Real Brides Get Candid on Why They Decided to Elope
For some brides, the idea of a “big wedding” seems too stressful, so they decide to elope. For other brides, the idea of an intimate ceremony at an exotic location seems like the best idea in the world and thus they elope. Whether for the former, latter, or another reason entirely, these real brides share why they decided to elope!
Cavin Elizabeth Photography
Vanessa of Vanessa Rose Photo shares her detailed story about her well thought out decision to elope. She says, “Deciding to elope was a really hard decision for me. On one hand I really wanted to marry him obviously, we'd been together for 7 years and the timing just finally felt right for us. We were in a good place financially where we didn't have any debt and were solid in our jobs. On the other hand I had always wanted a traditional wedding. And when I say wanted a traditional wedding, I mean that I had been dreaming about getting married since I was a little girl! Brad on the other hand did not want a big wedding production. He said he was actually dreading it and that was one of the reasons he think it took so long to propose because it meant having to plan a wedding that he didn't really want to have. He wanted the marriage, not the wedding.
Once I started looking into planning a wedding when we returned, I realized, WHOA weddings are crazy expensive! I mean I knew they were expensive, but dang. We had a nest egg set aside for a down payment on a house. If you know anything about San Diego you know how expensive it is to buy a house here. So while we did have the money for the wedding, and wouldn't have had to go in debt for it, we wouldn't have a big down payment for a house. So it was wedding or house. Wedding or house. Wedding. Or. House.
Well, financial responsibility won in the end. After dating for 7 years, my husband Brad and I got married in July of 2017 in a private ceremony on the island of St. Maarten in the Caribbean. I arranged everything with the hotel we were staying at (The Westin Dawn Beach) that was absolutely wonderful. They recommended a local photographer, florist, and officiant. The day of the wedding the florist never showed and the hotel staff ran around collecting flowers on the property and made me a bouquet! It was the sweetest thing ever and meant so much to me. The officiant was a sweet ole Caribbean pastor who was kind enough to wear a suit even though it was insanely humid outside. He said both of our names wrong during the ceremony, haha, but was so sweet and handed me a tissue when I started ugly crying during our vows. The whole thing was a perfect disaster in the best way. From there we left the next morning with a group of 10 friends to go island hopping on a catamaran around St. Martin, St. Barts, and Anguilla for our honeymoon. It was an amazing trip and I will never forget it!”
Practical Financial Planning Led to this Caribbean Elopement
Vanessa of Vanessa Rose Photo shares her detailed story about her well thought out decision to elope. She says, “Deciding to elope was a really hard decision for me. On one hand I really wanted to marry him obviously, we'd been together for 7 years and the timing just finally felt right for us. We were in a good place financially where we didn't have any debt and were solid in our jobs. On the other hand I had always wanted a traditional wedding. And when I say wanted a traditional wedding, I mean that I had been dreaming about getting married since I was a little girl! Brad on the other hand did not want a big wedding production. He said he was actually dreading it and that was one of the reasons he think it took so long to propose because it meant having to plan a wedding that he didn't really want to have. He wanted the marriage, not the wedding.
Once I started looking into planning a wedding when we returned, I realized, WHOA weddings are crazy expensive! I mean I knew they were expensive, but dang. We had a nest egg set aside for a down payment on a house. If you know anything about San Diego you know how expensive it is to buy a house here. So while we did have the money for the wedding, and wouldn't have had to go in debt for it, we wouldn't have a big down payment for a house. So it was wedding or house. Wedding or house. Wedding. Or. House.
Well, financial responsibility won in the end. After dating for 7 years, my husband Brad and I got married in July of 2017 in a private ceremony on the island of St. Maarten in the Caribbean. I arranged everything with the hotel we were staying at (The Westin Dawn Beach) that was absolutely wonderful. They recommended a local photographer, florist, and officiant. The day of the wedding the florist never showed and the hotel staff ran around collecting flowers on the property and made me a bouquet! It was the sweetest thing ever and meant so much to me. The officiant was a sweet ole Caribbean pastor who was kind enough to wear a suit even though it was insanely humid outside. He said both of our names wrong during the ceremony, haha, but was so sweet and handed me a tissue when I started ugly crying during our vows. The whole thing was a perfect disaster in the best way. From there we left the next morning with a group of 10 friends to go island hopping on a catamaran around St. Martin, St. Barts, and Anguilla for our honeymoon. It was an amazing trip and I will never forget it!”
Cameron Hyman
“We eloped because he was in the Navy and we didn't know when we'd be able to have a wedding nonetheless plan a wedding or even pay for one,” says real bride Madisen. “I lived in California at the time we got married and he was living in New Hampshire. We were already engaged, and I had a trip planned to visit him. During one of our phone calls he asked if I wanted to tie the knot while I was out there visiting. I said yes, scrambled to find a dress, book an appointment at Manchester City Hall, and book a photographer. It all came together and we legally wed September 1, 2017. A little over a year later we had our big wedding celebration with friends and family on September 9, 2018.”
Navy Life Made Eloping an Easy Choice for This Couple
“We eloped because he was in the Navy and we didn't know when we'd be able to have a wedding nonetheless plan a wedding or even pay for one,” says real bride Madisen. “I lived in California at the time we got married and he was living in New Hampshire. We were already engaged, and I had a trip planned to visit him. During one of our phone calls he asked if I wanted to tie the knot while I was out there visiting. I said yes, scrambled to find a dress, book an appointment at Manchester City Hall, and book a photographer. It all came together and we legally wed September 1, 2017. A little over a year later we had our big wedding celebration with friends and family on September 9, 2018.”
Jasmine Serecky
Kate Andrews explains, “My husband and I decided to elope because being wedding photographers, we had seen all of the work that goes into planning, executing and paying for a bigger wedding. It was just the two of us, our photographer, and our officiant. His family is in England and mine is in a Pennsylvania. We got married in Florida so it was a bit hard to bring everyone to us with the different schedules. We weren’t sure how we felt about not having our closest relatives there at first, but we actually enjoyed it so much more because it was so intimate and stress-free. It gave us the chance to focus more on each other rather than the hustle of the day. I have no regrets and wouldn’t have it any other way!”
This Couple Wanted a Stress-Free Day Without Complicated Logistics
Kate Andrews explains, “My husband and I decided to elope because being wedding photographers, we had seen all of the work that goes into planning, executing and paying for a bigger wedding. It was just the two of us, our photographer, and our officiant. His family is in England and mine is in a Pennsylvania. We got married in Florida so it was a bit hard to bring everyone to us with the different schedules. We weren’t sure how we felt about not having our closest relatives there at first, but we actually enjoyed it so much more because it was so intimate and stress-free. It gave us the chance to focus more on each other rather than the hustle of the day. I have no regrets and wouldn’t have it any other way!”
Tiffaney Childs Photo
Real bride Megan admits, “We’re eloping in 3 weeks. We just feel like there’s too much drama from both sides of our families and we want the day to be about us and not them. We plan on having a “real” wedding in April so they can still be involved, but we feel like knowing in the back of our mind that we’re already married will help us deal with all of the crazy family dynamics at play.”
Eloping to Avoid Potential Family Drama
Real bride Megan admits, “We’re eloping in 3 weeks. We just feel like there’s too much drama from both sides of our families and we want the day to be about us and not them. We plan on having a “real” wedding in April so they can still be involved, but we feel like knowing in the back of our mind that we’re already married will help us deal with all of the crazy family dynamics at play.”
Cavin Elizabeth Photography
Santorini has always been a bucket list location of mine. When I saw that an old high school friend eloped there, I had to get her inside story! Mary Catherine shares, “ We wanted this to be a special day and it was important that we stay true to ourselves. Neither of us love being the center of attention and a traditional wedding just felt like too much pressure. We decided to spend our time and money on an amazing trip instead. We were married in Santorini, Greece and island hopped a bit more before heading to Italy for a week. Over a year later, I regret nothing and still think it was more special that it was just the two of us. Eloping kept us from worrying about small details and staying in the moment. Marriage is the start of your lives together as a couple and you should do it in a way that fits you best, whether that’s a traditional wedding or eloping in Greece. ”
A Picturesque Santorini Elopement Is Always a No Brainer
Santorini has always been a bucket list location of mine. When I saw that an old high school friend eloped there, I had to get her inside story! Mary Catherine shares, “ We wanted this to be a special day and it was important that we stay true to ourselves. Neither of us love being the center of attention and a traditional wedding just felt like too much pressure. We decided to spend our time and money on an amazing trip instead. We were married in Santorini, Greece and island hopped a bit more before heading to Italy for a week. Over a year later, I regret nothing and still think it was more special that it was just the two of us. Eloping kept us from worrying about small details and staying in the moment. Marriage is the start of your lives together as a couple and you should do it in a way that fits you best, whether that’s a traditional wedding or eloping in Greece. ”
George Pahountis
Hair and makeup artist Audra Rene had a planned elopement. “Because of health reasons and logistics we would not have been able to have both sets of parents there, so we decided to do a private wedding. We documented well with photo and video, had a beautiful intimate ceremony and meal together, complete with a private first dance and sparklers afterward. The perfect day, just for us.”
A Planned Elopement with Sparklers
Hair and makeup artist Audra Rene had a planned elopement. “Because of health reasons and logistics we would not have been able to have both sets of parents there, so we decided to do a private wedding. We documented well with photo and video, had a beautiful intimate ceremony and meal together, complete with a private first dance and sparklers afterward. The perfect day, just for us.”
Cavin Elizabeth Photography
Cavin Elizabeth is a wedding film photographer based in San Diego, California. Her wedding work has taken her all over the United States and abroad. In addition to being a photographer, Cavin is an educator and an avid blogger of wedding planning tips for brides and grooms. She authored the book A Bride’s Guide to a Picture Perfect Wedding, which teaches couples how to make wedding plans that are best for photography.
Cavin Elizabeth is a wedding film photographer based in San Diego, California. Her wedding work has taken her all over the United States and abroad. In addition to being a photographer, Cavin is an educator and an avid blogger of wedding planning tips for brides and grooms. She authored the book A Bride’s Guide to a Picture Perfect Wedding, which teaches couples how to make wedding plans that are best for photography.