Why Elope?

Why Choose to Elope?
            By Best Elope Ideas
 
If you’re reading this, chances are you’re thinking about getting married soon.  Congratulations!  It’s hard to find the love of your life and even harder to make that big leap into such a huge commitment for the rest of your life.  A huge celebration is in order!  Right?
 
We’ve all dreamed about our wedding day(s) since we were young.   Some of us pictured the priest, the chapel, flowers.  Some of us wanted princess gowns and horse-drawn carriages.  Still others had binders with every single detail mapped out in excruciating detail (okay, you caught me).
 
The problem is that over time, the wedding became more about this grand event, and less about what it was supposed to be about.  It’s a ceremony celebrating the love between two people (who, by the way, are no longer even necessarily a “bride” and a “groom”).  Nothing more, nothing less.
 
With times changing, finances being rough for many, people struggling to do this whole “adulting” thing, it’s no wonder why people are choosing elopement more than ever before!

Here are some of the top reasons you might choose to elope:
 
1. Money, Money, Money, Money.  Money!  —  The most popular and most unsurprising reason why people elope is because of budgetary reasons.  Why spend thousands (or hundreds of thousands of dollars) on a wedding when you have bills to pay?   If it’s going to leave you struggling to pay your mortgage or utility bills next month, are you really living happily ever after?  Elopements have less pomp and circumstance, less food, less people, and are overall much, much cheaper.
  
2.    Who ARE These People? — Speaking of money, a top complaint from brides with large weddings is that they feel like they didn’t get to meet and greet all of their guests, and sometimes brides and grooms didn’t even know all of the attendees at their wedding because of dates (not to mention even the possibility of wedding crashers).  If you’re paying $50 a person, you really should at least know a person’s first name, don’t you think?   

3.   It’s All About Priorities! —  Let’s go back to that list from when you were a kid.  Maybe flowers are extremely important to you.  Maybe your Grandmother who’s no longer with you loved roses but hated carnations.  Roses are expensive and not always possible if you have a 300 person guest list.  By eloping, you’re able to simplify the entire process and focus on the few things that are absolutely make or break for your big day.
 
4.     Elopements Can Actually Be More “Grand”  —  I had a friend recently who was married in a hot air balloon, hundreds of feet in the air.  I know someone who was married on horseback.  These days, you can have an underwater submarine wedding, a cruise ship wedding, or even a wedding on top of a unique national  like the Eiffel Tower, but that’s not possible when you have a huge wedding party.  With elopements you are free to do some wild and crazy things that might really appeal to you or describe your relationship perfectly.
 
5.     Location is Everything  — With that said, elopements make it possible to have a destination wedding.  You can fly to Vegas and get married by Elvis.  You can come to New Orleans, and have an amazing Carnival celebration.  We can absolutely help you with that at BestElopeIdeas as we’re part of the Be NolaWed network.   The point is that the fewer the people, the easier and more affordable it is to make travel accommodations. 
We also have some amazing locations in New Orleans that are picture perfect but not accessible for a large wedding party. The Grand Victorian Bed and Breakfast has some beautiful locations and rooms but they won’t fit more than 20 people.  Tableau, a restaurant owned by the Brennan Family, has some amazing balconies that overlook the St. Louis Cathedral and the entire French Quarter, but more than 4-6 people on the balcony and you’re not going to be able to make it work.  Elopements and smaller parties just make the impossible possible.
 
6.     The Timing Is Right  — With elopements, you aren’t restricted to scheduling.  There are brides and grooms who have to wait 18 months to get married before they can find an available Saturday in their church.  Not only do you have flexibility in terms of available dates because the venues may not get as many requests, but you also have flexibility in terms of the people who need to be there.  You, your love, a few of your closest friends and family members, the officiant, photographer, wedding planner(s).  That’s it.  It makes it a lot easier to get married on a Wednesday afternoon or a Thursday morning.  This makes it not only even more affordable, but also enables you to get married on a special date like an anniversary, or on a romantic date like Valentine’s day.
 
7.      Secrets are More Romantic  — Speaking of romance, did anyone watch “The Office”?   Jim and Pam had the most adorable relationship ever, and one of the best things ever was when the audience found out (spoiler alert) that that had secretly eloped at Niagara Falls before their “big” wedding.  This made it much more easy to bear when everything started to go wrong on their big day. They were already married, they had an intimate ceremony, and everything went perfectly.  Above all, how romantic is it to have a secret wedding date?    Elopements enable you to surprise people later with the news of what happened and that you’re finally hitched!
 
If you can’t tell already, we love all things wedding, and elopements are our specialty!  If you need additional help or advice on your big day, don’t hesitate to contact us!