Belfast City Elopement Guide
How to elope in Belfast
What is eloping?
Why do couples elope?
What are the legal requirements of eloping in Northern Ireland?
How to plan your elopement ceremony?
Does an elopement require witnesses?
What is the format of an elopement?
How much does an elopement cost?
How many guests at an elopement?
What to wear to an elopement?
Elopement personal touches & details
How to announce an elopement?
What is eloping?
Definition
elope
run away secretly in order to get married
The dictionary definition of eloping paints a picture in my mind. It makes me think of a young couple who are head over heels in love but don’t have the support of their friends & families. It makes me think of forbidden love, drama & angst. Not the happy words that I personally want to associate with getting married.
Thankfully for the modern couple, eloping has taken on a totally new meaning & vibe. It’s not about running away in secret, it’s not about a forbidden love or a disapproving family. It’s a conscious decision to get married without hosting a big traditional wedding.
Why do couples elope?
There are lots of reasons why couples elope. Here’s a few of the most common reasons
You want to save money
The average cost of a UK wedding, according to The Independent was £30,000 for 2019. By contrast an elopement can cost as little as a few hundred pounds.
Family drama
Eloping doesn’t mean that you don’t love your family or that your family don’t support your relationship. It can simply be a practical choice to ease logistics. If you are living abroad, come from families with different religious beliefs or have complex extended families eloping can be an easier option.
Spontaneity
Some couples love the excitement & romance of eloping and don’t want to wait. When you’ve met the person you want to spend the rest of your life with you want the rest of your life to start now. Planning a traditional wedding takes time, a lot of effort & can be stressful. Planning an elopement by contrast can be planned quickly, without stress & you could be married within a month.
Second marriage or older couple
Maybe you’ve already been through the big traditional wedding and don’t feel the need to do it again. Maybe you’ve found each other later in life & want the day to be intimate & simple.
Celebrate in style
Eloping doesn’t have to be a cheap option, it can be an epic experience. The difference is you have more control over how & where to spend your budget. You could spent your first night as a married couple in accommodation that you’d never dream of staying in or treat yourselves to a once in a lifetime honeymoon or blow the budget on your clothes or keepsake jewellery. You get to decide how & where you want to spend the money.
What are the legal requirements of eloping in Northern Ireland?
In Northern Ireland there are certain legal requirements that you must fulfil to get married. You can’t simply wake up & think, let’s get married today. As exciting & romantic as that might sound it is not legally possible. You have to give notice to get married & in order to do that you need to have a venue and an officiant booked & the necessary supporting paperwork to support your marriage notice.
The minimum period to give notice is 28 days before the date of your proposed marriage. Only under exceptional circumstances can a marriage be allowed to take place if 28 days notice hasn’t been given. To enable you to give notice you & your partner need to have original copies of your long birth certificates & your passports. If you’ve been previously married or in a civil partnerships before you will also need to provide the necessary legal proof to show that you are free to marry again. You can’t get married without a marriage schedule.
How to plan your elopement ceremony?
Where you can get legally married will depend on the type of ceremony & officiant you have selected. You can elope in your local church, your local registry office or head to somewhere wild & remote as long as the person marrying you has the legal right to marry you at a specific location.
Once you know where you are getting married you need to think about how you would like your ceremony to look. Do you want to exchange rings? If it’s an option, would you like to write your own vows? Do you want to hire a photographer/videographer? Do you want to carry a bouquet? What are you going to wear? Do you want to include any music in your ceremony? How long will the ceremony last (a registry office ceremony will last 10 - 15 minutes).
Does an elopement require witnesses?
You need to have 2 witnesses to legally marry in Northern Ireland. The two individual must be aged 16 or over, they can be people you know, strangers or professionals working your wedding such as your photographer. If you’re planning on eloping as just you & your partner you need to know who you are going to use as your witnesses. Staff at the registry office or venue may be willing to step in but I’d avoid waiting until the day to figure this out.
What is the format of an elopement?
Your ceremony might only last 10 minutes so you probably want to have a plan for what to do after the ceremony. If you’ve booked a photographer you probably want to go & get some beautiful photographs together. In Belfast you could stay in the city centre & take a walking tour of the street art, you could have photos taken by your favourite pubs or you could take a short drive to one of the local parks. Alternatively you could head for a romantic meal for two or check yourselves into a luxury hotel for a romantic stay. The options are endless but I recommend having at least a vague plan so you don’t waste time hanging around trying to figure out what to do or discover that you can’t get a table because you didn’t book in advance.
How much does an elopement cost?
Traditional weddings by their nature are expensive, even if you plan a small wedding & pick a budget friendly venue the costs quickly add up. By contrast, an elopement can be as budget friendly as you like.
There are some costs that are unavoidable when it comes to getting married. Firstly you have to pay to submit your notice forms & you need to submit one for each person (£22.00 each). If you are having a civil ceremony conducted by a registrar you have to pay an additional fee of £36.00 for the solemnisation of the marriage. You will also be charged additional fees for room hire and these vary depending on the day of the week & whether the venue already holds a licence or if a temporary license is required. The type of ceremony (religious, civil, humanist) will also affect the fees you have to pay & whom you need to pay.
If you opt to elope to have a civil service in Belfast City Hall it prices start from £180, civil weddings in approved venues start from £213 & if you want to have a civil service in a venue of your choice that does not have a licence it starts from £613.
The current religious wedding fee according to Belfast City Council is £44 but you would then have to check with the specific church to see what other fees you would need to pay.
Once you’ve got married you then need to pay to get a copy of your wedding certificate. They start at £15 per copy.
If you wanted to elope as economically as possible in Belfast, a mid week registry office ceremony might be the option for you & would cost around £275 (notice to marry x 2, registrar fee, midweek fee, marriage certificate). Additional costs would be optional extras.
How many guests at an elopement?
If you decide to elope you don’t have to restrict your celebration to just you & your partner, you can invite guests but remember as the number of guests goes up, the elopement feel goes down. According to Hitched an elopement stops being an elopement and slips into a micro wedding when your guest list gets above 12.
If you start thinking about inviting guests & struggle to stay below 12, it might be a sign that an elopement isn’t actually the right fit for your day. Don’t forget that once you start to invite some people you stray back into family politics & run the risk of unintentionally alienating or hurting people you love.
What to wear to an elopement?
What you wear is entirely up to you & your partner. You’re not having a traditional wedding so you don’t have to go down the traditional clothing path unless that is what you want to do. You might still want to have your moment in a stunning white dress or maybe you want to wear something that is more simple & understated. The most important thing is that you love what you are wearing and that you feel great in it.
Great options for brides are short dresses, alternative formal dresses, boho dresses, coloured items or jumpsuits. Asos is a great starting point and will give you budget friendly traditional wedding dress options from under £100 as well as stunning alternative dresses by brands such as Needle & Thread. Phase Eight & Ted Baker also have their own bridal ranges or you could opt for one of their stunning occasion dresses. Alternatively if you want to have a modern, stylish wedding dress check out Archive 12. Pick something that you love & that will work for the day you are planing.
For grooms, you can keep it casual or go to town in a statement suit. Ted Baker, Reiss & Remus Uomo are great high street options if you want to buy your own tailored suit. Again just like for the bride, pick something you love, are comfortable in & works for the day you are planning.
Elopement Personal touches & details
Where are you going to stay the night before & after your ceremony? Are you going to exchange gifts with each other? If you’re exchanging your own vows are you going to have these on a scrap of paper or in personalised vow books? An elopement can still be packed with little details from stationary to sentimental jewellery to striking flowers.
How to announce an elopement?
Eloping can be a great way to avoid family politics & drama in the lead up to your wedding. Planning your day your way with just your partner can take the stress out of getting married & make the planning exciting & romantic. But you need to prepare yourself for how your friends & family may react.
Prepare yourself for family & friends who might react negatively. They might be disappointed or upset and not understand why you did it in secret or why you’re not including them if you’ve told them in advance. You don’t need to justify your choice to anyone but do try & put yourself in their shoes. For example, if you have a very close relationship with your dad he might be really disappointed that he won’t get to walk his little girl down the aisle. While he might know deep down that that’s not you or your style, all the same he might have been thinking about that day since the moment you were born. Go gently with your loved ones & allow them time to get up to speed as it might come as a complete surprise & we all know that are initially reactions when we get caught off guard might not be our best reactions.
Whether you tell friends & family in advance or wait until after you are married you will have to tell everyone at some stage. You could get announcement cards, have a big party, host a surprise meal or simply tell your loved ones personally & announce it to your world on social media.
Have your day, your way.
If you feel like eloping in Belfast is the perfect fit for you I’d love to chat with you.
Northern Ireland Wedding Planning
Northern Ireland Wedding Venues