The world of Wedding & Elopement Planning is always changing, and we wanted to share some tips to make your 2022 and 2023 planning easier!
Logistics to consider & questions to ask
- Activity Level – Do you and your partner love to hike and be outdoors? Is your whole family equally as active? Will any of your wedding party or guests need assistance or have special environmental navigation requirements? These questions are great to consider before connecting with vendors! It will help your consultation call go smoothly, and allow your vendors to make recommendations that are fitting not just for your activity level but everyone involved!
- Multiple Day Intimate Wedding or Elopement – Will you be planning a multiple day intimate wedding or elopement? Will all guests be included each day?
Examples of multiple-day Elopements –
- Small Weekend Getaway where the couple, guests, and family all stay on site. This is a perfect way to catch up with loved ones and truly cherish your weekend!
- Adventure Elopement with your love, photographer(s), and officiant somewhere beautiful on a Saturday/Sunday/Weekday. Followed by a Petite Event (up to 12 people) at Race and Religious (or a local venue) to enjoy a dinner, quick saying of vows, and pictures with the ones you love the week after your wedding!
- Intimate gathering of any size followed by a larger reception 3, 6, or 12 months later.
*Intimate weddings are usually capped at 20-50 people by vendors.
- Guest Count – How many people will be attending the ceremony? A lot of vendor services are based upon the total guest count. Having a number in mind will help with the booking process, permitting for adventure elopements, venue scouting, and so much more. As a rule of thumb, the average ‘yes’ response rate to RSVPs is 65-70% – which can help you predict your estimated guest count more accurately.
How to plan for success & choose BA wedding vendors
As things continue to change in the wedding and elopement world, it’s important to hire not only knowledgeable vendors, but vendors that you think are badass people that you want to be friends with. You will be spending a lot of time with your vendors on your special day, especially your photographer, and it’s important that you like the person!
Tips for finding the best vendor for you!
- Choose vendors who communicate in a timely manner, clearly, and help manage expectations on when they will respond, what the process looks like, the best way to reach them, and are personable! Everyone is busy, and knowing when to expect things from your vendor takes off a boatload of stress!
- Ask your vendors about their scheduling, how they handle reschedules (this is especially important for locations prone to fires), and how they handle/plan for travel delays.
Airbnb & VRBO
2021 lead to some shifts in how both platforms address parties, group size, and any disruptions that may arise.
Airbnb has limited occupancy to 16 guests and has implemented a party ban. Airbnb policy focuses on two main things 1) a guest count of no more than 16 people and 2) banning any parties and events that may be considered disruptive to the surrounding area.
VRBO took a more fluid approach that encourages potential renters to look at house rules for each property, connect with the host to discuss any plans to gather, and a search feature that allows you to search for properties that allow events.
How We Suggest Clients Use Airbnb & VRBO
- For an intimate dinner inside or in the back yard! (Make sure to keep noise down, and abide by house rules)
- For Cozy Couple’s photos on your elopement day (Fun Ideas- cozy morning pictures with cute PJ’s while making your coffee, or ending the day snuggled by a fire with your favorite treats!
- For getting ready photos with 1-3 people + the couple
- For a Honeymoon stay near your Elopement Site
Wedding Insurance
Pandemic or not, life happens! Travel plans are interrupted, nature gets involved, and so many other things that we can’t always predict can cause stress during the planning process. Our team highly recommends having wedding insurance to help protect against any loss that may arise due to unforeseen circumstances.
What kind of things does wedding insurance cover?
Illness & injury, extreme weather, lost or stolen gifts, military deployment, vendor fees/issues.
Always make sure to check what is covered by any insurance policy to find a package that best fits your needs.
Wedding Insurance Companies to look into –
- WedSafe
- Wedsure
- Allstate
*Note North State Photography does not receive compensation for the above recommendation and highly recommends doing full research of reviews, packages, and policies before deciding on an insurance provider as each client’s needs are different.
Planning takes off so much stress, but the number one thing to make your day the most enjoyable is to embrace adventure, love, and each other!
This information can really be helpful for wedding planning couples!
Such great info for engaged couples! Having different examples of how a wedding day/weekend can look is SO helpful.
Holy moly so many great advices and information! I’m sure there are stuff people would forget or not even think about!
This is a great compilation of wedding planning resources and information! I learned a lot, thank you!
This is so helpful!! Never even thought about wedding insurance but that’s so good to know. Thank you for such helpful tips!
So much to think about when planning an elopement! Thank you for sharing! Especially about Wedding Insurance, I never thought of that but it makes perfect sense in these ever changing times.
Such great tips for anyone planning an elopement! So many things to think about for sure – esp insurance!!
Amazing tips for those who need just a bit of magic to tag along during their elopement day!