Today, what we term as eloping is a small, intimate wedding which is either restricted to just the bride and groom or where only a small handful of guests are invited to attend. However, this is very different from what the term meant when it first came into use hundreds of years ago. We thought it would be a lot of fun to take a look at the history of elopement and how it has changed through the ages.
An Alternative Meaning For Elope
The earliest elopements can be traced back to around 1338 when ‘elope’ was actually a term used to describe when a married woman left her husband in order to run away with her lover. This meaning was in use until approximately 1800. It was at this time that the meaning seems to have changed to describe lovers who were running away in order to marry rather than the original meaning which relates to running away from an existing marriage to be with someone else!
Circumventing Strict Marriage Laws
What we now consider as a ‘traditional’ elopement – that is where the couple “run off” in secret to get married – began around 1753 in England. Under the Marriage Act of 1753 anyone under the age of 21 needed their parents’ permission to get married. At the time, marriage was often used as a way to join particular families as per the father’s wishes and often the bride had no say in who she was to marry. It was common for men to marry their daughters off to rich friends often twice the young woman’s age. Weddings were about contracts rather than romance!
It is easy to see why many young woman were looking for an escape – especially if they had fallen in love with someone their own age! Luckily, the marriage laws in Scotland were (and still are) quite different from those enforced in England. The biggest difference being that young people did not need parental consent. In fact, in 18th century Scotland girls as young as 12 and boys of 14 were able to marry. It was these relaxed laws which attracted couples who were trying to marry against the wishes of their families.
Runaway Brides Eloped to Gretna Green
One of the first villages that is encountered on crossing the border from England into Scotland is the famous Gretna Green – a place that is now synonymous with elopements every bit as much as Las Vegas! It was customary for the blacksmiths or ‘anvil priests’ of the village to perform weddings on the anvil. Today the Gretna Green blacksmith is booked up years in advance for weddings! In 1856 Scottish marriage laws were changed to try and stem the flow of runaways crossing the border in order to get married. The new requirement was that the couple should be resident in the parish for 21 days prior to marriage and was designed to allow families time to put a stop to these runaway marriages. However, a whole new business sprung up around this law as many inn keepers would secretly allow couples to stay for the required three weeks keeping them hidden from anyone who might come looking. Scotland still allows those aged 16 and over to marry without consent and while the 21 day notice period remains in effect the residency requirement does not.
Gradually the practice of eloping has spread to many other countries and while disapproving families may still be one of the reasons behind making the choice to elope, it is less of a cloak and dagger affair! The more common reasons that couples give now for choosing to elope include saving money and avoiding the stress of planning a big traditional wedding.