Maybe getting down on the dance floor with a bunch of relatives isn’t how you want to spend your wedding. Consider instead, then, the ease and comfort of a much smaller ceremony where you can recite your intimate vows to one another in private without a crowd. If your favorite activity is lounging around together rather than hitting the town, maybe the best kind of reception for you would be a romantic, candlelit dinner with your new spouse to celebrate the day.
Photo by: Lauren Lindley, California, United States
While some people live for the hustle and bustle of a big wedding with extravagant décor and an impossibly long guest list, others find these kinds of weddings to be too much hoopla, preferring instead something simpler and quieter, allowing for more intimacy between them and their fiancés on this special day. So how do you infuse your wedding with all the romance but none of the fuss?
ALONE AT LAST
Many couples these days are opting to elope rather than planning a large wedding. For the no-frills couple, elopement can be the perfect option to really get what you want out of the day. It is your day, after all, isn’t it? Therefore, you should really consider whether or not you want to be surrounded by a boisterous crowd, cheering and partying when maybe all you want to do is have a bit of personal time between the two of you.
Photo by: Kate Crabtree, Maine, United States
YOUR ROMANCE THE WAY YOU WANT
All of this isn’t to say that an elopement must only include the bride and groom, though. You still have the option to invite a couple of your closest family members and friends, too. Maybe you’d like to have them present at the ceremony as well, or maybe you’d like to rope them into your quiet, celebratory dinner. Either way, elopement offers you the opportunity to have your romantic day the way you want it.
Speaking of doing things your way, a small wedding party also affords you the opportunity to go wherever you’d like. Do the two of you enjoy the idea of a sunny beach ceremony on the sand? Or maybe you prefer the bright lights of the city, or the tall, impenetrable trees of a forest. Either way, your elopement is totally customizable in both size and location.
Photo by: Juan Carlos Calderon, Jalisco, Mexico
Just don’t forget the two people you do need to include: your officiant and your witness. Aside from the person officiating your wedding, it’s important to consider that you will need a witness to sign your marriage license as well. But don’t worry. If you aren’t into the idea of inviting family members or friends, particularly if you’d have to choose between them or simply want to preserve the romance of privacy, you can always have your photographer serve as both witness and documentarian of your romantic day together!