We’ve been thinking about what elopement means. By Google’s definition, “elopement refers to a marriage conducted in sudden and secretive fashion, usually involving a hurried flight away from one’s place of residence together with one’s beloved with the intention of getting married without parental approval.”
And…. we just…. don’t like that… at all, LOL. It’s so outdated and honestly, a little negatively construed. Elopements are truly magical, so damn intimate, and truly one of a kind… and what on earth is that last bit about “no parent approval”, as if you need that to get married in a church? HA! We are justtttt sayin’ y’all; just keepin’ it real!
SO, that begs the question of what elopement means, truly!
What Elopement Means
Simply put, to elope is to have an intimate wedding with less than 20 people. Give or take. An elopement also has no rules, fun right??! An elopement can be anything from your backyard, to a church in the town you two met, to the edge of a mountain in Switzerland, to a waterfall in Hawaii, to a boat on Lake Michigan.
When we said no rules, we meant every word of it. Thats what elopement means.
What do you picture?
Do you picture an elopement with your closet family and friends around you? You got it.
Do you picture one with just you and your lover? No one else? You got that, too!
How about an afternoon trip to the college town you met in and a small ceremony in a tiny chapel? Totally.
Something more complex? A hike up to the best lookout point on a mountain? Epic.
What about a week trip to another country? Have your ceremony then start your honeymoon right away? Glorious!
Don’t have a ton of money to spend, but just want to be married? Your backyard is about to see the most excitement it’s had in forever.
Elopements are exactly what you picture. Anything is possible.
OUR definition // What Elopement Means
We would define an elopement as the very first adventure you two will take as a married couple. It’s the first adventure you two will fully plan, start to finish, together. This will be the first adventure you take where you can do anything you want, plan anything you want, go anywhere you want because it’s all about you and declaring your love officially legal… THAT is what elopement means. This is the sweeeeeet beginning to your adventure of a lifetime.
Some myths!
“Eloping is marriage without parents consent!” FALSE. In fact, many many many parents are at the elopements we shoot! Say whaaaaat?? YES. An elopement is literally just a wedding ceremony with less than 20 people, your parents can 100% make the list of people invited. Or not! That’s the freedom of eloping, you decide who’s there.
“Eloping is selfish!” FALSE part 2. It is not, but if we’re being honest… isn’t it a little selfish to assume you deserve any kind of seat at anyone’s wedding??? *cue your jaw on the floor* hahaha. Eloping is about making a commitment to no one except your unity with your love, it is about doing something together just for yourselves – at the root of it’s being, it is about love.
“Elopements are cheap!” OPE. Tell that to anyone who has recently elope’s bank account. While yeah, an elopement CAN surely be cheap, a wedding can be too, most of the time they are not! Anything can be cheap if you plan it that way π They are notably less money than a big, extravagant wedding… that doesn’t mean you don’t spend good money on them! Everything is about perspective.
More myths
“Elopements are last minute weddings!” WRONGO…. again, anything can be anything given the chance, but for the grand majority, this is simply not true. Most elopements we shoot and help plan take a year or MORE to fully bring together and make come to life. You still have vendors to book, places to check out for pictures, timelines to build. Elopements are still a lot of work, y’all!
“Elopements can’t include guests!” WHAT? No no no no…. y’all, so many of our elopements have friends and family galore, it’s a party! While some elopements are extremely intimate and personal and thus, kept to just the two people getting married, not all of them are that way. We keep telling you, but the funnest part about eloping is that you can do quite anything you want to.
“Elopements make your wedding less legitimate!” IN WHAT WAY? At the end of the day… y’all… isn’t it just about the little slip of paper that is government issued? LOL. Your wedding day isn’t any more or less REAL because you chose to elope to Italy instead of getting married in a chapel in your home town (which is just as valid!). The moral of the story, elopements are rad.
A video just for you!
Sometimes it helps to hear from more than one person, that’s why we’re incorporating this superrrrr helpful youtube video in this blog! We’re hoping it gives you some more peace of mind and we love the way SimplyEloped describes everything you may or may not be wondering about eloping/elopements in general! It’s okay to have questions!! We just want to make sure you have them allllll answered π That’s why we’re giving you all the resources possible here.
Why is eloping becoming popular?
Eloping has become significantly popular in the last couple of years for several reasons.
Number one being COVID, actually! Ironic, isn’t it, that there may be some positives to this damn pandemic? With the initial need to mask up, minimize gatherings, and locally distance… eloping became a hit for people who still wanted to tie the knot with no delay. There was a huge push for them, and we think maybe that excitement for them has maybe just stuck around! Hahaha!
Number two being the internet! Let’s be real, if the internet hadn’t made every little bit of information available at the touch of a button… we might be all sitting here thinking an elopement is the marriage of tow people without parent consent. But because it’s here and we allllll use it, we can thankfully sit here, more educated, still learning about these awesome little, intimate weddings π People are finding the positives outweigh the negatives, and in our highly biased opinions (hahaha), we agree!
Imagine this!
We wrote a little “image this” elopement for a blog we recently did – here – but want to do it again!
Imagineβ¦. you decided on an elopement. Not because you want to be secretive, not that you wanted to be selfish, but because it makes sense for the two of you.
It makes sense because it’s the most intimate way of marrying the love of your life. It makes sense because it’s cost effective and you’re able to spend the extra money on your honeymoon, or first home, or any debt so you can start your married life debt-free! It makes sense because it will just be about the two of you. Not what anyone else wants or thinks.
Imagine that! Imagine marrying your lover by yourselves. Just with one another. Hand in hand, about to start the best freaking adventure of your life.
Imagine spending the extra money on your honeymoon. You go to Australia and see the zoo, you go to the Virgin Islands and spend the day tanning in the sand, or you go to Italy and try all the true Italian food your wallet can buy and your stomach can handle.
Imagine starting your married life free of anyone else’s opinions.
Imagine this, finally, you eloped. You can still include your family afterwards! You have a huge party (or a small one!) and you celebrate while dancing the night away. An elopement does not have to equal a lack of celebration.
Imagine you choose each other. A brave choice. And you got to celebrate in your own way, whatever that means to you two.
The new and IMPROVED definition. // What Elopement Means
SO… how would you define “elopement” now that you have more information? We think this is what elopement means.
An elopement is a small, less than 20 people, intimate wedding. It’s a wedding where you can go anywhere from your backyard to the Grand Canyon. You do everything your way, exactly how you wish, with no one else’s input. It is a day rooted in love and commitment, with or without parent permission. You’re a grown ass human. π
Hahahaha!! How about that definition for ya?!!! We are so elated to have you going us on this blog today and hope you’ve learned a little something about these intimate weddings we love ohhhh soooo much.
So…. tell us what elopement means to you! We want to know how YOU define it.
XOXO
Sam + Bryt
