Our Swiss Elopement

Elopements in Switzerland, packaged

Our Swiss Elopement is a team of Swiss wedding suppliers who plan elopements in Switzerland, for couples marrying alone or with a handful of loved ones. The site is written in English and built around couples from abroad: its about page says the team kept hearing from foreign couples that Switzerland can be hard to navigate, and decided to offer a one-stop shop for everything an elopement needs. Each package includes planning support, a symbolic ceremony led by one of their celebrants, photography, and flowers, and the higher tiers add hair and make-up, a picnic, a helicopter or boat ride and a dinner reservation.

The services page sets the tone. No elopement is the same, it says, and it gives three examples of what the team supports: an emotional ceremony with just the two of you exchanging vows on a mountaintop, a relaxed lakeside picnic followed by a helicopter ride, or a party with a few loved ones in an art deco hotel. If none of the packages fits, the team will send a custom proposal.

The three packages

The packages are named after Swiss mountains, and every price is a starting price.

Pilatus, "Short but sweet", from CHF 4150. Planning support, a symbolic wedding ceremony, 2 hours of photo coverage including the ceremony and a couple shoot, and a bouquet and boutonniere.

Säntis, "More is more", from CHF 4900. Everything in Pilatus with 4 hours of photo coverage (getting ready, ceremony and couple shoot), plus hair and make-up and a picnic basket for two.

Matterhorn, "Your day, your way!", from CHF 6900. 8 hours of photo coverage including getting ready, a first look, the ceremony and a couple shoot at different locations; a helicopter or boat ride of 20 minutes, weather permitting; hair and make-up; bouquet and boutonniere; a picnic basket for two with a bottle of champagne; and reservations for a romantic dinner.

On travel, the page is clear: general travel expenses for the celebrant and photographer are covered, while cable cars or specialty transportation may cost extra. For a mountaintop ceremony, that is the line to ask about, because a cable car for the couple, the photographer and the celebrant can add up.

What every package includes

A personalized ceremony. The celebrants guide the couple through writing their own symbolic ceremony. Personal vows, a ring exchange or a small unity ritual can be included, and the couple takes home a certificate. The packages describe a symbolic ceremony only; the services page does not mention a civil ceremony at a registry office, so couples who also want a legally registered marriage should ask the team how that fits in, and check the requirements with the authorities themselves.

Photography. Coverage runs from two hours to a full day, depending on the package. The page's line is "Pics or it didn’t happen!"

Help finding a location. The team assists in choosing the spot for the vows. The page lists mountaintops, crystal clear lakes and cool urban hideaways, and says of them, "we know them all".

Help with the timeline. The page notes that Switzerland is not big, but getting from one place to another can take a long time, so the team helps plan the day to avoid rushing. A blog post on the elopement day timeline makes the same point: "Allow enough time on your elopement day to make sure you don’t feel rushed."

Vendor suggestions. From its network across Switzerland, the team suggests a make-up artist, florist or videographer to match the couple's taste and budget.

The team

The about page describes the members as the couple's cheerleaders, supporters and "hype-gals". Together they have over 50 years of experience in the wedding world, they say they are well connected in the Swiss wedding industry, and they "belong to the best vendors in our respective sectors." Over the past decade, they write, they have celebrated with hundreds of couples. The skills listed on the about page are planning, photography, ceremony, florals, music, hair and make-up, and videography. They add that they will help couples find local vendors and incorporate local customs.

The about page does not name the individual team members. The blog does name two authors, Sandra Ardizzone and Simone Gori, whose posts cover the best season to elope in Switzerland, an elopement day timeline, romantic spots in Switzerland and a wedding story, Courtney and Richard.

For LGBTQIA+ couples

A blog post titled "Eloping in Switzerland as a Gay Couple" states that Our Swiss Elopement is a proud member of the SQWA (Swiss Queer Wedding Association). The post says the team connects couples with vendors who are also SQWA members, and it describes the service as "a safe space for everyone". The same post says, in the team's own words, that same-sex marriages are legal in Switzerland. It also mentions help with choosing a venue and arranging transportation and accommodation.

What the site leaves open

The services page does not state a maximum number of guests; its examples range from just the couple to a handful of loved ones. It does not publish a deposit, payment schedule or cancellation terms. The site's footer links to a FAQ page, which may cover some of this. Prices are "from" prices, and the page does not explain what moves a package above its starting figure, whether that is the season, the location or extra hours.

Seasonality matters for the Matterhorn package in particular: the helicopter or boat ride runs only if the weather permits, and the page does not say what replaces it if it does not.

Who it suits

Our Swiss Elopement suits couples from abroad who want a small, photographed ceremony in the Swiss landscape with one team handling the planning, the celebrant and the pictures, and who prefer to work in English. The fixed packages with published starting prices make it easy to budget from a distance, which is rare among Swiss wedding suppliers. The SQWA membership makes it an obvious contact for queer couples. It is less suited to a large wedding with a reception and catering for many guests, which is not what the packages describe, and couples wanting a legally registered marriage in Switzerland need to plan that step separately with the team.