Question: How different is an elopement ceremony?
Question: How different is an elopement ceremony from a traditional wedding ceremony?
Answer: as different or as similar as you want it to be.
The number of guests is of course the key difference here – most ‘weddings’ we do have 80 – 120 guests, a ‘micro wedding’ is what we’d call a size of around 20 – 40 guests, whereas our elopements with Elsewhere are for a max of 6 (‘Forest’ package) or 15 (‘Anywhere’ package).
Aside from this, here are some of the ways an elopement ceremony may be:
DIFFERENT:
+ can be more emotional – we often see a couple more readily able to let their walls down in this moment because it’s such an intimate experience as opposed to a ‘performance’ in front of a crowd
+ usually feels more relaxed overall for the above reason
+ usually a tad more conversational in tone – as the celebrant, I tend to address the couple (first person) for the majority of the ceremony rather than the guests (third person)
+ we can also include fun / personal / quirky elements that a couple might not have been comfortable including in front of a larger audience, or that might not have been practical in that traditional format (eg. incorporating an activity that holds special relevance)
+ may not feature an ‘entrance’ moment or an ‘aisle’, although it can
+ typically shorter in length, but doesn’t have to be
+ might be a secret, but doesn’t have to be
SIMILAR:
+ can still acknowledge and/or involve loved ones (optional)
+ can still incorporate personalised vows, rings, readings, and/or rituals (optional)
+ can still feature a personalised ‘story’ component (our elopement ceremonies for Elsewhere do anyhow, be that a short and simple or slightly more elaborate segment)
+ can still offer the same photo opportunities (eg. different positioning of celebrant and couple through the ceremony for a variety of angles)
+ can still have you gloriously dolled up (optional) – we’ve had traditional white dresses, we’ve had beautiful outfits of alternative colours and styles… we haven’t had a couple elope in their pyjamas yet but you totally can if you want to
+ gets you just as married.
Words by Kahani Motiani - resident celebrant for all of Elsewhere’s elopements.