Thinking of Eloping? You’re Not Alone

Thinking of eloping? Whether it be in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Atlantic Canada or anywhere else in the world, you’re not alone. Sometimes a big wedding is not for you, and that’s ok. Just because you are getting married does not mean that you have to do it in the most traditional manner. Chris and I started planning our wedding at home in Nova Scotia, pressure from family and friends, even strangers made us feel as if we needed to go in a more traditional route. Weddings are stressful; they cost a lot of money. The wedding planning and all the costs involved started putting a lot of stress on our relationship for the wedding we didn’t really want. Don’t get me wrong weddings are wonderful! But sometimes a big wedding is just not what you want.

I wanted nothing more than to get married in Las Vegas

I (Amber) went to Las Vegas with my mom in 2011 and ever since I wanted nothing more than to get married in Las Vegas. Honestly, when I started planning our wedding in Nova Scotia, all my friends were probably surprised that we weren’t getting married in Vegas. Chris and I would always talk about running away and getting married there from (pretty much) day 1 of our relationship. Essentially our entire wedding was planned. Everything was booked, deposits were paid but when people would ask us about the planning process we would always joke around with them saying “sometimes we feel like just cancelling the wedding and running away to Vegas” and clearly in our hearts that’s what we wanted to do.

One day we were both at work, and I sent Chris a text saying “would it be crazy if we just cancelled our wedding and went to Vegas instead?” Chris had zero hesitation in saying “NO, LETS DO IT!” and either did I!

So we went forward with it, I made all the awkward calls and emails to all our vendors, family and friends to explain the situation, and we began to plan our DREAM wedding.

Sounds crazy, I know… dream wedding in Vegas, but neither one of us ever dreamed of having that big wedding.

We wanted to take that money and have the most amazing week of our lives! We had SO much fun, and seriously wouldn’t change it for the world. 15 of our family and friends were there to share it with us, we hired a photographer (well two, Sunnie and Guillermo, from Third Cactus Creative )..

We ubered down to the ionic A Little White Chapel, and then had our “reception” at In-N-Out Burger. I didn’t wear white, but I never do so why would I? I went for rose gold sequins instead. We both wore chucks (because comfort is key, obviously). I found the cutest clutch that was made for a Vegas wedding at a local store in Halifax of all places. It was the best day ever in our books!

We cannot stress enough that your wedding is YOUR day and you should spend it exactly how you want.

If you want a traditional wedding, that’s amazing you should do just that! If you want to run away somewhere spectacular (Italy, Greece, Yosemite National Park, a white sandy beach??) with your future husband/wife, do just that! Want to get married in your living room in the middle of a snowstorm with your slippers on? YES! DO IT! Do whatever makes YOU happy!

With all this being said we LOVE, love and all the different ways it is celebrated! There is no wrong way to do it. Don’t feel forced into doing it one way if that’s not the way you want to. Looking back at your wedding day and wishing you had done it differently would be the worst feeling in the world.

In the end the thing that all your family, friends and wedding guests are going to remember the most about your wedding day is how happy you and your partner were, on such an awesome day celebrating your crazy, beautiful love. Follow your gut – you wont regret it.

If you are thinking of eloping we would LOVE to tag along and capture your love story. Let’s chat and plan the best, most magical day of your life. While we are wedding and elopement photographers based out of Halifax, Nova Scotia we love to travel! We’ll hop on a plane to document your love story, any day!

Looking for more information on HOW to elope in Halifax or Nova Scotia? Check out our blog “How to Elope in Nova Scotia”.

All Photos of our actual wedding day by Third Cactus Creative go check them out!