On the subject of eloping...

[mum2bubba]

I am seriously thinking about eloping, maybe going to the reg in the city (Melbourne) with a few close friends and family of Grant's and mine and then having lunch somewhere but instead of booking out the whole restaurant only booking the one table (I would only want no more than 15 to 20 ppl).
Has anyone else eloped? How much did it set you back (not including the honeymoon) and would you do it again? Any other tips and advice?
I have mentioned this to Grant but hes not sure, but then again he doesn't really put in any suggestions either :rolleyes: so I guess its up to me.
Also I don't want a bridal party.

[nats]

Do it :yes:
DH and I wed in the registry orifice. It cost about $300 for the ceremony. We went on a cruise after for dinner.
Close family, no stress on keeping up appearances etc....
I highly recomend it. :thumbsup:



More money to save for better stuff than augmenting some limo drivers retirement fund....:D

[Lollie86]

DP and I are considering eloping and have found some great packages on the net that include everything.

If you are thinking of having your friends and family there perhaps the registry office is the best option, but if your happy with just the 2 of you, there are packages that include accomodation, flowers, make up and photos as well and its about $2000 for it all.

We have found that once we include one person then we want another one and parents want some people etc and then the price gets out of hand, so we are thinking just the 2of us and deal with all the backlash when we return from our 'holiday'.

Good luck with your decision!

[zenifa]

DH and I were living in London at the time, had been together for over 7yrs and neither of us wanted a 'traditional wedding'. We decided against a London registry office (it was going to be a few weeks wait, and after waiting 7 yrs for a proposal, DH and I wanted to get married asap!!). We were going to look at France, Italy, Czech Republic, Greece etc, but it seemed to be a little tricky to organise.

Then DH decided on Las Vegas, so that day he booked it all and six days later we were there. We went to the County Court to apply for a wedding licence $30 US, and then we got a deal with a chapel, that including limo hire, formal wedding hire, photos, webcast, ceremony etc and had a fantastic time getting married. We spent 5 days there and it was a blast!! The flights from London cost $1500 and the cost of 5 days in Vegas including the wedding cost $2000. We bought our wedding rings in Las Vegas too, so that wasn't included in my calculations.

We later came back to Australia, to visit family and friends and had a celebration at a local restaurant. My parents paid for that (food and drink tab for 50 people) $2000 and we did honeymoon again for a week on Hamilton Island which cost us $1500 in 2001.

We have no regrets, as we only spent a few hours planning our wedding (not months, years), did it our way and are still happily married nearly 6 years later. We got to satisfy family and friends, by celebrating our marriage with them. Our families organised it, we just turned up and caught up with everyone.

My only tip is to ensure its what you and your fiance want, not anyone else!!

A couple of close friends married in Bali, and enjoyed it. One couple eloped, but the other had 30 friends and family there. Instead of presents, they just asked the guests to pay their own expenses, so everyone was there for a week.