Elopement photography on the Gili Islands costs from $890 for 30 minutes: your vows and the portraits straight after, often at sunrise on Gili Air’s east coast facing Lombok. You receive 15+ edited photos, a preview within 48 hours and the full gallery in 2–3 weeks. Getting ready is added with extra hours at $100.
Starting from
$890
Duration
30 min
Edited photos
15+
Why here
Why choose Elopement photography in Gili Islands?
Most elopements in the region happen at sunset, and on the Gilis that means sharing the west coast with everyone who came for the same light. We often suggest the other end of the day. On Gili Air’s east coast the sun comes up behind Lombok, sometimes with Rinjani standing over the strait, and at that hour the beach belongs to a few fishermen. Vows spoken there are heard only by the two of you and your celebrant, which is rather the point of eloping. The car-free island suits a wedding of two in another way too: there is nothing to coordinate. You walk out of your bungalow, cross a sandy lane, and you are at the ceremony. The photographer covers the vows and the portraits straight afterwards; extra hours add getting ready and the breakfast that follows.
How the shoot is planned
What does the shoot in Gili Islands look like?
01
The route
The 30 minutes begin as you walk onto the sand together: the photographer is already there, shooting your arrival from down the beach while your celebrant waits at the water. The vows take ten minutes or so, photographed from two sides — wide with the sea and Lombok behind, close on your faces and hands — and the ring exchange from near enough to see it. Straight afterwards come the portraits while the light is still low and golden: a walk along the tideline, the two of you on an outrigger boat, quiet frames in the shallows if the dress allows. With extra hours we start in your bungalow in the dark — the dress going on, letters read, the walk down the lane by torchlight — and finish at breakfast, still in your wedding clothes, which tends to produce the least posed photographs of the day.
02
The timing
For a sunrise elopement on Gili Air the vows should start around 6 am, about the moment the sun clears Lombok’s hills, which means the photographer arrives before 5.30 and a getting-ready session starts by 4.30. If you would rather have sunset, Gili Meno’s west coast is the quietest choice, with the ceremony about 40 minutes before the sun goes down. The dry season, April to October, gives the clearest mornings and the best chance of seeing Rinjani; from November to March sunrise is still the more reliable end of the day, as storms tend to arrive in the afternoon. Avoid Fridays around midday prayers for any ceremony near the villages, and keep the date clear of a boat crossing on either side.
What’s included
What does the package include?
The Elopement photography package in Gili Islands covers: 15+ edited photos; The vows and portraits straight after; getting ready with extra hours; Help with timing the ceremony to the light; A preview within 48 hours; Full gallery within 2–3 weeks. Nothing is added to the price after the shoot. Permits worth knowing about: Gili Trawangan sunset swings — swings belong to beach bars and hotels; usually a drink order or a small fee.
01Is an elopement on the Gili Islands legally binding?
Not by itself. For foreigners, a legal marriage in Indonesia requires a religious ceremony followed by civil registration, with translated and legalised documents, and the process takes weeks. Most couples marry legally at home and hold a symbolic ceremony here with a celebrant. We photograph the ceremony, not the paperwork; a celebrant or planner can advise on the legal route if you want it.
02Do we need a permit to hold vows on a Gili beach?
A quiet ceremony for two with a celebrant on a public beach does not usually need a formal permit, but the beach in front of a hotel is effectively that hotel’s space, and a word with the village head is a courtesy that avoids surprises. If your celebrant or hotel is arranging the ceremony, they normally handle it. We keep the set-up minimal: no arch, no speakers, nothing that blocks the path.
03Can we have a reel or a drone shot of the ceremony?
A short vertical reel filmed between frames is a $110 add-on, and a drone pilot can join for $150 for aerial frames of the two of you on the empty beach. At sunrise on Gili Air there is rarely anyone around to disturb, and the coastline from above shows the reef as a band of turquoise. For a proper film of the vows with clean sound, the wedding film service is a better fit.
04What is included in the $890, and what costs extra?
The $890 covers 30 minutes of photography around your vows and first portraits, 15+ edited photos, a preview within 48 hours and the full gallery in 2–3 weeks. Extra hours are $100 each, hair and make-up $90, and the island transfer $90 if the photographer comes from Bali or Lombok. The celebrant, flowers and any hotel set-up are arranged and paid separately.
