Destination Elopement

I'm not Catholic (was raised one, but I am not one now) but I do know if you want your marriage to be recognized by the CC, you must have it in a Catholic Church, so I'd look for a destination that is heavily Catholic- Mexico, Ireland, Spain, Italy, Puerto Rico etc.

Just make sure you are fulfilling all of the pre marital requirements for getting married in that country long before you book any thing.

We are also planning an elopement. Scotland is the country noted for the 'first elopements' and has some beautiful castles and cliff sides. Many venues have small, intimate churches for religious ceremonies. Just a thought, good luck!

My husband and I went to Scotland for our intimate wedding. We had the same problem trying to decide where to get married, but once we finally found Isle of Skye, it just felt right. So keep your mind open and you'll find the perfect place! We rented an Airbnb and then drove up into the countryside and found a beautiful location to say our vows. It was super informal, but it was perfect.

We opted to get legally married at home because there were so many legal hoops to jump through. It also gave us the freedom to have our informal ceremony without an officiant. That being said, we are working with a couple eloping in Iceland this summer, and their priest works with a lot of tourists and is helping guide them through the legal the process. Maybe you can find someone who can help you as well!

I would suggest narrowing your choices down to a few locations and then doing some research on the available Catholic Churches. Get in touch with them and find out what the Church's requirements are as well as the country's requirements.

I know it all seems super stressful, but it's soo worth it!

You have to check on out of country marriage requirements, and if I'm not mistaken, Catholic weddings must take place in a church. If you're looking at Europe, there are plenty of really beautiful old churches that have histories. You should consider what kind of atmosphere you want to marry in and locate churches based on that. Florence would be really nice!

H and I decided on a destination based on the elopement packages. Our two main factors were scenery and all-inclusive packages geared toward elopements. We stayed in the US and traveled from NY to AZ for a red rock wedding.

Hi Melinda!

We have photographed couples in both Italy and Iceland. We are already planning a trip back to Iceland because it was so spectacular. If beautiful backdrops are a must then Iceland is on another level. We shot a catholic wedding at a small church on the countryside and then did the portraits by gigantic waterfall. We are familiar with getting around there and could offer assistance on where to go and where to stay. We've been to Italy 3 times and seen all of the big cities but every time we gravitate back towards the Lake Como area. In any case you mention photography is a another one of your must haves so we'd love to speak with you and provide further details about how we can help with your destination wedding. See our Instagram feed for examples of our work in these locations and many others like Mexico and India! You can find us @viridian_images

We are eloping to Hawaii. I considered cheaper locations ... mainly the Florida Keys and coastal Maine ... but in the end we wanted that unique flavor that you can only get with Hawaii. There's an amazing hotel on the Big Island that is handling everything for us. I can't wait! I think ultimately you need to think about the "feel" you want. Hope that makes sense.

Go for it! I convinced my fiancée to do Europe for our honeymoon. When else are we going to have the chance and it's always been a dream of mine. We've done the Caribbean and it's going to be harder to go abroad when babies come. Good luck!

We are eloping, well, more like just doing a private ceremony abroad because our close family know we are going away to be married privately. We wanted to honeymoon in the same location as the wedding and wanted tropical so we decided on Sandals Grande Antigua in Antigua/Barbuda.

Thanks for the ideas and inspiration guys. Out of nowhere, we've actually decided on Fiji!! And I am beyond excited to start planning now that we've agreed on the destination. It's laid back like us, and the scenery is so exotic and beautiful, I know it will make for some gorgeous photos and memories. I definitely hope we can visit Fiji more than once in our lives, but our wedding day and this trip will definitely be a once in a lifetime moment!

Enjoy Fiji, Melinda! It's amazing!