Elopements in the Southern Highlands
Eloping has had a resurgence during the pandemic, for obvious reasons, and I think that as a concept it will be far more widely accepted in the future.
People are eloping in all kinds of ways not just skipping off to a registry office and signing a bit of paper. Whether it is just the two of you (and a celebrant and witnesses) or a just a handful of your nearest and dearest, there are some truly lovely ways to celebrate your marriage on a small scale. Here are some great reasons to elope.
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Elopements are more personal and intimate
It can be beautifully romantic just the two of you in a private space celebrating the occasion exactly how you want.
An elopement is much more personal and intimate than a wedding. You can spend every moment of the day together with your partner and small number of guests. None of this having to move around and talk to a large number of guests giving very few the attention you would like to.
Elopements are very budget friendly. There is no doubt that an elopement is going to save you money. This is especially so as most of the industry charge by the head. The difference between the cost of food, drink, and entertainment for 10 guests as opposed to 100 guests can be enormous and often life changing. According to Money Smart https://moneysmart.gov.au/getting-married The average wedding (of around 80 guests) will cost around $40,000- this is not an amount to take lightly. If you have to take out a loan or even put some of the cost on credit card, it can take years to pay it off. Ask yourself, would you be better off without that debt or perhaps putting that money towards the purchase of a home.
Perhaps a intimate ceremony followed by a restaurant meal for yourselves (and maybe 10 of your nearest and dearest ) may be more in keeping with your current budget restraints.
2. Elopements are less stressful
Elopements can be a lot less stress. Whilst all couple have ideas about their big day being just about them, the reality is that the bigger the wedding and the more involved it becomes and more you seem to be juggling thing to make everyone happy. If you choose to elope literally all that matters is what the two of you want.
Also, the fewer people, the less there is to organise which in turn lessens the stress leading up to and on the day.
3. Elopements are easier to organise!
Eloping allows you to get married when and where you want. If it is just the two of you or a very small number of people, there is really no limit on where you might exchange your vows- the beach, your backyard, the peak of a mountain, your favourite picnic spot or a place that is particularly special to the two of you. Really anywhere you can fit yourselves, the celebrant and two witnesses can potentially be your wedding venue.
If you are eloping, then the time and day of the week also becomes a lot simpler. When considering large numbers of guests, it tends to limit you to holding your event on a weekend when most people are not at work. When is just yourselves then it can be any day of the week which makes the availability of celebrants, photographers, seats at restaurants etc much more likely.
Perhaps there is a day or date that is special to the two of you that doesn’t fall on a weekend making it difficult to invite a large number of guests, eloping eliminates the worry of this.
Eloping can drastically cut done your planning time. Things can be arranged quickly, none of this booking and planning 2 years in advance to get the venue of your choice or the only one that will fit your number of guests. An elopement can be arranged in a matter of weeks. There is a legal requirement for you to complete a notice of intended marriage form and lodge it a month before your intended wedding day, so this is about your shortest time frame for organising a wedding. But really with only yourselves or a small number of people to consider you could bring it all together in a month.
4. Elopements eliminate “The Guest List”.
Deciding who to invite to your wedding can cause some couples a huge amount of stress and often lead to issues within and between families. Then problems arise with who to sit where causing even more stress. With an elopement, even if it is a small number of people, a lot of this stress is eliminated and if it is just then two of you then no stress at all. Booking a table for two at your favourite special occasion restaurant is as simple as a phone call.
5. Making it matter
By choosing to have an elopement, with only a handful of people, you are surrounding yourself with those who mean a lot to you. Which makes sharing this momentous occasion with them very special, both for you and for them.
If the thought of trying to arrange a big wedding or if you want to organise something quickly then eloping just may be the way to go. The pandemic has allowed couples to think more about what is really important around marriage and the exchanging of vows and how they wish to celebrate the occasion in a meaningful way.

image by translucent photography