The #1 Reason Couples are Eloping
Eloping has been on the rise since 2014, but in 2018 we starting seeing a trend in couples having smaller weddings or simply choosing to jet off to the courthouse instead of having a big celebration. Suddenly it was common to hear about couples who were looking for wedding day ‘alternatives’ or curiously typing in Google searches about ‘how to elope’. And after 2020, this trend has officially hit the mainsteam, with couples all over the globe deciding to elope.
What exactly do we mean when we say eloping? We define an elopement wedding as a wedding with a non-traditional format and a focus on the ceremony, it can either be just the couple alone or with up to 25 guests.
And most couples had one big reason for wanting a smaller wedding; budget…but, keep reading because this is not just about saving money.
One thing wedding professionals know (that most couples beginning their wedding planning journey do not) is that the cost of their wedding has a lot to do with the number of guests they will have. In fact, as a wedding planner one of the first things that I educate couples on is that the most accurate way to think about their overall wedding budget, is that it is a per-person cost. Because once couples understand that each of their guests affects their budget pretty significantly, many start to re-think the size of their wedding.
Of course that doesn’t mean that every couple decides to have a smaller wedding or that trimming your guest list means you want to elope. But, having personally spoken to hundreds of couples choosing to elope over the past 7 years; I can definitely say the #1 reason they give for deciding to elope is the cost savings.
And I am making the distinction between ‘cost savings’ and ‘budget’ on purpose because it isn’t just the couples overall budget that is making eloping so attractive, it is also what they can do with their cost savings too. There are of course couples who can’t afford to do anything more than a small wedding and so for them, eloping might be necessary. But, the majority of couples choosing to elope have the means to have a larger wedding in some capacity, they are just choosing not to.
Whether that is because they realized the wedding that they want to have would only be possible with fewer guests or that they would prefer to spend the additional money they would have spent on a large wedding on something else - couples are seeing eloping as a welcome alternative to a big traditional wedding.
I often say “weddings are never going to get less expensive” and they won’t. Every year weddings get more and more expensive because they mainly rely on things like food costs and labor costs that continue to rise year over year. I believe this not only validates a couples’ decisions to have a smaller wedding, but I think this is why budget will always be the #1 reason for eloping.
However, just like the overall wedding market, this comes with more nuance than just saying that couples eloping want to save money. It also appeals to couples wanting to spend their wedding budgets differently too. They may end up spending the same amount of money as they would on a larger wedding, but hosting all their friends in Italy for a weekend. Or a couple will choose to have a lavish dinner for fifteen guests over a much simpler reception for fifty.
As more couples prepare for their big day amid ever increasing costs, many of them will realize that either what they have to spend, or what they want to spend, is better suited for a smaller guest count. Either way, eloping has hit the mainstream and will continue to be a great option for couples looking to save money.
Is your wedding business ready for couples choosing smaller wedding options like eloping? Or do you have questions about elopement weddings or the wedding market? I would love to hear from you! Drop me a DM at @morganmchilds or join us in the Elopement Wedding Pro Community.
Photo Credit: June Cochran Photography