So why do people elope?
Common reasons for eloping instead of having a traditional wedding include wanting a more intimate wedding, not having a means of paying for a wedding ceremony and reception, reduced stress or needing to marry quickly. Of all the reasons, though, money is typically one of the biggest factors.
Nowadays, the average wedding can easily run $25,000 or more. For some, it just makes more sense to elope and save themselves the hassle and expense of a wedding. Though the following women each have different stories as to why they eloped, they all have one thing in common — they don’t regret their decision and would do it all again in a heartbeat!
Janna B.
“When I asked my husband why we eloped, he looked at me funny and said, 'What do you mean why... we wanted to get married.' Followed by, 'I conned you into marrying me. I wasn't willing to risk you changing your mind by waiting.' But in truth, I was the one that wanted to elope. We had saved money in our wedding fund for two years, the planning had begun, the dress was purchased, and yet something didn't feel right about it. All the plans, the details, they all seemed to be to make the guests happy, to impress the attendees, to make their attendance worthwhile. What about us? All I wanted was to say 'I do' to the man of my dreams, and all the nonsense was just weighing me down. When Will realized this, his exact words were 'Do you even want to have a wedding?' He was right. I didn't want a wedding; I wanted a marriage, and that is just what we did.”
Brandi B.
“James and I were married in Georgetown , Bahamas. We eloped because we wanted to have the ceremony be more between us and our commitment to each other. We also thought that having a traditional wedding would be way more costly and would lose the [intimacy] that we wanted. So we thought, why not go on our 'honeymoon' and just happen to get married. We definitely have no regrets, but as parents, we would be upset if our kids do the same.”
Karen M.
“For us, eloping was an easy decision. Having both already had the big weddings, we wanted this to be all about us and all for us, with no need to worry about where guests would sit or what they would eat. We wanted to focus on each other, barefoot on the beach. So it was off to Maui to get married, just the two of us, where we were able to enjoy each other's company and not stress about the details or worry about other people’s opinion. With my only big decisions being what kind of flowers I wanted in my hair and what kind of juice I wanted in my mimosa, I could not have asked for a more relaxing experience. As we walked hand-in-hand along an empty beach to our ceremony site on the sand, we got exactly what we'd hoped for. And when it was over, with no guests to entertain, we jumped immediately into honeymoon mode. “
More on weddings
Is eloping right for you?
Pros and cons of destination weddings
Planning a beautiful wedding on a shoestring budget