10 Reasons to Elope
There are so many reasons a couple may chose to elope; from wanting a ‘just us’ experience to saving money. There is no wrong or right way to get married, your relationship is unique so why wouldn’t your wedding day be unique too? We’re guessing you’re here to decide whether an elopement is right for you, well here are our top 10 reasons why eloping might be one of the best decisions you make.
No intimidating guest lists
We’ve been there; the cyclical nightmare of “let’s elope! Oh actually, we can’t do it without mum, but if we invite her we’ll have to invite whoever, ok we’ll just have 30 people… oh but so-and-so… and we can’t let whosit have a plus-one but not whatshername… as long as we can keep it under 80 people we’ll be fine… no, you know what, let’s just run away and elope!” aaaaand repeat ad infinitum.
It’s hard to finally commit and make the decision to elope but once you have your heart set on that you are free of the family politics and not actually wanting to invite your auntie Karen. You only need yourselves! Throw a celebrant and a couple of friendly photographers into the mix and then you’re set!
And one thing we wished we knew before we got married is you can elope with a few family members if you want to. We chose to have a wedding as I (Harriett) would have felt awful leaving my mum out of the experience. Now I know she could have been a part of our day still if we had eloped. If you want to know more about how you can include family and friends on your elopement day then read our blog ‘How to Include Friends and Family in your Elopement’
2. No need for a huge budget or have one hell of a splurge
The average cost for a wedding is cited as anywhere between 15 and 30+ thousands pounds (this figure varies wildly!). An elopement budget is much easier to control. You could elope from is little as a few hundred pounds if you were on a tight budget, but imagine the kind of day (& honeymoon) you could have if you spent £15,000+ on just the two of you. When you don’t have to buy 100 people a three course meal you could have the experience of a lifetime.
3. You can go wherever you want and do whatever you want!
In most of the UK you can only get married at licensed premises but you can just get a registry office booked for the legal stuff then celebrate however you would like elsewhere. When we got married we got our legal thing out of the way in the morning (for just £57) with just two friends popping along as witnesses. Then we had our own ceremony later in the day, who cares if that’s not the legally-binding moment! We had a friend prepare his own version of the usual vicar-spiel, we exchanged rings, we read our own vows and it was personal and beautiful.
In Scotland you can get married anywhere! If you decide on Scotland then we advise finding a celebrant and doing it that way; there are some amazing celebrants out there, they truly are a special breed of person and no two are alike! Check out our ultimate guide to getting married in Scotland for more information; it’s such a beautiful country and we’d love to show you around!
Apart from that, the day (or however long you want it to go for, it could be a week!) is yours! Go skinny-dipping, go rock climbing, go go-karting, go for a long hike somewhere beautiful. Just do whatever makes you two happy! We’ll be along for the ride and the more the day reflects your personality, the better the images will be too.
4. No need for a degree in events management
Unless you have an expensive wedding planner or an absolute hero in your wedding party, you will still be the place that the buck stops on the day. People will ask you where to put things, how to display things and 1001 other questions when you just want to relax.
On an elopement, we will already have a plan for the day and you won’t need to worry about any of that! You can be as organised or as loose with your plans as you like.
5. Make or break; traditions on your terms
You don’t need to throw a bouquet, you don’t need to ask an assembled crowd whether they want to object, you don’t need to bring religion into it, you don’t need a veil, hell, you don’t even need a cake! You can chop and change, pick’n’mix, ignore or invent; any traditions you like you can do, any you don’t care for, you don’t have to adhere to!
6. You can share it with the world
In our modern world, you can be connected to almost anyone in an instant. If you want to have a best-of-both vibe, we can help you set up a video call for all your friends and family so that they can witness your nuptials in the comfort of their own homes and you’re only one red button away from privacy. All the guests, none of the cost!
If you happen to have a large online following you can even livestream it!
We can also take a few video clips on the day, either on your own phones or on ours so you can update social media whenever you like. More importantly, we work quickly after the day to get a highlights package of 10-15 completed images so you don’t have to rely on selfies for a new profile picture; honestly, we get it, you might want to update your profile picture immediately but it well worth the very short wait for maximum impact!
7. You can keep it a total secret
Love is a very personal thing. You don’t have to scream it to the world if you don’t want to. You don’t even need to tell anyone you’ve eloped. Just go for a weekend away and come back married!
8. You can concentrate on an amazing experience instead of fancy stuff
Not that cards stuffed with cash and multiple brand-new toasters aren’t great, but it is much more common now for engaged couples to already live together and have no need for the gifts and clutter! You can suggest that any family and friends that want to contribute can just provide a modest donation towards the elopement/honeymoon costs but that there is no expectation to do so.
9. Beautiful images
Skipping town and tradition for an elopement doesn’t mean missing out on making memories; if anything, it is more important than ever at an elopement as you don’t have an army of smartphone-wielding guests to document every angle and however memorable the day will be, the human mind is not quite as good as our cameras at capturing and storing the views!
Being able to flick through the entire experience for the rest of your lives is so important and you picked a beautiful and meaningful place for an amazing day; that deserved to be lovingly documented.
10. Sustainability/Eco-friendliness
The environmental impact of an elopement is tiny and we even mitigate the emissions for the adventure by supporting tree-planting charities. Just think about the amount of energy, fuel, emissions, water, food-waste and new clothes that might not get worn again (the list goes on) that goes into a wedding day.
We are Leave No Trace certified and can take you through how we ensure that we make as little impact as possible and we would love to discuss what options and considerations you can incorporate.
Don’t worry too much about it though, just choosing an elopement is a hugely positive and responsible choice!
