Since eloping I have had SO many questions from brides to be, brides who have had weddings postponed due to this year’s events, and brides who are yet to book their weddings. All asking about eloping and why we chose to elope for our wedding day. Traditionally eloping means running away to marry, in secret. As much as this sounded like a little bit of me, I couldn’t go ahead with the biggest day of our lives without telling our nearest and dearest that we were planning to wed. So, even though we had no guests, everyone in our inner circle knew our wedding date.
From the moment I met Robbie I knew I wanted to marry him. I could just feel it and I don’t know if you believe in love at first sight but before this guy even opened his mouth I knew he was the one for me, it’s weird, I cant explain it. I just knew.
Our relationship was born on Freshwater beach in Sydney in 2014. We had a van, a flat and a whole lotta love. We adventured near and far, we lived a life that I only dreamed of and it continued for six years. When Robbie asked me to marry him in Mount Cook my whole world just felt complete. We talked for hours about the kind of wedding we wanted, where, who, when? What we would both wear, would we say vows? Would our family be there?
That was one of the biggest questions we asked. We are both from the UK. I am from Sheffield, Robbie from Stratford Upon Avon and but we knew we would want to marry in New Zealand. It only felt right. This is where our love story evolved, it is where we live, got engaged and I dreamt of being surrounded by the mountains when we said I Do. Some dream of throwing huge wedding parties with tons of guests at a fairytale location. Others like us, want something small and intimate. I knew that asking all our friends and family to plan their holidays and invest in a trip to New Zealand was unreasonable…. Now, I know they would have done it but I couldn’t be responsible for that financial burden. I have friends who are buying houses, traveling, and trying to settle down, a trip to NZ is a big ask.
We quietly decided that we would elope, wed alone, and then travel back to the UK to celebrate with our nearest and dearest. BAM. Covid 2020 and the whole world shut down, throwing our initial dates and plans out the window. Luckily for us, we didn’t have anything booked or planned. We just knew that at some point this year when it was safe to do so we wanted to get married.
During our New Zealand four week lockdown we floated the idea and thought about some dates. It wasn’t until we visited the high country cabin straight after lockdown that we jumped straight back on air BnB and booked the first three consecutive nights. The 17th-20th October 2020, meaning the 16th of October would be our legal ceremony in Queenstown. We now had two dates, one to get legally married and one to elope to mount cook to say our vows to each other.
We eloped for many reasons but the main reason for us was us. We have always lived a life of adventure and we wanted to incorporate this into the happiest day of our lives. We wanted the day to be about us two and no other distractions, we both wanted to soak up every second and not let the day disappear in a blur.
Eloping was a beautiful thing. Our wedding day(s) were the happiest, most wonderful days of my life. I remember walking in and seeing Robbie’s face and just wanting to hug him. I remember staring into his eyes and not letting go of his hands for the whole day. I remember every single second of our wedding day and it will be a memory that stays with me forever.
This year of 2020 has been a pretty turbulent one and if your wedding got cancelled, moved, or postponed then I hope when the time comes it is as magical as you first planned (I know it will be) If you are thinking about eloping then I have one thing to say… Do it! The world can wait for a party, but for you and your love then the time is now. A wedding, a marriage, and a love story is about two people and you deserve to shout about it from the rooftops.
Don’t hesitate to elope. Your close ones will support your wishes and choices. Your marriage and love story should be one of unity and two people, don’t ever forget that.
If you are eloping in Queenstown, here is my cheat sheet of incredible vendors that helped bring our magical day to life.
All images from our beautiful friend Kate Craig-Brown
Notes of a Northerner 