You’re ready to begin your long strange trip with the love of your life, congratulations!
Meeting “the one,” falling in love and getting engaged was the easy part, right?
Now comes the choice of where to get married. If you’re looking to go overseas to tie the knot, you’ve got a long and winding road ahead of you as you go chasing paper.
That’s why we’ve written this travel song themed blog to answer the question, “Is an elopement planner worth it for an overseas elopement?”
The short answer is “yes.” Many questions and situations will pop up while planning your adventure. and we think working with an elopement planner is super useful — and makes things more enjoyable.
They’ll help you get there fast so you can take it slow.
Come away with us as we explain the obstacles and roadblocks you might encounter when planning an overseas elopement and why it’s important to have a trusty guide.
How Do You Plan a Destination Elopement?
Destination elopements take a lot of research. No matter when, no matter where. If you’re traveling for love you’ve got to do your homework.
Things you’ve got to get sorted include:
The Place
The location where you get married is one of the biggest parts of the experience. A mountain retreat will look and feel different than a field of cacti.
A funky neighborhood downtown will be totally different than a sculpture park. You should pick a spot that has meaning to the two of you.
Before pack your bags and disappear, you should probably know where you’re going.
The Time
Do you want to recite your vows at twilight or under the midday sun? Do you have a favorite season or holiday or date you’d like to get married? When is your venue of choice available?
If you’re traveling to an unfamiliar locale, then you’d be wise to speak to a local elopement planner so they can give you info about some of the subtle things that might make a big difference.
They’ll know when crowds are more thin, when flowers are blooming and when the weather is ideal.
The People
Even if it’s just the two of you, getting married requires some people on the other side of the world to help you pull it off. You’ll need an official, florist, musician(s) etc.
Trusting this many strangers is hard, even if you’re hiring them from your own neighborhood. Doing so in a foreign country makes it harder.
So finding one trustworthy person, such as an elopement planner, who can then point you towards or arrange for you all the other people, is pretty essential to eloping.
The Rules
You’ll most likely need to get a marriage license with a visit to the marriage bureau or an embassy. (Ughhh.)
Generally, marriages that are legally performed and valid abroad are also legally valid in the United States.
So, unless you speak fluent legalese, it’s important to have a local expert that will make sure you get it right.
What Else Goes Into Elopement Planning Overseas?
Travel
Whether you’re tryin’ to get to Holland or France, you’ve got to figure out how you’re getting there. Plane tickets, ground transportation and luggage transport must be worked out ahead of time.
What happens when you’re standing on the curb at the Amsterdam airport trying to get to your hotel, and no one can give you a ride because your luggage won’t fit in their Cantas?
These are questions to find answers to before you go.
Lodging
You may or may not want to just pass the time in the hotel rooms, but either way, you’ll need to book one.
If you plan on staying in the room and counting your hangers, then you may need to spend some time making sure you’ve got two big chairs sittin’ side by side with a holy bible and the TV Guide, or whatever amenities, accoutrements and furniture arrangement will make you happy.
You’ll also need to consider the location of your hotel in relation to where your ceremony location is. It might be one in the same.
But if not, then it’s a good idea to use a tool such as Google Maps to calculate travel times and convenient transportations options.
The Wedding Day
You traveled all this way for something, remember? All your planning comes together for a few fleeting moments on your wedding day.
Over the course of a few hours, you’ll get dressed, hold the ceremony, get some kick ass photos taken and celebrate your love.
On days like these, it’s the details you’ll remember most, so you don’t want to have anything missing.
With the help of a good elopement planner, there won’t be. Your planner will do the leg work behind the scenes so that everything will look and feel picture perfect.
Contacting one early on in your planning process is to your advantage. Here is where time is on our side.
How Long Does It Take to Plan?
There’s no stock answer here. If you’re in Vegas and ready to go, then we can pull off a memorable ceremony with as little as 24-hours notice.
But if you’re coming in from overseas, 24 hours isn’t quite as easy. Give your elopement planner at least a few days and they’ll be able to do things right.
We get inquiries years in advance if a couple has their eyes set on a unique date, such as May 5, 2025 (5/25/25).
But by and large we work in the 2–12 month window. A lot of that time goes to ensuring that we are able to book your venue of choice.
So if you’re more of a“heads Carolina, tails California” decision maker, you can start your planning later than if you’re more at ease by working way ahead.
The rest of the details can get sorted out pretty quickly on our end.
Is an Elopement Planner Worth It?
If you’re a nervous traveler, then yes.
If you want the experience to be less stressful, then yes.
If you’re too busy to make phone call after phone call to make things happen, then yes.
If you don’t want any mistakes on your wedding day, then yes.
If you want great suggestions for alternatives when you hit a roadblock, then yes.
There are so many reasons why hiring an elopement planner for an overseas weddings is worth it. And if you’re coming to Vegas from overseas, then you can’t go wrong with the team of professionals at Electric Sugar Elopements. Let’s chat!
