An elopement wedding gives you the ultimate freedom to express your love and commitment to each other. Your love story is unique, so shouldn’t your wedding ceremony be too?
Firstly and most importantly, congratulations on choosing an elopement wedding ceremony! You’ve chosen to elope because it feels right for you. It ‘fits’. And, it’s exactly the same for your ceremony. As wedding planners and celebrants, we’re here to support you in creating a bespoke wedding ceremony that not only fits, but feels absolutely right in the moment when you say ‘I do’ and creates lasting memories that you will cherish in the many, many years ahead of you as a married couple.
First Thing’s First: Pick a Location (or two) and Book a Call
To start, take a look at the various destinations across Europe and beyond that Somewhere Crazy wedding elopement planning company offers and decide on your top locations. I’d recommend you first make an inquiry so that you receive your quotation and watch the informative videos on their elopement packages to understand what you’ll get in your package. Their standard elopement packages are around 4-5 hours long and include a celebrant (you can ask for me specifically), a photographer, a bouquet and a buttonhole, wedding planning, and on-the-day coordination. There are also various extras available such as a videographer, hair & makeup artist, private transportation, etc. Their premium packages also include everything included in the standard package plus a second-day photoshoot, bespoke styling, art direction, and more.
Once you have an idea of the package and location(s) you’re keen on, book a call. We’ll begin with an online meeting, so we can start getting to know you and your vibe as a couple. We’ll ask you about your love story, how you met, how the engagement happened, and any interesting, funny, or significant moments that you’ve shared so far in your time together.
Next, we’ll discuss various destinations that you’ve highlighted and can answer any of your questions and give recommendations based on your taste, style, and wishes. We’ll also discuss the tone that you’d like for your ceremony. Do you want it to be lighthearted and fun, romantic, spiritual, or even a bit of all three?
Time for Personalisation
Perhaps you already have some ideas of what you want to incorporate in your ceremony - you may have some traditions from your culture that you want to include, or a special poem or quote that inspires you. Are there any symbolic or ritual elements that you’d like to incorporate like a hand binding, a sand ceremony, or a ring warming? Maybe you’re starting from scratch and need ideas and inspiration. I have many suggestions up my sleeve and if none of those suit you, we can have another call to brainstorm something extra special and tailor-made for you.
After our chat, the planner from Somewhere Crazy will share with you their “elopement planning tool”, a fantastic, all-encompassing document that will contain all the information regarding your elopement - your love story, photography, and hair & makeup style, on-the-day schedule, flowers, travel arrangements, and more, so you’ll have everything wedding-related saved in one place. I’ll share with you a guide that takes you step by step through the different elements you might want to include. I’ll share examples of other people’s ceremonies, to inspire you and get you talking as a couple about what does and doesn’t work for you.
Take a look at some of the lovely couples that Somewhere Crazy and I collaborated on. Brenna & Jason eloped in the magical castle city of Sintra, just outside of Lisbon, and said their “I dos” barefoot with their toes in the sand and a spectacular view in the background. Claire and Max had a similar itinerary, but a bit later in the day, with the sun setting and painting the sky in the background. This is what they had to say after their elopement:
“I could not have dreamed of a better wedding day than I received from this company and that is truly because of the 5 people who showed up for us on the day itself. We will never forget this, we will definitely be back to take them all out for wine and could never thank them enough for being such spectacular people. Book them, and have your best day with no stress and all adventure!” - Caire & Max
Wedding Ceremony Preparations
By deciding to elope instead of having a grand wedding, you’re not only saving tons of money but also your energy and nerves. Elopements are much more straightforward than traditional weddings, especially when you hire wedding elopement planners like Somewhere Crazy. So instead of figuring out the seating arrangements, and trying various tasting menus, you can solely focus on your partner and writing beautiful vows for your intimate celebration.
You may be very comfortable writing and also want to write the words for me to say at your wedding. Others may find expressing themselves in that way particularly challenging. I can support you as much or as little as you want in writing the text - helping you convey the right mixture of sentiment and celebration is one of the key skills of a celebrant.
Couples often ask me for guidance about exchanging personal vows, which is why I’ve created a personal vow guide to give you some hints and tips. You can write them together, or have them as a secret reveal on the day. You know yourselves best and taking time to think things through and discuss the topic together can really help to give you clarity on what you want from your personal vows.
The planners at Somewhere Crazy and I are always available to offer support and guidance - for us, no question is a silly question. Getting married is one of the biggest milestones in one’s life so we want to make sure that you’re well-informed and excited about the plan.
The beauty of the whole process of creating your bespoke ceremony is that it is flexible, it responds according to the different needs of each couple and it’s a collaboration between all of us.
We look forward to creating some magic with you soon!
Sam , Celebrant Portugal
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