More and more people decide to celebrate a wedding a little different from the traditional one: an intimate wedding with a few guests, sometimes a real couple getaway. Let’s talk about elopement.
In this article I want to tell you what elopement means and how to make the most of this special wedding.
What is elopement: intimate weddings are becoming more and more fashionable
Literally, the meaning of elopement is “escape with a lover” (“to elope”), and this expression refers to an intimate and reserved wedding, extremely romantic, almost always celebrated in a dream location.
The elopement is a wedding in two, or at most with very few guests, never more than ten: the spouses are the only protagonists, in the presence of the officiant.
Unlike a simple intimate wedding with a few guests, perhaps celebrated near the bride and groom’s home, the elopement has that extra dose of romance given by the idea of escaping to a special place.
In the Anglo-Saxon world, elopement has been widespread already for some time: just think of the classic wedding in Las Vegas. In Italy, however, this trend has been growing more and more in recent years: leading the way are the many foreigners who decide to come and get married in our beautiful country, often with an elopement made in Italy.
Elopement wedding in Italy: many couples choose a wedding in the Cinque Terre
The choice of the location is the fundamental core of an elopement wedding: there are those who choose to get married among the thousand lights of Las Vegas and those immersed in the wildest nature, those in the desert and those in a city of art. In elopement, there are no limits to the imagination!
The elopement in Italy is particularly loved by foreign couples, but also more and more Italians decide to enjoy the magic of an intimate and romantic wedding. In particular, the Ligurian coast and the Cinque Terre, where I live and work, are a very popular place for those who want to experience an elopement in Italy. On the other hand, an intimate wedding on the beach is the dream of many … perhaps at sunset and under the stars!
As a wedding photographer in Liguria, I love working with couples who choose to get married in the Cinque Terre: the locations in this enchanting corner of Italy allow you to create wonderful wedding albums.
Why choose to get married with an elopement
The elopement is loved and chosen by more and more couples because it offers unrivaled freedom, an intimate and exclusive atmosphere and lots of romance.
Although it is a wedding for two or with a few guests, the elopement is certainly no less accurate than a more lavish wedding, but it allows you to avoid the stress and practical difficulties associated with a wedding with hundreds of guests.
This, of course, also implies enormous savings from an economic point of view, which allows you to invest more in the clothes, the set-up, the hospitality of the (very few) guests who really want to be with us that day and on their honeymoon. Indeed, many couples combine elopement and honeymoon in the same wonderful location.
Another advantage of elopement is the less time to devote to the organization, and therefore the possibility of deciding to get married even in a very short time.
How elopement works: a planned romantic getaway
So, how to do an elopement? Even if it is a “love escape”, the elopement requires a minimum of planning and organization, especially if you decide to have a legal celebration abroad. Time will have to be taken into account to prepare all the necessary documentation and the various bureaucratic formalities. Also in the case of an intimate wedding celebrated in another country, the support of a destination wedding planner who coordinates everything will be essential.
Those looking for a simpler solution, however, can do the elopement even with only a symbolic ceremony after the common legal celebration.
So let’s see some tricks to follow for an intimate dream wedding.
Give your personal touch to the location
Whether you decide to celebrate a beach wedding in the Cinque Terre, or want to get married in a forest or on the rooftop of a skyscraper, be sure to give the chosen location a personal touch, perhaps with the help of a talented floral designer. It won’t take much – such as the use of curtains, drapes, flowers and candles – to create a special atmosphere, also for the benefit of the wedding photos!
Choose clothes that match the location
Perhaps it may be obvious to say it, but it is essential to choose a wedding dress suitable for the location you have chosen for your elopement. So, for an intimate wedding on the beach, go ahead for light dresses and details that recall the tones of the sea. If, on the other hand, you opt for an intimate bucolic wedding, you could play with details on greenery and flowers in your hair, for example.
Attention to the bureaucratic part
Based on the location chosen, and in particular if you decide to do the elopement in a country other than yours, make sure you know in good time what are all the necessary documents, the permits to be requested and the paperwork to manage. For example, for an intimate wedding on the beach you will have to ask for special permits from the municipality and it will only be possible to do so at certain times of the year.
Choose your wedding photographer carefully
Even in an intimate wedding with a few guests you cannot give up the presence of a wedding photographer who knows how to immortalize this very special event and create a unique wedding album for you.
If possible, I also recommend that you plan a pre-wedding photo shoot to get to know your wedding photographer before the big day.
If you are thinking of an elopement in Italy (maybe a beach wedding in the Cinque Terre!) And you are looking for a wedding photographer in Liguria, contact me: I can’t wait to know your story and create beautiful wedding photos for you!
P.S. I don’t work only in Liguria: as a destination wedding photographer I shoot all over Italy and wherever couples who come to me want … even on a sailing boat in the middle of the sea 😉
