When my husband and I got married I was still finishing my last semester of college and he was in the military. This meant a long distance relationship and low budget. Being in different states was the biggest hurdle. We knew we were going to get married in Hawaii, where he was stationed, but I had only been there once before on vacation. At the end of the day eloping just made so much sense. It was something we could do with the budget we had and the simplest thing to do with us being in different states. Today my husband and I have been married for two years and still love our decision to elope. Reflecting back on it all now, here’s some points to consider if you’re also on a budget, looking for something more lowkey, or just like the idea of eloping in general!

It’s budget friendly.

The average cost of a wedding is between $19,323 and $32,205. My elopement was all in under $1,000. Generally when a couple elopes it’s just the two of them, the officiant, a witness if needed, and maybe one or two close friends or family. That means you don’t have hundreds of mouths to feed, no cake, dj to hire, gifts, and all the other random things that come with receptions, securing a venue, etc. The expenses involved with elopements are: your attire, officiant, marriage certificate, and photographer. Some extras you can include are: an arch to get married under, videographer, bouquet, dinner afterwards. Even with all the extras you’re looking at an incredibly budget friendly wedding.

Eloping leaves room to spend more on what’s most important to you.

What was most important to me for my wedding was getting a photographer whose work I absolutely loved and looking beautiful the day of. Photographers have lower costs for elopements so even hiring my favorite was still within my budget. I also pulled out all the stops getting eyelash extensions, my hair and makeup done, gel french tip nails, and choosing a gorgeous dress from Bloomingdales. My dress was $100 and I didn’t even have to worry about shoes because I’d be on the sand! I had my elopement on a beach so I was looking for a dress that was long, flowy but not too flashy or formal. It was a simple white dress with a lace top, open back, and long body. The great thing about eloping, though, is that if you want to shell out major bucks on having the perfect dress you totally can because your budget for everything else is so much smaller!

It’s so much more intimate than a large wedding.

It was just me, my hubby, an officiant, ukelele player, and my photographer on my wedding day. I was so comfortable with my hubby, didn’t feel the normal stage fright, wasn’t afraid of PDA, and so in the moment. We danced to the traditional wedding song, whispered words of love into one another’s ears, and said “I Do” in the most intimate and truly about us moment.

You get to relax and actually enjoy your wedding day.

There’s no stress in planning, no bridezilla moments, no worrying about how you’re going to pay for it all afterwards, and it can truly be a fun day for you two! You can wake up late, grab a nice breakfast together, and then just get ready and drive down to your elopement spot together hand in hand and just excited to be getting married. Eloping is the easiest way to have a stress free wedding.

You can have your wedding and honeymoon all in one -aka the best destination wedding!

Because you don’t have to worry about how your friends and family will all get to your wedding venue, you can choose to elope at the destination spot you want to honeymoon at. For example, you could choose to get married on the beaches of Byron Bay in Australia and then stay there and spend your honeymoon afterwards. It’s the perfect way of getting your dream destination wedding and honeymoon all in one!