When DH and I decided to get married, we knew we didn't want any of the big to do. So we went to the Clerk of the Court in MD and did the deed on a Friday morning. No witnesses, just us. THen we went to the Hotel Roanoke for a night and Blackwater Falls State Park for the next nigt. Came home on Sunday and told everyone. IT's been almost 30 years. I have never even tried on a wedding fress. I think my DS and his GF will have some kind of a wedding, but she and her mother can take care of all the details, we will just show up.
Everyone has their own ideas of what is right and what they have to do. Not everyone is an eloper, nor is everyone a big wedding planner. To each thier own.