Eloping

I've known a handful of people who eloped and they didn't regret anything. They were able to splurge on various things that they couldn't otherwise but loved not having to cave to meet other people's expectations.


The only time that people get upset over having parties afterwards is the couples try to con their guests into believing that the big party is the actual wedding and the legal stuff (the wedding by definition) never happened. Guests do find out and get justifiably angry over that. But if you are completely honest and it is explicitly announced that the party is just a celebration/renewal of vows without calling it a wedding in any way, then you are fine.

I've never met a person who eloped and regretted it. Hmmm it really depends on what you define as eloping. In my opinion, it's when a couple goes out of town, at least out of their metropolitan area to get married, just the two of them.


I dont consider it eloping when a couple who lives in Philadelphia that goes to the courthouse in downtown in Philadelphia to legally marry.
I've met countless women who had their dream weddings admit later that they wished they eloped and spent their thousands of dollars on paying off debt or a house down payment.

We eloped because of pregnancy and financial reason back then. We now planning for an intimate vow renewal. I regretted eloping back then. I wish I would just stay put and save money to have an intimate wedding but splurge on things I want, such as location, dress, flowers, nice rings, and nice hotel to honeymoon. I am not a party person btw, so I don’t want guests. I just want a romantic wedding, that’s all. If you want a real wedding but financially can’t afford it, and you are not in hurry to get married —-> work, save, save, save, and once you have it, do it!

By definition, eloping is marrying your partner with only an officiant and a legal witness or two for paperwork in attendance, plus a photographer. It takes place anywhere the couple wishes: the city they live in or traveling elsewhere.


When you start adding guests beyond the legal witnesses, it's no longer an elopement.

I think this is one of those situations where everyone is completely different, and you need to sit down and have a “come to Jesus moment”. Now is the time to be completely, brutally honest with yourself. How important is having a wedding to you? How important is it to have family or friends present? If you elope, just the two of you, now... then have a reception at a later date... will you be satisfied with that? Will you feel as though it is as special, or will you have the same emotions attached to it, knowing that you are already married?
On the flipside, are you OK with continuing to wait to get married until your financial situation is better?
These are questions only you and your fiancé can answer. My best advice would be to really sit down and think about how you truly feel, and follow your heart and gut. You only have one opportunity to marry your fiancé- just make sure you choose whatever makes the two of you happy! Good luck girl!!

Due to covid we had a small elopement of 7 people in attendance. In the beginning I did regret it; but now i dont. Hubby and i dont get along with majority of his family and looking back it saved us a lot of money. If you want something small and intimate then go for it. Go on pintrest and google, or even create a forum on WW, to see how people made their wedding day special with an elopement. We had a grocery store wedding cake, food catered from a local soul food restaurant, my bouquet was made from walmart Roses and my wedding sandals were my boscovs. In the end, we were unsure about covid and didnt want to wait. I'm glad we didnt wait because covid isnt getting any better and we knew that the cost of everything would go up.

That is a personal decision. I had a minimony with three guests and I regret nothing. Now financially I could make it like a wedding (i.e. I had 2 photographers who took excellence shots of a beautiful day, went with a beautiful well rated venue but did it on Sunday for their elopement pricing, went to a salon for an HMUA, we went to a nice restaurant and took our guests, had a cake). Also, wedding experience is a lucid term. My friend had a 100 guest wedding and paid $5K. She had her ceremony at a park and then the reception at her house and did party trays from Publix and bottles of liquor for the guests. I am not sure your budget but if you look up budget friendly weddings you could make it work. For her it was not about the money and having a lavish wedding rather celebrating the big day with close friends and family.

My parents ran off and eloped without even telling my grandparents. The only thing I’ve ever heard my mom express regret about is not having a photographer.
My grandmother on the other hand is still bitter about it 35 years later.
I think you need to do what’s best for you. Is the party super important to you? If it is wait and save for the celebration you want. If it’s not go ahead and elope. You could always get married now and have a celebration in a year or 2 once you saved and covid settles down.