How to Write Wedding Vows for Your Elopement

The best part of eloping is throwing out all of the traditional ways of how your wedding is ‘supposed to’ go. You get to invite who you want, travel to where you want, and when it comes to your wedding vows – say what you want! I’m sure you’re thinking “Where do I even start?” (Which is probably why you’ve ended up on this blog! 😉). 

Another perk of eloping is that these vows can be extremely intentional and can be curated to suit your intimate day perfectly. They can be long or short, light-hearted or emotional – whichever style you choose to write them in, it’s important that they feel authentic to your relationship.

People put a lot of pressure on themselves when writing their wedding vows. Will I say the right thing? Will I say the wrong thing? How long do I need to talk for? Although I understand the nerves behind writing your vows, I’m here to tell you, writing your vows should be fairly straight-forward. 

I’m also here to help make it as easy as possible! 

how to write elopement vows

How to Write Wedding Vows for your Elopement

1. Speak directly to who you are marrying!

These vows are not for anybody except the person you are standing across from on the day of your elopement – personalize them with some details! 😊 Another perk of eloping is that it is either just the two of you, or you two and your inner circles – this allows you to openly speak about inside jokes, or intimate details without feeling uncomfortable.

2. Speak a few sentences about your love

Express what a future spouse means to you. Speak about the first time you knew you loved them, or when you realized you wanted to marry them. Mention their best qualities, and why you find them so easy to love. Speak about the ways loving them has made you a better person.

3. Speak on the journey you’ve been through to get to marriage

Most relationships are built through the trials and tribulations of life. Adding in some personal touches about the hardships and happy times you’ve experienced as a couple is the perfect way to make sure your vows feel authentic to you two as a couple. 

4. Speak on the commitment you’re making

What promises do you want to make to your future spouse? What promises do you want to make for your relationship? What are your plans to ensure that your marriage is a source of love, understanding, and happiness for years to come? Express how seriously you plan to take the commitment you’re making on this day.

5. Say the words ‘I love you’

Simple and basic. But so many people get so wrapped up during their vows, they forget to say the fundamental reason of why they are there – because they fell in love! Don’t forget to say the three little words. 

6. Speak about goals for your future

Mention where you see your relationship in the future. Provide a few details of what you expect life to look like in 10 (20, or 70) years. Express to your future spouse what things you’re excited to experience *together* in life.

7. Wrap it up

A lot of people get caught up in trying to include every detail in their wedding vows. There is no need for that. You have your entire life to tell your future husband or wife what they mean to you. No need to spend 15+ minutes telling them at the altar. Plus, the sooner you wrap up your vows, the sooner you’ll officially be MARRIED!

tips on how to write wedding vows for your elopement

Tips to Getting Started Writing Your Wedding Vows

Find a Quiet or Inspirational Place

Go to a quiet room or go drive to your favorite overlook, park, garden, or wherever that you feel inspired! Take some time to gather your thoughts and think about the things I’ve written above. Start by writing out bullet points of things you want to cover! This will help you when you write everything out!

Get Vow Books!

Vow books are such a special way to keep your vows with you forever and make for a great keepsake. You’ll be able to use them again if you ever wanted to do a vow renewal as well! You can use the rest of the pages in your vow book throughout your marriage for letters to each other, journaling your favorite trip together, or writing out everything about your elopement day to read and look back on!

Here are a few of my favorite vow books for inspiration!

Print Smitten Vow Books

Sunny Home Studio

Ox and Pine

Practice Saying Your Wedding Vows

Don’t practice saying them to each other, but out loud where nobody can hear you! This will help you know what they’ll sound like when you say them to your fiance on your elopement day and help calm any nerves that you have!

Writing your elopement wedding vows doesn’t have to be stressful – it can be fun, and simple if you follow this guide.  

If you’re looking for more resources for planning your elopement, you’ve landed in the right place!

Check out my other blogs with Elopement Tips ->

How to Plan an Airbnb Elopement
10 Tips for Planning an Elopement
How to Plan the Epic Elopement Timeline of Your Dreams
The Ultimate How to Elope Guide
5 Tips On How to Announce Your Elopement

How to Write Wedding Vows for Your Elopement | Courtney Lynn

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  1. […] How to Write Wedding Vows for Your Elopement […]

  2. […] to each other again if you ever decide to do a vow renewal. I’ve written a complete guide on How to Write Wedding Vows for Your Elopement so be sure to check it […]

  3. […] You won’t want to forget these! Keep your vows in a secret spot to make sure your boo doesn’t read them before the ceremony! Still haven’t written yours? No problem! Check out my blog for a step-by-step guide on how to write your elopement wedding vows.  […]

  4. […] started off their day by relaxing and getting ready at the Airbnb they rented. They finished up writing their vows in the morning as well so don’t worry you’re not the only procrastinator 🙂 Once they […]

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Courtney made the process SO easy! She does more than just photograph your day. She cares about you having the BEST elopement experience possible! I'll never be able to thank Courtney enough for making our dream day happen!

Contact me about your Elopement!

You probably have a million thoughts running through your head making you a bit overwhelmed.

How does this work? What can I do during my elopement? How do I choose my location? Is the ceremony legal? Can I elope with family?

One of the reasons you're probably eloping is because you want to have a stress-free day, but with so much uncertainty on how to plan an elopement how is it even possible?!

No need to stress, you're in the right place! This is where I come in and do the heavy lifting for you.

I'm Courtney, and I specialize in documenting adventurous elopements for couples who love the outdoors, but role is so much more than just an elopement photographer.

I'm here to guide you through every single step of planning your elopement and to give you a clear path tossing that stress out the window!

So, if you're ready to have a unique elopement experience that's actually focused on you, then let's friggin' do this!!


You know you want to elope,

and you know you want it to be meaningful and adventurous, but where do you start?!

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Courtney has a very warm and bubbly personality that shows through her work! She made my husband and I feel SO comfortable throughout the whole day.

We were very confused on how to start planning our adventure and she was there to answer a lot of our questions in the beginning and honestly with a very short time frame! We planned and got married in 6 weeks, because we knew we really wanted her there for our day and that is what she had available! It was a challenge well accepted for all three of us.

Our day was perfect. She captured our true essence of love and laughter and each photo shows it. There weren't very many set up photos unless we asked for them. She just gets you in the moment!

You can absolutely tell that Courtney loves what she does and wants your day to be perfect. She listens to you and really tries to understand you as a couple first and then uses that within her photography skills.

If you are looking for an adventure/elopement photographer I would highly suggest Courtney Lynn. We will be looking at and reliving our elopement forever thanks to her amazing photos. You won't be disappointed!

Amber & Ryan

Courtney was so helpful during the whole process! She helped put together a wonderful day!  She really wanted to make sure our wedding was just right for us. She made our elopement perfectly formulated for us, and I can't think of a more beautiful day!

One of our concerns going into an elopement was wanting to have pictures that let us remember the entire day. Courtney was there from start to finish and captured the whole day! Because of her outstanding work, we can share it with our loved ones, and they can experience the event almost as if they were there. We also really appreciated that she captured genuine moments between us instead of making it a photoshoot.

It felt like we were hanging out with a friend, and we think that helped us enjoy our day to the fullest.
If your dream wedding is an adventurous elopement day, I couldn't recommend Courtney more. She went above and beyond and was such a joy to work with throughout this whole experience.

She made us feel at ease and relaxed. Some wedding photographers are all about capturing posed moments that can be really awkward; that's NOT Courtney's style at all. Not only was she down to do whatever we wanted and go on little side adventures, but she made us feel comfortable.

She captured our true personalities and who we are as a couple! When looking at our gallery, our love for each other and our personalities can be seen in each image! She is extremely talented and did a phenomenal job of capturing the beauty of our wedding location. If you hire her, you will not regret it!

Sadye & Matthew

We are SO happy we decided to go with Courtney for our wedding photos! Originally we were supposed to elope in Italy, and she helped a TON with planning things like travel and what our day was going to look like.

Then the pandemic hit and we realized we probably weren't going to be able to go to Italy. So, we decided to change locations to Glacier!

She made it super easy and stress free, and helped plan what our new day in Glacier was going to look like!

Courtney was super easy to spend the entire day with, very friendly and fun to talk to! Even though our day didn't go exactly how we planned due to the weather, we all just went with the flow of it and it still turned out to be an amazing day!

If you're in doubt, just hire her!! You won't regret it one bit and you will get so many incredible photos to look back on your day!!

robbie & Aryton

When my now husband and I started planning our elopement, we were confused to the max. We didn’t know where to start or how to go about planning anything. We knew we wanted to get married in Ireland, but had too many options on exactly where. After doing some research of elopements, I was scrolling on Pinterest and came across some BEAUTIFUL photos taken by Courtney!

Courtney  made the process so easy! She is organized, professional, sweet, and so so funny!! Courtney does more than just photograph your day, she cares about you having the BEST day! She helped us plan EVERYTHING! Even down to the little details, like what type of shoes to wear! She helped us narrow down where, giving us her informative opinions on each of our options! She gave us cool ideas that we could incorporate into our special day. No idea was too big! When the day came, we had the absolute best time exploring and getting married! After we exchanged our vows, we went to celebrate at a local pub (Courtney’s idea ;) ). It was a blast!!

Our elopement was an absolute DREAM COME TRUE! I will never be able to thank Courtney enough for making it happen. So for anyone on the fence, swaying back and forth about whether or not work with Courtney on your big day, SWAY NO MORE! You’ve found your person!! My day couldn’t have been any better and my pictures are beautiful and capture the fun we had!!! I can’t wait to work with her again!

Taylor & andrew

"Planning for our day and the day itself would have been completely different without Courtney. We only knew that we wanted to share our vows in the Tuscan countryside and have beautiful photos, and Courtney planned the perfect agenda for that to happen.

She coordinated our timing around sunset, and not only were the photos breathtaking, but the actual evening was too. I remember looking out over the vineyards as the sun set, the view becoming more and more stunning by the minute. There were no moments that felt forced or posed, every shot was comfortable and fun and full of love.

Courtney is such a sweet, kind, fun person and we truly enjoyed spending the day with her. Courtney helped us to turn our dreams into reality, and we hardly had to do a thing. She allowed us to be in control of our day but gently took all of our wants and needs into consideration while making everything happen. Lastly, our pictures are just magical. Courtney is an incredibly talented photographer, and I feel so lucky that we were able to work with her. I would recommend her over and over again to anyone eloping."

Ellie & Zac

"Let. Me. Tell. You. It's not the technical aspects of photography that are the most difficult. It's the human aspect. Remembering that as a Photographer, you may be behind the lens but you are still a human, in front of other humans, in some of the most raw and intimate of moments.

Courtney balances both of these necessities (but rarities) with poise, great direction, and an overall kind calmness that just makes you breathe a sigh of relief. If you've come across Courtney's page and see what you like already, BOOK HER NOW. Don't spend another second looking for another Photographer that doesn't bring anywhere near the amazing light and spirit that this girl brings right here. Thank you again Courtney for allowing my husband and I to marry each other all over again! The images are stunning and I can't wait to blow them up and hang them in our home."

Shannon & Brandon

"Working with Courtney was an extremely easy experience, seamless, positive and obviously fun. My wife and I went on our honeymoon and wanted to surprise her with a surprise honeymoon adventure session.

Courtney worked with me to make that dream gift for my wife a reality. Meeting and posing for a photographer for the first time can be intimidating, but with Courtney it was anything but that.

Courtney is extremely positive and helpful and made us feel very comfortable in front of the camera. She played some of our favorite songs and before we knew we were just having fun and she was catching them every second. Perhaps the best part of our session was that Courtney knew all the characteristic and peaceful places of where we were, which made our photos even more extraordinary.

She kept the focus on my wife and me. When we shared our images with friends and relatives, everyone complimented on Courtney's aesthetics and the emotion she was able to capture. I can't thank Courtney enough for exceeding all our expectations with this photo shoot!!"

NINA & JASON

"Pick her -- she's the best! Courtney is amazing! Seriously! If you're thinking about eloping you should snatch her up to capture your day. She makes the entire experience fun and relaxed plus the pictures just blew us away. I will never forget our magical time in Venice and I'm obsessed with the gorgeous photos Courtney took of us. She's so so good!"

Jami & Tim

Courtney is not only a talented photographer, but she makes you feel so comfortable even though being in front of the camera can be nerve-wracking! She did such an amazing job with our day and if I had to pick my favorite photo it would take FOREVER, because I love so many! Definitely consider her if you want adventurous and beautiful photos coupled with an amazing experience!

walker & mac
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Don't take it from me,
Take it from my past couples!

You’re in the right place!

I’m here to guide you through EVERY. SINGLE. STEP.

Let’s toss that’s confusion out the window and focus on how you want to get married!

Let me relieve those feelings of being lost, save you time, tell the story of your day and let’s get started creating a day that you’ll never forget!

So, if you know you want to elope,
but feel unsure on where to start, 

contact me & let's get starting creating your dream elopement!

...and you want an amazing storyteller to document your day

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Let's freaking do this!!