Planning your day
Eloping, Explained
Eloping no longer means running away. It means a real wedding, kept small, soon and simple.
What does it mean to elope?
Traditionally, eloping meant running away to marry in secret, usually because somebody’s parents disapproved. The word has shed that meaning. Today an elopement is a deliberately small wedding: the couple, a celebrant, the required witnesses and often a handful of the closest people, married properly and legally, without the production of a full wedding day. Couples elope in wedding clothes, with photographers, rings and vows. What they skip is the eighteen months of planning, the seating chart and the guest list that grew past a hundred.
Is an elopement a legal marriage?
Yes. An elopement in Australia is an ordinary legal marriage, just a small one. The requirements are the same as for any wedding: a Notice of Intended Marriage lodged with an authorised celebrant at least one month before the day, the ceremony conducted by that celebrant, and two witnesses over eighteen. Your celebrant handles the paperwork and registration. The one-month notice is the real clock: a legal elopement can be planned in weeks, not days. The full legal detail is in our guide to getting married in Queensland.
How much does it cost to elope?
A fraction of a full wedding, which is most of the point. The bill has the same shape as any wedding, only smaller: a venue or ceremony spot, a celebrant, a photographer, flowers, clothes and whatever celebration follows. What disappears is the per-head multiplication, because catering, drinks and seating for a hundred guests is where a wedding budget actually goes. With a short guest list, the same money buys better photography, better clothes or simply a smaller bill. Our own elopement package prices the venue side of that equation on its page.
What does an elopement day look like?
A good elopement is a compressed wedding day, not a reduced one. A typical shape: dress somewhere calm, a short ceremony in a place worth the trip, a toast with the people you brought, then an hour of photographs while the light is best. Some couples finish with dinner at a restaurant; some book accommodation at the venue and make a night of it. Three hours covers the day comfortably, which is why elopement packages tend to run to that length.
Eloping versus a small wedding
The line is soft, but it is roughly this: an elopement keeps the guest list inside about twenty and fits in an afternoon, while a small wedding runs the full arc of a wedding day, ceremony, dinner and dancing, for up to about forty. If you are weighing the two, the question is whether you want a reception. A toast wants an elopement; a first dance wants a small wedding.
How to start
Choose the place, then the celebrant, then lodge the Notice of Intended Marriage, and the rest follows. If the Gold Coast Hinterland suits you, the chapel, the riverbank and the jacaranda gardens are all on one estate here, and a venue tour will show you all three in an afternoon.