With small celebrations being the only real option for couples wanting to marry in the very near future, elopement weddings are more popular than ever!
With the words of Chris Whitty, Chief Medical Officer advising us that, “we’ll have to live with coronavirus well into 2021” still echoing in our ears, many couples have some difficult decisions to make right now. With plenty wanting to move forward and marry, elopement weddings could become the norm.
Even though weddings are able to go ahead now, wedding ceremonies can still only be attended by up to 30 people and wedding receptions are limited to a meal for 30 for guests, with both of these subject to social distancing rules. Not everyone wants to delay or have a big wedding. Now might be the time to hop on the trend of boutique elopement weddings where quality is the focus and personalisation is the determining factor.
Trending in the US pre-COVID and growing here in the UK is the “Elopement Wedding”. Since March this year the search volume for elopement weddings has risen 300% in the UK and even more in the US according to Google Trends. In fact, businesses like UK based Petite Weddings are booming, reporting a 200% increase in enquiries in August 2020, compared to the same month the previous year.
Petite Weddings who has been successfully been creating bespoke, intimate weddings for over 5 years shared insight into this growing trend and why small is actually rather perfect.
Jane from Petite Weddings told us,
“Petite Weddings has long served a niche market made up of couples looking for elopement style wedding experiences. There are many reasons that couples are increasingly considering and choosing this style of wedding including their financial commitments, family politics or the desire to create a wedding experience that’s much more personal and authentic. COVID 19 has just accelerated what was already a growing trend.”
“Since COVID 19 came on the scene in March 2020, we’ve seen searches across the keyword set we target rise across the board, with key phrases including elopement, elope and eloping showing the highest level of growth, in some cases up to 300% more searches. Bookings for our most popular venues are already up by 50% year on year, so the search activity is translating into bookings and not just speculative. This growth has meant we are actively seeking new venue partners across the UK who fit with our brand and can create beautiful, intimate elopement experiences for our couples.”
This bears out that there’s really no more sneaking off to Gretna Green in the middle of the night. Elopement is a growing search term for a small intimate wedding, rather than the budget busting duplicitous events of the past. This is your chance to have your dreams translated into reality without post-wedding debt blues or having to navigate family politics. It’s the perfect way to downsize the numbers but upgrade the experience.
Jane from Petite Weddings concluded:
“If you’re planning a small wedding make sure you choose an experienced specialist to ensure it’s just the size of your wedding you are compromising on not the quality.” “Smaller weddings are by their very nature more personal and heartfelt. Everyone invited has a high emotional investment in your day and this creates a really special atmosphere that money cannot buy. For Petite Weddings couples a small wedding or elopement is not a compromise, it’s an upgrade in the experience you create for a smaller number of people you really want to share your love with.”
Petite Weddings is the only UK wedding platform that specialises in small wedding venues and elopements. You can access the best small intimate wedding venues directory and create small wedding packages designed especially for those seeking alternative wedding options that break with tradition.
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(Main image credit: Camel Studio by Liberty Pearl Photography)
