This helps group photos run much faster and smoother
A first look or first touch is a great way of getting bonus time/photographs together before the ceremony
If you do a first look before the ceremony then often times it is a great idea to knock out couple portraits and or group photos before the ceremony. This allows the couples to be more present the rest of their night and to not have to be pulled away for pictures.
Determine if you want an unplugged wedding (no phones during the ceremony) beforehand so that way it can be communicated to guests prior, on the invites as well as signs. (I have found that if it is only announced by the officiator and the guests didn’t know prior it often becomes the talk of the guests and isn’t followed by many)
Expect hiccups on the day and have someone appointed (if you don’t have a wedding planner) to make decisions based on what you would do
If you don’t like cake… don’t have it! I have seen many different deserts or variety of other food during elopements and it only makes the day more authentic to you if you serve and eat foods you actually like
Prioritize eating and drinking through out the day. The worst thing is feeling dizzy, light headed, headache or starving on your day. It makes it hard to be in the moment and enjoy it so take care of yourself!
Provide weather/climate control things to your guest during the ceremony to keep them comfortable in outdoor weddings. ex, umbrellas, gloves, hats, scarfs, hand warmers, blankets, bug repellant.
Steam your dress the night before so the day of it is just touch ups.

Ideas to make your Wedding day feel more like YOURS

To lengthen your ceremony time (to enjoy the moment even longer) invite a few guests beforehand to come up and share well wishes or advice, have a prayer circle or do a meaningful ritual
Give gifts to each other on the big day
Don’t be afraid to plan and do the things that will make you most happy
Practice walking in your dress and shoes beforehand
Tell me (your photographer ;) any creative or artistic photographs you are wanting to capture beforehand
Create a mood board of ideas and inspiration
Get creative
Take mental notes or pictures through out the day to help remember and soak in the day
Appoint a friend or family member as appointed phone picture taker (without interfering with the photographer) if having behind the scenes pictures and videos is important to you
A first look or first touch is a great way of getting bonus time/photographs together before the ceremony
If you do a first look before the ceremony then often times it is a great idea to knock out couple portraits and or group photos before the ceremony. This allows the couples to be more present the rest of their night and to not have to be pulled away for pictures.
Determine if you want an unplugged wedding (no phones during the ceremony) beforehand so that way it can be communicated to guests prior, on the invites as well as signs. (I have found that if it is only announced by the officiator and the guests didn’t know prior it often becomes the talk of the guests and isn’t followed by many)
If you don’t like cake… don’t have it! I have seen many different deserts and desert cuttings at weddings and it only makes the day more authentic to you if you serve and eat foods you actually like
Get ready with people who are special to you (often times sisters, mothers and bridesmaids).
Get ready with your fiance… This is less conventional but is more popular with small weddings or elopements and is such a unique and intimate idea.
Schedule in alone time with your fiance on your wedding day.
Do a private dance at the end of your wedding.

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