One of the biggest shifts I see when couples decide to elope is that they stop looking for a wedding venue and start looking for a place that feels like them. 

I always tell my couples: You didn’t travel all this way for a quick ceremony.

Your Airbnb isn’t just somewhere to spend the night before your wedding. It becomes your home for the weekend. It’s where you wake up together, make coffee, write your vows, invite your favorite people over for dinner, and end the night around a fire telling stories.

I spend a lot of time helping couples find the right place to stay, not because it photographs beautifully (though it usually does), but because it shapes the entire feeling of your weekend. The Airbnb becomes your home for a few days, and when it’s the right one, it becomes part of the story you tell about your elopement for years afterward.

One Thing to Do Before You Book Your Airbnb

Before you fall in love with a rental, always check with the host to make sure you’re allowed to host your elopement, ceremony, dinner, or reception there.

Every Airbnb or vacation rental has different rules regarding events, photography, vendors, guest counts, parking, and gatherings. A quick conversation beforehand can save you a lot of stress later.

I’ve photographed beautiful elopements at Airbnbs and private rentals over the years, and I have several more coming up this summer that I’m incredibly excited about. When the right home and the right experience come together, it’s a dream!

What Makes a Great Airbnb Wedding or Elopement Location?

When I’m helping a couple find an Airbnb, my first question isn’t, “Will this photograph well?” It’s, “Will you want to linger here? Does this place invite you to slow down and soak it all in?”

Beautiful photos are certainly part of it, but I’m looking for so much more than that. What I’m looking for is:

• Natural light for getting ready. 
• Privacy so you can actually relax. No shared walls or neighbors ten feet away, so you don’t need to worry about being watched.
• Outdoor spaces for your first look or private vows.
• A dining area for you (and your loved ones, if you’re including them) to gather.
• Accommodation for your people. If family or close friends are joining, keeping everyone under one roof (or on the same property) changes the whole texture of the weekend.
• Close proximity to your ceremony location or the location you wanted to explore.
• Fire pits, docks, porches, hot tubs, or outdoor spaces that encourage you to slow down.

I Curate the Stay as Much as the Experience

One of my favorite parts of planning an elopement is helping couples find a place that feels like home. The more I get to know your personalities, your style, and the way you love spending time together, the more I can help create an experience that feels truly authentic to you.

Some couples are drawn to clean, modern homes that look like they belong in Architectural Digest, while others dream of cozy cabins tucked into the woods with fireplaces, coffee on the porch, and rainy afternoons. None of those options is better than the other, because what matters is that the stay and the experience reflect who you are as a couple.

I love photographing beautiful homes with my couples in them. Some of the most meaningful moments happen before we ever step outside—making breakfast together, writing vows on the balcony, sharing a slow first look on the deck with nobody else around. Your people gather in the living room, someone makes a pot of coffee, someone else puts on a playlist. These are the moments that make the story yours.

When you choose the right setting for your day, it brings so much warmth and character that these moments are just as magical as the rest of your adventure.

Sometimes the Airbnb Changes the Entire Plan

One of my couples originally planned to elope in Acadia National Park. As we started searching for places to stay, they realized they couldn’t find an Airbnb in Maine that truly fit their style. They wanted something modern, architectural, and design-forward.

So instead of forcing the location, we pivoted. We moved the whole elopement to the Catskills, found a beautiful modern home tucked into the mountains, and built the day around that. Airbnb became one of the main reasons they fell in love with their wedding day. The landscape was stunning, but the house was what made it theirs.

Another couple, Ali and Patricia, told me early on that they didn’t want to hike. Which is a completely valid thing to tell your elopement photographer, because adventure doesn’t have to mean a ten-mile hike. We found a mountain-view Airbnb where the scenery came to them. They got to wake up to it, sit with it over coffee, watch it change through the day. That was their adventure. And it was exactly right.

Find the Airbnb That Matches Your Personality

If You Love Modern Architecture

Some couples are drawn to clean lines, oversized windows, warm wood tones, and homes that look like they belong in a magazine. If that’s you, don’t feel like you have to settle for a traditional wedding venue.

One of my couples, Jake and his partner, rented a stunning modern A-frame cabin near Capitol Reef National Park in Utah. The home became the heart of their whole elopement experience. We photographed them sharing pizza in the kitchen, relaxing together before the ceremony, and soaking in the architecture before heading out to explore the desert.

If you find yourself saving modern cabins, Scandinavian interiors, or beautifully designed homes on Pinterest, let that guide your search. The right Airbnb can shape the entire feeling of your weekend just as much as the landscape outside.

If You Want Cozy Cabin Vibes

Fireplaces and campfires. Board games on the coffee table. Rain tapping on the roof. The kind of place where you just want to stay an extra day.

If you’re thinking of the Catskills, then Urban Cowboy Lodge has this quality. It’s got on-site dining and mountain views, and it gives you a weekend getaway feel that makes it very hard to leave.

My other favorite place is Tammah in Jackson Hole, where you get a glamping setup with stargazing, campfires, and the option of a private chef cooking outside your tent while the Tetons rise before you. 

If You Love the Coast

The Coach Stop Inn in Bar Harbor is one I return to again and again. It’s the kind of place that threads the whole day together. Here, you can wake up slowly, have breakfast, get ready in beautiful natural light, head into Acadia for your ceremony, and come back afterward for dinner. What’s better than fresh, local breakfast prepared for you?!

Nature Nooks on the Schoodic Peninsula is another one of my favorite places to recommend for couples eloping near Acadia’s quieter side. Tucked into the woods near Schoodic Peninsula, these thoughtfully designed modern tiny cabins feel like a true nature retreat. They’re peaceful, beautifully designed, and perfect for couples who want to slow down and reconnect.

Imagine waking up with coffee on your private deck, spending the morning exploring Schoodic’s rugged coastline, coming back to your cabin for lunch or a nap, and heading out again for sunset along the granite cliffs. As a collaborator with Nature Nooks, I’ve seen firsthand how much the intentionality of the space shapes the whole experience.

A Real Airbnb Elopement Near Acadia: Miekal + Jean’s Story

Miekal + Jean are such a beautiful example of why Airbnb elopements can work so well for couples who want something simple, personal, and fully supported.

When they reached out, they shared that they thought they might have to go to Vegas to find the kind of all-inclusive elopement experience they were looking for. They have a busy life with three children and did not have the time or energy to plan every little detail themselves, but they still wanted a day that felt peaceful, connected to nature, and true to their blended family.

So we planned something near Acadia that gave them the ease of an all-inclusive elopement without making the day feel cookie-cutter.

They rented a gorgeous modern Airbnb near Schoodic Peninsula, which became the quiet home base for their day. Their elopement included flowers, cake, a private chef dinner, space to include their children, and sunset portraits along the coast photographed by Ashley.

One of my favorite parts of their story is that even though the big pieces were taken care of, the day still felt like them. Miekal chose to do her own hair and makeup because she wanted to feel natural, grounded, and fully herself.

That is what an Airbnb elopement can offer: support without pressure, structure without stress, and a wedding day that still feels deeply personal.

For second marriage couples, blended families, and couples with children, this kind of elopement can be especially meaningful. You can include your kids, keep the day intimate, share a beautiful meal together, and create a celebration that honors the life you have already built — without turning it into a big traditional wedding production.

The Experience Between the Moments

One of the biggest things couples often overlook is planning what happens between the “big” moments. This is where the right Airbnb really shines. When the house is good, the in-between time just flows. You’re not scrambling for things to do, because the space itself inspires you.

But if you want to build more into the weekend, the best Airbnb locations make it easy:

• Morning yoga on the deck
• Canoeing or kayaking from the property
• Fly fishing on a nearby river
• Horseback riding through the landscape you’re getting married in
• A private chef cooking dinner while you sit outside and watch
• Pizza and local beer after a full day of hiking
• Campfire and stargazing as the night gets late and nobody wants to go in
• A late soak in the hot tub after everything else is done

These are actually the moments couples remember the most.

Why Airbnb Elopements Feel Different

I’ve thought about this a lot, and I don’t think it’s actually about the house. I think it’s about what the house gives you permission to do.

When you rent a venue for six hours, you’re just another event on the calendar. But when you settle into an Airbnb for the weekend, you belong there. It becomes your getting-ready space, your ceremony backdrop, your dinner table, your morning coffee view, and your late-night conversation spot, all rolled into one unforgettable weekend.

Choose a Place That Feels Like Home

The right Airbnb doesn’t just hold your luggage, it holds your memories. Years from now, you’ll remember making breakfast together in that kitchen, reading your vows on that porch, watching the sunset from that dock, and sitting around that fire, wrapped in blankets long after the day was over.

When I work with couples on their elopements, choosing where to stay is one of the first things we figure out together, because everything else tends to grow from it. The tone of the day, the feel of the photos, the pace of the weekend. It all starts with finding a place that feels like you.

If you’re planning your elopement and want help dreaming up where to stay and how to build an experience around it, I’d love to help. Reach out and let’s plan the adventure together.

See more Elopement Rental inspiration:

The Foggy Pearl Wedding Venue in Hancock, Maine, A Coastal Wedding Venue

A Dreamy Fall Elopement in the Catskills: Modern Romance Meets Adventure

An Intimate Catskills AIRBNB elopement