05/15/2026
This is honestly one of the biggest things couples wrestle with before deciding to elope.
Not because they don’t want the intimate wedding experience… but because they’re worried about disappointing people, making the wrong choice, or wondering if they’ll regret not doing the “traditional” wedding later on.
Even with the "casual backyard wedding" my husband and I "tried" to have, it still felt full of people pleasing, couldn't p**s off "so and so", lots of drama and it was seriously about everyone else, not us.
Even back when I photographed big, traditional weddings, I saw regret a lot more than people realize. I even heard it directly from couples themselves, even on their own wedding day. The stress, the pressure, the rushing around all day, trying to make everyone else happy… it was a lot.
I can seriously count on one hand, out of ALL the big weddings I photographed, where the couples walked away happy with how their day turned out.
But with elopements and intimate weddings, it’s the complete opposite.
The couples I get to create elopements for and photograph leave their day feeling present, connected, relaxed, and relieved. They actually got to experience their wedding day together instead of performing through it.
So... couples don’t regret eloping.
They regret spending so much time worrying about what everyone else wanted instead of doing what actually felt right for them. I know I do when I think about my own wedding day. Do-over please. 😂
And that doesn’t make the day any less meaningful either. If anything, it usually feels even more emotional because the focus is actually on the two of you instead of everything happening around you.
If you’ve been going back and forth between a big wedding and eloping… this might be your sign to really think about what kind of experience you actually want your wedding day to feel like. 🤍
If you want to learn more about elopements and intimate weddings, 👇
I have everything you need to know
http://www.kristinsmithphotography.com/lake-tahoe-elopement-photographer
