Europe is one of the most popular elopement choices for many couples. With so many beautiful places and so many options, choosing the right place to elope in Europe might seem like a difficult task and something that will require many hours of research and planning.
That’s why we are writing this article, with the intent to help you to choose the best place to elope in Europe for you. It will take around 5 minutes of your time to read it and you’ll already know where to start and maybe do focused research on one place from our list.
Read it thoroughly and see you at the end of it.
What is an elopement and how to elope? The ‘All about elopement’ guide is here.
A short introduction to our list of best places to elope in Europe
We are living in Europe for the whole of our lives with the small country of Croatia being our base. We travel a lot, whenever we have the opportunity to do so and, year after year, we discovered more and more European wonders.
We have visited many of the places on this list and made some great memories there. This is a subjective list of the places we think are the best places to elope in Europe. But even though it’s only our opinion, we gave it a lot of thinking when choosing what to put on the list and what to leave out. Trust us, we’re not writing this just to write something.
Also, when looking for a potential place to elope, you would probably need an elopement photographer and videographer. So here are some tips and ideas to help you choose the best elopement photographer.
However, there are a lot more beautiful places to elope in Europe that haven’t made it to this list and we encourage you to do a bit more research, especially if you are traveling to a country not covered in this list. Every country has at least one stunning place where you could elope.
Finally, we tried to be diverse and make a list of different landscapes so we covered mountains, seasides, valleys, and islands. We’re sure you’ll spend at least one day daydreaming about eloping at least at one of these places.
OK, so let’s fly around Europe!
Scotland or Ireland
We have chosen Scotland to be on this list first, but then we felt sad because we left Ireland out and, since these two are somewhat similar, we included both. These countries are among our favorite places to elope in Europe.
We have visited both of these beautiful countries and when we say visited, it means we spend at least 10 days driving and discovering some of their best places. Since they are not as large as some other European countries, you get to see a lot in 10 days.
Here is our ultimate guide to elope in Ireland + our favorite elopement locations
Both Scotland and Ireland have a ton of breathtaking landscapes with green grass and peculiar rock formations like cliffs dominating. They are definitely among the best places to elope in Europe and if you choose them for your elopement location, be aware that there are a lot of rainy days and there’s a high chance that you won’t see the sun at all during your visit to Scotland or Ireland.
Also, check out our comprehensive guide to elope in Scotland!
Rainy or cloudy elopement can make a great elopement experience if you have at least a bit of adventurous spirit which we believe you have since you are interested in elopements as such. Overall, you can expect a moody elopement that goes hand in hand with the landscape of both of these countries.
At last, if you really want us to choose among our favorite places to elope in Europe in these countries, we would say that the Isle of Skye in Scotland is a winner for us.
Dolomites – Italy
Time to leave northern Europe and fly south. The Dolomites are one of the most unique landscapes of Europe, situated in northeastern Italy. It’s a mountain range that could be considered as an extension of the Alps but its limestone rock formations make it different from the classic alpine landscape.
Ultimate Guide to Elope in Dolomites
The Dolomites are also known as Pale mountains and they got their name from the dolomite rock they are mainly made of. This mountain range is perfect for mountain elopement and it has 21 peaks higher than 3000 meters. The highest one is Marmolada with a height of 3344 meters.
The Dolomites are not just one of the best places to elope in Europe but a real adventure paradise too. If you and your partner are adventurers, let’s say rock climbers or you love skiing, the Dolomites are just the perfect place for you. The three peaks of Lavaredo (Tre Cime di Lavaredo) are one of the most famous landmarks of this mountain range. Just look at this landscape. You have to admit it deserves to be on our list of the places to elope in Europe.
The Ultimate Italy Elopement Guide
Get inspired with this mountain engagement session.
Alps – Italy, Switzerland, Austria
This time you don’t need to fly but hike for a few days and you’ll find yourself in a mesmerizing environment of the highest mountain range in Europe – the Alps. Technically, even the Dolomites are part of the Alps but they are significantly different landscapes.
The Alps are a typical mountainous landscape and you can expect a lot of snow, glaciers, and glacial lakes in it. They are full of hiking trails that could take you to some of the best mountain places to elope in Europe.
Check out the Lauterbrunnen elopement guide
Many peaks are over 3000 meters high and the highest one is Mt. Blanc (4808m), a peak situated on the French-Italian border. When it comes to some of the most famous alpine peaks, the uniquely shaped Matterhorn is definitely a winner here.
Considering Austria for your elopement? Read our comprehensive guide here.
Here are some of our favorite ideas for hiking elopement on any mountain
Julian Alps – Slovenia
While the Dolomites are in Italy, the Alps mountain range stretch through many countries – Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, France…We have visited the Alps numerous times and enjoyed the view of some of the highest alpine peaks. Recently we explored Slovenia thoroughly and absolutely fell in love with it.
Besides spectacular mountain peaks, Slovenia also has beautiful lakes – Bled and Bohinj, also perfect places to elope. Here is our guide for your Bled elopement.
Related: Lake Bled Wedding Venues
We believe that Slovenia is a perfect country for mountain elopements or intimate weddings. Apart from stunning mountains, Slovenia has many other natural landscapes that stand out and make this country a must-place to visit for anyone who is into nature and the outdoors.
Explore our Slovenia elopement guide with Love and Ventures favorite locations to elope
Tuscany – Italy
Say goodbye to the mountains because we’re not returning to them in this article anymore. Still, we’re not so far from the Alps and Dolomites. We’re visiting the beautiful Italian region of Tuscany, the birthplace of the Italian Renaissance. Tuscany deserves to be on our list of the best places to elope in Europe for so many reasons.
Tuscany is one of the most famous regions of Italy. It’s a landscape dominated by rolling hills and some of the most picturesque villages you’ll ever see. The main city of Tuscany is Florence and it’s famous for artists that created some of the world’s finest art.
There is another kind of art that is being made even today. Along with the best places to elope in Europe goes some of the best European wines. Tuscany is famous for its wines. Heard about Chianti? It’s produced in the Chianti region in central Tuscany.
The Ultimate Guide to Amalfi Coast Elopement
Iceland
And the list of places to elope in Europe goes on. Time to put your jacket on because we’re leaving warm Italy and venturing into the cold of Iceland. There is not much to say about Iceland that is not already said and known. It’s one of the most northern points in the whole of Europe and it has some of the most interesting landscapes in Europe with many waterfalls as the main attraction. Do you know what else is very cool about Iceland? There’s a high chance of seeing an Aurora Borealis during the northern lights season. Imagine eloping under it, how magical would that be?
All these things make Iceland one of the best places to elope in Europe. If you scroll through the images of Iceland on Google, you’ll see that it’s a very diverse country. It’s also one of the most photographed places in Europe, especially in the latest decade when all the Instagramers rushed there to claim their piece of it in form of photography.
Finally, Iceland has some of the coolest accommodations there are – glass igloos that will make a perfect getaway for you and your partner after your elopement in Europe.
Malta
Island again, but this time a much warmer one. Malta is a rather small island in the middle of the Mediterranean sea. In fact, it’s the island archipelago consisting of 3 larger islands: Malta, Gozo, and Comino. It is among the best places to elope in Europe, especially among couples who want to get married in warm weather.
Summers in Malta are very dry and hot. During our 3 month stay in Malta, it was raining for only one day, and it really wasn’t something we would even call rain. If you are interested in a Malta elopement wedding, we would suggest choosing preseason or postseason months such as April, May, September, and October.
Malta’s archipelago is full of beaches, mostly sandy ones. One of the most famous and most visited beaches is Blue Lagoon on Comino island.
Dubrovnik and Dalmatian islands – Croatia
It would be stupid to leave our home country out of this list so welcome to Croatia – Europe in small. Croatia is a rather small country and it’s not particularly famous as some other European countries, especially for those living outside of Europe. However, not only because we are Croats, but also because it really is beautiful, it is high on our list of places to elope in Europe you need to consider.
Read our ultimate guide for your Dubrovnik elopement
Check out this adventurous kayaking wedding on Hvar island in Croatia
But once you get familiar with Croatia, you get to see why it is one of the most popular holiday destinations in the whole of Europe. When we say that it’s Europe in small, we mean that it has all the landscapes you can find in the rest of this continent.
Check out this elopement on the boat near Dubrovnik in Croatia
Inspire yourself with this adventure kayaking couple session on the Croatian coast
Croatia has a sea, mountains, valleys, lakes, and rivers. Even though it’s small, it has 8 national parks, each representing a different landscape. It’s full of islands too, over 1000 of them. Each of these islands is like a small country of its own, with different and unique landmarks.
Croatia is perfect for many things and it’s surely among the best places to elope in Europe. For the past few years, we did a lot of this, and never did we have a couple that was unsatisfied by choosing Croatia for their elopement.
The most famous places to elope in Croatia are Dalmatian islands: Hvar, Brač, and Vis but also the very popular Dubrovnik city.
Wondering how to elope in Croatia? Here is our in-depth guide for elopement in Croatia!
Farewell and hope to see you
We hope we made things at least a bit clearer for you and helped you to find the best place to elope in Europe. All of the places on our list are simply beautiful and you won’t miss them if you choose any. Have in mind that the elopement act is something that’s usually done in half an hour or so and always try to incorporate it into the rest of your vacation plans. Or make vacation plans around your elopement in Europe.
And honestly, we hope you’ll choose Croatia for your elopement. If you do, you know who to call to be your elopement photographers and guides in Croatia.
P.S. We’re operating all across Europe so feel free to send us an inquiry for any country.
