How to Elope

Eloping in the olden days was seen as a way for couples to run away from their friends and family and secretly get married. Now it is much more acceptable for couples to wed this way. Due to inflated wedding prices with the average wedding costing over $20,000, many couples are finding that eloping is a way to save money and is a great plan for those who are on a budget.

1. Stay organized during the planning to cut down on stress.
2. Keep in mind local rules and regulations if you plan to wed in an unfamiliar location.
3. If you are required to fly to the wedding location pack your wedding attire, or at least your dress, as carry-on
4. Create a realistic budget and stick to it.
5. Also referred to as destination weddings, location weddings, destination elopements, and weddingmoons.

• Although eloping used to be a less widely chosen way for couples to get married, it has gotten more popular over the years.AisleDash: Elopement Industry Rises Article Base: Why Couples Elope! The top three reasons couples choose to elope are to save money, to diminish the stress that comes from planning a wedding and wanting to have a private ceremony, but what ever the reason each couple has personal incentives for eloping.Let's Run Off: Advice And Planning love to know: Elope Eloping is no longer always a surprise or a last minute way for couples to wed, as it was in the olden days, and statistics show that 75% of recent eloping couples took months to plan there elopement.Article Base: Why Couples Elope! By some standards a "true" elopement is one that is kept a secret until after the couple is married and that an un-secretive wedding is simply referred to as a destination wedding, however elopement can also be more loosely defined as a low cost, private wedding, usually at a location outside of the Bride and Groom's own hometown.groomgroove.com: eloping Let's Run Off: Elopements Made Easy

• Just as in any normal wedding the marrying couple is required to take certain steps in the process if they want to be legally married.Let's Run Off: Legal Stuff

• The wedding 'Must Haves' to be legally married are:

1. A Marriage LicenseMarriageLicense.com: Marriage License: Your State Requirements For A License
2. Photo IDMarriageLicense.com: Marriage License: Your State Requirements For A License
3. Birth CertificatesMarriageLicense.com: Marriage License: Your State Requirements For A License
4. Passport (If traveling out of the country)
5. Minister or officiant ordained to legally marry couplesLet's Run Off: Elopement Checlist
6. Witnesses

• Figure Out Your Outfits, Rings and Flowers

1. Decide on what you both want to wear and buy your outfits.Let's Run Off: Elopement Checklist
2. Pick out and buy your wedding rings.Let's Run Off: Elopement Checklist
3. Make sure your wedding package includes flowers, cake, a photographer, and ceremony music.Let's Run Off: Elopement Checklist
4. Decide whether you want to write your own vows, personalize vows that are already written, or simply use formal vows provided by the wedding officiant.Let's Run Off: Advice And Planning

• Eloping can be a great way to have a low cost wedding but to make sure you save money it is important that you create a budget.Let's Run Off: Reasons To Elope WeddingSolutions.com: Destination Wedding Planning Take a look at Mahalo's How to Make a Wedding Budget for more great ideas on elopement budgeting.

1. Decide your total budget: It is important for you to know your overall limit on how much money you can afford to spend on your elopement.
2. Decide how much money goes to each expense: Break down the main expenses and allocate how much money you plan to spend on each of these expenses. If you create your own budget worksheet you need to include:
   1. {Travel
   2. Accommodations
   3. Clothing and attire
   4. Rings
   5. Flowers
   6. Wedding cake
   7. Photography
   8. Marriage license
   9. Announcements and stationary
   10. Honeymoon
   11. Reception - if you are having one after the elopement.
   12. Miscellaneous fees
3. Stick to the budget: After designating how much money you are willing to spend on each part of your elopement it is important to then follow this budget as you plan.

• As eloping becomes more popular there are more options to personalize your day and make it just as special as a traditional style wedding. Many couples choose to go to their local courthouse to elope, but there are also wedding packages from cruise companies or all-inclusive resorts available to make your elopement extra special. These companies can help you create a high class, lower rate elopement for just the two of you that is more personalized than simply going to the court house. Packaged deals can help you create a wedding and honeymoon in one. Just because you are eloping doesn't mean it can't be special!Wedding Ideas and Details: All Inclusive Wedding Packages

• Ten percent of weddings, each year, are destination weddings.Saizan's Travel: Destination Weddings Many couples choose a destination wedding style elopement. All-inclusive resort wedding packages are the most cost efficient way to have a destination elopement.Destination Weddings: Top Ten Reasons to Plan a Destination Wedding These packages are a great way to have a romantic, personalized destination wedding and usually only cost between $4,000 to $5,000 for both your wedding and honeymoon.Let's Run Off: Destinations

• Some of the most popular destination weddings are:

1. Cruise Ship Weddings: Cruise ship weddings are an economical way to have a destination elopement and honeymoon, all in one price package. Many ships, as well as offering on board ceremonies, offer destination ceremonies such as beaches, hot air balloons, glaciers, etc.Destination Weddings: Cruise Ship Wedding
2. Las Vegas: Vegas is probably the first place one thinks of when they consider elopement destinations, although some couples feel that Vegas is cheesy.Simply-Romantic-Ideas.com: Choosing romantic places to elope is more common than ever... It is one of the most popular elopement destinations, with over 100,000 couples marry there each year.Ezine Articles: Top Romantic Places To Elope Improve Your Romance: Romantic Places To Elope For All You 'Rebels' Out There...
3. Hawaii: Hawaii offers a beautiful, romantic setting for an elopement. This is an especially great location for a beach wedding.excellent-romantic-vacations.com: Ideas on Romantic Places to Elope excellent-romantic-vacations.com: Elope in Hawaii
4. Florida: This is another great place for a beach elopement but Florida also offers a distinct variety of locations, both indoors and out.Excellent-Romantic-Vacations.com: Ideas on Romantic Places to Elope
5. Niagara Falls: Niagara Falls, which are located between Canada and New York, are one of the most popular honeymoon destinations in Canada. The Niagara Vineyards, only 15 minutes away from the main falls, are also a great ceremony location.Excellent-Romantic-Vacations.com: Ideas on Romantic Places to Elope Excellent-Romantic-Vacations.com: How You Can Elope in Niagara Falls Niagara Falls Tourism: The Falls
6. California: California offers a huge variety of romantic elopement options.Excellent-Romantic-Vacations.com: Ideas on Romantic Places to Elope
7. Walt Disney World and Disneyland: Both of the Disney parks offer magical wedding packages. Wholly Matrimony!: Destination Wedding 101

• Many couples have chosen to take their elopement ceremonies outside of the chapel and courthouse and have found destinations that make the wedding extra memorable. Some of these popular ceremony sites are:

1. Beachesbeachbride2be: Beach Weddings
2. Rainforests
3. Vineyardsthe knot: Wedding Style: Vineyard Weddings
4. Mountains
5. Glaciers
6. Dude Ranches
7. Bed and Breakfasts
8. Castles
9. Lighthouses
10. Hot Air Balloons

• Websites to Help Choose a Destination
  • Let's Run Off: Destinations
  • Tango: The 10 Best Places To Elope
  • Travel Channel: Sexiest Places To Elope
  • WeddingSolutions.com: Destination Wedding Planning
  • Excellent-Romantic-Vacations.com: Ideas On Romantic Places To Elope

• Destination Wedding All Inclusive Resorts, Cruises and Elopement Packages
  • Sandals: All Inclusive Wedding Packages
  • Cocobay: Caribbean Beach Wedding Packages
  • Carnival Cruise Lines: Weddings
  • Elope to Paradise: Tropical Elopement Packages

• NOTE: If a destination wedding sounds like the right thing for you, make sure to visit visit Mahalo's complete guide on How to Plan a Destination Wedding!

• It is important that you apply for all of the appropriate paperwork far enough before your wedding to be sure everything is in hand by your big day.

• You should know the state requirements for a marriage license of your wedding location. For more information on obtaining a marriage license visit Mahalo's How to Get a Marriage License.

• Marriage License Facts:

1. Some states have required waiting periods, that can be as long as one week, before a marriage license will be given.
2. To apply for your marriage license you can go to your local Parish Clerk's office, which is usually located in your town's courthouse.
3. A marriage license is good for a certain number of days from the point it is given, which is usually somewhere between 30 and 90 days.Findlaw: Chart: State Marriage License and Blood Test Requirements
4. For couples wanting to elope in Paris, the city has heavy requirements to obtain a marriage license. The city demands that either the bride or the groom lives in France for 40 days before allowing the couple to elope.EzineArticles: How to Get Married in Paris - A Guide For the Persistent Romantic!
5. Most other elopement destinations, such as Las Vegas, allow couples to marry almost on the spot.

• What is Needed to Obtain a Marriage License:

1. Both Bride and Groom.the knot: Marriage License: Basics
2. Photo IDsthe knot: Marriage License: Basics
3. Birth Certificatesthe knot: Marriage License: Basics
4. Money to pay licensing fees.the knot: Marriage License: Basics
5. Information on any prior marriages and how they legally ended, such as death certificates or divorce decrees. (If this applies to you.)the knot: Marriage License: Basics

• NOTE: Some states require a blood test for both parties prior to granting a marriage license.

• Whether you are planning to elope just across town or you are going to a Caribbean island you will need to consider your travel options and make arrangements. Decide which form of travel is appropriate for your needs and finalize all travel plans early.Skyview Travel Inc.: Travel Tips Most all-inclusive resorts offer airfare packages as well, although with cruise ship elopements you are still responsible for planning and purchasing your airfare.

1. Decide whether to use a travel agent or plan all travel on your own: Using a travel agent saves you the stress of having to research and buy tickets on your own, but it does cost more than if you do it yourself.
2. Consider all of your travel options: There are many travel options including car, plane, train, bus, or boat.
3. Choose and buy tickets: Make sure you buy your tickets enough in advance to ensure you are able to get what you want and so that you do not have to pay more for last minute fees.
4. Finalize all travel arrangements: Once your arrangements have been finalized make sure you save all paperwork needed for travel.

• In this step you and your fiance elope. This is when you savor the memories you are making together, cherish one another, and are grateful for the choice you made to elope.

1. Travel to your chosen elopement destination
2. Dress and prepare for your wedding
3. Go through the ceremony and say your "I Do's"

• If you choose not to have a destination wedding or if you are not eloping outside of your hometown, you may want to plan a honeymoon for after the wedding. If your main reason for eloping is to save money then you will be excited to know that a honeymoon can also be planned on a budget.the knot: Honeymoon Budget: 25 Ways to Honeymoon for Less

• Now that you are hitched it is time to share the news with family and friends! Some eloping couples choose to have a party after returning from the wedding and honeymoon, while others do not, but neither way is not right or wrong. You must choose what is right for you as a couple.

• Whether you choose to formally announce your new marriage or not, it is proper etiquette and respectful to your close family and friends, to somehow announce that you have eloped. Some couples choose to keep their plans of elopement a secret before they wed, while others openly share their plans with family and friends but either way to spare the feelings of friends and family couples should at least announce their elopement once it's final. If you are concerned about how friends and family might feel about your elopement, start the entire process by being honest with the people closest to you.Wedding Gazette: Is Eloping For You?

1. Decide on the announcements:
   1. Custom Elopement Announcements: You can create these easily if you are not planning an after-party.
   2. Formal wedding announcements: If you are planning to invite family and friends to a post-elopement party, you can send out announcements that also act as invitations.
2. Address and mail announcements: Proper etiquette says that elopement announcements should be sent out within two weeks after the wedding.BismanWeddings.com: Elopement Announcements

• On your announcements, make it clear that it was an elopement, so that people won't wonder why they were not invited to the actual wedding.BismanWeddings.com: Elopement Announcements

• Some couples who elope choose to have a small party after they wed so that their closest friends and family can celebrate the marriage along with the couple.BismanWeddings.com: Elopement Announcements These parties, or "receptions", are becoming more and more common and allow a way for both sides, the couple and the loved ones, to still be happy. Having a party after you wed is another great way to make sure your family still feels like a part of your marriage, even though they won't be there for the actual elopement.

1. Make a guest list
2. Find a location for the party.
3. Send out invitations.
4. Decorate the party location.
5. Choose the type of food and whether or not to have it catered.
6. Choose a professional photographer or a family member to take photos.

• NOTE: For more on planning a wedding or elopement reception party go to How to Plan a Wedding Reception

• Registering for gifts is still a bit controversial for couples who elope. It is frowned upon when eloping couples register for gifts when no one is invited to the wedding and then they choose not to have any kind of celebration. When the couple has a party it is okay to accept gifts that are brought.Wedding Gazette: Is Eloping For You?

• To Register:

1. Choose the store or stores you want to register at.
2. Find the gift registration department or go to the courtesy desk.
3. Create your account and set up registry.
4. Add items to the registry.
5. Finalize all paperwork to finish registry.

• Even though eloping is more widely accepted in the U.S. as the years go on, it can still be a hard decision for some couples to share with family out of fear of hurting them.AisleDash: Elopement Industry Rises As long as you are honest about your reasons the majority of loved ones will respect your choice.Wedding Gazette: Is Eloping For You? Before eloping think the decision through carefully as a couple and make sure you are eloping for the right reasons. After that you can enjoy planning your elopement and then share that special day with your partner.