How to Elope in Connecticut | The Full Guide

Why Connecticut is Great for Eloping

Connecticut’s appeal for elopements isn’t about dramatic scenery or a single iconic backdrop. It’s the everyday texture of the place: four beautiful seasons, parks that have been here a hundred years, coastal towns where you can walk from your ceremony to dinner without getting in a car, city locations that are brimming with character.

For example:

• There are lots of parks: Connecticut has over 130 parks. As I describe later in this guide, many of them are superb candidates for your elopement in CT.
• There are lots of restaurants: You have to eat. With that said, whether you get a nice seated dinner after your elopement or reserve a private room in a restaurant for your actual ceremony, CT has plenty of culinary choices for your wedding day.
• It’s centrally located in the northeast: Geographically, Connecticut is like a land bridge between New York and Boston. You could elope here, then head away on a nice trip to either city (or beyond).
• It has plenty of overnight accommodations: From boutique hotels to bed & breakfasts to private rentals, Connecticut has you covered as far as options for places to stay before, during, and after your elopement.
• There’s plenty to do here: The fact that CT is a really nice state is well established. Here’s an entire list of things to do for couples in Connecticut.

What is an elopement?

Merriam-Webster’s own definition has shifted with the culture: “elopement” has taken on the meaning of “small destination wedding”.

That older meaning, “leaving home secretly in order to get married,” doesn’t describe much of anything happening now. Modern couples aren’t running from anyone. They’re running toward something more specific: a day that doesn’t require a guest list to feel complete. They’re literally doing their own thing.

Couples choose to elope for different reasons. Some don’t want to be the center of attention. Some are working with a real budget and want every dollar to matter. Most of them, though, are after the same thing: time with each other that isn’t interrupted by a cocktail hour, a seating chart, or forty people they haven’t spoken to in years.

What About Micro Weddings and Minimonies?

We already covered the dictionary definition of “elopement.” But there are two terms that come up often enough that they’re worth defining here.

A micro wedding sits somewhere between an elopement and a traditional wedding: more guests, a fuller reception, but still built around keeping things close. A minimony generally goes smaller still, often small enough that a single restaurant private room can hold the whole thing.

If a day with more people sounds closer to what you’re picturing, here’s a guide for having a small wedding in Connecticut.

What You Need to Elope in Connecticut

Eloping doesn’t preclude you from wedding planning entirely, it just removes the parts that don’t matter. Here’s everything that still applies when it’s just the two of you:

1. Plan for Your CT Elopement

The first real step in planning an elopement in Connecticut is figuring out what you’re actually picturing. Not the checklist version, the felt version. Things to consider:

• The season and, eventually, the exact date
• The general location type; there are some ideas later in this post
• The vibe, theme, or feel for when you elope (get creative)
• The clothes and accessories you’re going to wear on your wedding day
• The people you want to see after you two tie the knot

This is the one phase where there’s no wrong answer yet. Pinterest and Instagram are useful here, mostly as a way to notice what you keep circling back to.

2. Decide What to Do After You Elope

Part of planning the day is deciding what surrounds it. Some couples want a hike to the ceremony spot with their photographer and officiant in tow. Others want a quiet stroll through a favorite park right after, still in the dress, still a little stunned it actually happened. Some just want a good meal and nowhere else to be.

I put together a separate list of the best things to do for couples in Connecticut if you want a fuller set of ideas.

3. Contact the Town Hall/Office for Your Marriage License

In the State of Connecticut, marriage license filing takes place at the vital records office of the town/city where you elope. Here’s how it goes:

• You apply for your marriage license before you elope. Both of you have to be present at the same time for this. You’ll have to provide ID and sworn statements, as well as pay a small fee. You need to time this correctly, not too far in advance of your wedding.
• Next, you receive your marriage license from town hall. Again, it comes with an expiration date: you have about 60 days to actually get married after your application is approved.
• Lastly, you legalize your marriage after your wedding ceremony by having your officiant sign the marriage license and then submit it back to the town office that issued it. Make sure to do this before it expires.

Town halls keep weekday hours and nothing else, so this step has to happen on their schedule, not yours.

4. Book Your CT Elopement Photographer

Your photographer matters more on an elopement than on a traditional wedding, not less. There’s no reception to fall back on if the portraits feel stiff. No dance floor to redeem an awkward afternoon. It’s just the two of you, for a few hours, and whatever gets made during that time is the whole record of your day.

It’s worth choosing carefully. Wedding photography isn’t really about the resulting images, it’s about whether there’s an actual connection between you and the person behind the camera. Here’s a post that includes questions to ask before hiring a wedding photographer.

Here’s what that looks like with me, specifically: a $3000 starting point for three hours of coverage, a custom wedding album, and video clips alongside your digital images. From there, we build out from your actual day—more time, more artwork, whatever the day in front of you actually needs.

Have an Engagement Session

Most people skip the engagement session when they’re eloping, on the logic that it’s an extra step for a day that’s already stripped down. I’d push back on that. An engagement session is where you and your photographer figure out how to work together.

Tell them what you’re hoping for. Let them help you pick the location. That conversation is doing more work than it looks like.

5. Book Your Other Elopement Vendors

After choosing your photographer, there’s really only one other vendor that’s non-negotiable: an officiant who’s empowered to handle a wedding ceremony in Connecticut. Beyond that, it depends on the day you’re picturing. So, consider these:

• Dress shops
• Jewelers for wedding bands
• Hair and makeup stylists
• Restaurant or private chef reservations

6. Make Travel Arrangements

Travel for an elopement can be as plain or as deliberate as you want. A room for the night. A rented house. Some couples treat this as just logistics, i.e. somewhere to sleep before and after. Others build it into the day itself.

If you’re eloping on the water for example, buy tickets in advance, for yourselves and for your vendors. And if a specific car matters to how the day looks and feels—something with real presence in the photos—this is the moment to arrange it.

7. Elope!

Once the planning is done, there’s nothing left to manage. That’s the part people don’t expect. No vendor timeline to run, no schedule to defend, no one to introduce you to. Just the two of you, doing the thing you came here to do.

Places to Elope in Connecticut

Here are more than a dozen places to elope in Connecticut, all worth considering. Verify details yourself before you commit to one, but most of these locations don’t charge a fee for an elopement. At most, you may need a permit for professional photography.

1. Wooster Square Park

A small, picturesque park in New Haven, Wooster Square Park is a great place to elope. If you decide instead to get creative elsewhere in the city, at least consider stopping here for portraits. This park has beautiful cherry blossom blooms in early April.

2. Lighthouse Point Park

Another New Haven elopement option, Lighthouse Point Park is home to a small beach and an iconic lighthouse. There’s plenty of space here for the two of you to walk and talk for pictures after tying the knot.

3. Lantern Hill Trail

One of southeastern Connecticut’s most scenic trails is Lantern Hill in North Stonington. The hike is a gentle hill and the views are worth it. If you two are feeling lucky, then head over to Foxwoods Casino afterwards to gamble a bit.

4. Old Furnace State Park

Old Furnace State Park in Danielson is about as close as you can get to eloping in the mountains in Connecticut. Getting to the top is a pretty good commitment (from my perspective anyway) but you’re rewarded with a beautiful view of Furnace Pond. The trees are plentiful here; a fall Connecticut elopement to this spot would be perfect.

5. Essex

CT’s very own “perfect small American town,” Essex has plenty of charm. The downtown area is walkable and cute, complete with a public dock area and a great museum (which is also a wedding venue). If the water doesn’t do it for you, consider booking the Copper Beech Inn when you elope.

6. Stonington Point

You could call Stonington Borough the little cousin of Mystic. The Point is located here and is an absolutely lovely place to elope to in Connecticut. Just steps away are a public beach and a historic lighthouse. You’d be surrounded on three sides by water, too. Here’s how one couple did it.

7. Noank

I’ve photographed enough portrait and engagement sessions here to know Noank works. The Main Street dock is open to the public and sits right on the water—get there early, before anyone else does. Afterward, there’s some nice seafood available nearby where the two of you could have your own quiet version of a reception, if the season’s right.

8. Hubbard Park

Another great town park, Hubbard Park in Meriden is quite big and has multiple beautiful spots for you to elope. If you enjoy the stage, you could even utilize the public amphitheater for your ceremony. This is a great sleeper location for a Connecticut elopement.

9. Hartford City Hall

A wedding venue in its own right, Hartford City Hall is probably one of Connecticut’s most iconic locations for elopements. The architecture is great (and the on-site marriage license aspect is a bonus). Restaurants and hotels are plentiful in the area. With highways near by, it’s easy to get to and leave from (such as for a honeymoon in New York City).

10. Mystic

I’ve photographed so many couples in Mystic that these tips for where to elope would be incomplete if I didn’t suggest to you. This village is very walkable and the Mystic River provides many options for a private ceremony. A destination elopement would be great here; there are plenty of hotel rooms and houses for rent in the area. When you’re done, explore downtown with your photographer for more photo ops.

11. Harkness Memorial State Park

Harkness in Waterford might be the best park in the state for an elopement. Its 200-plus acres mix gardens and beachfront, which means real options for privacy during the ceremony itself. It’s not just a nice backdrop, an actual place to be alone together. Eolia Mansion, a wedding venue in its own right, sits on the same property.

12. Cranbury Park

Like Harkness, Norwalk’s Cranbury Park is a huge, beautiful park for your Connecticut elopement. While you could go through the formality of booking the park’s Gallaher Mansion, the property is big enough that it would be perfect for a darn good elopement.

13. Elizabeth Park

Home to Pond House Café, a popular wedding venue in Connecticut, Elizabeth Park in West Hartford is an elegant place to elope with plenty of gardens around. There’s a nice gazebo in the rose garden area, which is a popular aspect.

14. The Conti Building

The Conti Building in Shelton is a converted mill, and it photographs like one: exposed brick, big windows, the kind of light that doesn’t need much help. It’s an intimate space by design, which makes it a strong fit for an elopement rather than a venue you’d have to scale a ceremony down to fit. Unlike most of the spots on this list, there’s a rental fee here, though it’s straightforward to book online. Then, you can explore the whole building for creative portraits. Here’s how one couple did it.

Alternatives to Eloping in Connecticut

When deciding where to elope, it’s worth knowing what else is out there. Here’s a list of venues for smaller weddings in Connecticut, for couples who want a bit more structure than a park or a dock provides.