Eloping! Is It For You?

The deep dark secret of my family is... my mother and father eloped! At that time, and with my grandfather's blessing, my mother sneaked off in the middle of the night and went downstate to Cincinnati to marry my dad. In those bygone days of yesteryear, eloping usually connoted that the couple was in "trouble" and needed to get married. (Not my folks, I showed up 10 years later!)

At the time, my grandmother had objections to my father's military career (he was a Major) and didn't want my mother to be a military wife traveling all over to different posts. So they decided to present her with a marriage license and she removed her objections. (It didn't get my mother out of a church wedding and reception though - but that is another story.)

These days eloping doesn't carry the same stigma. Many wedding couples are eloping to fulfill their own romantic adventure. There are several advantages to eloping but perhaps the biggest is that it allows you to indulge in your own romantic fantasies. Do you secretly wish to exchange your wedding vows on a tropical island, in front of a cascading waterfall? Or is your desire to hold your wedding on a sailboat in the middle of the ocean? How about a Las Vegas wedding with several dancing Elvises as your groomsmen? Eloping allows you to realize these dreams.

Another great advantage of eloping is that taking your wedding on the road will save you a lot of money. When you elope, you save on everything from invitations to wedding decorations and everything in between. When you get back you can send an announcement to everyone just as you would a wedding announcement.

Additionally there is very little stress! There are wedding service providers and chapels around the country (and especially in Hawaii) that offer wedding packages at a fraction of the cost of a traditional wedding ceremony and wedding reception. They specialize in helping you determine the details for your elopement - you know, wedding cake, wedding flowers, beverages, and so on. They will make sure your day is a happy one - and since many people elope to romantic destinations, they can help you save even more money by providing honeymoon accommodations.

Another really good reason for eloping is that it can ease difficult family situations. Let's say your in-laws or parents are divorced and if they come within 20 feet of each other the potential for a world war is imminent. Or you are having a second wedding and your exes are determined to show up and destroy your day with their presence.

There is no hard rule that when you elope, you have to go it alone. Invite your parents or friends to go along with you to your destination and have a small party with them. This way you have the people who mean something to you at your wedding and don't have to worry about everyone else!

You need to do what is right for you as a couple. Eloping may be your solution.