03 Dec 2017

The Case For Eloping

When I think about the idea of eloping, I keep thinking back to my own wedding some ten years ago.

My wife and I were married in a beautiful ceremony in Hawaii. It was actually one of the filming locations of Jurassic Park. Remember the herding scene of the little dinosaurs being chased by the T-Rex? Yeah, that’s where we got married.

The ceremony was beautiful. It was also ridiculously expensive. And the amount of stress we had to go through over the course of the year to make so many decisions, deal with family members trying to impose all sorts of ideas to honor grandmothers who had passed away decades before, guests who never bothered to RSVP and then showed up at the last moment, arguing with caterers and flower companies and finding a rabbi who would be willing to perform a mixed ceremony… after all that, we had what I considered to be a proper wedding. A wedding my wife deserved.

Here’s the kicker. After it was all over, she said to me, “You know, I would have been just as happy eloping on the beach with a couple friends and family members.”

I decided on a traditional wedding because I thought that’s what we should do. I thought that’s what she would have wanted.

But as I thought about it more, I started to wonder WHY.

Then I started thinking about what we could have done instead with all the money we could have saved, had we just eloped.

Why spend upwards of $30,000 on a wedding, when that money could be so better spent on a honeymoon, or down payment on a house?

But the idea of eloping just didn’t sit well with me. What are the options? A cold ceremony in a courthouse? Vegas? I was hoping for something more romantic.

This is exactly the reason why I set up Elope Charleston.

The Elope business concept started in 2011 in Asheville, North Carolina by my good friend, Jon-Paul Brown. He had no idea at the time what a successful idea he had created!

The concept was so successful in Asheville, we are proud to now bring it to Charleston, South Carolina!

For a fraction of the price of a typical wedding, we can arrange a wonderful ceremony in a beautiful setting for you and your spouse and up to 10 guests. You can avoid all the stress and hassles associated with a traditional wedding, and still come away with a day you’ll always remember, professionally photographed. In fact, any options you need can be provided.

Please fill out the contact form, and let me know how I can make eloping in Charleston a reality for you!