The Difference Between an Elopement and a Wedding
What is the difference between an Elopement and a Wedding?
LOVE, LORRAINE ADVENTURE WEDDING and ELOPEMENT PHOTOGRAPHERS
Most weddings that you have attended have more than likely been a single-day event. You show up sometime in the late afternoon, enjoy a beautiful ceremony, and then get into drinks, dinner, and the reception! Is this what you envision for your wedding? What if we told you that your wedding could be two days of celebrating? Yes, you read that right. And we will go even further to say that a multiple-day elopement is even more epic.
Read on to learn more about how epic a multiple-day elopement truly can be. Let’s get after it.
Is choosing to elope better than having a wedding?
The ultimate question. Maybe you are asking yourself this very question right now! We are here to help you sort some of these feelings out. But before we hop into the specifics around weddings and elopements and what makes them different, let’s start with what matters most.
Whether you are at the stage where you are considering which direction you would like to go with your wedding day, you must know this; wedding or elopement, one is not necessarily better than the other. Each has their pros and cons! As elopement photographers, we vote for elopement, assuming that it will be a good fit for you and your partner. There is no right or wrong answer, what matters is that you share a day with your partner the way that you want, and celebrate the commitment you are making to one another.
Weddings tend to focus less on YOU (and your partner) while elopements are planned intentionally, focusing on you and your partner. Elopements are a more meaningful approach to the traditional wedding; planned, authentic experiences that are all about you and your partner.
As we explore the differences between weddings and elopements, remember that there is no right or wrong. Our job is to help you to make the very best decision!
The Differences Between a Wedding and an Elopement
Venue & Guests
It may come as a surprise, but this section isn’t going to be about how many people are attending your wedding. When exploring the differences between an elopement and a wedding, we are going to talk about the intention behind each and every little detail.
For starters, we all know that when you start planning a wedding, the first people you think about are your family; your parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins, your mom’s best friend and her kids, your dad’s second cousin that you may see yearly around the holidays. This list gets long very quickly. And we haven’t even talked about your friends!
With an elopement, you can ignore the long lists of people and family trees. Choosing to have an elopement means that you can pursue it as you please. This allows you to include the people closest to you and only those people, and that’s okay.
Maybe you find eloping intriguing because you don’t want to have any guests at all. This is also okay! Elopements don’t come with traditions in mind, and you can make these decisions free from judgment.
Do you see yourself standing in front of 100 plus people, all eyes on you, sharing your vows? Or would you prefer to find a remote location in nature, experiencing complete solitude while you share your vows with your partner?
With eloping comes opportunity (more on this later in the blog!), like a hiking adventure, a helicopter tour, and so much more. Choose the venue that speaks to you the most. Maybe it’s a place you have been before, or an entirely new place that you would like to visit. When choosing to elope, you don’t have to choose from event venues locally or with 100 guests traveling in mind. Choose from nature’s greatest gifts instead, like the Rocky Mountain range!
Experiences & Authenticity
Your wedding day should be 100% yours. It should be exactly how you envision it, and it should speak to who you are as a person (this includes your partner, too!). For some people, this very well may be all about hosting an event with a lot of guests, being the center of attention, and sticking with wedding traditions. For others, the thought of a traditional wedding just doesn’t sit right.
Be honest with yourself and your partner about what you want for your wedding day. Stay authentic to who you are. Hard decisions often bring out the best in us, while also revealing who we truly are and what we truly want.
Choosing to elope allows you so many opportunities for your wedding celebration. This is one of our favorite things about elopements. There are no rules, and the sky's the limit. Have you been meaning to plan a trip to Alaska to explore the great outdoors? Great! Your elopement is a great way to celebrate your love and tackle that bucket list item you have been dreaming up.
Turn your “wedding day” into an “elopement getaway” by planning multiple days away in a destination you’ve always wanted to visit, or that special place you feel right at home in.
Financial Value
How you choose to spend your money is your decision! Choosing to elope doesn’t mean taking a shortcut of finances to get the job done. Instead you are choosing to invest your money in an authentic experience.
However you choose to invest, it is your decision! You work hard to earn the money you spend. You wouldn’t go to the store and buy a bunch of food you don’t like. Don’t spend a bunch of money on anything you don’t want to do on your wedding day. Think about those “once in a lifetime” experiences you just have to live out, pick those!
Are you finding yourself going back and forth? Do you think that you may want a little bit of both? You can have an elopement and still have some of the traditions from a big wedding!
Can’t decide between a Wedding and an Elopement?
Remember, your wedding day is all about you. It should be exactly as you want it to be. Let’s go over some of our favorite solutions to wanting a mix of a traditional wedding and an intimate elopement!
Elope with your Family Present! Yes, this is an option. Having your family present for your elopement can give you the perfect blend of “my loved ones are here to witness our celebration of love” and “I don’t want to be the center of attention with 200 people watching”.
One day, two separate celebrations. Want to celebrate with your family but not sure you want them to be present for your ceremony and vows? Split the day up! Wake up early in the morning for a sunrise hike, share your vows with an epic view and then meet up with your family and friends later in the day for a celebration. The options for this celebration are endless, get creative! You could rent an Airbnb to host your closest family and friends while a private chef cooks a meal for you all to enjoy.
Choose Two Days! You read that right. When one day simply isn’t enough to do everything you want to do for your elopement, have a multiple-day elopement! We never advise our couples to jam pack their days with too much activity, as we want to ensure that your experience is memorable and that you are able to move at your leisure, and be present in the moment. There is no rule that says you can’t plan multiple days of celebrating! Has rock climbing been on your bucket list? Plan a guided tour for the day after. Check out this epic Rock Climbing Elopement in Acadia National Park.
Plan a separate celebration for friends and family. If you choose to celebrate your love just the two of you, that’s perfectly fine. One way to include your family and friends is to have a completely separate celebration for all to attend. Another perk to this option is that you can elope in a beautiful destination and host the celebration for all closer to home, limiting travel for all guests. Have family and friends all over the world? Host multiple, smaller parties with your people!
There are so many ways to have the best of both worlds when it comes to weddings and elopements. These are just a few ways you can approach the want to include some traditional pieces of a wedding day, but still have a “just us” experience for your elopement.
Check out how Love, Lorraine Couples planned their unique elopement day!
Don’t let the wedding industry dictate how your wedding day should be! There is no right or wrong way. As long as it’s focused around your values, celebrate the way you intend to. If you connect with us and our work, reach out. We are ready to help you plan your best day ever!
Randi and Patrick reached out to us last year about eloping in Colorado. Their dream was to get married in Rocky Mountain National Park. Lucky for them, there was a cancellation at Sprague Lake in October of 2022. We jumped at the opportunity to create their dream elopement day in Rocky Mountain National Park with their family and friends present!