Best Elopement Wedding Dresses- The Ultimate Adventure Elopement Dress Guide
Best Elopement Wedding Dresses- The Ultimate Adventure Elopement Dress Guide by
Iceland Elopement Photographer & Planner
Best Elopement Wedding Dresses
- Long Wedding Dress
- Wedding Dresses with Layers
- Wedding Dress Fabrics
- Non-Traditional Elopement Wedding Dress
- Accessories for Elopement Wedding Dress
- A-Line or Non-Form Fitting Bottom of Wedding Dress
- Elopement Wedding Suit
- Two Piece Wedding Dress
- Casual Wedding Dress
- Mermaid Wedding Dress
- The DIY Wedding Dress
This is Amanda Palmer wearing a custom made wedding dress that we destroyed for her album art. Don’t worry, yours shouldn’t get that dirty. ;)
What dress to wear on your elopement is one of the biggest decisions to make when it comes to planning your elopement.
This is a choice that is so personal and is one of the decisions that might take the longest when planning your elopement. There are a few factors to think of when choosing your elopement dress! Unlike a ballroom wedding, you will be out in the wilderness, possibly hiking, possibly climbing things, possibly playing in mud, etc. So, having a dress that can withstand that might be important to you!
Some key factors to think of when choosing your elopement wedding dress:
What time of year are you eloping?
What location and environments will you be in? A beach? The woods? Black sand beaches?
What types of weather will you be dealing with most likely?
How much activity are you doing to be doing during your elopement day?
And most importantly, what style do you feel the most comfortable in?
Below are a few styles and types of dresses for your elopement that look amazing with the weather elements, a few different fits, and a few options that will help with the outdoor activities you will be doing on your adventure elopement!
Ultimate Iceland Elopement Wedding Dress Guide:
Style 1- Long Dresses Are Fun
Long wedding dresses for your elopement are always SO MUCH FUN in photos! Depending on the fabric (which I will get to later down below) they can get some amazing movement in them from the wind. The long wedding dress look is so elegant and takes a bit of the elegance into nature! One thing to note is the train can get a bit dirty and sometimes that just won’t clean up. Depending on your personality, if a muddy train would bother you, then I suggest a shorter dress! However if you are ready to rock that long train and have a more traditional looking wedding dress- this is the dress for you!
I love the dresses from Lulu’s Bridal! Shop similar styles here!
Long wedding dresses for sure make some epic & elegant photos.
Ultimate Iceland Elopement Wedding Dress Guide:
Style 2- Romantic Layers Are Your Friend
Layers are really great because they help keep you cool when hiking, they give you some bulk in the skirt without the weight, and they catch the wind so beautifully! Layers are also great for the elements such as wind and rain. If you get caught in a rainstorm, these types of dresses are ideal because you won’t see the rain drops in the photos. Additionally, they dry pretty quickly and will not be weighed down when wet! I love this style of dress from BHLDN.
Also, having a faux fur shawl is really handy when you are in cold weather climates. They are easy to take on and off, look awesome in photos, keep you warm, add a special touch to your style, and dry fairly quickly when a quick rain shower shows up.
Layered Wedding Dresses on your elopement are ideal for the days with a lot of movement and possible rain!
Ultimate Iceland Elopement Wedding Dress Guide:
Style 3- Fabrics Make a Difference
Something not often spoken about when picking wedding dresses for elopements is the type of fabric along with the style. The type of fabric makes a big difference! Some fabrics, such as a thick polyester, are quite heavy and will not catch the winds. The train will lay nicely and possibly keep you a bit warmer if your elopement is during a cold weather month! A con about thick fabrics is that if it rains the rain drops will show, the dress will become heavy, and it will take a while to dry.
Lighter fabrics, such as layered laces, chiffon, silks, and meshes are great for when it rains. They dry easily and depending on color will not show rain drops! My favorite part about these fabrics is that they MOOOOOVE when that wind picks up! If you know me, you know I love love love the dramatic wind swept photos. One of my absolute favorite designers ever of dresses has some amazing varieties of these fabrics, Rue de Seine. Check out this Moonrise Canyon collection and drool a bit.
Really think about the environment your elopement will be in and what fabrics will compliment it!
Ultimate Iceland Elopement Wedding Dress Guide:
Style 4- Non-Traditional and Non-White Wedding Dresses
Elopements are a time to be creative, get unique, and make every aspect of your day about you. What makes you feel good? What makes you enjoy life? You can do whatever you want, including getting a wedding dress that isn’t white. Or getting fun accessories like a bridal cape! (My personal fave). For your elopement you can get so creative with all of the details you bring into the day. So don’t let the world dictate to you that you need to wear white, not wear accessories, or anything else!
I love this run down of amazing styles of bridal capes from Brides Magazine!
Non-traditional elopement dresses and elopement bridal capes are a great way to show your personality in the details.
Ultimate Iceland Elopement Wedding Dress Guide:
Style 5- Accessories for the Cold & Weather Elements
Accessories, jackets, hand warmers, things to keep you warm are essential to think about when thinking about your dress! Or, really for anything you are planning to wear on your elopement! I am a HUGE fan of (faux)leather jackets on an elopement day. Or really any kind of custom jacket to add some style to your day and photos.
If you’re getting married in a winter month, then something a bit more warm would be preferred! Possibly some white knit gloves, thermal tights under the dress, and waterproof insulated boots! Asos has a wide variety of accessories to choose from that are great for the budget conscious.
Whatever you decide to add into your elopement, don’t forget you will be out in the weather and we never win against Mother Nature, so be prepared.
Ultimate Iceland Elopement Wedding Dress Guide:
Style 6- The Less Form Fitting on the Bottom the Better.
I am partial to this A-Line style of dresses. They seem to give the most amount of flexibility in moving of your body for hiking, climbing, jumping in and out of Land Cruisers, and being able to hide tights and thermals underneath without the seam being seen. They ALSO pick up the wind and are so fun to throw around the fabrics to get some of the epic photos, as seen above! Often times this style is light and has some layers which is again great for hiding of rain drops! It also takes about .02 seconds to put on which is definitely a bonus if you want to spend less time getting ready and more time adventuring!
Again, LuLu’s has some amazing dresses in this style that you really can’t go wrong with!
A-Line style elopement dresses are a perfect fit for the person who wants to have movement, flexibility, and hide tights underneath!
Ultimate Iceland Elopement Wedding Dress Guide:
Style 7- The Elopement Wedding Suit
Not all brides have to wear dresses. In fact I am a huge supporter of brides and non-binary people getting married wearing dapper AF suits. Wearing a suit on your elopement has some huge benefits! The suit jacket will keep you warm, you have layers which are THE BEST for hiking, if you get hot you can just take off the jacket, and pants (if stretchy) are super helpful for the hikes with difficult terrain.
Additionally, you can get so creative and fun with a suit! There are endless amounts of colours, types of accessories like ties and pocket squares, boots, undershirts. SO MANY OPTIONS. I’m also partial to this Cool Max Stretch suit for hiking!
Suits are great for your adventure elopement!
Ultimate Iceland Elopement Wedding Dress Guide:
Style 8- Two Piece Wedding Dress
The two piece wedding dress option is a pretty good for your your adventure elopement dress! Having your dress be two pieces makes it easy to take the skirt on and off, easily. If you are doing a major hike for a good portion of your day, being able to just wear hiking tights and your boots with a top comes in very handy. And, being able to mix and match is always fun! You can also get multiple looks from the same skirt by changing out the top bodysuit or laced tank.
If your elopement is happening in colder months this is great to hide those thermal tights and wool socks underneath! And, if you're having your elopement in a warmer month and warmer climate, you can get some nice air and stay cool with the two piece! Maybe even take it off and jump in a hot spring, easily!
You can see a really great variety of two piece wedding dresses for your elopement at BHLDN!
Grab that two piece elopement dress, grab your swim suit, and jump into a natural swimming hole!
Ultimate Iceland Elopement Wedding Dress Guide:
Style 9- The Casual Wedding Dress
One of the awesome things about eloping is it+s more about the experience than the ‘things’. Actually, it’s all about the experience and your love for each other PLUS some adventure and hardly ever about the ‘things’. Which is why they are my favourite. If you don’t want to buy a designer gown you 100% do not have to! The casual wedding dress is a great pick and is something that should not be overlooked!
You can find some really great, non-expensive, casual wedding dresses off of Amazon! Make it easy.
Adventure elopements give you the freedom to have the casual wedding dress of your dreams.
Ultimate Iceland Elopement Wedding Dress Guide:
Style 10- The Mermaid or Form Fitting Bottom
The mermaid or more form fitting style is so elegant and classic! This style is great if you want the juxtaposition of the rugged nature and the elegance of the wedding dress. They are not as easy to hike in so depending on the type of elopement you are having you might want to take that into consideration!
I really love the look, fit, and fabrics of this style dress from Laudae!
Your adventure elopement can have that classy, elegant, traditional look in nature with this style dress.
Ultimate Iceland Elopement Wedding Dress Guide:
Bonus Style- The DIY Wedding Dress
As mentioned prior, elopements are the type of wedding that you can customise every single aspect of your day to fit what makes you happy. This includes having a DIY wedding dress for your elopement! I have had brides with DIY dresses from grandmothers, grandmother-in-laws, mom, mom + grandma, and even making it themselves!
Having a DIY dress is the ultimate personal touch. You can’t get anymore personal that that. Here is a great article on how to start making your DIY wedding dress!
That DIY elopement dress for your wedding will really give you those unique, one of a kind touches in your day.
I hope this elopement planning resource of what dress to wear on your elopement was helpful!
And if you are one of my amazing couples who have already booked their elopement with me, STAY TUNED because I’m cooking up a VIP Style Guide to go with this EXCLUSIVELY for you.
xoxo Steph
Disclosure: I include some affiliate links of brands that I absolutely love and stand behind in this post. If you click through and end up purchasing, I may receive a small percentage of the sale. I am not paid by any of these brands to share their information and I only post them because I love the brands and want to share that with you! I hope this article helped you out in your planning!