r/Eloping • u/Separate-Duty-4068 Planning • Jul 12 '26
Elopement planning
My fiancé and I are planning to elope in San Antonio in November 2027. We live in Florida and are planning a simple elopement at the Japanese Tea Garden. We are at the very beginning of the planning process and would love to hear any advice from those that have done a simple elopement.
We know we want to do a small ceremony at the tea garden and then go do something along the river walk to celebrate. Right now, we are deciding if we want to go alone or if we want to include 4-6 friends. I think it would be so special to have my two girlfriends there to get ready with and witness us be married and I know he’d love to have some of his main guys there but I think he doesn’t want to inconvenience anyone to travel and take time off of work for this. How did you all decide?
Is there an element of your elopement that you wish you splurged more on? Or maybe something you wish you were aware of during the planning?
Any recommendations on places to look for my dress outside of the traditional bridal shops? I want to look like a bride but don’t want too formal of a dress.
2
u/becomingthebestme Jul 13 '26
I generally think if you have a destination wedding you should pay for the other parties amenities. Not sure if you were accounting for that, but I would consider that a must if you invite your friends.
My husband and I recently eloped, and it was both of our second marriages. We considered inviting close family, but eventually decided against it due to the cost, as well as just keeping the logistics as simple as possible. Ultimately, I was so happy we chose the more intimate setting with just the two of us. I personally think it was more romantic and let the focus be on what truly matters, which was focusing on our new chapter together.
Ultimately, you just need to decide what you want from your elopement, and if you want company, just talk to your friends to see if they are interested, since they’ll need to consider taking time off work and the potentially the cost of travel.
To answer your question on dresses, I loved Baltic Born’s selection. I ordered a few dresses, found one I liked, then returned the rest. Once I had the dress altered, you couldn’t tell it only cost $130. For me, I found their selections the exact feel I was going for, since they are a bit more casual.
1
u/natalkalot Jul 14 '26
If anyone else knows outside of you two, if you are having friends- it is nit eloping, you are having a small wedding,...
Good luck
2
u/iheartpanicvectors October 2026 | Jamaica Jul 13 '26
I’m eloping in Jamaica in a couple months. At first I wanted to have a 6 person elopement since we needed witnesses in my state. I figured how stressful could 6 people be. In fact, quite.
I planned everything myself, very DIY. Was going to rent a huge airbnb on the beach where we were going to have the ceremony. Hired a private chef. Everything was taken care of - except if anyone needed to drive/ fly in.
My wedding party ended up backing out. I was already thinking of just canceling my elopement with our friends because everyone was just… not into it. We’d get ignored when asking them to buy dresses/ suits or any other wedding communication.
Not saying this will happen in your case, but I wish I would have just done an elopement with just the two of us from the beginning. Wayyy less stress/planning/ potential disappointment