Why You Should Consider an Elopement Wedding

May 3

I’m sure by now we’ve all seen many posts, blogs, and photos about elopements. There’s no question that they have increased in popularity in recent years - and for good reason!

If you or someone you know was scheduled to have a wedding this year it’s likely that it’s either been postponed, rescheduled, or even cancelled until further notice due to the coronavirus pandemic around the world.

I feel so much sympathy for not only my clients who have had to change their wedding arrangements, but also for the millions of other couples who have been planning every detail of their special day only to have all their planning be lost to this situation.

With thousands of people not being able to work due to covid-19 many couples may be stressing about the budget, the health of their friends and family, not having a foreseeable wedding date, desired venue, unable to book your desired photographer, and more.

If you were planning to have a wedding and feel like it’s going to cause more stress to re-plan instead of bringing excitement and joy - keep reading why you should consider an elopement!

Reasons to have an Elopement

THE MONEY SAVING ASPECT
The average cost of a wedding in 2020 is between 29K-31K (honeymoon not included) according to www.weddingstats.org. That’s a lot of money my friends. Even if you save for most of your adult life for your special day, you may still be paying off some of those costs for years to come. Most people try to stick to a budget, but having your dream wedding and an agreeable budget can play two conflicting roles. Most elopements will cost less than half of a traditional wedding being between $5000-$15,000 depending on if you decide to fly to a destination or stay in your nearby area.
GET MARRIED ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD
If there’s a certain place that speaks to you or that you’ve dreamt of going with your significant other why not choose that elope there? Some of the most popular destinations for eloping include Oregon, California, Arizona, Utah, New York, Hawaii, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, Bali, and Greece. The world is seriously your oyster when it comes to choosing a destination!
NO FAMILY DRAMA
We all LOVE family, but when it comes to weddings sometimes there can be complications of the relationships and dynamic within the family. There can be so many opinions of what things should look like, how the day should unfold, traditions, ect and things can easily get complicated or stressful worrying about others instead of focusing on how joyful and momentous this day is for YOU. This is your day and it should be about you and your partner’s love.
NO WORRYING ABOUT THE “PERFECT WEDDING DAY”
There is an unspoken standard for what weddings are supposed to look like based on movies, books, TV shows, celebrity weddings, and let’s be honest...Pinterest has set the bar the highest! If you don’t have the resources or budget for what you want your wedding to look like it can easily lead to disappointment and make you feel like you’re not able to have the “perfect wedding.” If you’re not the traditional type and would prefer to have a fun, unique, intimate wedding experience eloping gives you the opportunity to do just that - let loose, be with your person, focus on why you’re marrying them, and slow down to enjoy this emotional moment with each other.
INTIMACY & INTENTION
Having more intimate and emotional moments without distractions will result in those raw moments that are so beautiful to capture and to be able to look back on. Ask yourself what type of photos you want to look back on in 10, 15, 30 years from now. Is it group photos where everyone was asked to smile and look at the camera? If so, that’s totally fine! But if your answer is those little moments of looking into your soulmate’s eyes and standing in front of a beautiful landscape while yelling out the words “I do!” …then an elopement will enable you to do that. You get to be your truest self without any expectations of how you’re ‘supposed’ to look.
LESS PLANNING
It’s no secret that big weddings require much planning. There’s a whole checklist of things from the food, utensils, napkin color, tablecloths, the list goes on and on. An elopement can be as simple or as elaborate as you desire. But as a general rule - the less people there are the less amount of planning you will need to do which = less stress and anxiety.
THE ADVENTURE
Here’s my favorite part about elopements - the adventure! Since you can choose anywhere in the world without as much planning as a wedding, you can instead plan an adventure. You can make a whole day out of it and have it documented with all the variety of activities and locations. Not only are the actual activities and journey to the destination part of the adventure, but more importantly experiencing it with the person you love right beside you and enjoying all the little moments that result from it.
CREATIVE PHOTOS
It’s just the nature of elopements. You will have more time with your photographer/videographer which allows them the ability to use their creative eye and really create some stunning images and video for you to have & cherish forever. It creates a more relaxed feeling knowing you don’t have to speed through family portraits, group photos, and sticking to a schedule to be out of the venue by the agreed curfew. You can really just slow down and take in the moments as they come.

THE TAKE AWAY:

Your day should be you. Whether that means a big wedding or an elopement! You shouldn’t compromise, but the reason I wrote this post was to show that elopements can be just as exciting and fun as a big wedding! If you choose this route you should know you can still have everything you wanted for your special day and more!