If you’ve stumbled upon this blog post, it’s likely that you have found yourself asking the question: “How do I get married in the middle of this COVID-19 pandemic?”. Your curiosity has been piqued by the idea to elope. If you’re looking for a sign that you should elope – this might be it. Before coming to that conclusion, continue reading to see if what we have to share, speaks to you on a deeper level.

What Does it Mean to Elope?

Pre-COVID-19 days, a lot of people may envision it as a spontaneous and ill-thought-out decision a couple makes prior to starting their life together. Alternatively, a lot may view it as a way to keep your day “cheap” and “avoid the family drama”. Although we acknowledge the cost benefits of eloping, as well as the intentionality of choosing your attendees wisely. Eloping can hold much more depth than what we previously believed. We believe COVID-19 is an opportunity for eloping to take over the wedding industry. An opportunity to get to the root of why people want to get married in the first place: love and to build/support a strong foundation. What is marriage without both of those? What is a wedding that removes the fluff of what doesn’t matter, instead of focusing on what does? We like to define that as eloping.

Why should a virus-like COVID-19 hold you back from moving forward with the promise of love and that foundation you both desire? This is a comprehensive blog post. Covering how you can still have a magical wedding day with minimal stress while keeping your group small and intimate. Making eloping almost perfect in the midst of a worldwide pandemic.

Why is eloping the best and least stressful option right now?

There are a few reasons, the key details you should focus on are:

Flexibility

There’s a lot of uncertainty right now. If you’re trying to plan a large wedding with over 50 people, there’s a lot of speculation that this virus could still be affecting our lives until the end of 2021 and possibly into 2022. The virus could be a thing of the past in 3 days if a vaccine is procured. With all of these variables, for peace of mind- focus on what’s possible, most probable, and sustainable in this present moment, is key for ensuring you’re not spinning your wheels in directions which could potentially limit you even more having to reschedule multiple times.

This is where eloping becomes an attractive option- you have the ability to invite those few select people (or just have you and your partner), abide by social distancing guidelines, staying outside of confined spaces, and have the ability to elope in an environment that promotes the flexibility you need (accessibility, availability, etc.)

Intentional

You can keep your guest list small and focused and I’m sure most will completely understand, during these unprecedented times. The fewer people involved, the fewer opinions you have to have inserted about how you should plan your day in addition to the less of a headache you might encounter if you need to reschedule your wedding day due to the pandemic.

Relaxed

With so many variables now being up in the air, we are forced to be flexible and go with the flow of things. If you ask anyone what their plans are, most will tell you, but then share how their plans might change with everything going on in the world. With larger weddings, in particular, you have to be specific – you have to have a clear date, a detailed guest list (meaning people confidently responding to your RSVPs), and a booked venue. To us, that sounds like a stressful situation to manage in a time where there are so many unknowns.

With eloping, you have the ability to change multiple variables days in advance with minimal repercussions like losing thousands of dollars in deposits paid for a venue or paying for hundreds of meals where guests simply didn’t show up. You can truly go with the flow, keeping your stress levels under control. We believe that planning a wedding should not be a traumatic experience.

Read more about COVID-19, by visiting the CDC website

With all of these details in mind, ask yourself what kind of wedding experience do you want to have which embodies what you want to feel on your wedding day. If eloping sounds like an option that you and your partner would like to explore, in these unprecedented times, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us here at Girl in the Wild – we would love to help and guide you through the process of eloping in a way that speaks to your hearts.