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Weddings

About

Elope Tampa Bay is a small wedding and elopement company based in Tampa, Florida. Owners Emily and Melanie each eloped for their own weddings. They loved their experiences, and were inspired to bring their insights to couples planning similar ceremonies. They are determined to provide couples with all the perks of a large-scale wedding, but with the intimacy and affordability of a small affair. With over ten years of wedding-planning experience between them, they create beautifully curated and tasteful events that center on their clients’ love.

Services Offered

Elope Tampa Bay offers all-inclusive packages that consist of high-quality services. These packages also include photography, videography, and flower services. The process begins with a meeting to discuss the couple’s ideas for the big day followed by a welcome packet with timelines and checklists. Vendors are then booked while carefully considering the personalities, tastes, and wedding themes of the couple. Elope Tampa Bay offers a variety of locations for ceremony sites in and around St. Petersburg, both on and off the beach. The beach locations come with secluded beaches and breathtaking views of the water. With beautiful locations and vendor contacts, Emily and Melanie hope to bring couples the intimate, bespoke, and stress-free wedding of their dreams.

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Frequently asked questions

What is the starting price for full wedding planning?

$1,480

Do you offer an hourly rate?

No

What wedding events do you provide services for?

Ceremony

What wedding planning services do you offer?

Day-of Coordination

What weddings do you have experience planning?

Civil
Cultural
Destination
Double Weddings
Elopement
Eco-Friendly
Military
Non-Religious
Religious

How many planners are on your team?

4
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Reviews of Elope Tampa Bay

4.8 out of 5 rating
4.8 out of 5 rating
34 Reviews
96% recommend it
  • Quality of service
    4.8 out of 5 rating
  • Average response time
    4.8 out of 5 rating
  • Professionalism
    4.8 out of 5 rating
  • Value
    4.8 out of 5 rating
  • Flexibility
    4.8 out of 5 rating
This AI-generated summary gives you a snapshot of the overall ratings and feedback from the reviews this vendor has received.

Review summary

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Elope Tampa Bay is highly recommended by multiple reviewers for their stress-free and easy process in planning weddings. The team is praised for their exceptional communication and organization, making the planning process smooth and enjoyable. The staff, including coordinators and vendors, are described as professional, enthusiastic, and helpful. The flowers, cake, and overall execution of the weddings are highly praised. Reviewers also appreciate the personalized touch and attention to detail provided by Elope Tampa Bay. Overall, customers highly recommend Elope Tampa Bay for intimate and affordable ceremonies.

Review summary

Powered by AI
This AI-generated summary gives you a snapshot of the overall ratings and feedback from the reviews this vendor has received.

Elope Tampa Bay is highly recommended by multiple reviewers for their stress-free and easy process in planning weddings. The team is praised for their exceptional communication and organization, making the planning process smooth and enjoyable. The staff, including coordinators and vendors, are described as professional, enthusiastic, and helpful. The flowers, cake, and overall execution of the weddings are highly praised. Reviewers also appreciate the personalized touch and attention to detail provided by Elope Tampa Bay. Overall, customers highly recommend Elope Tampa Bay for intimate and affordable ceremonies.

Elizabeth
Elizabeth C. Sent on 04/04/2024
5 out of 5 rating

Save yourself the money & stress, ELOPE WITH ETB!!!

My husband & I eloped last October at the GORGEOUS Isla Del Sol. We had the best experience with Elope Tampa Bay, and all of the vendors they chose for us. 10/10 would recommend to anyone!!

We had discussed so many different options for our wedding... but at the end of the day, all we really wanted was a short & sweet celebration with our immediate family — and some pretty pictures. We didn't want to spend tons of money on a big wedding, and I didn't want the stress of planning, so we decided this was the best option. I will admit I am naturally a bit of a control freak, so it felt a little risky to go this route— but they came through & made our day pretty damn close to perfect!

The only piece of advice I have is to communicate any preferences VERY early on. For example, I should've communicated my photography preferences earlier in the process (All of their photographers do good work, however, I'm a little picky with editing style preferences). That being said, I lucked out with an amazing photographer, so it all turned out perfect!

Bonnie did an amazing job with our ceremony, our cake was delicious, the flowers were gorgeous, Mariah Lacy Photo took beautiful photos, and Catie was there every step of the way helping us coordinate. We couldn't have asked for a better experience. If you're considering eloping with Elope Tampa Bay, JUST DO IT!!!
S
Stephanie H. Sent on 11/13/2023
5 out of 5 rating

Intimate wedding planning

Amazing, amazing, AMAZING!!! The Elope Tampa Bay team made our intimate elopement at the Whitehurst Gallery a fairy tale! I found the business on instagram and immediately noticed their organization, attention to detail, and great customer service starting with my first interaction with them. They made me feel like our elopement was a priority and would respond back to my questions within 24 hours! Everything from the flowers, cake, decor, venue, officiant, photographer and videographer were perfect. The team took my ideas and brought them to life and would always offer suggestions when I wasn’t sure of what I wanted. Truly the best experience and I tell all my friends about them!!! If you want a stress free wedding planning process so you can relax and enjoy your engagement, Elope Tampa Bay is the way to go!! Thank you so much!!!!
M
Megan K. Sent on 12/06/2023
5 out of 5 rating

Absolutely incredible company to work with!

The entire process with Elope Tampa Bay was stress-free and easy, even when Mother Nature decided to tear down our original wedding ceremony space on the pier, ETB was able to reassess and refocus our dream setting somewhere else on the property while still including the gorgeous backdrop and making it special for us!

Wedding day execution was seamless! We did encounter small hiccups, but Michaela and Catie were quick to fix them and make it right by reassuring us that they had everything under total control.

Melissa Dozier with Madimagesinc was amazing! ETB set her up with us for the wedding day and she made my husband and I feel comfortable at first conversation while also being extremely helpful in organizing our family photos. She made us so happy, we both felt like we were laughing the entire time it didn’t even feel like we were being photographed (go figure!). My husband is very shy when it comes to being photographed and we are so grateful to have been paired with her through ETB.

We were in love with our flowers!!! I specifically asked for purples, succulents and some cascading flowers and ETB went above and beyond my expectations! If we would have gone to a florist ourselves, we would’ve never been able to get such a beautiful flower bouquet for myself and boutonnière for my husband that truly reflected us.

Just a little side note :

When Trevor and I first got engaged, we were just so overwhelmed with planning we just didn’t know where to start with everything. Once we stumbled across ETB in December, we just knew this was where we were meant to be for our celebration of marriage. We’ve truly never felt so understood, nonjudgmental and encouraged by a company for what small, intimate moments we wanted to have at our wedding and captured. We’re really so grateful to have had Michaela, Catie and everyone at ETB facilitate that for us.
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Awards

34
WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards 2022 Winner
WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards 2021 Winner

Deals

Team

Emily  Tansey
Emily Tansey
Owner/ Lead planner

I started out in this industry as a full service wedding planner about six years ago. Instead of telling you all of these amazing accolades about myself, I thought it would be better to tell you the WHY behind my business. When I got married I decided to keep things intimate and I got married in Mexico with about 45 close family and friends. We were in the middle of trying to buy a house and wanted to really do a kick ass honeymoon. We were just starting our life out together and did not have a ton of money to invest into a large wedding and certainly did not want to go into debt. It was a decision I 100% do not regret, but there were a few things on my wedding day I was not happy with and I never wanted anyone else to experience the same.

I HATED my wedding photos. Yep. In fact, when I got my photos back I actually cried. I truly never wanted anyone to have the same feeling I did which is why now I will only work with photographers that are experienced and I have worked with many times over the years. There are so many companies in Las Vegas that use inexperienced, new photographers and that is one of the reasons why their package pricing is so low. I wanted to do something different and invest in GREAT photographers so that our clients will LOVE their wedding photos.

Also on my wedding day when I received my bouquet the flowers were PURPLE and SMALL. Okay, not a big deal right ? Except for the fact that none of my wedding colors were purple! Somehow the florist had gone and done their own thing and had not taken into consideration the colors and inspiration photos I had sent them in advance. Again there are a lot of companies in Las Vegas that will give you an option between three different standard bouquets or give you a 12 rose bouquet but I wanted to do something DIFFERENT.

When I started thinking about offering elopements and smaller weddings, there were a few things that I felt like people just couldn’t miss out on. The idea of doing a small cake cutting and champagne toast may not seem like a big deal to everyone but I think bringing some of the main elements of a larger wedding, but just a smaller scale really puts a nice touch on things. It makes it so people just really don’t feel like they are missing out on having a big wedding.

I will say that I have never heard a couple tell me that they regret having a small wedding or elopement. In fact, if anything I hear the opposite. People who stress over a large scale wedding and go into debt will tell me they wish they would’ve just eloped. I can tell you that I am so passionate about this business and love making people feel special at their “intimate” wedding. Are you ready to elope in Florida? We can't wait to help you make your wedding day unforgettable!

Melanie  Barker
Melanie Barker
Owner/ Lead Planner

I have been a full service wedding planner in the Tampa Bay Area for 5 years. I help couples with all different types of planning needs, either Event Management, Design or Full Planning. My Reviews speak for themselves and I was awarded Best of the Bay in 2019. Even though I connect with couples on all levels and different budgets, I love my smaller scale weddings. The more intimate the more it grips at my heart strings because I was that bride!

I was married 5 years ago in Las Vegas. I wanted it to be a trip/destination for all. I wanted my guests to have fun and to be entertained. I wanted them to remember the time they had, because let's be honest, every destination wedding I've attended as a guest I've remembered more than others because I remember the trip and experience. I wanted to keep my wedding party small (just the hubs and I), my wedding budget low (gotta plan for a home and epic honeymoon) and my guest list small to those that I truly wanted to be there. Andddd I know I'm slightly biased, but it was the best day and wedding I've been to.

As an elopement bride, I know the struggle is hard when you're planning from afar. Looking back on the day, there are a few things I wish I could have changed. 1) My photographer. I hated my wedding day photos! The photographer was the cheapest I could find. The photos I received were nothing like he advertised and they were poor quality. I honestly wish I had invested a little more money on a better photographer. 2) My flowers were pretty and in the color scheme I wanted (PURPLE), but they were like everyone else (structured 12-rose bouquet). I selected from 2-3 bouquets, picked my color and voila that's what I got. Even though I had a smaller wedding and smaller budget, I would have loved for it to be more ME represented and not 'just another wedding.

With Elope Tampa Bay we'll see to it that you have personalization on your wedding day, that you have a cake cutting, champagne toast and first dance. We'll make sure you have THE BEST photographers and videographers to capture your intimate moments. Even though you're small, you'll be treated as a large upscale wedding. We understand and want nothing but the best memories for you because we've been in your shoes and know what it's like.

I understand not all can elope or have a smaller scale wedding due to circumstance, however when I share my story, even with my large scale wedding couples, they say they wish they had or could elope. That they wish it was more simplified, easy, just the two of them or a small gathering of their closest family/friends.

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