Should you elope?

When I got engaged I figured it would be so easy to know exactly what I wanted to do, what colors, my bridal party, venue and all the good planning stuff. Ya know, the whole traditional process of gathering all of your must haves for your big day. Well…after a few days and a few stressful conversations with my newly engaged fiance, I decided at about 11pm on a week night while visiting my parents to call my fiance and let him know that, I WANT TO ELOPE! What, Why? How could you? You’re in the wedding industry, you have all the hooks ups, it’s going to be SO AMAZING. These are the words I heard from friends, family and industry professionals. Not only did it give me pressure but I thought to myself “just because I am around beautiful details constantly, visiting numerous venues all the time, didn’t mean that it fit my view on how I would like my big day to go”. Trust me, I adore gorgeous detailed weddings, with huge bridal parties, adorable and unique traditions, the dancing, the cupid shuffle ( yes I can’t believe I said that ) but seriously, I love it all otherwise I wouldn’t be doing what I do but this is our day, and it’s not a choice of hosting others but a day that reflects the meaning of what the whole entire purpose is for…the love between the two of us!

After chatting with my parents about our decision and my fiance to his, we decided it was completely our style to elope, and it definitely fit more of the pros on our list than the cons. The thought of planning or choosing vendor friends terrified me and gave me a headache, only because I didn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings! How could a girl choose them all?! I couldn’t! That wasn’t my reason for eloping of course, but it sure did relieve some stress! Below you will find my top 4 reasons on why we decided to elope. Elopement isn’t for everyone, you have to find what is best for the two of you, consider your family and relationships…then move towards your own personal decision.

1. Time

My fiance Lucas and I got engaged Christmas morning and we didn’t want to have a lengthy engagement. Being that were both in our 30’s we just felt like waiting an entire year to have our wedding just seemed like torture. I truly just want to start my chapter with him, eventually begin a family, so prolonging a long engagement in order to have the time to plan it just didn’t cut it! And possibly I’m just a weeeee bit impatient.

2. Location

As a past wedding professional, I’ve been to countless venues numerous of times. Now this isn’t a problem but I always felt that the location that I would choose would be brand new and fresh to experience, not only for myself but for my fiance and I to do together. Now don’t get me wrong, Florida ( where I live ) has some stunning venues, there’s a reason why people fly miles to say “I do” here, we’ve got tons of options. But I know I didn’t want to drive miles and miles away from Orlando where I reside, or let alone have my guests travel further. Which brings me to the terrain. I’ve always been a California girl at heart, I love the mountains, the dryness in the air, the temperature, the food and gosh list goes on. There’s something ethereal about the West Coast and I couldn’t imagine having our photos taken anywhere else ( drum roll ) we decided on eloping to the Big Sur, California! I chose my dream film photographer Jeremy Chou and I cannot wait to say “I do” with the rocks behind us on the beach as a backdrop, our pastor and that’s it! I’m dying to share photos when it happens on August 9th 2018!

3. It’s About Us

A lot of times I’ll sit down with my brides and they will vent to me how a long lost neighbor is invited to their wedding, an uncle they’ve never met, their grandmother’s best friend and you get the idea. We get so tangled up in the hosting and entertaining side of things that we get lost within that and forget what a wedding is truly about. Now don’t get me wrong, if you can invite everyone and their pets to your wedding, please go right ahead, more power to you but make sure to understand the importance of connecting with your guests, and how they each share a special bond with you in your life. This is why I love intimate weddings so much ( guests up to 50 of less ). Lucas and I decided we will have a going away celebration before we leave with family and our closest friends. We are so very close to our families and even though we know they won’t be standing with us in the Big Sur, we know that they love and support us so much and that the main boss to impress is God and he will be right there in between us as we go into marriage.

4. Save Money

Lucas and I really wanted to save money moving forward in our next chapter. We felt that we wanted to do other projects in our life and spending a lot of cashmoney$$ on a wedding felt unrealistic and added tons of stress upon one our bank accounts. The problem with us is we couldn’t have a small wedding, someone was going to get cut out of our guest list because keeping it at a low number was nearly impossible. So what do you spend your money on for an elopement? Well, first of all, I got to pick the most fabulous dream dress ( score ) which only took me 30 minutes to do! Hotel and rental car are booked, I researched a florist and an officiant to meet us at the beach location and our talented photographer Jeremy Chou will be riding with us down to the Big Sur.

So our general check list:

Lodging and Transportation
Airplane Tickets
Officiant
Photographer and/or Videographer
Makeup/Hair ( I’m doing my own )
Floral ( one bouquet for myself )
Wedding Dress
Suit
Rings

What are we doing after? Lucas and I had a romantic dinner for two back at our hotel after our ceremony and photos are done. WOOT!

Well, I hope this helped you in your decision to elope or not, its all about the two of you and how it all fits. A traditional wedding, an unconventional wedding, eloping or whatever it is you decide, are all wonderful. Good luck and let me know if you need any additional information on how we did it!

Update:
Check out our wedding photos here!