I say this all the time: a wedding is a living, breathing, constantly changing thing.

In fact, I’d be surprised if you don’t burn as many calories planning a wedding as you do carrying a child to term. As you get down in the details of what kind of garland to use, who wants chicken and who recently became vegan, where does one get 200 extra long sparklers in December, and what exactly the difference is between dusty rose and august rose. . . you can feel a little overwhelmed.

It is hard work to plan an event for 125 of your closest friends and family.

So, what if you scaled it back? Like way back. I’m not talking 50, or even 10. I’m talking you and your favorite person in your favorite place or a place you’ve always dreamed would resonate with you. Doing only the things you want to do, only what matters to you.

That’s an elopement, a very small group of people celebrating you.

Less Wedding Planning Equals Less Wedding Stress

Since elopements can be as small as you and your beloved, you just need a place and an outfit for each of you. That’s the whole ball of wax. Neither of those outfits has to be a wedding dress or a tuxedo. I mean, sure, they can be, but you can also get married in your favorite ball gown, or yoga pants and a t-shirt. Whatever you might most like wearing.

Even a 40-person wedding takes weeks to plan and execute, and some of my favorite elopements just took me and the couple sitting in a consultation for 40 minutes. Talk about taking a load off one’s shoulders.

Less Cost

If you aren’t offering 65 people canapés and an open bar and choices of fish or pasta, you can save a lot of money. If you don’t need to fill a 4,000 square foot ballroom with roses, you can save a lot of money. If you don’t need a 12-piece band for a day, you can save a lot of money.

Are you noticing a theme here?

Not only do you save money, but the money you do spend here is spent directly on you, on the things you love and enjoy.

Most weddings involve some form of compromise. Heck, I’ve worked weddings where the couples were vegetarians but the main meal was steak. Or someone’s mother thinks that you doing some specific thing is super important so you include it even though neither of you could care less. When you elope, there are no compromises. There is just a day filled moment to moment with the things you love.

More Fantastic

This is probably my favorite point about elopements: since you aren’t spending the day creating dinner theater for your friends and family, you can spend the day instead in wedded bliss with your life partner doing things you love. It makes the pictures so authentic and timeless. Besides, after the honeymoon you can have a reception BBQ in the backyard with a lot less stress, cost, and effort.

Schedule a consultation to discuss your elopement ideas, and let us help you create something magical.