We often talk about the many benefits that can be associated with eloping. However, there are also some downsides and it is because of these that we are the first to admit eloping is not for everyone! No matter the cost savings and other advantages, there are some aspects that certain people just cannot get past when it comes to eloping. The last thing you want is to start off your married life with regrets so just how do you decide if eloping is right for you?
As always WhereToElope.com is on hand to help you with this question! We have put together some of the most common things to consider when you are trying to decide whether or not elopement is the right option for you.
Is The Marriage More Important Than The Wedding?
For lots of couples who choose to elope, the key thing is that they just want to marry each other and are not too concerned about having an actual wedding! The truth is, not every little girl dreams of a big fairytale wedding! Many women just don’t get the point of staging an elaborate wedding to impress friends and family. We once heard a wedding planner refer to this as the ‘reality tv test’. She said that if you sit through any wedding themed reality show like Say Yes To The Dress or Four Weddings and your most dominant thoughts are along the lines of ‘they paid how much for a dress?’ then an elopement is probably a good choice for you!
Could You Put The Money To Better Use?
One of the main considerations in choosing to elope is the cost. With most elopements coming in at at least 90% cheaper than a traditional wedding it is easy to see why more couples are foregoing a big ceremony. Think about where you will be financially in 5 years time. If you are already secure in a home of your own, or have already saved some money for your wedding, or even if your parents are footing the bill then you might feel like the extravagance of a traditional wedding is something that you can handle without any regrets. However, if you think that in 5 years time you might still be struggling to find the money to get out of a crappy rented apartment or to start a family then there is a good chance that you will look back on the thousands of dollars that were spent on your wedding and wonder if you could have spent that money more wisely. If this sounds like it could be you then elopement is something to seriously consider.
How Important Is It To Have Your Family Present?
Many couples elope in order to escape from the family politics. If you think about your guest list and start having to make decisions like cutting Auntie Wendy from the list because otherwise your favourite Uncle Ben won’t come which is bound to upset your mother then running off to elope is bound to seem like an attractive option. However, the downside to this is that you may not have any of your family there to support you on your wedding day. You need to ask yourself if it is important for you to have your Mom there or for your Father to walk you down the aisle. If the answer is yes then you either need to include them in your elopement plans or bite the bullet and deal with your guest list nightmare! If you are not really perturbed by the prospect of not having your family with you then you still need to think about the aftermath of the elopement. Someone is going to be upset that you went off to get married without them and you need to prepare yourself to deal with that. This is something we have discussed in the past, so rather than going into detail here we will simply say that if you cannot deal with the family being upset then it might not be a good idea to elope.
These are just a few of the things that you might want to consider if you are struggling to decide whether or not elopement is for you. At the end of the day it is important that you are happy on your wedding day and that you do not look back on it with regrets. Sure, you may need to make a few compromises along the way but if you feel that eloping is going to make you happy then you will soon find a way to get around any issues that it might raise!
How did you decide that eloping was right for you? Let us know below.