You’ve popped the question and you’ve both decided to get married! CONGRATS to you!! All too quickly that over the moon excitement turns to ohh shittttt now what. Let us be the ones to assure you – you are not alone!! We have rounded up 10 challenges eloping couples face.
But First, DO YOU…
- Look at the guest list and realize you don’t see half the people and don’t intend to in the next five years.
- Look at the catering budget for a hundred and wish you could allocate that money somewhere more meaningful for you.
- Want your wedding to be an adventure not just a day.
We challenge you to picture what YOU want and have those conversations. This day is only about two people – you and your boo, don’t let anyone get that twisted.
1. Couples Feel Guest List Guilt
This one right here is a catalyst for many couples choosing to elope. They get a guest list handed to them from their mom, father-in-law, grandma, whoever, stating people who “need” to be invited. Guess what, only three people need to be there – you, your love, and the officiant. Respectfully, everyone else is a guest. The wonderful thing about elopements is that you can have it just the two of you, or a micro wedding. There are so many ways to make everyone else feel included even if they aren’t there. Here’s our list on How to Elope with Friends and Family – creative ideas!
2. Out-doing everybody else’s wedding is a stressful (and ridiculous)
I have literally heard from a wedding invitee, “if they don’t have an open bar, why would I even go.” I’d like to think it was a joke?? But you don’t have to have anything for your guests. If you are asking them to be there, that’s the excitement! Not what else you can do for them.
WAYYYYY too often a wedding becomes a competition. XYZ had custom wedding favors, a painter to capture the wedding, a firework show. What fucking ever. You don’t need to be in a rat race of someone else’s perfect day. WHAT ABOUT YOU!! What’s your perfect day for YOUR relationship?
3. Challenges Eloping Couples Face: Pinterest Expectations
A wedding Pinterest board is meant to inspire not to mimic. You think every one of those flower ensembles were bought and paid for? Nah, honey, there are MANY florists who advertise their own work on Pinterest. No one has your budget except you. By using Pinterest as the end all be all, you aren’t being realistic as to your own wedding desires.
Instead, use Pinterest as a springboard for inspiration. Print that shit out and create your own mood board! Take ideas from everywhere and then settle down and see what really sits with you. Staring at Pinterest isn’t meant to stress you out. We are CELEBRATING everything about YOUR big day.
4. Where in the world?!
According to social media, you should have your elopement in Banff, Aruba, or Hawaii. But, where should you have your elopement according to you? What about New Hampshire or an Iceland elopement? Stop the scrolling, and think about what you and your partner really want. Is there somewhere that has cherished memories? Do you want to say your vows with your toes in the sand? What about eloping in a National Park? Elope at a place really feels authentic and most beautiful to you vs. where is instagram telling you that you should be going. Eloping is kicking the word should to the fucking curb.
5. Honeymoon or Wedding? Not a challenge eloping couples face!
Eloping is like having your cake and eating it too! One of our favorite parts about elopements is the seamless transition from wedding to honeymoon. We had a couple who literally took a cruise and ended it with an elopement! Check out that Barcelona Elopement in Gothic Quarter – They eloped on vacation! More of this, please.
We are also two day elopement advocates over here. You traveled to an amazing location but there’s still so much left to explore. These are the meaningful moments that will kick off your marriage and we want to work with you to make a space to make the memories you’ll look back on throughout your lives together. Check out what one of our couples did during their day after session in Glacier National Park. Those magical photos only happened because they had day two! Perhaps you’re an adventurous couple – this is the day to go on a boat tour in Italy, canoe across Alpine Lake, helicopter over waterfalls, off-road in the mud, mountain bike in the desert – just watch out for the snakes!! Looking for some inspo? Check out our 2 day moab elopement with mountain biking! Zoom zoom!
If you want to keep things more low key– take a cooking class, hop between breweries, sing at a karaoke bar, play some pool at a bar, end the night with smores over campfire. Whatever you want to do, we are here to make it happen and capture the joy! Introverts and extroverts alike, we are here to make your two day elopement adventure come true.
We’ve rounded up Two Day Elopement Photography – Why You Need It!
6. Wedding Planning Takes (too much) Time, Challenges Eloping Couples Face
According to Wedsites, “It’s difficult to put an exact timeframe on how long it takes to plan a wedding, because no two couples are ever the same! With this being said, research shows that most couples spend approximately 12 – 18 months planning their wedding, which usually adds up to between 200 – 500 hours in total.”
WOOOOOO, that ain’t nothing, sis. Now, planning an elopement takes time as well, but you don’t have to do that all by yourself. With an elopement photographer team, we help with your location matchmaking, building out a timeline, scouting permits and travel hacks. We’ve been known to be the champagne pack mules as well!
7. Societal Expectations are Challenges that Eloping Couples Face
Society looooovesss a big wedding! They reinforce that belief with each year they put out a new film around a wedding – Bridesmaids, 27 Dresses, Bride Wars, Wedding Crasher, The Proposal, The Wedding Date, Crazy Rich Asians. I mean, the list goes ON! What about movies about eloping? Crickets… If you are planning an elopement, it might seem lonely or that you are the only one. Au contraire, in 2022, PR Newswire shared, “in a national survey to over 1,000 U.S.-based couples who are currently engaged, the results found that 62% of them are open to considering a scaled-back elopement style wedding.
62%!! You are actually in the majority if you are thinking of eloping or having a micro wedding! You aren’t alone, this is the way to do things.
8. The idea of having a traditional wedding doesn’t feel “like us.”
- If the idea of sharing your intimate vows in front of people makes you sweat
- you shrink when you’re the center of attention
- other people’s expectations are literally your worst nightmare
- wedding planning stresses you out
A traditional wedding might not be for you! Now this doesn’t mean you have to do things entirely differently. You do things how YOU want them. How many other days do people refer to as “Your Big Day?” Mhmm, not very many. So what if YOUR big day was about YOU?
We’d estimate that 70% of our couples ask to include some sort of tradition in their elopement, even if it’s as simple as traditional vows or wearing a white dress. The most common reason why people want to elope is they don’t want to feel required to do “traditional” on a large scale. You can still include classic wedding traditions for elopements, since this day is completely about you. Wear a white dress if you’d like, have a first look, enjoy some fucking cake!
9. You Value Experience Over Things
So firstly, you might be wondering, “what the heck is an adventure elopement?” We define an adventure elopement as anything outside of the traditional wedding setting that is well…. outside! Part of the adventure is the journey in getting to the epic place where you will be saying “I do” in the most beautiful place you’ve ever seen. It’s the entire experience of your wedding.
We love planning and documenting the most epic adventure elopements for our couples because we believe in starting their marriage off right – with nature, each other, and maybe a few family and friends to share it with.
Elopements are made for adventurous souls! The ones who make their own rules and don’t live to follow trends. Check out our guide on how to plan an adventure elopement.
10. Being the center of attention makes you uncomfortable.
For the people pleasers and the introverts of the world- elopements are a dream come true. You and your significant other have the freedom to plan your day your way. With no one to answer to and no one to please but each other, it makes the planning process exciting and enjoyable. You can be your authentic self with your spouse to be and not feel like you are putting on a performance for others.
What are the consequences of elopement? Awkward convos. And that’s about it.
If you are ready to bust through all the challenges eloping couples face but dread the conversation with others, we gotchu. We’re not saying the conversation will be easy, just that it will be worth it. How to Tell Your Family You’re Eloping.
Any other challenges eloping couples face? Comment below! If you are ready to take the (polar) plunge into an elopement, contact us. Can’t wait to make your wildest dreams come true!
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