Extreme Green Wedding Tip: Elope!
May 29, 2008 by Peggy
I remember wanting to elope but being too afraid of hurting my family’s feelings. They wanted to see me get married.
But, hello!?! If the day is supposed to be all about you, why not have the courage to do what you really want? I didn’t do that, and my wedding was nice. I also have photos and all that. But if I had it to do over, I would certainly elope in a heartbeat.
A few reasons to elope:
Weddings take months to plan and they cost a lot. You’re going on a honeymoon anyway, right? Why not take that wedding money and stay at a nicer hotel and extend your honeymoon by a couple of days?
Also, weddings really feel like a whirlwind for the bride. Everything seems rushed. Even though family and friends are there, you have a “routine” to follow, so there’s not much visiting. Of course, one way to get around this is not letting the photographer structure your wedding for you. Photographers have to be out of there at a certain time, and you want so many photos of this or that before they leave, hence they can control your wedding.
It’s much more green to elope. I didn’t care about that so much back in 1998. But I do now, and being more green is an excellent reason to give to elope.
Eloping doesn’t mean you can’t have a cake or photos. A friend of mine went to an island to elope. She had a cake on the beach and the person who married her took a photo. It was simple and sweet and they loved it. Plus, they didn’t have to travel to their honeymoon after the wedding. They were already there and married. They shared the experience with family and friends by sending out a photo postcard of them at their beach wedding.
Last, weddings are stressful, but it’s stress you can do without.
Have you considered eloping?
Image via flickr.
My brother-in-law eloped. It certainly made everything a lot simpler. It really suited him and his wife. In all honesty, it did hurt some feelings, but it made them happy.
I guess I’m super green – I skipped the wedding altogether and moved on to having Cedar
Of course die hards would say I just lowered my greenness considerably because I had a kid. You can’t win them all.
I was kinda wondering if this green suggestion was going to show up, lol.
Minnie — I’m guessing all has been forgiven! : )
Jennifer — Maybe you can elope next time around!
Kisha — It’s been lurking in my head all month.
Hubby and I didn’t exactly “elope” but we just decided one day to head off to the courthouse and get married. We told the family afterwards, and yep they were quite upset. But we didn’t have the money for a wedding (and I just couldn’t bring myself to even spend a few thousand on a small wedding). The family is still more or less mad about it, because they don’t even acknowledge our anniversary and it has been over 11 years now! LOL
Jodi, really? Maybe you need have simple surprise vow renewal in their living room one day? Then maybe they’d forgive you…
@Jodi, stuff like that makes me so mad. It’s your life. That’s just rude. Family, and others act so lame sometimes. My entire in-law side of the family is totally crazed that Ben and I were never married, have a son (named Cedar, they hate his name), and think I suck because I’m not impressed with their money. I swear. People will complain about anything.