Best Places To Elope In New Hampshire – New Hampshire Elopement

There are plenty of places to elope to in New England, and New Hampshire is an explant place to elope to! In this guide, we’ll dive in to the: Why, When, Where, and How to eloping in New Hampshire. If you’re a local to NH or not, I feel that this guide will be helpful to you and your love.

Why New Hampshire Is The Perfect Place To Elope

First lets start with why New England is a great place to elope to in the first place. If you’re not from New England, let me just tell you how crazy cool it is to be able to drive to multiple states in one day. When I first moved here with my husband, we’d always say how crazy it was. I lived in Colorado, and California, and would never travel out of state unless by plane. Well here, I can drive through 3 different states in less than 2.5 hours! Aside from that, New England offers both the mountains, forests, coastal cliffs, and sandy beaches! New Hampshire has waterfalls, great mountain views, lakes upon lakes, perfect fall foliage, and even a slice of sandy beaches.

When to Elope in New Hampshire

Fall

Fall is one of the most beautiful seasons of all of New England, and especially in New Hampshire, where you can see all the beautiful colors from a mountain top, or see the color’s reflections on one of the many lakes. The best part is you don’t have to hike to be surrounded by all the amazing colors. This is also when tourism is at its PEAK in New England. My tip for a Fall Elopement: The best time to escape the crowd is during the weekday, at sunrise. However there are some locations that are less crowded than others, where you can do the weekday, and have a lovely sunset elopement.

Winter

New Hampshire defiantly has some winter wonderland vibes. If snowboarding or skiing is your thing, than New Hampshire might be a place to consider for your elopement! There are plenty of lakes to say your vows at with amazing snow covered mountains as your backdrop.
Winter Elopement Tips: Some roads are closed in the winter, especially in the White Mountains, but some places are still accessible with snowmobiles. Hiking trails are icy or heavily covered with snow. My suggestion is layers, and layers, boot ice spices/snowshoes and multiple backup plans!

Spring

Spring time is nice and cool, and not yet humid, a perfect time for an elopement. Everything is turning green, birds are chirping, and wild flowers are starting to pop up! Spring Tips: There can still be snow in NH in the spring, and trails can be very muddy from the melted snow. Consider this when planning your elopement in New Hampshire, and a backup plan is always a good idea.

Summer

There are so many fun activities to do in the summer time, like kayaking or canoeing, hiking, going to the beach, and so on! Longer days, and warmer nights. If you’re not from New Hampshire, star gazing is so pretty up in the mountains! Summer Elopement Tips: Summer can be very humid and sometimes very hot. Summertime is also a tourist season here, so sunrise is again a great option for your elopement, or sunset during the weekday.

Where To Elope In New Hampshire

There are places that require no hiking, minimal hiking, moderate hiking, or lots of hiking! If hiking really isn’t your thing, that’s no problem! Here’s a list of some of my favorite places!

Crawford Notch
Franconia Notch
Mount Washington
North Conway
Kancamagus Highway

How To Elope In NH

Really for the most part, you’ll just need a Marriage License, an Officiant (If you want it super private, I’m ordained!) and possibly permits, depending on where your elopement takes place.
Something cool about eloping in New Hampshire: Witnesses are not required to be present at an elopement ceremony in order for a marriage to be considered legal. A couple can choose to have someone act as a witness at their ceremony, but they do not have to.

#1 Choose an Elopement Photographer: You can contact me by filling out this inquiry form here. Choosing an elopement photographer is important. There are photographers who just take your photos, and than there are elopement photographers; photographers who’ll help you narrow down locations based on what kind of views you’re looking for, and your hiking comfortability! If you don’t want to hike, or do very little hiking, they shouldn’t be offering views that require the opposite of what you want. I also like to help my couples find cute airbnb’s and other vendors, like florists, hair/make-up, caterers/bakers.

#2 Choose the season, and your location: After discussing what you’re after with your photographer, they should have sent you a list of great locations based on the season, and what vibe you’re after for your guy’s special day. If it’s during the spring or winter, don’t forget to choose a back-up plan.

#3 Get your permits! Another reason to choose an elopement photographer who’ll help you plan your elopement. Not every location needs a permit, but some do! I’ll help you with that!

#4 Getting your marriage license: You can get your marriage license, and then get married the very next day! Don’t get your marriage license too early though, you must get married within 90 days of getting your license.

Ready to start planning your New Hampshire elopement?

Get in touch with me! There are so many gorgeous places to elope to, or have a micro wedding at in New Hampshire. Fun fact, my husband and I had an elopement/micro wedding in New Hampshire!