With all of the uncertainty in the world right now around The Pandemic-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, people are wondering how to get married in 2020 & 2021 (UPDATE: This still applies in 2022, 2023, 2024… and onward!! Eloping ewally is the best way to get married in my moderately humble opinion!) . With limitations on group sizes, having to maintain physical distancing & worries about sanitation, it seems difficult to go ahead with larger wedding that people have planned. But the easiest answer on how to get married in 2020 (or any other year!) is to elope now & party later! You can still have a beautiful wedding, marry the person you love which is the most important part of getting married anyway, then when it’s safer you can celebrate with your friends & family without putting them at risk.

3 Reasons why Eloping is Awesome

Even before the Pandemic-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named drastically changed our world (there’s no denying it, things are very different & likely won’t be the same again in relation to how to get married in 2020 or have any sort of semi-social gathering at all), eloping or having an intentionally tiny wedding was always a good idea for a multitude of reasons.

1. No guilt over the guest list. Do I have to invite all of my cousins & their kids? Do I have to allow people to bring their children? Do I have to invite my younger brother’s 7th girlfriend of the year? Do I have to invite all of my co-workers? Do I have to invite Mom’s book club friends? Planning & paying for a huge guest list is stressful. Eloping cuts out the stress since the guest list is intentionally small. It could just be you & your fiance(e). You could invite just your 2 best friends. You could invite just your parents. No matter how you look at it, a small guest list makes it so you just have the people you really want there with.
2. Your venue options are limitless. When you have a big wedding the locations for you to get married are limited by the number of people that will fit in the location. When you elope you can pretty much get married anywhere. That awesome cliff that you see all over Pinterest? Yeah, 150 guests won’t fit on that for a ceremony… but there’s room for 6! You can get married in a truly unique way when you are eloping & the sky is the limit (it’ll be crazy for 100 people to take a helicopter to the top of the mountain, but it’s so much easier if it’s just the two of you!). That’s how to get married in 2020!
3. The wedding day will be relaxing. It’s true. When you elope or have an intentionally small wedding with just a few guests, the day feel so much more relaxed. You don’t have to worry about keeping 6 bridesmaids happy with hair & make-up. You don’t have to worry if someone is keeping an eye on Grandpa Joe so he doesn’t wander off. You aren’t worry about the groomsmen getting plastered before the ceremony (yeah, I’ve seen that happen far too many times!). You don’t have to worry that 8 people have decided to show up that haven’t RSVP’d & you need to deal with where to put them & hope the caterer can accommodate more mouths to feed. For a lot of couples that do choose to elope, their wedding day is relaxing & stress-free with time to hang out together before saying I do!

So if you’re wondering how to get married in 2020 the answer is to simply elope! You can still host a big celebration later when it’s safe to do so but at least, for now, love doesn’t have to wait!

To elope you just need a marriage commissioner & two witnesses (like your photographer & videographer, or wedding coordinator, or hair & make-up artist) to sign. It’s really easy to elope so that’s how you get married in 2020 without a lot of fuss but still with a beautiful experience!

For inspiration on how to get married in 2020, check out all the fabulous elopements on the blog! Thinking about planning an epic mountain elopement of your own? You need to see my 5 Tips for Planning your Dream Mountain Elopement! Also see my Guide to Eloping in the Canadian Rockies to help figure out the best place for you to get married! If you live in Canada & want to get married at an epic mountain location since you can travel within the country, check out my Guide to Eloping at Moraine Lake for tips!

Check out my Print Shop to buy mountain landscape photos & other art pieces to decorate your home!