“Should I Elope or Have a Wedding?” An Honest Answer From Someone Who Cancelled Their Wedding and Chose to Elope Instead.

Couple posing after chosing to elope instead of having a wedding — Photographs by Sea to Summit Photography

Yup, we had it all lined up: the wedding planner, venue, DJ, caterer, you name it. We had already sent save the dates to over 200 people. With 9 months left to go, my fiancée and I realized we were dreading getting married while dealing with the planning, logistics, and family drama. How horrible is that? To not look forward to your wedding day because of the stress of planning a wedding. So we decided to rip the band-aid (more like industrial duct tape) and sent out a mass email to cancel our entire wedding and shared we would elope instead. It was scary, we got a lot of push back, but I can tell you it was the best decision I’ve done.

Disclaimer alert: this will be a bit biased (obviously we eloped), but I’ll be sharing with you honest reasons to elope and why I encourage others to do the same. Besides, if you’re Google searching this question, these thoughts and ideas must be creeping up in your mind already. They did for us many times until we pulled the plug on the wedding. Let’s take a peak why couples choose to elope below:

8 Reasons to Elope:

Couple smiling during their elopement in Oregon — Photographs by Sea to Summit Photography

1) You Want to Ditch the Idea of Tradition and Expectations

If you were anything like me, I felt like as soon as my fiancée and I got engaged, I felt like I was being herded like a sheep into a corral of expectations of how my wedding and my wedding day was going to look like. I knew there were many traditional elements of weddings that did not resonate with us and meeting and fulfilling other’s expectations didn’t seem right to me.

2) You Want Less Drama

This for me was one of the biggest reasons to elope. As much as I love my family and my friends, your wedding will never feel like it is about you and your partner. There will be pressure—subtle or not—about including X person or Y person, and you will hear complaints about how your wedding planning is going and looking like. Personally, I felt like I was trying to please my friends and family while also trying to be true to myself. And more often than not, I felt like I was disappointing one of those people: my family and friends, or myself. So I decided to choose myself and my fiancée and avoiding all of the drama because at the end of the day, our wedding was OURS. Don’t worry, if you have some people you just can’t get married without, check out my blog post on how to elope with family.

Couple sharing their vows during their elopement — Photographs by Sea to Summit Photography

3) You Want the Day to be About YOU

I can’t tell you how many of our other friends and family members come up to us and tell us that it’s “totally normal to not see your spouse much during your wedding” and “most people don’t remember their wedding day”. Excuse me? I immediately realized I wanted something different; I wanted to spend the day with my future wife, not being dragged around from table to table introducing myself to aunts and uncles I haven’t seen in 20 years. No thanks. When we eloped, we spend ALL day together and it was amazing.

4) You Want to Explore Somewhere New

Ever wanted to see the Italian Dolomites but a trip that grand would be out of your budget? Why not use your wedding budget to make the trip of your dreams happen there! Whether you want to travel across the world or want to explore a new place within your state or country, use that money to doing something special.

elopement couple sharing an intimate moment in Sedona — Photographs by Sea to Summit Photography

5) A Big Wedding Doesn’t Feel True to Who You and Your Partner Are

If you hate being the focus of attention, aren’t really into parties and spending an entire day with all of your family and future in-law’s family, then consider eloping. For us, an elopement felt more like us and that was one of the reason an elopement was right for us.

6) Want to Save on Money or Use it in a More Meaningful Way

As mentioned in number 4, you could use your wedding budget to traveling somewhere special for your wedding day. You could also use that to go on an adventure such as kayaking, rock climbing, surfing, anything that makes you and your partner feel alive. Or if you want to use that money for a downpayment on a house or invest it in a better way, do that!

couple kissing in Mt baker during their elopement — Photographs by Sea to Summit Photography

7) You Hate the Idea of Planning a Wedding

Let’s be real, if you are not the planning type, planning for a wedding can feel like filing your taxes. If you are dreading the process of planning a wedding, consider eloping and hiring an elopement photographer (hint, hint!) that will do the elopement planning for you.

8) You Want to be More Eco Friendly

Fun Fact, did you know that the average wedding produces around 400 pounds of waste? - The Green Bride Guide. If you’re thinking about how to be environmentally friendly during your wedding, consider reducing the size of your wedding by eloping instead!

Couple smiling during their elopement — Photographs by Sea to Summit Photography

Conclusion: Why Eloping is Better than a Wedding

All in all, if you are thinking: should I elope or have a wedding? The answer is elope! An elopement reduces all of the stressors and pressures a wedding asks of a couple and focuses on the two of you. As much as you may try, these 8 amazing reasons cannot apply to a wedding. You would have to compromise or eliminate a reason to meet the demand of another. With the latest trends on weddings, it seems that people have forgotten the real reason they are getting married: to celebrate YOU and your love and commitment for your partner. I truly believe that eloping and having the day focused on you is the best and most memorable way to relive your wedding day.

Meet your Elopement Photographer!

If you found this helpful, let me show you the full experience of having your elopement experience be 100% stress free and having your photographs taken by me! If you’re ready to ditch the stress, and idea of a wedding and want to elope instead, let’s make it happen!

I believe that couples should get married in a way that is truly authentic to them in a place that speaks to their heart. Let me help you plan (and capture!) your elopement from start to finish so you have one less thing to worry about. Feel free to send me an email at info@seatosummitphotos.com or fill out the contact form below, I can’t wait to hear from you!