Eloping in Finland

Finland is awesome place to elope whether you want to do it legally or just have a symbolic ceremony. Nature in Finland is amazing and it's every where, even in the cities you can actually elope in nature if you want. There is also many beautiful cities and cute small towns where to celebrate your elopement. And the best thing is that it's not too crowded ever — well except maybe in Rovaniemi in Lapland during the peak winter season — but honestly it's always possible to find beautiful secluded spot if you know where to look and as Finnish elopement photographer I definitely do know.

Should you have a symbolic ceremony or make it legal while eloping in Finland?

The question whether you should have symbolic ceremony or get legally married while eloping in Finland is mostly a matter of taste but there is benefits in both.

Symbolic ceremony gives you more freedom with what comes to the location and time. You might not be able to get an officiant come to marry you on a remote island or in the middle of the night if you want to have your ceremony under the midnight sun. There is also more flexibility if the weather turns out bad, we can change the location and time of the outdoor ceremony if there is no time strains. One more perk with the symbolic ceremony is to avoid the hassle and possible delays with the paperwork.

The best thing eloping and having the legal ceremony in Finland is that your elopement day is the same date that is marked as your official day of marriage in your marriage certificate. If you want to explore this option more, take a look to my other post about getting legally married in Finland.

Where to elope in Finland?

Finland is full of beautiful nature, lovely villages and small towns and lively yet cosy cities where to elope. There is over 40 000 km of coast line and several amazing archipelagos, thousands of lakes, forest every where, some lovely waterfalls and the best thing is that you can elope anywhere. In Finland we have so called every ones rights which means you can freely wander in nature, pick berries in a forest, camp almost every where and of course elope.

Southern Finland is most vibrant part of the country. Here you can find a lot of museums, art and city life. We have more and bigger cities in south but also nature and calm and quiet areas. There is beautiful archipelagos, forests with broad leaved trees and so on.

Eastern Finland is known for lakes and forests. It's sparsely populated and there is large wilderness areas. In east you can find one of the Finnish national landscapes at Koli national park.

Western Finland has some of the most amazing coastal beaches in Finland. There is also vast archipelagos, few lively cities and some of the most charming small towns. Western Finland of course gives you great access to Baltic Sea.

Northern Finland including Lapland is best known for vast arctic wilderness areas, reindeer, fells, midnight sun and well, Santa Claus. In the north you'll find several big national parks and some of the biggest waterfalls in Finland.

Best time to elope in Finland

People often ask what is the best time of the year to elope in Finland. The most popular time for weddings among Finns is summer season from May to September. July and August are the busiest months what comes to the weddings and also most popular holiday months. During that period it might sometimes be challenging to find an officiant especially if you are considering to elope on Saturday and want to make it legal.

Winter elopements are most common from late December till February. Winter weather varies a lot and since Finland is tall country it might be really snowy in north and no snow in South at the end of autumn/beginning of winter and at the end of winter/early spring.

But honestly the best time for you depends on what you want from your elopement and from your elopement photos. Whether you love snow or want a nice warm summer wedding check out my tips for making your decision on what is the best time to elope in Finland.

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Hi! I'm Suvi, a professional elopement photographer from Finland. I'm happy to help you with your photography needs and share my expertise on what comes to planning your amazing elopement in Finland. Don't hesitate to contact me!