Adventurous and Modern Elopements | Adventurous Elopement Wedding Photographer | Destination Elopement Wedding Photography
What is an Adventurous Elopement? We'll let's chat about what people mean when they say they're eloping in these modern days.
Every time I say that I photograph adventurous elopements and weddings, there seems to be a negative connotation attached to elopements. And I know that if I am getting that response as a photographers, my couples that are choosing to elope and getting that response from their friends and family too!
I wanted to write an article explaining what modern day elopements are, why people choose to do them, and why they’re an equally as special option to get married. Not any better or worse than a traditional wedding, just a different option for couples with different circumstances or priorities.
While elopements used to be, and still can be, a secretive, impromptu, run off to Vegas and get married without telling your parents kind’ve idea, they’ve morphed into something different now days. The couples I work with who choose to elope, are choosing to do so based on many different reasons. Typically it’s NOT secretive, it IS planned, and sometimes it’s a true elopement where it’s just the couple, but sometimes it might even include a few guests or immediate family.
Naturally, when people get engaged, they start thinking about planning a wedding because they think that’s just what they have to do. The thing is, the wedding industry has become an environment that is filled with expectations, rules, high costs, and a typically it places a higher value on things rather than experiences.
There are time constraints that typically make for a day that flies by from one event to the next, and filled with love ones and mass groups of people, which proves to not have much time for the actual couple to actually get to spend together. While there are a lot of positives to a traditional wedding, the negative side of the industry, that I think most people can agree exists, are the things that couples who elope are intentionally trying to get away from.
Eloping typically allows for a much more intimate day, and thats usually the main reason people choose to do them. The day is kept to just themselves, or the people that mean the very most to them, so that the time spent can be intentional, and the couple can truly share it and experience that moment with the people closest to them.
This is especially attractive to couples who don’t like the thought of proclaiming their intimate thoughts and love for one another in front of a massive crowd, or couples who may have minimal or strained family relationships.
The couples that I typically work with for elopements are people who really value traveling, the outdoors, and those experiences. They imagine their best day possible being by themselves or with a small group, being in a beautiful place, and experiencing all that it has to offer. There aren’t many time constraints when you don’t have a venue, and it’s easier to manage just 2 people, or a small group of people when you want to go to multiple locations. The only thing you maybe have to be conscious of is what time the sun goes down!
Elopements also enable couples to truly invest into the things that do matter to them, instead of having to spread a budget thin across lots of details.
What matters most when it comes down to planning any sort of wedding, traditional or elopement, is that you’re planning the day for YOU. You’re allowed to be selfish, I give you permission. The day is about YOU and no one else. It comes down to not letting your day be dictated by the wedding industry, but instead letting it be dictated by your values, your priorities, and whatever things are going to make your wedding day the truest best day of your life.
Whether that means a massive party with 300 people at a historic estate, or eloping on a mountain top at sunrise because sunrises and mountains are your things. YOU DO YOU.
If you were planning a traditional wedding and read this and now are freakin torn of what to do now, fret not! Next week I’ll be introducing a new solution I’ll be offering couples who choose to have a traditional wedding. It combines a traditional wedding with the experience of an adventurous elopement, and might be the best of both worlds for couples who want to experience both!