Elopement Planning Guide for Louisville, Kentucky // Updated for 2023

The very first wedding I ever photographed back in 2007 was a micro-wedding. They had a small, intimate ceremony with their children and immediate families. It was casual, stress-free, and full of quality time with each other and their families. I absolutely loved it.

Kate & Ben enjoyed an afternoon of hiking and exploring Red River Gorge for their elopement after their backyard mini-wedding earlier in the year.

Since then, I’ve been lucky enough to be part of a few elopements every year. Recently, "elopement" has been used as a catch-all to describe all different types of smaller weddings— from two people going to the courthouse together to couples renting a 20-person cabin for the weekend to celebrate with a smaller group. You’ll also see the terms intimate wedding, tiny wedding, and even minimony floating around. They all have slightly different very nuanced meanings, but if you’re going this route I recommend just choosing the term that feels like the best fit for you and your day!

Sydney and Rick had the most gorgeous sunset for their cabin mini-wedding!

There have always been many advantages to elopements, but after COVID-19 threw a wrench in so many couples’ plans for 2020 and 2021, elopements and micro-weddings have become more and more popular. I love that couples are able to have a more affordable celebration, a chance to really connect with each guest present, and the opportunity to utilize locations that would have been too small for a more traditional, larger wedding.

Lizzie & Kevin had an adventurous sunrise hiking elopement in Red River Gorge.

So if you’re choosing to have a more intimate celebration, where do you start? How do you plan an elopement or mini-wedding in Louisville, Kentucky?

First, narrow down a guest list— this will inform a lot of your other decisions. For Kentucky, you need two witnesses and an officiant to be present for the ceremony, so you’ll need at least three other folks as part of your day.

Then you’ll want to choose a date. I recommend talking to important guests as well as your photographer about availability in order to find a day that works for everyone involved. Often elopements take place on non-Saturdays — which can really help with availability.

Hallie & Shawn had a smaller 40 person ceremony on a Friday and then a larger reception on the Saturday

How do we make our marriage official and legally binding?

Both of you will need to apply in person for your marriage license at the county clerk. There is no waiting period, so once you have your license you can have your ceremony anytime in the next 30 days. Kentucky marriage licenses may be used in any Kentucky county, so if you live in Louisville but are wanting to get married at Red River Gorge or another natural area that is easy to do!

Harry & Sara eloped in a treehouse at Red River Gorge!

When choosing an officiant, if you’d like to have a friend perform the ceremony, they can get ordained online for free through The Universal Life Church. The website has information on rules & regulations by area as well as some example scripts you can modify to suit your needs. This is where I got ordained! If you’d rather hire a professional instead of having a family member perform the ceremony, Inclusive Kentucky Weddings has a directory of inclusive vendors and there are several very talented officiants listed there. 

I got to photograph and officiate Alex & Kriston’s Elopement!

From there, it’s time to choose a venue! The Parklands have several beautiful spots for a ceremony as well as really nice pavilions that can be rented for a reception starting around $175. The Parklands’ five parks are some of my favorite places— there is a lot of variety in landscape and flora. Louisville Metro Parks are also a great outdoor option— they have wedding permits for $150 and a variety of different shelters in all of their parks. If you’re interested in traveling outside of the city, Bernheim Arboretum is absolutely stunning and has a variety of options for elopements as well. And of course, Red River Gorge is one of the most popular spots to elope in Kentucky for very good reason! I love it so much that I made a whole guide specific to eloping in Red River Gorge.

A summer micro-wedding in the Parklands

You can also look to Airbnb or even Hipcamp for unique venue options! I had a couple get married at a treehouse in Nashville once and it was such a unique space. Lots of more traditional wedding venues or restaurants also have smaller spaces that can be really great for micro-weddings. And last but not least, there is always the option of your own backyard! Eloping at home can be so romantic and intimate.

Treehouse elopement in Nashville

Once you have a venue, you can start thinking about what you all would like to wear and how you’d like to decorate. For some spots, you might not want to decorate at all! I’ve seen couples bring a few houseplants from home for centerpieces or to define a ceremony spot. You can do as much or as little as you’d like! If you find yourself wanting someone else to work it out for you, Inclusive Kentucky Weddings also has lots of talented planners in their directory, as well as florists, hair & make-up artists, caterers, and more. 

Sunrise elopement in Cherokee Park

The best part about elopements is that you can really choose how simple or extravagant you want to be. I know couples who skipped decorations and ordered pizza after their ceremony and others who went big on decor for the one table in their backyard. Both options were perfect for each respective couple. It is 100% up to you and you should do whatever feels like the right fit for who you are! Not all of my wedding planning tips translate to elopements, but I’d say 80% of them do— it can be a great resource when planning as well.

Jennifer & Tyler chose the Virgin Islands for their intimate wedding

A courthouse elopement followed by wedding band tattoos

Do you still have questions about elopements? Want to talk through some things to see if a micro-wedding might be the right fit for you? Contact me and let’s brainstorm together! 

Historic Locust Grove & Ice House Louisville Wedding

After being in the Louisville wedding industry for over a decade now you'd think I would have photographed a ceremony at Locust Grove before, but this was my first one and it was 100% worth the wait. Eleanor said it well, "My historic preservation background and love of old houses had me dreaming of getting married in front of a historic home — Locust Grove it was! Plus, that landscape is just so pretty — the rolling hills, and all the cabins, and spring houses, and willows, oh my!"

We started the day at a gorgeous Airbnb in Clifton. I've said it before and I'll say it again— getting an Airbnb instead of a hotel room for getting ready is the best! It gives you more space and you can rent a place that feels like a good fit for your day. The home where they got ready allowed Eleanor's side to have the second floor and Aaron's side to have the first floor so they had loads of space....plus the front porch of the home was gorgeous and fit with the historic tone of the day. They had their first look under the willow tree in the front yard while some family snuck peeks from the second-floor balcony. When it came time to head to Locust Grove we found out the trolley's brakes went out so we had to wait for another to come! It added a tiny bit of chaos, but lucky for us we had some buffer time built into the timeline to allow for the inevitable mishaps that come with wedding days. We were able to still get all of our wedding party and family photos finished before the ceremony so that afterward they could head downtown and go straight into celebrating! 

A few of Eleanor's favorite moments included, "Our photo session of just the two of us right after the ceremony ended at Locust Grove felt really special! Also, right before the ceremony, our best man brought out a bottle of Basil Hayden and filled a couple of cups and everyone who was waiting behind the scenes took a drink and said something nice about us— it was really sweet and special and the bourbon calmed my nerves a little bit, haha. When Aaron and I got to practice our dance on the roof and it felt like my dress was going to trip us up sooooo bad, but then we got down on the dance floor and KILLED IT (at least I felt like we did)!" Aaron's favorite moments overlapped with Eleanor's which is always a good thing "I also loved the pre-ceremony bourbon toasts, that really sticks out in my mind. Also, walking onto the trolley after the ceremony with the champagne popping. And collectively all of the moments we had to get the amazing photos we got (and kissing Eleanor a million times)." 

coordinator: Ginna Matson with Hummingbird Page // florist: Kristin Hatten Howell // dress: Essense of Australia through Rebecca's Wedding Boutique with sleeves added by KAren at Highland Cleaners // makeup: Michaela Frances Artistry // hair: Shawn Green with The Beauty Patrol  // DJ: Marshall Yancey with Yancey Entertainment Service // Catering: Crushed Ice Catering // wedding party suits: J. Crew Factory // Eleanor's rings: Megan Thorne Fine Jewels purchased through EAT Gallery, Maysville, KY // Aaron's rings: Stuller purchased through EAT Gallery, Maysville, KY // Cake: Sweet Surrender Dessert Cafe // transportation: Miller Transportation // ceremony chairs: Southern Classic Rentals // photobooth: Magbooth // ceremony venue: Historic Locust Grove // reception venue: The Ice House

Their ceremony was really sweet and I loved the music they chose so much. Eleanor once again tells it better than me so I'll share what she wrote, "Our ceremony was exactly how I dreamed it would be. When we got to Locust Grove I was in awe of how perfect it looked even though I feel like we went very minimal on decorations. My best friend since 6th grade's (and maid of honor's) dad performed the ceremony! He's amazing and so progressive and I knew he would do a beautiful ceremony for us. I thought it was the perfect amount of "there's something bigger than us going on here." He suggested a "warming the rings" part of the ceremony where everyone passed around our wedding bands and held them for a moment to put their hopes, prayers, dreams, and wishes for us as a couple on them. I was so excited when he told us about this because it reminded me of something we would do at the summer camp I grew up at called "wish sticks" — we would put our hopes, prayers, dreams, and wishes on sticks and then throw them into the fire so the smoke would rise and our wishes would be heard. I loved this part of the ceremony. Also, my mom told me that my friends who were sitting behind them at the ceremony whispered, "This is SO 'Eleanor'" after we had the wedding party walk down the aisle to a Death Cab song and I walked down the aisle to Vampire Weekend— haha, I loved hearing that."

Fun facts: their cake topper was Eleanor’s grandparent’s topper from their wedding day in 1952. She and her mom visited Tickled Pink Memorabilia Mall (my favorite thrift store) to find all 85 of their vases for the tables! Also their close friend did all their florals!

The night ended with an epic dance party— seriously their friends and family had some of the best energy. A favorite moment of mine was when Eleanor's cousin Kelsey spun Eleanor's dad on the dance floor— it cracked me up and felt like something my family would pull. Also when Eleanor's camp friends gathered around her and went wild during one of their friend group's sentimental songs, "Anna Sun." you could tell it was sheer joy for everyone involved. 

Intimate Wedding in Historic Old Louisville

Hallie & Shawn’s wedding is very similar to what I would choose if I was getting married now. Don’t get me wrong— I absolutely loved our wedding and it was a perfect fit for us at the time, but their day really delivered the best parts of an intimate elopement as well as a big reception. On Friday night, they kicked things off with their first look and some beers at Old Louisville Brewery, then they moved next door, where forty of their closest friends and family joined them for their ceremony, dinner, and toasts at 610 Magnolia. It was relaxed, joyful, and full of happy tears. On Saturday, they had a bigger reception full of amazing food, delicious cake, and loads of dancing at the Filson Historical. I asked them about their plans for the wedding and Hallie said, “We tried to represent ourselves through food and music that we love. We wanted our ceremony to be small and then be able to celebrate with everyone on the following day. We both love Old Louisville and we are so happy to have found two venues there. We also tried to incorporate some of the traditions & style from Shawn’s Indian side of the family— lots of bright colors, marigolds, and some other Indian touches.”

Once the day was done, I asked each of them their favorite moments. Shawn said, “I loved getting to spend so much time with our family on the wedding day. The small group was just what we wanted and it felt extra special.” And Hallie said, “I loved getting to see Shawn before the ceremony and spend some time together. It made the day feel like any other even though it wasn’t! It was so great getting to hang out with all of our friends and relax before we made it official.”

On the significance of attire Shawn said, “My one really important piece was my boutonniere, which had some lace from my mother’s wedding dress wrapped around it. Hallie surprised me with that and it meant a lot.” Hallie also incorporated a lot of elements from family in her outfit. “My dress has some of Shawn’s mother’s wedding dress sewn into it. I also wore a ring of hers that Shawn’s Dad had given me. It meant so much to be wearing pieces of hers on such a big day. I never got to meet her but have heard what an amazing woman she was. It made the day that much more sentimental. I also wore a pin from my grandmother that my sister wore on her wedding day. I pinned it onto my flowers along with some of the same lace from Shawn’s mom’s dress.”

A lot of their vendors are also friends which made the day feel even more special. Shawn grew up with Sayward from Hazelfield Farms and is close friends with their band, The Downtown Country Band—their first dance was to a wonderful cover of In Spite of Ourselves. I included a lot of images of their guests here, especially from the first day, because family is obviously very important to them, but also because with such a small group I was able to really focus on that. I feel like because I’m blogging this wedding during the pandemic, I’m also really missing those types of connections with my own family at the moment, so those images seemed extra significant at this time. 

Florals: Hazelfield Farms // Friday night venue & catering: 610 Magnolia // Saturday night catering: Amber McCool with Rooted Red Clover // Band: The Downtown County Band // DJ: Jesse Penn // Coordinator: Maggie Heely with Weekend Wedding Warrior // Gown: Theia from Carrie Karibo Bridal // Hair: Hair by Maddie Woff // Makeup: Bailey Carter Beauty // Cake: Sweet Surrender // Saturday venue: The Filson