Did you Elope?

[Squirrel!!!]

Eloped--yes indeed. Vegas baby!!!

It sounds so silly to say we eloped since that brings to mind sneaking out of the house with a ladder. I was 36 and the whole idea of planning a wedding gave me hives.

At least I had Elvis at my wedding.

 

[ZandZsMom]

We sure did! My husband's parents were less than thrilled that he chose to marry me. He is first generation here and first to marry out of his nationality (gasp ) . We had initially planned on a big wedding but knowing how they felt it was too stressful (it was coming down to a choose them or choose me situation...on their part) so we nixed the wedding and announced we were getting married in Maui and would have a casual house party when we returned. We made it clear that we wanted it just about us and did not extend invitations to anyone. BEST decision we ever made. We hope our kids do the same when the time comes...but invite us of course!

We plan on going back in 3 years and renewing our vows w/ our kids

 

[Cee]

On July 6, 1981 we went to the County Clerk at the Circuit Court in Howard County, Maryland and were married with two witnesses that worked there. Then we went to the beach for a few days and back to work. I've never regretted it.

 

[hulagirl87]

Basically, yes. We got married in Disney at the Yacht Club gazebo but it was just me and DH. Everyone knew we were getting married, so technically I guess that's not truly eloping, but we just decided to not have any family there. We had a party when we came back, but honestly, deciding to have it be just the 2 of us was the best! I loved it and it was one of the best days ever! It was pretty much stress free planning wise and it was a beautiful day. I would do it again in a heartbeat and would recommend it to anyone. My mom on the other hand won't let me forget that she wasn't at my wedding.

 

[The_Alice]

Yup. Given the family drama on both sides we decided to take the matter into our own hands and elope. Though we did have a quiet ceremony in the Catholic Church with family years later to have our vows Convalidated.

 

[Abbeys_mom]

We did on April 29, 2001! Vegas baby, complete with Elvis singing "FoolsnRush In" as I walked down the aisle. My parents had not been in the same room in 20 years, and my mother can't believe something is not about her, so we did it without her. And it was SO MUCH FUN! We had 15 friends and family join us, and I still wore a big white dress. 10 years later and I would do it again in a heartbeat.

 

[starrzone]

Yes! We did it last year. After 15 years together (and about 12 living and owning a house), we decided to go and get married in Jamaica. We are both very private, DH didn't really felt a need to be officially married, but since it could be done with minimal fuss, he finally agreed to please me. So simple, so nice, and no worries about organizing a "big thing". We had to own it up to our family afterwards and deal with some disappointment (my parents and sister hurt was a bit hard for me to deal with) , but we are still happy with our dream wedding.

This is awesome! I don't have a SO right now, but I can sooooo see myself doing the exact same thing. I too am a very private person, and I really dislike the idea of being the "centre of attention". Lol, with my last SO, my parents didn't even know I was dating him til 3 months went by, and I was living with them at the time!

Yes, and it was wonderful!!! Dh and I told everyone we were getting married, but wanted it to be about our commitment to each other and to our marriage. We were married in a lovely chalet on the side of a mountain. It was just the two of us and very romantic. I'd do it over again in a heartbeat.

Fwiw, my parents eloped, too, but theirs was a big secret! Also, fwiw, I've never been in or to a wedding that was anything but a pain in the behind. I have ZERO interest in anyone else's wedding and certainly did not want to deal with the aggravation of one of my own. Our was exactly what WE wanted, not what everyone else demanded.

It's been almost 20 years and we are still very much in love.

The bolded part is exactly what my opinions are as well. You know what bugs me?? When you give your opinion on the topic and people say "Oh, you'll change your mind". Um, no, I won't. You've known me for years, so you know I'm the most bull-headed creature on the planet. I will NOT be changing my mind!! If I'm going to be spending any money, it will be on my husband and me, not other people.

WE eloped but didn't go anywhere lol

A wedding was going to be too complicated.

My sister hates my mom and my one brother but I couldn't not include her without a huge to do.

Everyone lives far away from us (8 hours or more) so getting everyone here would be very expensive.

My dad would be ticked if we didnt' have the wedding in Canada (where I'm from)

there would just be PRESSURE PRESSURE PRESSURE and so much extra planning because of distance and I just didn't want to deal with all the drama a simple wedding could create.

So we went to the courthouse on Friday... went back on monday and got married. We got married in the town my husband was born and raised in not too far from where we live now. It's a small quiet town and has that wonderful small town feel that I just love. We got married in shorts and flip flops lol and then we went to lunch at the diner in town and that night we went to a hockey game

And then the next day we told everyone we were married Everyone was happy... there were no hard feelings... no muss, no fuss... it was perfect

so we just stayed close to home but it was nice.

I love this idea, too! You all have given me some good inspiration and courage; NO ONE in my family has ever eloped, and I know it's going to be a sticky issue when the time comes for me. But you know what? It's all about the marriage, not the wedding. I'd rather start wedded bliss having $$$ in the bank instead of having gone out to pay a venue, caterer and DJ!

I do have a story to share about eloping...back in 2003, I was working in the visitor centre of a national park in Canada that has some gorgeous scenery, including red sandstone cliffs and white-sand beaches. My supervisor called the office with a (what she termed) strange request; would my coworker and I mind serving as witnesses for a beach wedding, wearing our uniforms? A couple from New York had visited the park a couple years before and had fallen in love with it. It was the mot beautiful, relaxed wedding I had ever been to; there were 5 people there. Me, my coworker, the Justice of the Peace, and the bride and groom. I wouldn't want my wedding to be any different

 

[NaLisa]

Yes, and it was wonderful!!! Dh and I told everyone we were getting married, but wanted it to be about our commitment to each other and to our marriage. We were married in a lovely chalet on the side of a mountain. It was just the two of us and very romantic. I'd do it over again in a heartbeat.

Fwiw, my parents eloped, too, but theirs was a big secret! Also, fwiw, I've never been in or to a wedding that was anything but a pain in the behind. I have ZERO interest in anyone else's wedding and certainly did not want to deal with the aggravation of one of my own. Our was exactly what WE wanted, not what everyone else demanded.

It's been almost 20 years and we are still very much in love.

We did something like this nearly 10 years ago, and it was wonderful. There was a quaint mountain village a coupld hundred miles away, and I called the owners of a B & B for their wedding package. For $500, we got two nights at the historic B & B (which was all done up for Christmas and beautiful), the photographer, minister, cake, flowers, champagne. All we had to do was show up after running to the courthouse for a license.

But we had both been married before and had the big wedding the first time. The expense, worry, drama...absolutely not worth it. When DH and I got married, we agreed that it should be about us and our commitment, not all that extraneous stuff.

 

[mickeyboat]

I didn't - and had a wonderful wedding, but looking back I think it would have been really great to elope.

 

[rszdtrvl]

Kind of.

We were planning a wedding for March, and I was totally stressing out. I felt like I was having a wedding for everybody but myself.

I finally told my fiance that I just wanted to fly to Reno and elope, as I always wanted to do as a child (I never have been one for a big white wedding, even as a kid).

We told our friends and family, and a week later we were in Reno, reciting our vows.

His mother did follow us down there, something I honestly have not forgiven her for, as I didn't want any friends/family there. Call me psycho, but 15 years later, it still peezes me off.

But everybody who thought I was pregnant (thus the moving up of the marriage by 3 months) was suckers as I got the last laugh when I had my son that December - 12 months after the wedding.

Does that qualify as an elopement, if friends and family knew, but we traveled pretty much alone to get married?