How to Plan a Beautiful Elopement
Eloping is a wonderful way to celebrate love in an intimate, stress-free setting. Here at Elope & Capture, nestled at the base of the Watagan Mountains, we specialise in providing simple yet beautiful elopements with all the essential elements—a gorgeous venue, a celebrant, and a photographer to capture your special moments.
However whether you elope with us, or elope with someone else, there’s some essentials that you should consider when planning your day.
Step 1: Choose the Perfect Location
Lake Macquarie offers stunning scenery, from serene lakeside vistas to lush forest backdrops in the Watagan Mountains. Our primary location for our beautiful elopements is Wilde Studios and Farm. A gorgeous private rustic farm with seasonal blooms it is the most beautiful setting for your day. Our carefully selected venues offer a blend of natural beauty and romantic charm. Your elopement should be about you and your location should reflect who you are as a couple!
Step 2: Secure Your Legal Requirements
In New South Wales, you must submit a Notice of Intended Marriage (NOIM) form at least one month before your elopement. Our amazing Fiona Hall is an authorised celebrant and she will guide you through the process and officiate your ceremony. Fiona will ensure all legal requirements are met. For this reason we need one month’s notice at a minimum for our elopements.
Step 3: Personalise Your Ceremony
Elopements offer the freedom to design a heartfelt and meaningful ceremony. Whether you choose a short and sweet ceremony or our longer ceremony, work with Fiona to create personalised vows and include any symbolic rituals that resonate with you (Wildflower & Whispers package only). Whether it’s a handfasting ritual, a special reading, or a unity candle ceremony, we encourage couples to make the moment uniquely theirs.
Step 4: Capture the Magic - choosing your photographer
Our professional photographer Sarah ensures every detail of your elopement is beautifully documented. From intimate ceremony shots to breathtaking post-ceremony portraits, we help you create lasting memories in the stunning Lake Macquarie and Watagans landscape. Sarah’s goal is to make the photos reflect you as a couple, we work together to make sure that the day is documented in a style that you are happy with? Not a fan of posed images, that’s okay! We will work on prompts rather than poses. We will guide you through the photo process step by step and we try to ensure that we meet at the farm and go over the ideal locations for your images.
Step 5: Choosing your guests
Our farm elopements include up to 15 guests including the couple and couple’s children. However the beauty of an elopement is that you do not have to host any guests at all! We can arrange witnesses for you (usually our photographer Sarah and one of the farm owners) and you can make it all about the two of you. Some couples have opted to do the ceremony with just the two of them and their witnesses and then meet their guests after the ceremony to celebrate. Some couples like to livestream the ceremony, and lots of couples like to do a surprise announcement and celebrate at a later date. This has so far been the most popular option. Who doesn’t love a surprise!
We can recommend some local vendors who can help you with a post elopement reception for your celebration.
Whichever option you choose, an elopement is a beautiful way to celebrate your love while keeping the costs down.
Step 6: Keep it Simple but Special
Elopements are all about simplicity, but that doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice beauty. A bouquet, a stylish outfit, and a touch of décor can elevate your experience. Consider a small picnic or a romantic dinner to celebrate afterward. Consider bringing along some natural confetti (hole punched dried gum leaves are very popular!) Or a bottle of champagne to pop.
Why Choose Our Lake Macquarie Elopements?
We believe in stress-free, beautiful, and intimate ceremonies that allow couples to focus on what truly matters—their love. With our carefully curated venue, dedicated celebrant, and skilled photographer, we handle the details so you can enjoy every moment of your special day. There is also only one payment point, you don’t have to pay multiple vendors, just the one!
If you’re ready to plan your dream elopement in Lake Macquarie, contact us today to start your journey!