I Eloped With My Husband & I Don’t Regret It — Here’s Why

Eloping with my fiance was the best decision I’ve ever made. It spared us from so much stress, time, and money that if I had to do it all over again, I would do the same thing every time. Here’s why it was such a good fit for us.

1. We’re Not Traditionalists. While we both grew up in homes with annual traditions and practices, we figured out early on that keeping those same customs for our own family wasn’t as important. We spend holidays, birthdays and other important days how we want to. It was only fitting that our wedding, one of the most important days of our lives, would stray from the norm as well.
2. We Made Our Wedding About Us. My husband and I went into both our engagement and our marriage knowing that the good and bad of our partnership was our burden to bear together. It was important for us to know that no matter what, we’d do our best to make our marriage a loving union. Having that outlook made it so easy for us to ask ourselves, how do we want our wedding to be? It didn’t take long to come up with eloping as our primary option and eventually, the one we chose to go with.
3. No Planning Necessary = No Stress. Did you know that some people start planning the details of a wedding up to two years before they actually tie the knot? While I commend them for their thorough approach and attention to detail… no thanks. That wasn’t going to work for me or my fiance at the time. Thankfully, we chose a small elopement venue that handled all the decorations, seating arrangements, and even our vows. The only thing we had to plan was the day we wanted to get married. In other words, there was zero stress involved.
4. It Saved Us SO Much Money In The Long Run. Traditional weddings are expensive as hell — like, insanely expensive. In fact, the average wedding in 2016 ran the bride and groom over $35,000! I don’t know about you but with school loans, rent, credit card payments and a host of other bills, I wasn’t looking to spend the price tag of a brand new car on our wedding. Ready for this? Our elopement reservation cost us a very affordable $250. That’s not missing an extra zero, either. We saved so much money by choosing to elope that it’s one of my first suggestions to engaged couples who want a special day without having to go for broke (literally).
5. We Still Had Guests. Elopement venues are great because they still allow the betrothed to invite a small circle of close family, friends and loved ones to witness the ceremony. The keyword here is small — most venues will only allow up to a maximum of ten guests to participate, with few exceptions. While we wanted more people to come, we knew that getting married that way was the right option for us. If you have a bit of extra money to spare, you can also host a very modest wedding reception after the ceremony where everyone’s invited. It’s an inventive way to have everyone you love to participate in your special day.
6. We Exchanged Our Vows In Record Time. It took roughly an hour for my fiance and me to become husband and wife. If you’re not a fan of how long and drawn out weddings can be, eloping is an awesome alternative. Since elopement venues often book ceremonies back-to-back, there’s just enough time to greet your guests, have small talk with the officiant and last-minute touch-ups before the ceremony starts. We walked in during the late morning and by noon, we were already married.
7. It Prevented Potential Family Drama. We both have big families, most of whom had never met each other. Sometimes personalities clash and if that indeed happened, we didn’t want it taking place at our wedding. My husband and I know that our families love us but we just didn’t want to take a chance that day, and eloping made it a non-issue since a limited number of people can attend, anyway.
8. We Had An Amazing Honeymoon. The simplicity of our wedding gave us more time (and funds) to put towards our honeymoon. While it was also on the modest side (most honeymoons cost around $4,600!), we had no problem doing a little bit of planning and a bit of extra spending on ourselves. Having an unforgettable honeymoon far outweighs a picture-perfect wedding.
9. The Transition From Engaged to Married Was Easier. Sometimes people are so excited about getting married, they spend their engagement focusing on the actual wedding and not what comes after. It’s a mistake I managed to dodge and I wholeheartedly think eloping was the reason. We knew what the ceremony would consist of before it happened, how short it would be and how quickly we’d be married at the end of it. While there was a transition period (totally normal, by the way), it didn’t last very long, partly because by our wedding night, we were reinforcing the things we’d discussed during our engagement to be on the same page.
10. We’re Planning To Renew Our Vows In The Future. Vow renewals are one of the sweetest marriage-related ceremonies. No matter how you got hitched the first time around, you can always do it again — the way you want. It’s true that we’re not traditionalists but my husband and I have discussed having an old-fashioned wedding to renew our vows in the future. We’re not sure when — maybe when our children are old enough to attend or we reach a special anniversary milestone. If you want to elope the first time out, be confident that you’ll have the opportunity to change things in the future if you want. It may be better in the long run, since you’ll be able to plan it the way you want with way less pressure from friends, family and yourself.