What is an Adventure Wedding or Elopement?

25 Destinations to Consider for Your Adventure Wedding or Elopement

Photo by Jonathan Borba on Unsplash

An adventure wedding or adventure elopement is a unique, non-traditional way to celebrate your marriage. The best way to describe an adventure wedding or elopement is that it is an experience. It takes the focus off of all the little material things you plan, manage, receive, and give at a traditional wedding and instead is a beautiful, unique experience that reflects different aspects of the couple to family and friends. An adventure wedding is a private experience shared with your guests, up to around 75 guests, where you spend the day getting married, but also participating in the experience of your adventure. Often adventure weddings or elopements allow the couple and the wedding guests to experience a new country, or countries, new cultures, sights, foods, music, and adventures.

Adventure weddings and elopements are for couples who:

• love to travel

• thrive when experiencing new countries, cultures, and people

• enjoy non-traditional weddings

• love to play together

• value experiences more than material items

• have an innate sense of curiosity, adventure, and discovery

• seek to spend most of their time in nature

• aren’t afraid to get dirty (or to get their wedding clothes dirty or wet!)

• aren’t afraid of bad weather on their wedding day

• can handle up to 10+ hours of wedding day adventures

• desire beautiful, unique, one-of-a-kind wedding photos and videos from their adventure wedding or elopement

• have a strong desire for fun and adventure

Adventure weddings and elopements are not for couples who:

• don’t like bad weather

• aren’t able to handle things going “wrong” on their wedding adventure

• have to be clean and perfectly made up at the time of their wedding ceremony

• don’t have the mobility to participate in wedding adventures (aren’t in shape enough to make a certain hike, canoe, bike ride, or walk for certain adventure activities)

• lack the ability to roll with new, unplanned, challenges on their wedding day

• desire a traditional wedding surrounded by 100+ guests

Adventure weddings are tailored to each couple and can be almost anything the couple wants, from hiking to a waterfall in Iceland, to getting married on a glacier in Norway, to spending your wedding week/weekend in Patagonia, to skydiving in for your ceremony over the Pacific Ocean in Hawaii, to taking your guests on a safari in Kenya for your adventure wedding and getting married on a cliff overlooking a sunset while zebra, giraffes, and elephants can be seen in the distance, or flying in via helicopter to a remote mountain top in Alaska. There are so many places to have an adventure wedding or elopement. If you have a special vision for how you want to get married, don’t be afraid to explore different ways you can make that happen! After all, many of us only desire to get married once, so why not make it your dream adventure wedding?

When thinking about your adventure wedding, think about the experience you and your partner desire, the experience you want to share with your wedding guests, and if there are new countries and activities you’d like to participate in during your adventure experience. With the help of a wedding planner, this can all be built into your adventure wedding or elopement, depending on your style, budget, athletic ability, and desire for adventure.

25 Destinations to Consider for Your Adventure Wedding or Elopement

1. Banff National Park, Alberta

   • Lake Agnes Tea House and Big Beehive

   • Parker Ridge

   • Sentinel Pass/Larch Valley

2. Yosemite National Park, California

3. Patagonia (Chile & Argentina)

   • Torres del Paine National Park

   • Laguna San Rafael National Park

   • Nahuel Huapi National Park

4. Milford Sound, New Zealand

5. Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda

6. British Columbia

   • Yoho National Park

   • Pacific Rim National Park

   • Kootenay National Park

   • Glacier National Park

   • Muncho Lake Provincial Park

7. Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona

8. Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia (the world’s largest salt flat)

9. Lake Atitlan, Guatemala

10. Marrakech, Morocco

    • Jardin Majorelle

    • camel rides

    • Ouzoud Waterfalls

    • High Atlas Mountains

    • hot air ballon rides

11. Acadia National Park, Maine

12. Maasai Mara, Kenya

13. Norway

    • Geirangerfjord

    • Lofoten Islands

    • Trolltunga Hike (Odda, Norway)

    • Pulpit Rock Hike (Preikestonlen)

    • Kjeragbolten Hike

    • Segla Hike

    • Romsdalseggen Ridge Hike

14. Zion National Park, Utah

15. Iceland (what can’t you do in Iceland?)

    • volcanoes

    • lava fields

    • glaciers

    • lagoons

    • the Golden Circle

    • the Ring Road

    • waterfalls

    • ice caves

    • horseback riding

    • Northern Lights

    • hiking

    • river rafting

    • snorkeling

16. Lapland, Finland

17. Anse Source d’Argent, Seychelles

18. Okavango Delta, Botswana

19. Cat Island, Bahamas

    • diving

    • kiteboarding

    • hiking trails

    • 8-mile pink sand beach

20. Nā Pali Coast State Wilderness Park Kauai Island, Hawaii

21. Machu Picchu, Peru

22. Iguazu Falls, Argentina and Brazil

23. Matira Beach, Bora Bora

24. Crater Lake National Park, Oregon

25. Great Barrier Reef, Australia

If you’re still deciding if an adventure wedding or elopement is right for you, please connect with me! I’d be happy to help you plan your dream adventure wedding or elopement! I love making others’ dream weddings and elopements come true in some of the most beautiful and unique locations around the world.

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Thumbnail Photo by Jonathan Borba on Unsplash