Elopement Vs. Ceremony! need Help!

You could do just only a large reception next year without another ceremony

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That would be FUN! I always dreamed of having ALL of my family and friends there to witness my special day! The only downside to having a big reception only is not having the original big wedding I planned for.

I'm doing small ceremony this year and a big wedding next year and I totally get it. I wasn't sure if I wanted to do both because it seems like a hassle. You just have to weigh your options and decide if there is things you don't wanna miss out on by having that big wedding!

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I completely agree! I'm worried that things won't feel the same since we would have already been married a whole year when it comes time to do the big ceremony and reception.

To me a 30-40 person event with all of those things is more of a micro-wedding than an elopement and would take the place of a bigger wedding ceremony. You could do a bigger reception only style party next year with more guests, but I think a second traditional wedding with the ceremony, cocktail hour, etc would be a bit much, especially with so many overlapping guests. If there were only a handful of people witnessing your vows this year redoing them would make more sense to me.

I'd say make this your wedding then focus on the things you didn't get to have for your bigger celebration. You can do a grand entrance, dinner, toasts/speeches, and dancing next year, and maybe even cut an anniversary cake, but I would skip the part with the wedding ceremony and bridal party and groomsmen.

Have you considered doing a formal vow renewal next year? Then it's almost like you got the big wedding! Also, I'd be sure you'll have way more people at the second event. If this is 30-40 people, but the big wedding is 50-60, it'll basically just seem like a repeat for most of the people there. But if you have 300 people at the big one, then it makes sense. Good luck!

We eloped last weekend. We had a small dinner after with those who were at our ceremony. Because our videography company (they are kind of all inclusive) won’t refund us, we have a large credit on our account. So next year we’ll have a BBQ with a DJ and photo booth in celebration 😂

I briefly considered eloping on our original date, but I decided to just wait and be one and done. I'm sure you'll make the right decision for you :-)