What's it All About?

Eloping is all about three things: Intimacy, Intimacy, Intimacy! If you really want it to be "all about you" then there is no better way to attain this than by eloping. It's going to be much easier to emotionally connect with your partner while saying your vows by a mountain stream than by worrying about flubbing your lines before your boss and your parent's best friends.

You're virtually guaranteed a celebration that you will remember with a smile for the rest of your life. So go ahead...elope!

Elopement Ceremoney Ideas

Make your wedding reflect who you are as a couple. Head back to a destination that you have always loved or make your fantasy vacation a reality. Love water, what about taking a cruise or going to the Caribbean? Love wine, it's time for Napa.

Or just do something extravagant with your wedding. A few great ideas for elopements have been a Hawaiian beach wedding, a ceremony in a Spanish cathedral with an opera singer performing Ave Maria, and an exchange of vows in a remote, loch nestled, baronial manor house in Scotland.

Some thoughts on making your elopement unique:
Have your wedding mountain side and ski to it or have the ceremony fireside. Have it in a vineyard's main house with the related accompaniments! Have it in a majestic theater or a museum. Have it under your favorite tree. Have it on a quiet beach barefoot. Have it in a luxury resort in Europe. Have it on a cruise.

Elope in a hot air balloon in New Mexico, there is enough room for the bride and groom, the pilot, the officiant, and a witness.

Elope to a quaint village with your immediate family to a small bed and breakfast with just enough rooms for the wedding group. You will have the place to yourselves so you can really enjoy your time together. Get married at the local Justice of the Peace and take your family to dinner afterwards. Let your friends and extended family in on the surprise when you return.

Invite your entire guest list to a destination wedding at your dream location. Only a small percentage will attend. After the wedding, in lieu of a reception take guests to dinner in appreciation of their attendance.

Get married in Chattanooga (hint hint) and go mountain hiking and white water rafting. The month of May is typically low season and great deals can be found.

Elope on your own and then have a party afterwards for your family and closest friends. Rent a space and a DJ and ask your guests to bring potluck dishes. Wear your wedding clothes and display pictures of the event and your guests will feel like they were there.

Get creative with your wedding and do something you couldn't do with 200 on looking guests. Your memories will thank you for it.

Elopement Checklist

One of the best parts about eloping is that you don't have a zillion things to do to make it happen. But you are getting married which is a big deal no matter the size of the guest list.  So to make the murky, overwhelming you-have-a-lot-to-do-but-don't-know-what sensations disappear here's a comprehensive list of what you need to do to get your elopement rolling.

1. Decide to elope.
2. Determine your budget.
3. Choose Location / Destination.
4. Check state marriage laws and filing times (may have to provide a certificate of marital background, birth certificate, blood tests, may need witnesses, residency laws).
5. Pick honeymoon location & hotel (often the same place as the ceremony destination).
6. Hire a wedding planner in your chosen location to assist in planning, coordinating, act as a liaison for you, and take care all of the hands-on details that need to be done.
7. Choose ceremony (location, time, officiant, vows, rings, dress, flowers, photographer, attendants, music).
8. Decide to tell friends & family.
9. Get married your way!

Why Elope?

Make your day about the two of you, not about the third party guest lists, not about the most convenient location, and not about a something-for-everyone buffet. It may sound romantic to proclaim your love in front of hundreds of people but how meaningful is it when these people are made up of your mother in law's friends, your partner's boss, your cousin's date, or the neighbors?

Your wedding can be personalized, original, out of the box. Or at the very least, not catered to everyone else besides you. Imagine your own backyard or dream destination as the setting; neither of those are too likely with a full set of RSVP's. Speaking of guests, imagine just the two of you committing your lives to each other in the sanctity of each others company or in front of the few people who mean the most to you. An elopement doesn't have to be totally exclusive; it's just that you actually own the guest list.

There are as many ways to personalize your wedding day as there are ways to get married. Ponder getting married on the top of a beautiful hill, in a cave, in a beautiful southern mansion, on a gorgeous mountain, or at a surprise party in your own home.

So stop the thought of hiring the meat carver when you're both vegetarians. Getting married is surely one of the best days in your life. Make it the day you want and not the day that your mother in law, parents, bridesmaids, buffet zombie guests, and last but not least, the wedding industry insist upon.