Reasons To Elope

Elopements Can Save You Money

Naturally, with much fewer guests you can save money on your wedding. Fewer mouths to feed, smaller more intimate venues may come at less of a cost than a venue for 100 people. Having fewer guests might allow you to spend more budget on those things that really mean a lot to you. Maybe it's splashing out on a designer gown, or having all the peonies in October, treating your guests to luxury food and favours, or perhaps you both have a shared dream of traveling the world and you're going to use your hard-earned cash to fulfill that dream off the back of saying I Do.

How To Avoid Family Politics During Your Wedding

Not knowing who of your family to add to your guest list doesn't make you a bad person. Feeling conflicted about whether or not Auntie Barb should be in attendance (when in fact she's not your actual Auntie she's your Mom's best friend's sister but is always so lovely to you on boxing day and always sends you a birthday card) is perfectly normal. Family politics can make weddings very stressful but it's easy to remove any conflict and elope (although making the decision to elope might cause you some internal conflict on the way to making your final choice). You will have to still prepare yourselves for a level of questioning from those close to you if you choose to have your elopement without them. But have conviction in your decisions. Maybe your two best friends are the right people for the job of witness. Or perhaps your parents and siblings are the only ones you really want to share the moment with. Auntie Barb sounds great but we're sure she will understand, wish you all the love and luck in the world and be thrilled that you've followed your heart by doing things your way.

Truly Have Your Day Your Way

Without the added pressure of everyone else's opinions or societal pressures to conform to certain traditions or expectations, your day can truly be your own. Choose the traditions you enjoy, get rid of the ones you don't. Wear the outfit that makes you feel incredible, not the one that makes your sister cry. Dance to all the songs on your own playlist without having to consider anyone else's potentially dodgy taste. Eat the food of your dreams. You're likely to be able to afford that really special menu that you've always wanted to try. Everything can and should feel like the ultimate treat.

The Adventure

Treat your elopement as an adventure. From the moment you decide to elope, you will be sharing a secret that only the two of you know about. How special is that? You can pick a location that means something to you or you can choose to share your most special moments in a place that is totally new to you but that will become so important. A place you can visit every anniversary and remember the excitement you shared on the run-up to your day. It's a place you can take friends and family post-wedding and share that special piece of you with them.

How To Have A Successful Elopement

When it comes to arranging your day you can use all the same suppliers you would for any wedding. Make sure you get the best photographer that your budget will allow for. Just because there might only be 10 guests in attendance on your day it doesn't mean that it should be captured any differently than if there were 100. Meet with your photographer, talk them through your plans, and feel comfortable and excited that they can capture what you want to from your day. Any photographer worth their salt will make themselves as inconspicuous as you would like them to be whatever the size of your wedding. If you are eloping on a tight deadline you may have to compromise on some suppliers depending on availability so it's still worth trying to anticipate your elopement or small wedding so that you can make sure you have those all-important suppliers.

Let's look a bit at a possible elopement on-the-day timeline. You can see other articles on full day timelines and alternative on-the-day timings that we have put together as they may be useful references. Typically it's much easier to take your time when eloping. Perhaps you could have a later ceremony and really take your time to get into the day. Naturally, with smaller numbers things like wedding breakfasts and group shots take much less time to get through.

Here's an idea of how you could plan your day:

Have a lazy morning - or don't.
Maybe you fancy going for a long walk, maybe you want to do that together too. As someone who has been married for 9 years, I feel like that would've been something that I would look back on and love. You're naturally nervous on the morning of your wedding and who better to spend an hour with, calming your nerves, than the most important person in the world to you. Maybe you want to go get a gel manicure (we wouldn't recommend any other sort of treatment on your wedding day!) or perhaps the idea of a solo brunch or a prosecco breakfast with your best friend or Mom seems the ideal way to spend your wedding morning. If you have an early breakfast because the excitement won't let you sleep, make sure you get a spot of lunch somewhere. Whether you order it in and pick at it whilst having a bubble bath or you find a gorgeous cafe to fill up another hour of your time, make sure you remember to eat.

3pm - Start getting ready (it might be worth considering a 'first look' if you fancy it and then head off to your ceremony venue together)

5:30pm - Have your ceremony

6pm - Grab those golden hour couples shots and fit in some group shots here too.

7pm - Look to sit down for your wedding breakfast in whatever guise that might take. A restaurant, the terrace of an incredible building, a BBQ. Whatever feels right for you and your wedding.

9pm - Move your wedding party to a more lively venue if you want to carry on celebrating into the night. It's a pretty simple schedule, isn't it? That's one of the reasons why a lot of people choose to elope - that lack of fuss and faff.

Elopements: How To Elope In The UK

Becky Sappor