It goes without saying that it is and has been incredibly tough over the past year and a half for couples anywhere in the world to plan a wedding.
The uncertainties around how many guests you can invite, whether or not you and your guests will be able to travel, let alone if you can even have your wedding on your booked date, some will say, have been a living nightmare. The couples, as well as the entire wedding industry (including myself as a wedding photographer), have been grappling with this new reality.
But why should that stop you from getting married? Why should anything stop you from getting married to the person you want to spend the rest of your life with?
More and more couples are booking smaller, more intimate weddings or getting eloped. Eloping does not necessarily mean that you are getting married in secrecy as most elopements include a small number of guests. It's a trend I believe that is not going to stop as soon as the pandemic is over, as there are many benefits associated with it.
In this blog I would like to give you five reasons for why getting eloped or having a small wedding in Sydney (or anywhere in the world) may just be the right option for you!
Less to organise = Less stress!
Lets face it, planning a wedding is no walk in the park! You are dealing with multiple vendors, all with a different schedule, bills, meetings, the backward and forward emails and phone calls. And then there is the guest list, which can create a lot of drama as well!
With an elopement, there's obviously significantly less guests and people involved so less time to organise, and a shorter timescale for planning. If you are thinking "I want to get married right now!" then the quick turn around time can be a big plus.
Pick your dream location
Australia provides a stunning diversity of landscapes when it comes to locations for your wedding or elopement - you literally can have that dream wedding against a gorgeous backdrop, maybe on top of a cliff or on the beach at sunset!
I had a client recently who got married in the Blue Mountains (ceremony on top of a cliff!) and hired out an Air BnB in Katoomba to have an intimate garden wedding dinner with their closest family and friends. It was absolutely beautiful and what made it so special was the intimacy - the couple mingling with their family and friends throughout the day, so relaxed, really enjoying the food and conversations - and they partied till the crack of dawn! It literally was like a mini destination wedding but less than 2 hours away from the city!
Skip the traditions!
Having a traditional wedding may mean that there is a ton of pressure for the couple when it comes to cultural and religious rituals and perhaps even pressure from family or friends on how they think the wedding should be.
Getting eloped would mean you can skip the traditions and focus on what you really want. You of course can even incorporate some of the cultural and religious parts but only to an extent that you want to and not because you are cornered to do so by others.
A more intimate wedding is also a plus for those who don't want to be the centre of attention. Many of my elopement couples have said exactly that to me - they just don't want hundreds of people all staring at them on their special day. An elopement allows you to enjoy your day feeling at ease around just the people you are closest to.
Save money (and spend on what matters most)
In 2021, according to a recent survey I have seen, the average cost of a wedding in Australia is over $50k! Yikes! That means many Australians are digging deep into their savings, borrowing money, getting parents to fund their weddings to have an epic wedding day with all the bells and whistles. (Of course if you have the budget for it and a big celebration is what you want then that's brilliant too and you should go ahead and have that big wedding!)
But what if, you don't have a big wedding and instead spend a bit more on what you consider as being most important? That could be having the most decadent wedding dinner with your nearest and dearest, or perhaps creating an epic fine art wedding album to preserve your memories, or splurge on your once in a lifetime honeymoon!
Make it all about just the two of you
At the end of the day, marriage should be all about you and your partner. It really is sometimes easy to get swept away in the planning part. With an elopement, you are choosing intimacy over the big party, focusing on what is really important to you - the two of you - and the love you have for one another and starting a new chapter in your life together.
Thank you for reading! If you would like any advise on getting eloped feel free to get in contact with me. As I said at the beginning, it can be a very daunting time to plan but your wedding should be a joyous occasion and planning and dreaming up your wedding should be as exciting as the wedding day itself. As wedding photographer, I try to give as much guidance and reassurance as I can so that my couples feel supported throughout the planning all the way up until they receive their photos and album.
