Untold numbers of couples have thrown their hands up in the midst of wedding planning and uttered
these 3 words:
Let’s Just Elope
If the pomp and circumstance of “traditional” wedding planning makes you want to pull your hair out,
an intimate elopement is probably right up your alley. Elopements can be incredibly personal
and oh so romantic—not to mention they can save you tons of time, money, and your sanity.
It’s becoming more and more popular for couples to do a Just The Two Of Us Wedding, instead of having a big wedding day.
In Gretna Green alone, more than 3,000 couples elope every year, The Lake District is another
very popular destination and 2021 beyond will see lots more couples choose to take the plunge
and eloping in both the UK and abroad.
Interest in eloping has rocketed this year as Coronavirus restrictions limit weddings to just 15 people.
If you only allowed a small wedding, it’s not that much of a leap to elope.. It can also save you from
the difficult choice of deciding on which family members or friends to uninvite – an elopement with just the two of you and a
later celebration with loved ones and all your friends
The new understanding of elopement is more accurately a couple travelling somewhere t legally get
married, without telling or inviting any/many of their friends and family.
It’s pretty much up to you how you elope. You can elope in the UK or abroad. You can have
informed your families beforehand or not. You can have a few friends with you as witnesses
or do it completely in secret, just the two of you. You can have a no-frills elopement or follow
it up with a huge party when you’re back home. It can be spontaneous or planned.
Eloping in the United Kingdom
1. Check the Legal Requirements
We hate to break it to you but you can’t elope quite as spontaneously as you might think.
Regardless of which part of the UK you are marrying, you must ‘give notice’ to marry at your local registry office at least 29 days before,
which includes details of your final venue. This means you’ll need to know where you intend to marry already – find you venue and officiant
in advance (this could be a registry office, licensed wedding venue, celebrant on the beach etc) and get them booked in.
For those who want a church elopement, in the Church of England, the equivalent of giving notice is having the
‘banns of marriage’ read on three Sundays at any point during the three months before your marriage.
Once you’ve given notice you most hold your ceremony within 12 months, but you cannot marry with less than 29 days’ notice.
You can give notice outside the UK to marry in the UK if the country is part of the British Subjects Facilities Act
and your partner is a UK citizen.
In the past, eloping was associated with young couples running away to marry without their parents’ permission.
That isn’t the case now, but legal age limits do stand if you happen to be under the age of 18.
You must be over 16 to marry in England and Wales, and will need parental permission if you’re under 18.
Different rules apply in Scotland (e.g. where parental permission isn’t needed under 18) and Northern Ireland, so make sure you read the laws carefully.
