Did you know that the origins of the word ‘elope’ actually go back to the 13th century? And it was a word that literally meant ‘to leap’? Yeah, we didn’t either – but isn’t that fascinating? Eloping has changed in meaning a lot over the years. Even in the last few decades, its definition has moved away from the secretive background it once had. Luckily, eloping isn’t only about running away to get married in secret these days. You can totally elope and have your parents there if you want! Here are our 6 favorite reasons to consider eloping in NYC instead of going for the big wedding.

#1: Consider Eloping to Save Your Money

When it comes to traditional weddings, the majority of your expense is in booking a venue and paying for a meal and reception for your guests afterward. New York wedding venues can be expensive, depending on your tastes and how many people you could be inviting. Since you wouldn’t be doing that with an elopement, you’d save a significant amount of money.

According to The Knot, the average cost of a New York City wedding in 2019 was around $80,000. We’re pretty sure you have much more important things to spend all that money on! The average cost did drop by almost half in 2020, though. But what was the difference? As a result of the pandemic, couples were planning much smaller weddings. This goes to show how much money can be saved when you consider eloping.

Now, there are some great elopement packages that venues are providing. These cover all the main details you want for your day at a much more manageable cost. Or, for total control, you could go it alone. Keep things simple with a City Hall ceremony or book a celebrant to officiate at one of your favorite spots around New York City to get wed.

#2: Stress-Free

Planning a wedding is super stressful, no matter how relaxed a person or couple you are. When you’re trying to put together a milestone event and keep a whole bunch of people happy, there are bound to be frictions and difficulties along the way!

When you’re planning a big wedding, there are so many questions to be answered. Like who should you have in the wedding party? Who’s likely to get upset if you don’t ask them? Who should you invite? Do you have space for plus ones? Do you want kids at the wedding? What about favors? Do you need to arrange transportation? Hotel rooms? And on and on it goes. That even made us stressed writing that down.

And we haven’t even mentioned any potential drama planning a wedding can encourage. Like family members who aren’t speaking to each other. Or that friend you’d have to invite, but who always gets so drunk and usually causes a fight.

Look, striving for the perfect event is stressful to try and do, no matter who you are. And while some of you might not mind the stress, for others, it’s something you want to avoid.

Eloping simplifies things in a big way. You won’t have to deal with lots of guests or demanding family members who think you should do things a certain way. You won’t have to chase people for RSVPs, stress over seating arrangements or worry about what to do for people with allergies.

Eloping brings things back to what the ultimate goal is – to be married to the person you love. It keeps your focus on what’s truly important to you.

#3: All Eyes on You

If being the center of attention with hundreds of eyes on you brings you out in a cold sweat, we can only imagine how the idea of a big wedding is making you feel. Don’t worry, there is another option!

An elopement is a much more intimate affair. It could just be you two, your celebrant or officiant and your New York elopement photographer. Or you might choose to consider eloping with a small handful of close family and friends. You can totally do that in today’s version of what an elopement is, you know!

A smaller number of guests is perfect if you don’t do well in big crowds. You won’t have to be running around trying to see everyone through the day. Plus, you won’t need to worry about saying your vows in front of a large crowd, which, let’s face it, is always nerve-wracking, even if you’re outgoing. You can enjoy the day for what it is and focus on each other as you take that next exciting step in your adventure together.

#4: Focus on Your Relationship

A big wedding and all the planning it takes can become pretty overwhelming. And it sometimes happens that you might lose sight of why you’re doing it along the way. That’s hardly surprising when you have to decide on flowers or the cake, or puzzling over seating arrangements and making sure everyone is happy.

If that idea is something you don’t enjoy, then an elopement might just be the thing for the two of you.

By keeping it small, simple and limited to a few people involved, you can keep your reasons for why you’re getting married in sight. You won’t be worrying about who’s sitting next to who or whether your wedding party is getting to wear outfits they’re happy in. Instead, you can be in the moment and make decisions purely based on pleasing yourself and your partner. That sounds pretty blissful, right?

Remember, this is about your relationship at the end of it all. A wedding is just a day with pretty details and an epic party. It’s what comes later that matters so much more.

#5: Keep It Personal

How many friend’s weddings have you been to and wondered how the couple could have possibly enjoyed the day? It seems like they were always on the move and didn’t even stop to eat some food!

You know what we’re talking about. You’ve seen them. They’ve got 200 guests – aunts, cousins and friends of their parents that they need to get around and greet at some point in the day. All between exchanging their vows, having photos taken, dinner, speeches, cake cutting and first dances.

Is it any wonder that so many people often say that they barely remember anything from their wedding day as it all rushed by so fast?

An elopement removes that rushing feeling and any obligation to be the perfect hosts. Instead, you can enjoy and savor every moment and have a truly intimate and meaningful celebration.

#6: Elopement Photography Matters to You

A fancy venue, dinner for 150 and having 16 bridesmaids might not be important to you. But what does matter to you both is that you have incredible NYC elopement photos to treasure the memories of your elopement forever.

We know you want pictures that capture the day for what it is – something magical, meaningful and special to the two of you. We’ve got to say, that makes our hearts burst to hear that because we think it’s important too!

We love capturing elopements because every single one of them is unique. There’s nothing cookie-cutter about an elopement. There’s no set format, timeline or order of the day like more traditional weddings. This means there’s lots of scope to capture some unique and interesting photos along the way. We also love that we have so much more time to get creative with you both and capture the most incredible images for you. Because if you’re not having to rush about greeting friends and family you hardly know, then you’ve got lots more time to enjoy the day. You can enjoy those intimate special moments and have us be there to record it all for you.

Ok, we’ve talked long enough about why eloping is an awesome idea. The truth is that, no matter what you decide, your wedding is going to be amazing. But if an NYC elopement is the choice you’re going with, we’d love to be the NYC elopement photographers to capture it all for you.

Check out our information about our elopement packages. And, if you like what you see, get in touch. We’d love to chat with you about your plans and find out how we can work with you!