COVID-19 has reshaped our world in countless ways — and the wedding industry is no exception. As couples rethink what truly matters, many are choosing to skip large celebrations in favour of more intimate elopement weddings abroad and small weddings abroad that feel personal, meaningful, and stress-free.
With travel restrictions easing and flexibility becoming a priority, eloping abroad or planning a small intimate wedding abroad has become an increasingly popular way to celebrate love while focusing on connection over tradition.
You might be wondering: What exactly is an elopement? What is a micro-wedding? And how do I know if an elopement abroad is right for us?
Elopement Wedding
Just the two of you
“The act of running away with somebody in order to marry them secretly”
An elopement is choosing connection over expectation by marrying in an intimate, meaningful and highly-personal way. Focusing only on your commitment – an elopement creates a space for you to be truly open and present with each other on your wedding day.
The beauty of an elopement is that there are endless options as to where to hold your ceremony. As a result, elopements can happen in nature, in public parks or buildings, at someone’s residence, or even a family member’s property. With an elopement, the destination is essentially wherever you’d like it to be, without worrying about a hefty deposit on a wedding venue.
The beauty of an elopement is blending both traditional and non-traditional elements, making your day exactly what you’ve envisioned.
Here are some things your day could incorporate:
- A morning stroll or swim together. Have a couples’ massage
- Choosing to only honour traditions which align with you i.e. handfasting, not seeing each other before the ceremony, wearing a white dress, carrying a bouquet etc.
- Choosing to have a ‘first look’ somewhere special
- Personal vows at sunset or sunrise
- Have a private dinner at your hotel suite or Villa; going to a Michelin star restaurant for dinner
- Having a first dance under your favourite tree
- Eating wedding cake for breakfast
Micro Wedding
Intimate Love Story
The trend for having a micro wedding is growing, and if you’re after a small wedding with a focus on guest experience and your true love story, it could be the right choice for you.
A micro wedding is a wedding with less than 25 guests. Being smaller in size, it’s usually cheaper, more relaxed and shorter in length than a traditional wedding day. While a microwedding can save you money, many couples are turning it into a macro experience. It strips the planning process back to the important things: the people you absolutely want by your side and the experience you want to create for yourselves and your guests.
The advantage of a micro wedding is that it doesn’t have to include all the components of a ‘traditional’ wedding day, like a cake cutting, bouquet toss or first dance. However, for many couples, traditions like speeches and the first dance are still essential elements and they’ll choose to have them. It all depends whether the wedding traditions are important to the couple or not. If they don’t resonate with your values or vision, there’s no pressure to include them!
A smaller ceremony and reception means that you can be even more flexible with where you do it. You can pick a beach, a park, or somewhere isolated, as you don’t need to worry about capacity.
We Love These Micro Wedding Ideas:
- Make your destination micro wedding last longer than a day (for example you can rent a house and have all your favorite people stay with you for a weekend to make the love and fun last longer).
- Plan a fun adventure or activities with your guests like a boat ride, helicopter ride, hiking, scuba diving, —of course, that will depend on your budget, number of guests, and what you enjoy doing.
- Have people write you letters of what they wish for you in the future in a sealed box for you to read on one of your anniversaries.
- Make a spiritual ritual during your ceremony. Wite your own vows
If a Destination Wedding in Southern
Spain is your ideal way to get married,
get in touch to arrange a free
consultation!
