Elopements vs Traditional Weddings: Your Questions Answered!

I hear you...

You're a newly engaged couple, still riding the high feelings and excitement of announcing your engagement and showing off that new bling on your finger.

Then it hits you like a bus.

Everyone seems to come off their own level of excitement, encouragement (or not) of your engagement and suddenly-EVERYONE has an opinion on how your wedding day vision is supposed to be. Then, to top it off, you are struggling to set a date, pick a venue, find your style of dress and let's not get started about the cost of catering, photography, videography and the list goes on.

You have heard some people talk about the pros and cons of a big wedding and elopements and today we are going to break down the pros and cons of them both.

Please keep in mind: The BEST wedding day is when two people fall in love and get married.

Let's get started!

So... what is an elopement?

An elopement is a private and often spontaneous marriage ceremony, typically characterized by the couple choosing to marry without the traditional, large-scale celebration or public announcement. It usually involves just the couple and a few close witnesses, or even just the officiant, and is often held in an intimate or scenic location, such as a beach, forest, or mountain. Seen as a way to simplify the wedding experience, elopements tend to focus on the couple's love and commitment without the complexities of a big wedding.

Maybe you or both you and your soon-to-be have strained family relationships. Maybe you are on an extremely tight budget and just can't swing the cost of a full blown traditional wedding with an after party that goes on long into the night. Or, perhaps you both are avid road-trippers and want to get married along the shore of a lake at a national park.

I think traditionally, elopements have been viewed as when a couple escapes to the courthouse to seal the deal on the dotted line in front of a judge (nothing wrong with that btw!).

Newsflash, its 2025 and elopements are now more mainstream and cooler than ever!

What does a 2025 elopement look like?

It can be whatever YOU want it to be. Let's go through a sample scenario. Let's talk about Maddie and Joe. Their parents were elderly and due to unique circumstances just not able to participate in a traditional wedding, plus a lot of their friends were scattered across the US and just would not be able to make the drive to the Marquette area.

Maddie and Joe sit down and go over their vision and budget. Both of them love the outdoors and mountains and love hiking. They wanted to incorporate that into their day somehow. Since they decided on eloping, they did not have the cost of catering for 100+people, nor the expenses of a traditional wedding venue. They also wanted to have their loyal dogs included in the day.

With the expense of catering, venue, wedding party, etc out of the picture, Maddie+Joe opted to invest in a quality, documentary style photographer and wedding highlight filmmaker to document their wedding day from start to finish. They wanted to throw a small after-party a few months down the road to showcase their day in pictures and then premier their wedding film in front of their close family and friends at their Christmas party. This would make everyone feel like they were experiencing the day all over again from start to finish.

With their photographer and videographer booked, Maddie ordered a dress that spoke to her style and Joe wore his favorite dress shirt and slacks and they both packed their favorite hiking boots. They began their love story at an Air BnB on the shores of Lake Superior in Marquette, starting the morning off with simple hair and makeup then coffee before gowning up.

The dogs are included in the day for a few pictures then left to hang out at the cabin while the couple jump in their Jeep and drive over to Sugarloaf Mountain, north of Marquette, where they meet an old friend who is now an assistant pastor. He has agreed to do a small ceremony and will sign the license once the small crew reaches the top of the mountain.

The day goes off without a hitch. Maddie and Joe get married on the top of the mountain with the wind whisping lightly through the trees. Their photographer and videographer team up and do an incredible job of telling the story, all the way to the end when Maddie and Joe opt to end their formal wedding day with a trip to their favorite small restaurant and brewery in Marquette to end the day with a small dinner with just the two of them. 5 months later, at Christmas, they invite their friends and family to their home in Ohio to show off a slideshow of their finished gallery then at the end of dinner, they hit play on their wedding film. Its an instant hit.

As you might already be thinking...elopements can be pretty cool.

Ok, but Hannah, we just can't do an elopement....

I feel you.

Everyone is going to have their own personal reasons for wanting to do a traditional wedding. I did (on an extremely tight budget). I will say, there is also something special about having your favorite people surrounding you on your wedding day. If that is your vibe....let's go!!!

With traditional weddings, you and your s/o are usually starting your day sipping on iced coffees, getting your hair and makeup done, and just chilling out with the whole crew. You have all morning just relaxing and hanging out and then you all head over to the ceremony location to say I do in front of all of your important people. Right after, you have 30 min to 1 hour of family portraits, then wedding party and bride and groom formals.

With those shots out of the way, you all pile into the party bus and head over to your reception location for the grand entry, dinner, toasts then dance your shoes off until midnight. Its a full day and your heart is full.

Pros of a traditional wedding:

-full wedding day experience

-catered dinner

-wedding venue+maybe even a planner to keep things flowing

-you get to include everyone

Cons:

-family drama can happen

-full wedding days can be pricy if you are on a budget

-you might feel like you are on a tight timeline

Let's talk about Kay+Mike.

Both the bride and groom had large families and a much larger friend group and while they liked the idea of an elopement, they decided to opt for a full blown wedding day with the bells and whistles.

And this is how they did it.

They both found a venue that they loved and was within budget. Kay scored a deal on a caterer who was reputable and had the date open. They kept their wedding party to 3 on each side (side note, the larger the wedding party, the bigger the expense). Kay's aunt made a mini cake for the couple to eat and then Mike's sister made an arrangement of cupcake and cookies.

Photos were super important to them, so Kay made sure she budgeted accordingly to get the photographer who would capture the day from start to finish. Video wasn't a priority, so they opted out of purchasing video coverage. Instead with those funds, they rented a party bus so the whole wedding party could hang out post-ceremony and drive to several scenic locations for incredible photos.

Kay did have some concerns about timelines, and was afraid of overwhelming her mother who was helping plan the whole event, so in a last minute decision, Kay decided to hire a day of coordinator to help facilitate details. It was truly an incredible investment and allowed Kay and her family to just enjoy the day to the fullest.

In closing,

Both scenarios are good examples of how you might choose and elopement or micro wedding versus a traditional wedding. Both have their peks and at the end of the day, YOU get to plan the day of your dreams.