Elopement Timeline: Making the Most of Your Big Day

You’ve already decided that eloping is right for you and your partner, but now you have to decide what to do on your elopement day. You know the typical timeline for a typical wedding, but you’ve likely never been to someone else’s elopement, so you don’t know what the possibilities are. That is the beauty of elopement – you have freedom and flexibility to make your big day anything you and your partner want it to be!

Creating Your Elopement Timeline

When creating your elopement timeline, you’ll want to consider the types of things you and your partner may want to do on your elopement day. For example, do you want to wake up early and see a beautiful sunrise, go for a hike in a peaceful location, or have a slow morning filled with coffee and good music? It’s possible to have a full day with a variety of experiences, but knowing what your options are in the location you plan to elope will help you begin to create the elopement timeline of your dreams!

On the Big Island of Hawaii, there are so many different activities you can do during your elopement day. Below are a few of the most popular things couples choose to incorporate into their elopement timeline.

• Hiking in Volcanoes National Park
• Touring a Coffee Farm
• Hiking into a Valley for Sunrise
• Helicopter Tour
• Snorkeling
• Blue Marlin Fishing
• Waterfalls
• Brewery
• Whale Watching (winter months)
• Mauna Kea Sunset & Stargazing
• Sunset at Kua Bay

I’d suggest choosing one-two of the above activities that you and your partner feel the most drawn to and build your timeline around that. You can also use your activities to plan where you’ll stay during your time on the Big Island. If you see more than one or two activities you and your partner want to do while you’re here, you can absolutely do some of those adventures on the other days you’re here on your Big Island elopement getaway.

Sample Timeline

Let’s say you and your partner have decided that hiking in Volcanoes National Park and watching sunset at Kua Bay are the two activities you want to build your elopement timeline around. I’d recommend staying near Volcanoes National Park the night before your elopement and in Kona on your elopement day.

• 7:00 am – Wake Up, Slow Morning, Get Ready
• 10:00 am – Head to Volcanoes National Park, Check out of AirBnB
• 10:30 am – Hike Kilauea Iki Trail, Drive to the Holei Sea Arch, View Kilauea Caldera
• 2:30 pm – Leave Volcanoes National Park, Head to Kona AirBnB
• 4:30 pm – Check In to Kona AirBnB, Get Ready for Elopement Ceremony
• 6:00 pm – Drive to Kua Bay
• 6:30 pm – Wedding Ceremony, Watch sunset, photos
• 8:00 pm – Dinner in Kona

Tips for a Smooth Day

The best way to have a smooth day is to consult with your Hawaii elopement photographer on what you and your partner want most out of your elopement timeline. Your photographer will hopefully be someone local to the island, who knows their way around, and is willing to provide guidance on your elopement timeline. Your photographer will likely run through your planned timeline before your actual elopement day to ensure the timeline is realistic and to plan for back up activities in case of trail or beach closures.

The next best thing you can do to ensure a smooth day is to try to stick to the schedule you have planned. It can be easy to get distracted by all of the incredible things there are to do on the big island, but sticking to the elopement timeline will help to ensure you have a smooth day! Plus, you’ll likely be spending at least a few days on the Big Island, so you can do some of those other activities but on a different day!

What to do When Plans Change

More than likely at some point in the day you’re going to have to go off script with the planned timeline. A trail closure or an unexpected large crowd can easily throw off your timeline, but the best thing you can do in that situation is to go with the flow, consult with your elopement photographer and control what you can! You probably chose to elope in Hawaii for a relaxed experience, so don’t let an unexpected change be a source of stress on your elopement day.

When you hire me as your Hawaii elopement photographer, I create a backup elopement day timeline for you and your partner to help us in the event of unexpected changes to the plan. Plus, living here on the island means I am routinely location scouting and am well connected with the activities in the area so I can create a “Plan B” or even “Plan C” if necessary!

Ready to book your elopement planning consultation with a local Hawaii Elopement photographer??