What Does “Elope” Mean? The Modern Definition.

ELOPEMENTS AREN’T JUST BOOTLEG WEDDINGS.

If that’s the only thing you get from reading this blog post, that’ll be okay.

Elopements have a real Public Relations problem.

For years, eloping carried the stigma of shame, of being cheap or tacky. Couples who eloped were thought to either be too broke for a traditional wedding or be hiding from something — they must be ashamed, or others must be ashamed of them.

And then in recent years, there has been an explosion of high-dollar destination elopements seemingly reserved for the rich and sexy. Celebrities jet off to Iceland, or some white sand beach or mountain ski resort for an intimate, Instagram-worthy ceremony. Suddenly, eloping is glamorous, perhaps too glamorous for you.

Caught between two extremes, no one is really sure if eloping is really an option for them.

Let me just clear this up right quick. Eloping is an option for you.

You deserve to have a wedding day that makes you feel alive, and loved, and seen.

A day that is centered around you and your partner and the awesome commitment you’re making to one another. You deserve a wedding that is authentic to who you really are.

One thing I realized during my time photographing bigger, traditional weddings is that that feeling of really being seen and valued can be hard to come by in a room with 100+ other people.

The truth of the matter is that those big celebrations are ultimately about the experience of the guests and not the experience of the couple getting married.

It broke my heart how many times I heard couples say, “We just can’t wait for this all to be over.”

My goal is to help you change that to, “We never want today to end.”

Okay, so what does it even mean to elope, other than just not having a big wedding?

my definition of elope

To elope is to escape — to escape from the expectations and pressure to celebrate your wedding day in any way that isn’t entirely authentic to who you are.

To escape from going into debt as the average cost of weddings continues to climb.

To escape from those feelings of guilt or obligation.

To elope is to have an intimate, intentional, fearless, and affirming wedding day experience.

Some might call that an “intimate wedding” or a “micro wedding”. I’m more attached to the experience than I am to what you call it.

At the end of the day, it’s about giving yourself permission to do things your own way.

Are you interested in eloping in Virginia? Check out this step-by-step guide.

Worried that you’ll regret the decision to elope? Here’s the research on the subject.