Five Reasons You Should Consider Eloping
Five Reasons You Should Consider Eloping!
What is an elopement? Is elopement the same thing today as it was when your parents eloped? Why should you consider it as an alternative to a large formal wedding?
An elopement is a marriage that occurs on short notice, in a small intimate setting. Often an elopement occurs without a lot of advanced planning or a huge expense.
When your parents or grandparents eloped, chances are they “ran away” to get married. They might have left the state to go to a nearby state. They might have been married by a justice of the peace without any input into the ceremony or vows. The ceremony was held in a court room or the justice of the peace’s living room. They did not tell anyone they were going to get married.
Today’s elopement can be very different from what you see in the movies or hear about from extended family. You can still make an appointment at the magistrate’s office and go there to get married by the magistrate from a standard ceremony. You can plan an elopement, include a photographer; have your ceremony customized and personalized to represent you, wear a beautiful gown or suit, have flowers, be in a park or your living room, you can invite several friends or family members to be present.
Here is why you should consider a planned elopement:
Your focus is on the ceremony not the big party and all the other elements associated with a wedding.
You want a nice wedding but don’t want to spend months and months planning.
You want to have a small intimate gathering of just 4-5 friends present.
You want your ceremony to be personal. You want to include your own vows or a special reading.
You want to control the spending on your wedding.
What do the elopements we do look like?
Some are planned a month or so out, the couple can write their own vows, chose readings that are meaningful to them, and have a custom ceremony. Sometimes, a special dress or suit is purchased other times, they wear what they already own. Some couples bring special loved ones, other times they ask for our help in getting the required witnesses. Some couples arrive by limo with a photographer to capture the special day for them. Some couples want to get married in a special park where they dated. Other couples want to get married in the home they are building together.
Other’s call in the morning and ask that we meet them at a local park later that afternoon. Some couples go out for a nice private meal afterwards while others invite additional friends and family to join them for a cook out. Other couples decide to have a special large reception later to celebrate their marriage.
As you can see elopements are just like the larger more formal weddings---each one is unique and suits the couple getting married. And, at the end of the day, two people who are in love are married!
What does it cost to elope?
The cost of elopement, just like any other wedding, is up to you. You must purchase a marriage license-that is $60, this is true no matter what you plan for your wedding ceremony. If you go to the magistrate’s office, you will pay them $20 for the simple secular ceremony they provide. If you decide to use our simple elopement ceremony on a weekday, you will spend $150 to have your choice of three different ceremonies (secular, spiritual or religious). This ceremony does not allow for customization. If you want a more personalized ceremony the cost is $300. As you can see you can get married for as little as $80 up to under $400. You are able to control the cost!
How do we elope?
Contact Faiths Wedding Officiants to help you plan our ceremony!
