How to Plan a Destination Elopement on a Budget (updated for 2024 + 2025)

If you’re reading this, you most likely are wondering how to plan a destination elopement on a budget. There are many ways to elope. Remember the word “budget” also looks different to everybody. My biggest piece of advice is to spend things on the things that matter, such as your elopement photography. You can still have a rather detailed destination mountain top elopement with lots of detail, with little or no money invested in the decor because your backdrop speaks for itself . Therefore, the cost of eloping can vary and range from a very low cost to a higher cost. The average cost of an elopement in the U.S is $10,000-$20,000, which most of that is often spent on photography. In my experience, the average cost of my destination elopement couple is anywhere from $20-30k because of the way they’ve chosen to spend their money. Most destination elopement couples highly value their photography + their experience.

It’s more affordable than you’d think. What could $30k get me for a traditional wedding versus an elopement?

A destination elopement can seem like a daunting task to plan + overwhelmingly expensive. Although, you may be surprised that the more you dive into budget, it can be quite affordable. For $30k, a traditional wedding could get you a high end photographer, a middle of the line venue, your attire and possibly your food covered, with still much more to pay for.

In the destination elopement world, most of your money goes to the experience on your elopement day, your photographer and travel surrounding your elopement. With 30k, you could take an epic helicopter ride, a 3-4 night stay in an epic location, travel paid for to and from that location, pay for a high end photographer like myself, get the planning included with your photography to take the stress off, have your attire paid for + much more. When you compare these two, I feel like it’s an obvious answer.

The real reason people have weddings is to feel celebrated and celebrate their marriage, but a lot of people feel like they’re stuck hosting. With a destination elopement, you can get the best of both worlds, feel less tied down to traditions, spend the day how you’d like and get the photos you’ve dreamed of.

According to the 2020 Brides American Wedding Study, couples can save a lot of money if they decide to elope. Even the most expensive elopements are often cheaper than other types of weddings. One of the biggest costs saved is on the reception. Couples spend on average a whopping $5-10,000 for the venue alone! (Most exceed this amount by far) according to Koyal Wedding statistics. Most eloping couples save HUGE on their “venue” because a destination elopement photographer will help you scout the perfect locations in public lands either in state or national parks, to save you that cost.

Whether you’re thinking about eloping because its trendy, the views are amazing or because you’re placing more of an emphasis on your experience rather than tradition, you may be wondering what you should plan on spending and how to calculate the cost of your elopement. Well don’t worry, I have all the budgeting tips and tricks for you to plan your best day ever!

Average cost of Elopement

When considering the average cost of eloping, you’ll want to consider what you need to plan for in your budget.  

Many consider eloping due to the skyrocketing average cost of weddings. Though, what many don’t realize is often elopements can be just as if not more expensive. That being said, there are ways to make your elopement cheaper. To determine how expensive your elopement will be, I encourage you to write down everything you could possibly want in your ideal elopement, if money weren’t an issue. From there, I encourage you to work backwards. See where you can make cuts + what is non-negotiable for you. The biggest way to cut costs for a destination elopement is choosing a location to get married in that’s beautiful and speaks for itself + doesn’t need much decoration (or a venue for that matter). If you know this is what you want, but don’t know how to find such amazing places, feel free to reach out, because this is what I do! I’m Lexi- your destination elopement photographer and i’ve shot more than 200 weddings for couples all over the United States and the globe for that matter!

The average cost of an elopement – your vendors:

Photographer:  $6000 to $10,000k+ (with me as your photographer! If you’re planning a destination elopement and need someone to photograph/ assist in planning, get in touch here to tell me about your dream day! )

Feel free to browse this blog about how much to invest in your wedding photographer (especially for a destination elopement)

Videographer: $2000-$7,000k+

Cake: $50- 250

Stationery/ invites/ announcement cards: $150-500

Rings: $3000-5000+

Dress $100-$4000+

Suit $200-500+

Florals $100- 500+

Décor/rentals: huge range depending on what you’re wanting (beginning at $100)

Hair and Makeup Artist: $200-500+

A meal for the two of you $100- 300

How to Determine your dream elopement budget– understanding the average cost of your elopement

Before diving into figuring out your cost of your elopement, all your elopement planning of each and every detail, you’ll want to make sure you’ve established a budget. It sounds a little counter-intuitive, but I would recommend writing down every possible thing you could want in your elopement day to start. Dream big and don’t limit yourselves! Sit down as a couple + begin brainstorming what you could live without and what your priorities are and work your way down to a small list. To get you started, I’ve began a list for you below of what most couples start out with. Depending on your destination, you may have more specific excursions or activities you’ll want to do surrounding your elopement, so don’t forget to budget for those!

When writing your list about your day, consider every last moment of your day + how you’ll want to feel + how to achieve that, how you’ll dine, where you’ll stay, etc. Think about the memories you’ll want to have created once your day is over and you’re looking back at pictures. Once you have this list, go through + begin crossing things out that you could imagine cutting off your list. If you can’t imagine cutting anything off your list + you feel like you were being realistic from the beginning, then BOOM. There’s your budget!

What to plan for in your destination elopement budget:

• Dress/ suit (or other attire)
• Plane tickets/ gas/ travel cost
• Permits or licenses for where you’re getting married
• Marriage license
• Lodging (hotel, Airbnb, VRBO)
• Car/train/transportation
• Amenities/day trips/ activities
• Food budget- look up cost of meal in location per day
• Luggage
• Vendors- flowers, hair and makeup, photographer, videographer, cake, catering/food music, officiant, planner, stationery, etc.
• Wedding bands
• Any decoration or rentals you’ll need
• Elopement announcements (stationery to send out to family once you’re both back).

9 Ways you can save money when planning for your elopement when planning for your elopement

Loding (Airbnb, hotel or VRBO).

• Consider if you will spend a lot of time at your Airbnb and if you’d like it in the pictures. If you can go without pictures here + it really is only a place to sleep, you may be able to cut some of your budget here. On the other hand, if you’re wanting a more cozy vibe, plan on taking lots of breaks in between your day at your Airbnb and using it as a main picture location, you may not want to cut your budget here.

Where you will Elope

• Can you imagine yourselves getting married at a state park? National park? Would the possibility of being on public land irritate you if bystanders were walking by or even watching your ceremony? These are all things to consider when picking your elopement location. You can definitely cut budget by eloping in a state or national park, but also beware that you may experience onlookers! There are some ways to avoid this. I provide all my elopement couples with an exclusive planning guide  that will go through the best time of year to elope in your chosen location, how to avoid crowds and peak tourist season + also how to pick a spot that is beautiful but less trafficked. Some of the most beautiful elopements I’ve shot have occurred in state parks or national parks.

Elopement Attire

• Elopement attire can range all over the place, but if you’re looking to cut costs on your attire, there are inexpensive sites that will provide great fashionable options for half of the price as a normal bridal or suit shop. If you’re planning on having an adventure hiking elopement, you may be able to get away with a lot more. Consider wearing your own hiking shoes under your dress or suit. You may be able to use an outer protective wind or insulated layer that you already have Here are some of my recommendations:

For Brides :

JJ’s house

Azazi.com

Lulus

David’s Bridal

For Grooms:

Asos

Indochino

For adventurous couples, here’s my recommended gear list!

Limit Your guest Count

• Limit your guest count. Usually this comes with the “elopement” title, but the main ways to decrease costs are by decreasing the amount of people you need to pay for. Also, if you want to have a certain number of guests there, you may want to only include a ceremony and make your celebration very short. Often times, the meal is what will tend to add costs. You can either decide to forgo a meal by planning it at a certain time of day or can make it a potluck with your family and friends to decrease the cost! Let’s be honest. These people are all here to celebrate the two of you anyways, so do you really think they’d mind bringing a dish? That’s your call.

Search for Travel deals!

• Search for travel deals ahead of time! If you elope with me, I help you do all of this. You can look for early bird airfare and hotel costs by searching early as soon as you know your date. There are also other apps you can use like hopper and Skyscanner to see when flights will be cheapest. Google flights is also another awesome tool to see if you can get cheaper multi-city flights than if you were to just fly direct to your destination! Just make sure you search your flights on an incognito browser so that your destination flights don’t increase the more you look at them. I personally don’t recommend buying your flights through Hopper or skyscanner as I’ve had troubles with booking through them in the past, but you can use their sites to track when the best time to buy is! Then you’ll want to buy directly through the airline!

Consider a weekday Elopement!

• Consider eloping on a weekday. This is my biggest recommendation to anyone and everyone. You should consider this for two reasons (firstly to avoid crowds and secondly to make it cheaper). Many vendors offer weekday discounts so don’t forget to ask what types of discounts they offer and if a weekday elopement is cheaper for them. Saturdays are the most popular day to get married (which will be the most expensive days). Vendors often even have discounts for Fridays and Sundays and then a separate mid- week price! Also, if you want your friends and family, if they matter to you, they will be there.

Make it legal in your hometown!

• Consider getting legally married in your home town + then doing a symbolic ceremony in your chosen destination to save yourself some trouble. Firstly, as an elopement photographer, I often will recommend this to my couples who are planning their elopements to save them time and energy of finding an officiant/celebrant in their chosen destination. This way, you may have a more intimate celebration with just the two of you + your photographer if wanted. In summary, this can decrease costs of hiring an officiant and the only cost of legally getting married will be securing your marriage license at town hall.

• Consider getting married in one of these states that does not require an officiant (self solemnize your marriage!) Here’s an awesome article by Wildly Collective on how to self solemnize your marriage in these states.

• Colorado
  • California
  • District of Columbia
  •  Illinois
  •  Kansas
  • Maine
  •  Nevada
  • Pennsylvania
  •  Wisconsin.

Borrow meaningful items!

• Consider borrowing items from friends or relatives that have recently been married. Consider using a dried bouquet from one of your friends, a dress that may be your moms, a suit that your father wore, jewelry that have been heirlooms in your family, etc. However, this tip isn’t for everyone. Though, it’s definitely a way to save money if you’re willing to think outside the box!

Which elopement destination is cheap to travel to?

Here are some cheap destinations below. These are often some of the cheapest to travel to + get to from most places in the U.S. Lastly, they provide amazing views and experiences + are overall the cheapest to get married at.

Cheap elopement destinations in the United States that are still gorgeous

• Lake Tahoe
• British Virgin Islands
• Bali
• Scotland
• Oregon Forrest
• In the Montana Mountains
• Colorado Mountains
• California Coast
• Washington State
• Niagra Falls

Cheap elopement destinations worldwide

• Mexico
• Italy
• South Africa (cheap travel once in the country).
• Jamaica
• Dominican Republic

In conclusion, elopements can be as much or as little as you want them to be. However, you must sit down + come up with a budget to begin planning. I hope this helps get you started with planning your dream destination elopement! If you’re in need of a photographer + want someone who’s going to help you plan all your details, your trip + your dream day, click inquire below! (:

Inquire with me!

For other planning resources, here are some of my favorite elopement resources I think you’ll like!

How to pack for your adventure elopement

Top 10 places to elope in the U.S

Most popular places to elope in the U.S