The Lake District is a classically wild and romantic place to elope. The home of creatives such as Beatrix Potter and William Wordsworth, every corner of this rugged landscape is filled with hidden gems and adventures galore. Perfect for folks who want an adventurous wedding day.

Elopements in the Lake District national park can be as free and feral as you, or they can be cosy and calm ~ depending on your vibe. There are waterfalls to discover, pubs and cafes to rest in, secret caves and Wainwrights to conquer, and beautiful villages to explore. If you’re thinking that the Lake District might be the right spot for your elopement wedding, but unsure where to start ~ you’re in the right place!

If you’re not 100% sure what an elopement even is, you should check out our other blog post here.

When it comes to planning your Lake District elopement there are 5 questions that will guide you (and us, if we’re helping!).

Do you want to be legally married in the same day?
Are you inviting any guests?
How long is the day going to be?
What activities do you want to include?
How are you going to get around?

Now, we’re sure you’re thinking “Surely there’s more to think about than that?!” and you’d be mostly right. But answer these 5 questions and you’ll find your elopement will begin to fall into place.

Do you want to be legally married in the same day?

When we say ‘legally married’ we mean signing your marriage certificate and being recognised as married in the eyes of the UK Government. In England (it’s varies in Scotland and Northern Ireland) to be legally married your ceremony must be conducted by a registered person, in a registered place, and be witnessed by two people.

Registered people include authorised religious people and council registrars, and registered places can be religious buildings, registry offices, hotels etc. When it comes to your elopement and being legally wed, there are two options:

EITHER you book a legally recognised marriage spot for the first part of your day and then embark on more of an adventure
OR You do the legal signing bit at the registry office before or after your actual elopement day

There are pros and cons to both of these options. Getting legally married on the same day means you can get it all done in one go, and you don’t have to decide which day you use as your anniversary. However, choosing to do the legal bit separate means you can say your vows anywhere you want, and it means you can have a super personal ceremony led by one of the many wonderful celebrants in the area.

Are you inviting any guests?

Traditionally, an elopement involves just the marriers running off to be wed without any family or friends tagging along. It’s an epic romantic adventure, and doing it just the two of you allows for greater freedom.

You’re choosing to elope because you want to go against tradition and have a wedding that is totally on your own terms. Obviously, when you start inviting more people to join you on this adventure then you will need to start considering their needs, not just your own.

This isn’t necessarily a bad thing of course, and if it’s important to include your inner circle in this adventurous day, then you should do it! As a rule, we suggest no more than 10 people at your elopement, this keeps things nice and intimate but still allows you to have a bit of a crowd with you.

Things to consider if you think you might want folks with you:

Do any of them have any mobility issues that you may need to consider when choosing your ceremony location?
Will they be joining you all day or just for the ceremony?
Will you need to provide transport/accommodation/food for them?

If you choose not to invite anyone, you’ll need to think about how to tell them you’re eloping. Luckily we have a blog post all about that HERE

How long is the day going to be?

You could almost call this the ‘sunrise or sunset or both’ question. Deciding how long you want the day to be lets you start to build your plan, it helps you decide when you want to elope, where you’ll be getting ready, where your ceremony will be, and what activities (if any) you can include in the day.

Let’s say you want a sunrise ceremony, depending on the time of year sunrise can be as early as 4am, and if you want a good spot to view it you probably want to be high up. This means your day may need to begin as early as 1am to give you time to get ready, have a hike and get changed at the top. So, if sunrise is important to you, we’d suggest eloping in September/October, when sunrise is around 6am-7am.

However, sunset might be more of your bag, in which case you can probably start your day a little later. You can have a slow morning getting ready, maybe have a hike together or a lake dip, something tasty to eat, before heading out for a sunset ceremony.

Maybe you want both! This means you could reasonably have a 12-14 hour elopement day, but don’t think you need to be on the go the whole day. This is your day, so if you want to have a sunrise hike, breakfast somewhere high up, before heading back to your accommodation to get ready slowly and maybe have a nap before taking on the rest of your day ~ you totally can!

And, if you’re totally stuck on how to timeline your elopement ~ we can help!

What activities do you want to include?

This is the fun part of your elopement day, and the part that can leave folks feeling a little overwhelmed because the possibilities are honestly endless.

There are no rules to what you do to celebrate your elopement wedding, however, we like the follow this simple rule of thumb when planning the day. A lovely, adventurous elopement includes these three key components in any order ~ a ceremony, good food, and a memorable experience (or two).

But how do you decide what those memorable experiences will be?

First, grab a piece of paper each and and answer these questions separately:

What is your favourite experience together? What made that memory better than the others? What were you doing that made it so good?
Next, write down something you’ve always wanted to do but maybe never had the chance to do.

This is a part of the planning process we love ~ as part of the experience of having us help you plan your elopement, we pour over your answers to the above questions and find those common threads, and then we come up with activities and experiences that fit your vibe. But if we’re not helping you plan, you can still do this yourself. Think about your happiest moments together and what you’re doing in those memories. When it comes to your elopement, you should aim to replicate these or build on them to create a day that is truly unique and true to who you are.

At this point, we imagine you’re still a bit lost, so we’ve come up with a few examples of elopement wedding activities in the Lake District that you might like to use as inspiration:

Head to a secret lake for swim
Book onto an alpaca trekking experience
Visit the Sea Life Centre
Seek out a hidden waterfall for a walk and a dip
Hike to a local view point ~ Raven Crag is a particular fave of our (if very steep!)
Go for a ride on a steam train
Have a bird of prey or owl handling experience
Hire rowing boats and cruise around Derwentwater
Hire paddleboards on Coniston and head to Wild Cat island

How are you going to get around?

The final big question you need to answer is how you will transport yourself to all these wonderful locations you’ve planned for your elopement wedding.

If you’ve managed to answer all the above questions, you’ll probably start to see a day forming, and will be able to narrow down a decent route around the region, so the key question is ~ will you be driving yourself, or hiring someone to take you places?

Personally, we’re partial to driving yourself, whether that’s in your own quirky motor (a converted camper or fast sports car perhaps) or hiring a self drive vehicle. Doing this will give you the freedom to explore at your own pace, without having to worry about someone elses timeline.

Of course, that doesn’t mean you have to use a car for your elopement as there are plenty of alternative ways to explore. Cycling, walking, jumping on a steam train or even just a good old bus are great ways to move around in the lakes! Just make sure to plan your route, and know where you need to be to catch any public transport.

If you’ve made it this far, you’ve probably got a great adventure elopement planned, but you might be wondering who you can reach out to for help when making your unique wedding into a reality. As elopement photographers, we’ve had the pleasure to work with some amazing wedding vendors over the years, and have curated a list of some of our faves here. This list isn’t exhaustive, and there are definitely more brilliant suppliers in the region, these are just the few we’ve had the privilege to work with.

Venues (if you want a small legal ceremony):
Celebrants:
Transport:
- Yorkshire Vehicle Hire
- Lakes Campervans
Florists:

Final thoughts:

We hope this has been helpful if you’re considering having an elopement wedding in the Lake District. As lovers of the lakes we are obsessed with the hidden waterfalls and staggering peaks, and truly believe there is an adventure here for everyone if you’re brave enough to seek it out.

We would love to be part of your elopement journey, either by capturing the magick in photos and films, or by helping you craft a truly unforgettable elopement wedding day.

To see more of how we can help with your adventure elopement head here or if you’re ready to see just how far the rabbit hole goes you can contact us here