Are you planning a wedding, and have you wondered, maybe we should elope instead? I know many couples go through the same thought process while planning a wedding. Even if you do elope, there is still planning involved, but it's about what the wedding is made up of that might be stressing you out.
For instance, traditional weddings have a lot more things involved to plan. You have to cater to a large group of people, make sure there's enough room to accommodate, and you have to ensure everyone attending has a great night. At the end of it all, you might feel like you planned a wedding experience for your guests, instead of for you!
In this blog post, I'll go over a five main points to help decide if eloping may be more suited to you!
1) Are you more of an introvert?
Does reading your heartfelt vows in front of all your guests stress you out to the max? Or, did you change some wording in your vows because you are either too embarrassed to share, or think it's too intimate to share? Instead, imagine a wedding day experience that allows you to say whatever you want to your partner! You two could read your vows at a base of a waterfall, so only you two can hear each other, not even the photographer! Or, imagine a private place that you have all to yourself to share your words. No audience, no stress, just the sound of a waterfall, or the trees in the valley below that won't judge you if you mess up.
2) Would you rather have a "just us" experience?
If having guests and a giant party doesn't fit your personality, eloping might be for you. Just you and your future spouse can be the only people present, besides your photographer capturing all the moments for you. Just you two can spend all day together making it the most meaningful marriage. And if you two are more adventurous, you can plan a whole day catered to you two, and you can do as many activities as you like throughout the day! Here's some links to blog posts with an all day elopement timeline, and why you should have an all day elopement experience.
3) Do you want to experience new and exciting things/have an adventure for your wedding day instead?
The previous point really ties in well with this one! If you are more of the adventurous type, sitting in a building all day, or being in the same place all day might not sound so fun for you. With eloping, you have the opportunity to make your wedding day an adventure that you will never forget. You will even want to relive that day over and over again, instead of being so relieved that it's over.
Eloping ideas are endless, whether you want to get married on a mountaintop, or if you want to kayak into the sunset, and then watch the stars while having smore's, you have the opportunity to fit all these things into a day, making it the best day ever. And who wouldn't want their wedding day to literally be the best day ever?! Or if you want to do something you've always wanted to, you can for your wedding day! The most fun days are always the most memorable!
4) Are you looking for a less-stressful wedding?
As I mentioned in the beginning of this blog post, eloping still comes with planning. But as an elopement photographer myself, I offer help to plan your day out! So it won't all be on your plate. But in general, elopements are less stressful than traditional weddings. If something small goes wrong at a traditional wedding, it's definitely more stressful, as there's more people watching. And with more people, creates more of an opportunity for something to go wrong, such as someone running into a decoration and knocking it over and breaking it, just for example. It's just a more high stress environment when there's a lot of people. Eloping keeps the focus of the day just on you two, which brings up the last point.
5) Are you looking for the most meaningful wedding experience?
In my opinion, eloping is the most meaningful way to get married! Having been the photographer for my best friend's elopement on the Oregon Coast (link to that blog here), I know for a fact it couldn't have been a more meaningful experience for them. They brought their closest family and friends, and that's all they needed for their wedding to be that meaningful! All of us girls road-tripped together, sang songs in the car at the top of our lungs, and had such a fun time! Even as a guest/photographer, I remember so much about that trip and I long for my couples to do the same. It was literally a blast and was very memorable for me even!
I feel like many don't realize you can have an experience like that as your wedding day. But I am here to remind you that you ABSOLUTELY can, and I'll be the biggest advocate for you, and I'll document it all for you, and help you plan it from start to finish!
I hope this blog post provided some insight on what it might be like to elope, and how amazing it is! Here are some other helpful blog posts about elopements, to help you on your way to the best day ever!
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