5 Mistakes to avoid when planning an elopement

Planning your elopement can be fun and exciting. I mean you are planning your biggest adventure yet, what's not to love about this. At first you are planning or should we say dreaming about your vision for the day and where you want to experience your wedding. Once you have decided on a few “bigger details” it comes down to the actual planning of your day and what you want to do.

There are a few things you should consider, when planning your elopement. Things you should or could avoid if planned accordingly. Of course, that's also where we enter your elopement stage. We will help you with all the planning or in case you opted for our full-planning service we will take care of everything and you have nothing more to do than having fun, fun, fun - sounds easy right?

Here are our 5 biggest mistakes you should avoid when planning your elopement

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Underestimating driving distance

In the world of google maps it sounds somewhat strange to have this as our first mistake. But bear with us and we will explain you what we exactly mean. Because especially in the mountains getting from point A to point B often takes more time than expected. But why?

Well, the roads leading through the mountains are often narrow and windy and there is not enough space to overtake vehicles that are slower than you (for example bigger lorries or tractors). This means you are stuck behind them and what usually would take you 10 minutes will now take you 20 minutes or more. Another reason is that sat navs like google maps tend to use the speed limits that are present during your trip and don't consider that driving on narrow and windy roads might lead to not being able to drive as fast as you are allowed to drive i.e. it will take you longer that expected. And the last factor is - as it always is in the mountains - the weather. The weather can change very quickly from sunshine to rain or even thunderstorms. This means that you have to drive even more careful on the road.

Our tip: If a certain route would usually take you 30 minutes (or if google maps says it will take you 30 minutes), double that time to be on the safe side.

Picking the wrong time of the year

This is a big one. Weddings happen during the summer months, right? That's why our elopement should be during those months as well, easy decision. Well not really. Other than with traditional weddings there are a few things to consider when planning your mountain elopement. Let us explain. On traditional weddings you mostly have a location where you can go to if it starts raining. Eloping in the mountains on the other hand means that you are in nature and might not have the possibility to quickly go inside. Especially during the summer months the mountain regions are prone to have thunderstorm in the evening, so having you your elopement properly planned is imperative.

The summer months are also the months in wich most of the European countries have their summer holidays and that means more people will be on the hiking trails, hotels and huts are booked out way in advance and finding a quiet and private spot can be difficult (especially in August).

And of course there is the obvious one. The temperature! If you are a person that struggles with high temperatures, summer might not be the best idea for. On the other hand, if need those high temperature to function properly, winter is not for you.

Our tipps: Consider eloping in months like September. The weather is still reasonably warm, most huts and hiking trails are still accessible and there will be less people on those trails as in August or July. If you still want to elope in those months, opting for a sunrise elopement could be the way to go. The chances are much higher that you will find a quiet spot and the temperatures will be more manageable.

Only considering famous locations

We have all been there. You do your research for a new area or even country and the first things that come up, once you have typed in “Best locations in XYZ” into your search engine of choice are usually the famous ones that you will also find on social media. And what happens next: You fall in love with those famous spots are their incredible views. After all, they aren't famous for no reason. But what those photos online won't show are the huge amounts of people standing behind their camera, waiting for their turn to take a quick photo, jump back into their car and drive to the next hotspot (understandably, because we came here to see beautiful photos of that spot and not random people waiting for their opportunity).

That doesn't have to mean that you have to skip those places all together but you have plan very well and be prepared to not have them all to yourselves.

And the other good thing is that those famous insta hotspots often have another location from which you can enjoy the beautiful views just a few miles or sometimes even meters away. The only difference is, you might have to walk for 15 minutes to get there. This short walk instantly makes it less attractive for a lot of people and therefore chances are much higher that you can have a bit more privacy. Or you skip those places completely because the Alps have so so many stunning locations and if you have someone by your side, who knows the area, they will help you with finding the perfect spot.

Our tipps: If you want to incorporate those famous spots into your elopement, why not have a sunrise adventure. Not many people wake up at 3am to catch the first rays of sunshine. Or like we said earlier, you find a spot that is equally beautiful, only a short hike away.

Wrong or missing preparation

It is very important that before enjoying your elopement day to the fullest you take a few hours to go over your packing list and make sure that you have the right clothes for the right time. Even if your elopement will happen during the warmer months, you never know how quick the weather can change within the mountain region, so although it might seem a bit over the top to pack several jackets and multiple layers, trust us you won't regret it.

Even those hand warmes might come in handy (pun intended) when waking up at 3am and realizing that temperatures can drop an awful lot in the night.

Other than the appropriate jackets and hand warmers, footwear is another important thing to consider. Choose something that you feel comfortable and safe hiking in. That doesn't mean that you have to bring your hiking boots that you usually wear on difficult, multi-day hiking trips if you only plan a 1-2 hour hike on your elopement. But on the other hand you shouldn't wear your casual sneakers which give you no protection and therefore no safety.

Our tip: If you aren't sure on which hiking boot to bring with you or to buy it's best to visit a dedicated outdoor store where the staff can help you with choosing the right shoe and even more importantly the right size for your feet.

We want to see everything

We just recently fell into this trap when planning our own Ireland trip. You only have a limited amount of time and you want to make the most out of it. So what do you do. You plan enough breaks and don't overdo it with the amount of places you want to see and the distances you need to hike/travel on one day. No, no, no, this would be the sensible thing to do. But you are clever, smarter than everybody else and you have it all figured out (that's what we thought, too). Instead you fell in love with so many places and if you could, you would like to see them all at the same time or you would change the time and have 48 or 72 hours available on one day - YOU WANT TO SEE THEM ALL!

But there are a few things you should consider. Number one, this is still your wedding day and there should be enough time for you to soak it all in, to relax and enjoy the beautiful scenery without having to think about leaving in time in order to see the other 4 places you have on your list. Number two, if you combined your elopement day with your honeymoon, you still have all the other days to explore the area and to visit numerous other spots. And lastly, not feeling rushed or pressured should always be your top priority and we will of course help you with this and make sure that you can enjoy your wedding day without having to worry about the timeline.

Our tip: If you want to see more than one spot and have it all captured in stunning photos and film, why not opt for a multi-day elopement. Because at least as far as we know, there is no rulebook that says that your wedding can't be more than just one day.

Remember, even though we just wrote down those 5 mistakes that you should avoid, you don't have to go through this all on your own. If you choose to have us by your side we will help you with avoiding those mistakes and in case you chose our full-service planning we will make sure that you are prepared for everything. From recommendations for the best shoes to wear, how to pack your dress and many many more. Because this day should be all about you and your adventure and not about worrying what to do in this scenario or that weather condition.