Jessica and David decided to have an intimate ceremony for their Cincinnati elopement, surrounded by just their children, officiant, best friend, and me- their designated elopement photographer! Jessica and David knew they wanted something that was special and just about them. The whole day was filled with little details that made it all the more special. Believe it or not, Jessica made these lovely bouquets herself. David rocked some gorgeous cufflinks that were gifted to him by his friends in Spain for this special day. I am so happy and honored that I got to not only witness, but capture all of these beautiful memories of their sweet Eden Park elopement. 

These two were also featured on What if we Elope! https://whatifweelope.com/cincinnati-park-elopement-jessica-david/?fbclid=IwAR2bIkJMMr5EopD8Wvk3Psr0OxY5WsQwFMXZnDTImRUpf_lFLwd4JE62Ue0 

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Thinking of ditching tradition and planning your own elopement/ Whether you’re wanting to Elope at Eden Park, Krohn Conservatory, Carew Tower, under the bridge, or anywhere else, here’s a list of steps to take.

How to Elope

1. Figure out the Where and When you’re going to elope. Here’s a blog post I wrote on some tips, tricks and ideas to figure out how the heck you’re going to elope. Some quick tips from the article are to think of your *perfect* day with your partner- what is the weather like, where would you wake up, what would be outside, what do you want to do, what do you want to eat, etc. There’s more to your elopement than just the ceremony. This will be a day you and your partner go “hey its our anniversary!” for the next 100 (give or take) years, and every part of it is important.
2. Get your marriage license. Everywhere is different, and every place has different rules. Most states allow you to get married without living there at all, some states don’t require witnesses while others require at least 2, etc. Ohio requires two witnesses (outside of your officiant/pastor/rabbi/friend-who-just-got-ordained-10-minutes-ago) while Colorado requires none. You can find everything online nowadays-here’s a direct link to Cincinnati’s Marriage license laws if you’re reading up on this! To get your license though, usually you both need to be there and have a valid form of identification at least. All marriage licenses have an expiration date, so you need to have your official ceremony within that time period! Ohio’s is 60 days, but everyone has different limitations. Be sure to check on this too!
3. Get all the details. Getting married in your jeans and aT-shirt? cool! Getting married in a big fancy dress? Also cool! Just make sure you figure out what vendors you want on your wedding day beforehand and hire them in time to make sure you get the things you want! Some common vendors to check off your list are a photographer (hey there), florist, formal attire, and an OFFICIANT (the officiant is the important part, you need one of these thingies to get married, so make sure you have someone there!) Some less booked but still equally as epic vendors are a hair + make-up artist, live music, live artists (someone hired a caricature once, it was epic)

Here’s a link to a helpful article on how to elope in Eden Park (or any of Cincinnati’s wonderful parks)!