Three Decisions That Can Wait (And the One That Can’t) When You Decide To elope

Most elopement planning advice starts in the wrong place. In this episode, we’re flipping the script. Larissa covers what NOT to do first when you decide to elope, including why picking a date too early can backfire, why that location you found on Pinterest might not be what you think, and why the guest list question can wait. If you’ve been spiraling with seventeen browser tabs open, this one’s for you.

You got engaged. You both looked at each other and said, yeah, a big wedding isn’t really us. So you opened your laptop, typed “Colorado elopement” into Google, and an hour later you had seventeen tabs open, a date picked, a location pinned, and a low-key spiral happening about your cousin Karen.

Hey. Close some of those tabs. You don’t have to figure all of this out before you even start. In fact, some of those decisions you made in the last hour? You probably shouldn’t have made them yet.

Here’s what can wait, and what actually can’t.

The date can wait.

Locking in a date before you have someone local in your corner can work against you. Your dream photographer might already be booked. That date in May that sounds so beautiful? Up in the mountains, May is still basically winter. Or mud. Sometimes both. If wildflowers are your thing, you’re looking at July, not spring, no matter what Instagram says. Get a general sense of the season you want, then nail down the date once you have the right people helping you figure it out.

The location can wait.

We love that you did your research. We really do. But the spots blowing up on Pinterest are blowing up for a reason, and that reason is that everyone else is going there too. The places that feel most like you might be ones you’ve never heard of. The lighting, the vibe, the actual difficulty of the hike, the backup plan when weather rolls in, you can’t get that from a photo. This is one of our favorite things to help couples with. We build custom location guides based on what actually matters to you: privacy, elevation, forest versus alpine, accessible versus adventurous. We know these spots because we’ve been there, a lot, in all kinds of conditions.

The guest list can wait.

This one causes so much early stress because it’s emotional and complicated and involves other people’s feelings and family dynamics that have been messy way longer than your engagement. Here’s our honest take: sit with the gut feeling you already have. If just the two of you sounds immediately calm and right, notice that. If a small group of your closest people sounds full instead of anxious, notice that too. You don’t need a headcount before you even know what the day could look like.

Here’s what can’t wait.

Find your photographer. Specifically, find one who really knows the area you’re dreaming about. Because that person is going to help you with all of it, the timing, the locations, the logistics, the vendors, the backup plans. When you work with someone who’s done this a hundred times and actually loves helping couples figure it out, all those open tabs start turning into a real plan that actually sounds like you.

That first conversation changes everything.

If you’re in that early “yes, we want to elope but what now” stage, that’s genuinely the perfect place to start. Check out our Elopement Planning Guide to get a feel for how we think about all of this, head to our About Us page to get to know us, and when you’re ready to talk through your vision, we’d really love that conversation.