When it comes to elopement, there are tons of benefits to the more intimate wedding experience. Sometimes, the true reasons behind a wedding day get a little lost in the expectations that are created by the 60-billion-dollar-a-year wedding industry. Your wedding day is all about committing your life to your partner. When we strip away some of the expectations and opinions of others, it becomes apparent that switching your wedding plans to an elopement or micro-wedding has tons of wonderful perks. Continue reading for a list of 15 common reasons why couples choose to elope.

01. INTIMACY AND INTENTION

An elopement is much more intimate than a large wedding ceremony. Elopements are often planned solely according to the experience of committing your life to each other. You are able to plan your wedding day based off of what you want out of your marriage, and provides a lot more focus on your relationship than entertaining guests. In all honesty, larger weddings quickly turn your attention to distant relatives and plus ones that you aren’t close to: making sure everyone is seated at the right table and entertained. The intimate elopement experience gives you a wedding day unlike any other, based on you and your partner.

02. A “JUST US” EXPERIENCE

Eloping with just you and your partner gives you the opportunity to spend your day together, instead of being pulled in all directions by other people. I often hear from couples that planned big weddings “I barely got to see my partner” or “I pretty much remember the day as a blur.”

You can plan the day entirely around what you love to do. Running off to an epic adventure, or an intimate and laid back day, whatever feels the most YOU. Eloping allows you to be truly present in the moment and create amazing memories.

*P.S. Elopement doesn’t have to be just you and your partner, either. If you want to grab a handful of your closest friends and family (Up to 20 guests), it is still considered an elopement.

03. Adventure + Uniqueness

In our human nature, most people feel that experiencing the world around us is a powerful and incredible feeling. There is something indescribable about feeling the mass of the world around us as we stand so tiny on a canyon overlook, or fly above the clouds. Adventure elopements give you an opportunity for a new adventure, with the chance to explore somewhere amazing, and exchange your vows in a unique place.

“This is one corner on one planet in a corner of one galaxy… and there is so much to see.” – Eleventh Doctor

04. SUSTAINABILITY AND LEAVE NO TRACE

Did you know that the average wedding produces 400 pounds of garbage? Yes, you read that right… the average wedding produces four hundred lbs of garbage + 63 tons of CO2 (Kate Harrison; The Green Bride Guide). That is four times more than the average person produces in an entire year. Single use decor, packaging, and wasted food all contribute to this high number.

Sustainability is one of the many reasons couples decide to elope. Elopement is much more environmentally-friendly, and you can spend the day immersed in nature rather than polluting it.

05. STRESS-FREE AND DRAMA-FREE

The general rule of thumb is that the more people involved, the more stress and drama will be created. As you begin planning, there is a domino effect of “if we invite ___, then we have to invite ___, too.” Your guest list keeps expanding, and often it reaches a point where there are people invited that you don’t feel close to or sometimes don’t even know (Hello Mother-In-Law’s second cousin or college friends’ plus one.)

Instead, throw all of that unneeded stress out the window and have a laid-back experience with your partner. When you are planning your elopement, an easy way to narrow down the guest list is to invite people that are just as excited as you are (or at least nearly as excited!) They should be fully supportive and on board for your elopement. If there is anyone you are worried about trying to control your experience, shift the focus away from your relationship, or stress you out at all, they don’t need to be there.

06. Budget

According to The Knot, the average wedding cost was over $30,000 every year from 2015-2019. With individual chair rentals and $80-per-plate dinners, maybe you are not looking to spend that much on a party for a bunch of other people. Many couples would rather allocate a budget of that size toward a house or another large expense. 

Otherwise, you could spend it on an elopement extravagance that you couldn’t have paid for at a big wedding (like a helicopter tour or a private chef!) There are many ways that your budget may adjust to have an elopement experience that you couldn’t have otherwise included.

07. WHy Wait?

The average time spent planning a wedding takes 10-18 months. Maybe you don’t want to wait that long to plan a party, and you are ready to celebrate your love and declare your vows sooner. As an elopement photographer, couples inquire with me anywhere from 3 months to 1 year prior to their elopement. The shorter timeline allows you to skip past the anticipation and nerves that planning a big wedding involves, and celebrate your marriage now.

08. You value experiences

If you are one of the people who values “experiences over things,” having an epic elopement can be a great way to celebrate your love. Maybe planning the coordinated bridesmaid dresses, the perfect invitation calligraphy, or the mound of wedding gifts really doesn’t matter to you. That’s okay. Your wedding day is meant to be the most meaningful to you, and nobody else. 

When you elope, you can design an incredible wedding day that is unique to you and your partner. Plan for activities and experiences that will make your wedding day much more memorable than the cookie-cutter wedding timeline that is tradition.

09. Avoid being the center of attention

Are you a bit of an introvert, and would rather not have 150 people staring at you for a 12 hour day? Elopement is a great way to redirect that attention toward the true meaning of your wedding day and enjoy your experience with your partner. A lot of eloping coupes decide that they would rather focus on each other for an intimate day than feel like the center of attention.

10. A wedding that’s authentic to you

Making the decision to elope allows you to be completely authentic to your intentions and relationship goals. Your celebratory activities and wedding ceremony become a lot less performative, widening the possibilities for a truly genuine wedding experience. The focus of the day is solely on you and your partner, your relationship, and the significance of the commitment you are making to each other.

11. You aren’t traditional

You can find pages and pages of wedding-day traditions that are typically included as you begin to wedding plan. If most of them make you cringe, maybe it’s not for you. Eloping is the less traditional route. You can include as little, or as much, tradition as you want in your plans. Throw caution to the wind and do something entirely different that feels more “you.” Follow your heart and throw out the wedding day “rulebook” to create a celebration that’s all yours.

12. focus on the marriage

Over and over again, these reasons instill that eloping gives you the opportunity to plan the day completely around the two of you and your favorite things. Instead of focusing on what guests want out of YOUR wedding, focus on your marriage and your relationship. You can spend the entire day with your partner, dedicating your futures to each other. After all, this is the first day of the rest of your lives.

13. no rules

When it comes to your wedding, everyone and their mother have an opinion about what it should look like. When you take guests out of the picture (or at least the large list of guests, since you can still include guests in your elopement), you can start from scratch and decide what is important to the two of you. Nobody else’s opinions or rules matter in your elopement planning.

If you decide to include guests, make sure that they are fully supportive of your decision to elope, throw tradition out the window, and are excited to experience this meaningful day with you.

14. amazing photos

(Obviously, as a photographer I had to include this one.) Everyone loves an incredible elopement photo. I mean, what better way to decorate your walls than with a portrait of you and your love on your best adventure yet? As you plan your elopement day, there is more free time to get comfortable with your photographer, and explore your elopement location and capture the most epic photos in the meantime. 

Another bonus: having a beautiful album from your elopement can also be a great way to share your experience with your family and friends (and your future family) after the fact. This helps them to see why you made the intentional decision to make this day centered around you and your partner.

15. Life is meant for adventures + great stories!

The bottom line is that we are here to explore the world! The world is vast, and each of us make such a unique part of it. The day you commit your life to another is one of the biggest days of your life, and eloping gives you the chance to explore somewhere incredible and exchange your vows in an epic location. It even allows to combine your wedding and honeymoon if you choose, and turn this experience into your absolute dream adventure!

So there you have it. Fifteen kick-ass reasons to elope, making your wedding experience as unique as your relationship. Your love story is one-of-a-kind, and your wedding day should be, too. Ready to start dreaming up your best day?

All of my packages include custom location ideas and timeline development to perfectly match your vision. Contact me to get started.