7 Reasons Couples Choose An Elopement Wedding

Have you ever been curious about eloping and why couples do it? Or are you considering eloping yourself? In this blog, I'm taking you through reasons couples may opt for an elopement wedding to see if it might be the right fit for you!

The dictionary lists 'elope' as 'to run away and get secretly married.' Traditionally an elopement is a marriage 'conducted in a sudden and secretive fashion. However, Merriam-Webster's online dictionary recently covered how the meaning of elopement is shifting. To summarise their blog, Merriam Webster writes about how the definition of an elopement has shifted towards meaning a "small destination wedding" instead, which is usually the case.

Times have changed, and the way couples carry out their weddings has too after COVID-19 shook up the wedding industry (and the world in general).

Reasons Why Couples Opt To Elope For Their Wedding

1) Some couples are after the old school style of elopement and want to run away in secret and get married. There are many reasons for it; sometime's it's cultural, religious, or just a romanticized thing from movies, but it does have its appeal to some brides.

2) Couples may choose an elopement to bring a wedding up sooner. A lot of planning and execution goes into organizing a traditional wedding. It can take a lot of time to pull together, so some brides & grooms instead choose to elope, saving time and money while still getting the same outcome; marrying each other.

3) An elopement wedding is a great way to reduce the stress and hassle of planning a big wedding day. Eloping has its advantages when you can effectively cover a few bases (officiant, venue, witnesses, etc.) and skip everything else and get married without the excess.

4) Couples may choose to elope because they want to pair their marriage with an escape from their typical life. I spoke with a bride recently who told me she and her husband felt like their long hours at work made life feel a little mundane, and they wanted their wedding to be an event that spiced life up, so they decided to elope and use their wedding as an intimate party with friends.

5) Eloping may feel like the natural choice for some couples, and there's nothing wrong with that! Some brides and grooms decide to elope because it feels more like 'them' than a grand wedding.

6) An elopement wedding is a lot more intimate and private than a large-scale ceremony. With that in mind, some brides or grooms may not feel comfortable being the center of attention on their wedding day, being up in front of family and friends, and would rather elope instead.

7) Sometimes budgeting reasons make an elopement wedding the only option. According to MoneySmart, the average cost of an Australian wedding is $36,000. An elopement can be done for a minuscule fraction of that amount and will reduce the financial pressure a marriage can place on a couple.

There are so many reasons couples may choose to elope. Have you considered it for your wedding? We'd love to hear your thought process and why in the comments!comments!