Based in:
I love the idea of A symbolic wedding ceremony for elopements and encourage all my couples to consider it. I may be a bit biased, as we did a symbolic ceremony almost a full year after we got officially married.
So what is a Symbolic Ceremony?
To put it simply, a symbolic ceremony is a wedding ceremony that occurs on a different day than when the papers are signed to be officially married. They can look exactly like a traditional marriage ceremony or can be whatever you want. As the name implies, a symbolic ceremony is a symbol of the ceremony or celebration of the couple being married, but may not include the necessary things (officiant, witnesses or paperwork signing) to make the marriage official at that time or place.
3 Reasons why a symbolic marriage ceremony is the bomb diggity for elopements (lol!):
1. Less stress on your marriage day.
Chances are you are choosing to elope to reduce your stress and drama on your wedding day. So let’s cut the stress even more! By having a symbolic ceremony, you are removing the legal parts of the process during that time… you still have to do those processes to be “officially married,” but you do not have to do them on or very close to the time you choose to celebrate and say your vows to each other. You can take care of the legal side a week, a month or even a year or more before or after your elopement. And the fun part is you can choose which day you want to celebrate as your anniversary… Why not both?!?!
2. More freedom to make your ceremony the way you want it.
The intentionality you can put into your elopement is amazing… i’m not sure many people who get married in a more traditional way take the time to make their wedding ceremony speech completely their own. Especially if they are hiring an officiant, they often take some of your input and then determine the marriage ceremony speech and proceedings based on what you tell them. While this can work great, and some of you may like not having to work on this… I also think that is a disservice to your special day.
With a symbolic ceremony you can literally write the whole thing as a couple to reflect your uniquesses. I would not necessarily draft it all from scratch! (So check out my blog post called “How do I write a script for my Elopement Ceremony.”) Make it fun! Add your personalities and stories or add some music or quotes that mean something to you. There are no rules in a symbolic ceremony!
3. Did I mention less stress?
I want to reiterate this one because it’s at least two fold. When you do the legal side of the process before or after your elopement, you can take your time and not rush to get it done.
You can get it done way in advance or or way after the fact. This allows you to first take the time to figure out what you need to do in your state to complete the marriage process. Also you don’t have to travel far to get it done. Thirdly, you can usually get it done within an hour or two. (You may just need to plan for someone who is ordained to meet you at the courthouse to marry you or invite someone to be a witness). And lastly, you can do it on your time! (Or when the officiant and witness are available, if you need them.)
There are so many wins for reducing stress!!!
OHHH! And another thing… we didn’t do this although I think it would have been fun if we thought about it… why not make going to the courthouse fun and extra special or fun! Get dressed up! (Formal or fun costumes or whatever!) Make or buy some desserts to celebrate with, go out to eat afterwards or have a picnic! It will be your “official wedding date,” so celebrate it! If it’s just the two of you, make it memorable! (Take those silly selfies!)
Do someone new or do something you love or make it a special date. You are having a symbolic ceremony and elopement adventure too, so why not add some pizazz!
Symbolic Wedding Ceremonies are practical and they aren’t legally binding, but I also think they create even greater honor and intentionality in your union as a couple.
Would you do a Symbolic Wedding Ceremony?
I may be biased, but I think symbolic ceremonies are awesome. Tell me what you think!
