A Just-Us-Two Elopement in Bannau Brycheiniog
By the time I met A&K, they had already headed to a registry office with two random witnesses, signed the paperwork and got the official bit done.
Then they went and had their wedding day.
Just the two of them on one of their favourite walks, a tiny homemade carrot cake, chai, vows they hadn’t even written yet and an afternoon beside a secluded lake in Bannau Brycheiniog.
It was simple, incredibly personal and pretty much everything I love about elopements.
Getting legally married first
Separating the legal ceremony from the rest of your elopement can give you so much freedom.
For Alex & Kasia, the registry office wasn’t the part they wanted to build their day around. They simply got legally married earlier, found two witnesses and saved the personal stuff for later.
That meant when I met them, there was no ceremony timetable to stick to and nobody waiting for us anywhere. We could just head out.
If you’re wondering how the legal side of an elopement actually works in Wales, I’ve explained the different options in myHow to Elope in Wales guide.
For A&K, the registry office wasn’t the part they wanted to build their day around. They simply got legally married earlier, found two witnesses and saved the personal stuff for later.
That meant when I met them, there was no ceremony timetable to stick to and nobody waiting for us anywhere.
We could just head out.
Heading into Bannau Brycheiniog
Rather than choosing somewhere simply because it looked impressive in photographs, A&K chose somewhere that already meant something to them one of their favourite walks.
I love that.
There was no need to squeeze several locations into the afternoon or spend loads of time driving around looking for the next backdrop.
We walked, talked, stopped for photographs along the way and eventually reached a secluded lake tucked into the landscape.
And that was where we stayed.
Writing their wedding vows beside the lake
They hadn’t arrived with beautifully handwritten vow books prepared weeks beforehand.
They wrote their vows there.
On their wedding day.
Together.
They found a quiet spot beside the lake, sat down and took some time to work out what they actually wanted to say to one another.
Then, when they were ready, they headed up to a spot overlooking the water and exchanged them.
Just the two of them.
There was no audience. Nobody performed and nobody wondered when the next bit was supposed to happen.
Just some words they’d written for each other a little while earlier and a place they both loved.
This is also exactly the idea behind my Vows in the Wild elopements – taking care of the legal paperwork separately gives you the freedom to make the vows themselves much more personal.
Homemade carrot cake & chai
Then came cake.
A tiny homemade carrot cake, still in its baking tin, baked together the day before, because apparently wedding cake absolutely does not need to arrive on a three-tiered stand to count :)
They cut it beside the lake, poured some chai and sat for a while.
And these are exactly the bits I love leaving room for when we’re putting an elopement together.
Not everything needs to be an activity or a photograph we’re trying to create.
Sometimes you’re just eating homemade cake beside a lake because you got married that morning.
That’s a pretty good use of a wedding day if you ask me.
Exchanging rings beside their favourite rocks
Later, A&K headed to another spot they already loved along the walk – their favourite rocks – and exchanged their rings there.
Again, nothing elaborate.
It was simply another little part of the day that belonged to them.
That’s one of the things I really love about symbolic ceremonies and private vows. Once the legal paperwork has been dealt with separately, you aren’t trying to make the landscape fit around a prescribed ceremony.
You can decide where the meaningful bits happen.
Your vows can be overlooking a lake.
Your rings can happen beside some rocks you’ve walked past together countless times.
Your wedding cake can come out of a baking tin.
It can all be incredibly simple and still mean everything.
Coffee by the water & nowhere else to be
There was coffee later, too.
We wandered back towards the water, brewed some and spent a little more time by the lake before eventually beginning the walk back.
We had vaguely hoped Wales might give us a spectacular sunset to finish everything off.
It did not….
But it didn’t matter.
The day wasn’t built around creating a particular photograph at sunset. The photographs came from the day A&K were actually having.
And that’s a distinction I think matters.
A Bannau Brycheiniog elopement doesn’t need much
I think A&K’s day is such a good example of what an elopement can be when you stop worrying about what you’re supposed to include.
They didn’t replace a traditional wedding checklist with an elopement checklist.
They went somewhere they already loved.
They wrote their vows.
Exchanged rings.
Ate homemade cake.
Drank chai and coffee.
Went for a walk.
And spent the afternoon together.
That was enough.
Actually, it was more than enough.
Planning a just-us-two elopement in Wales
If the idea of doing something this simple appeals to you, you don’t need to find twelve activities to turn it into a wedding day.
Start with the two of you.
Where would you genuinely like to spend the day?
Maybe there’s already somewhere in Wales that means something to you. Or perhaps you’ve never been here and want help finding somewhere that fits the kind of experience you’re imagining. I’ve put together some of my favourite places to elope in Wales if you need somewhere to start.
Think about what you’d actually enjoy doing once you’re there, too.
That might be walking for a few hours and exchanging vows somewhere along the way. It could be swimming, bringing a picnic, cooking outside, finding a pub afterwards or sitting beside a lake eating carrot cake.
We can work backwards from there.
I’ll help with locations, timings, light, weather, how much walking is involved and all the practical bits. The time of year you choose can make a huge difference to the experience too, particularly somewhere as exposed as the Welsh mountains, so I’ve written a separate guide to choosing the best time to elope in Wales.
The whole point is that we can make it totally YOURS.
Thinking about eloping in Bannau Brycheiniog?
You don’t need to come to me with a finished plan.
You might already have somewhere meaningful in mind like A&K did, or your entire plan might currently be:
We want to get married somewhere beautiful in Wales and spend the day outside.
That’s plenty :)
Tell me what sounds like a really good day to the two of you, and we’ll start there. Simply send over an enquiry and tell me whatever you know so far – even if that isn’t very much yet :)