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Let's Elope: The Definitive Guide to Eloping, Destination Weddings, and Other Creative Wedding Options
Can't cope? Elope!
Admit it. You always thought eloping sounded kind of romantic, right? Too bad everyone expects you to have The Big Wedding -- the kind you always thought you wanted. So now that you're engaged and knee-deep in wedding planning, why are you secretly wishing you could just fly off to a tropical island and say your I do's in your bathing suit?
Well, you can! There are many different ways to elope -- and not all of them involve running off in the middle of the night. These days, "eloping" is anything other than a traditional wedding -- from a steps-of-city-hall ceremony with just the two of you, to a fun-filled "destination wedding" with your family and closest friends.
Let's Elope is filled with creative ideas for exchanging your vows in a memorable, personalized way that won't necessarily cost you a fortune -- or your sanity. Let's Elope
* A brief history of weddings -- and why people first began to elope
* A quiz to help you decide if eloping is right for you
* Inspiring anecdotes from real-life couples who chose to opt out of a traditional wedding
* Elopement etiquette, including how to break the news to your family and friends
* Information on how to plan destination weddings, country weekend weddings, and surprise weddings
* Up-to-the-minute addresses, phone numbers, and Web sites for the world's top elopement spots
* Tons of ideas about what to do with all the money you saved!
Admit it. You always thought eloping sounded kind of romantic, right? Too bad everyone expects you to have The Big Wedding -- the kind you always thought you wanted. So now that you're engaged and knee-deep in wedding planning, why are you secretly wishing you could just fly off to a tropical island and say your I do's in your bathing suit?
Well, you can! There are many different ways to elope -- and not all of them involve running off in the middle of the night. These days, "eloping" is anything other than a traditional wedding -- from a steps-of-city-hall ceremony with just the two of you, to a fun-filled "destination wedding" with your family and closest friends.
Let's Elope is filled with creative ideas for exchanging your vows in a memorable, personalized way that won't necessarily cost you a fortune -- or your sanity. Let's Elope
* A brief history of weddings -- and why people first began to elope
* A quiz to help you decide if eloping is right for you
* Inspiring anecdotes from real-life couples who chose to opt out of a traditional wedding
* Elopement etiquette, including how to break the news to your family and friends
* Information on how to plan destination weddings, country weekend weddings, and surprise weddings
* Up-to-the-minute addresses, phone numbers, and Web sites for the world's top elopement spots
* Tons of ideas about what to do with all the money you saved!
- GenresNonfictionReference
224 pages, Paperback
First published January 2, 2001
3 people are currently reading
31 people want to read
About the author
Scott Shaw
246 books10 followersBorn in the filmmaking capital of the world, Hollywood, California, Scott Shaw spent his early youth in South Los Angeles before returning to Hollywood for his adolescence. Shaw began writing poetry and long-form prose at a very young age. As his teenage years dawned he also added songwriting to his creative process.
Shaw was first published by poetry magazine in the 1970s. He continued forward and found an audience for his poetry and biographical literary fiction via journals and small presses from the 1970s into the 1980s.
By the end of the 1980s Scott Shaw had become a mainstay of martial art publications. This was based on his years of training in the Korean martial arts of Hapkido and Taekwondo, which began at the age of six years old. He also found that his writing on Yoga and Zen Buddhism were embraced due to his life-long emersion in mysticism.
Shaw, who has spent many years returning to, living, studying, and teaching in various geographical locations throughout Asia, has maintained his focus on this process and continues to be conduit for bringing Asian understandings to the Western mind. Hand-in-hand with his travels, Shaw emerged as a definitive photographer.
As the 1990s dawned, Shaw expanded his ability of capturing still images onto filmmaking. At this point he developed a new style of filmmaking that he titled, Zen Filmmaking. With Zen Filmmaking as his basis he moved forward and has made numerous films based upon this ideology.
To date, Scott Shaw has witnessed his writings published on a vast array of subjects. He maintains his focus on Eastern mysticism and the martial arts while continuing to break new ground with his works of poetry and literature.
Shaw was first published by poetry magazine in the 1970s. He continued forward and found an audience for his poetry and biographical literary fiction via journals and small presses from the 1970s into the 1980s.
By the end of the 1980s Scott Shaw had become a mainstay of martial art publications. This was based on his years of training in the Korean martial arts of Hapkido and Taekwondo, which began at the age of six years old. He also found that his writing on Yoga and Zen Buddhism were embraced due to his life-long emersion in mysticism.
Shaw, who has spent many years returning to, living, studying, and teaching in various geographical locations throughout Asia, has maintained his focus on this process and continues to be conduit for bringing Asian understandings to the Western mind. Hand-in-hand with his travels, Shaw emerged as a definitive photographer.
As the 1990s dawned, Shaw expanded his ability of capturing still images onto filmmaking. At this point he developed a new style of filmmaking that he titled, Zen Filmmaking. With Zen Filmmaking as his basis he moved forward and has made numerous films based upon this ideology.
To date, Scott Shaw has witnessed his writings published on a vast array of subjects. He maintains his focus on Eastern mysticism and the martial arts while continuing to break new ground with his works of poetry and literature.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
July 16, 2008
first of all, this book is small. a scant 200 pages in 4.5"x6.5" format, the book has awfully lofty ambitions and barely adequate room to even outline the ideas the authors wish they could cover. many subjects are provided only a third or half-page treatment, and it's a little difficult to imagine that the etiquette of eloping, for example, could be given a sufficient treatment in six pages, especially when four are focused on announcing the engagement and the wedding. i picked it up because it's one of only like 3 books on the market right now that actually claim to be about elopement. the authors work with a generous definition of elopement: "anything other than a large, traditional, structured wedding." it's a classic case of trying to do too much with too little.
part two of the book serves as a resource for planners, hotels, and destinations to help jumpstart your elopement plans. fortunately for us, that shit has nothing to do with our elopement, so i only had to read 82 pages of this book. if i were undecided about eloping (i'm not!) then this might be a good book to read -- there are Cosmo-style quizzes to help you determine if you & your mate are good candidates for eloping or a destination wedding. there are quick responses to all the objections you may hear - from your future spouse, your family, your friends, etc.
there's a quick chapter on the history of elopement, which was interesting to me, but actually i wish that it had more sordid details of historical elopement sites, customs, laws, etc. i wonder if there is a book specifically on historical context of eloping? it would probably provide more meaningful ideas than these mind-numbing modern destination wedding books.
mention of gays? nope. mention of including children from a previous relationship? nope. theme weddings, off-beat weddings, vegas, cruise ships, yachts, beaches, country weekend weddings, sure. there's a little advice for all that crap. they do, however, address the "courthouse with friends or family elopement," which is sort of what we're doing right, with dinner or lunch afterwards. they provide about 3 sentences on this subject.
fortunately, the authors don't even pretend to take themselves too seriously, nor do they present themselves as the definitive all-enclusive source of elopement information. the authors seem to promote an agenda of empowerment through elopement, taking the wedding back and giving yourself permission to celebrate your love & your marriage. unfortunately, they forget to explore this concept throughly enough. (see: too much info in too few pages)
one good thing i got from this book? the concept of progressive elopement, named because of its similarity to a progressive dinner party (1950s pastime). i think it sounds pretty awesome, even if it wont work for us.
"here's how these work: you sneak off for the actual vows, and then organize (or let others organize) a series of parties afterward. this is a particularly nifty idea if you and your fiance are the product of nomadic households, for example, if both sets of parents have moved from where you grew up and you and your fiance have migrated to a big city since college. with a progressive wedding, you can have parties in five cities! the airlines won't like this because you are the only ones doing any traveling, but your guess will shower you with gratitude and presents because you're saving them a fortune."
part two of the book serves as a resource for planners, hotels, and destinations to help jumpstart your elopement plans. fortunately for us, that shit has nothing to do with our elopement, so i only had to read 82 pages of this book. if i were undecided about eloping (i'm not!) then this might be a good book to read -- there are Cosmo-style quizzes to help you determine if you & your mate are good candidates for eloping or a destination wedding. there are quick responses to all the objections you may hear - from your future spouse, your family, your friends, etc.
there's a quick chapter on the history of elopement, which was interesting to me, but actually i wish that it had more sordid details of historical elopement sites, customs, laws, etc. i wonder if there is a book specifically on historical context of eloping? it would probably provide more meaningful ideas than these mind-numbing modern destination wedding books.
mention of gays? nope. mention of including children from a previous relationship? nope. theme weddings, off-beat weddings, vegas, cruise ships, yachts, beaches, country weekend weddings, sure. there's a little advice for all that crap. they do, however, address the "courthouse with friends or family elopement," which is sort of what we're doing right, with dinner or lunch afterwards. they provide about 3 sentences on this subject.
fortunately, the authors don't even pretend to take themselves too seriously, nor do they present themselves as the definitive all-enclusive source of elopement information. the authors seem to promote an agenda of empowerment through elopement, taking the wedding back and giving yourself permission to celebrate your love & your marriage. unfortunately, they forget to explore this concept throughly enough. (see: too much info in too few pages)
one good thing i got from this book? the concept of progressive elopement, named because of its similarity to a progressive dinner party (1950s pastime). i think it sounds pretty awesome, even if it wont work for us.
"here's how these work: you sneak off for the actual vows, and then organize (or let others organize) a series of parties afterward. this is a particularly nifty idea if you and your fiance are the product of nomadic households, for example, if both sets of parents have moved from where you grew up and you and your fiance have migrated to a big city since college. with a progressive wedding, you can have parties in five cities! the airlines won't like this because you are the only ones doing any traveling, but your guess will shower you with gratitude and presents because you're saving them a fortune."
October 10, 2009
This book really does cover everything you need to consider before running off and getting married.
September 10, 2007
Linda gave me this book! Ok, so I never actually ELOPED, but after reading this book, I had a chance to read about all sorts of cool non-conventional ways to get married! I wound up having the best of both worlds: a wedding in Vegas with 20 other peeps, and a live internet viewing for everyone back home!
October 27, 2007
I was so happy when this book came out because there was previously no guide on the subject. My husband and I covertly eloped a few years ago, and we have never regretted it. This book had lots of great ideas for destinations as well as tips for handling other people's reactions to the news (whether the news comes before or after the vows). For anyone teetering on the edge, just do it!
January 4, 2008
This book was really rather disappointing. There isn't much out there on the topic of eloping in the first place, and this book couldn't seem to be able to decide whether it wanted to be a book on why you should elope, or a list of general information on places to elope. It succeeds fully at neither.
February 25, 2018
There were good justifications for anyone considering eloping, but I'm not sure that their reasons line up with mine. 'Here, you don't want to spend tons of money on a wedding? Then plan a vacation in Jamaica with your closest friends!' So, if saving money is the goal, this book doesn't really deliver.
February 3, 2008
One of the best wedding books we've read yet. Not only a guide to elopement, but has great tips on how to keep your wedding small, and personal. Good for if you are interested in staying away from the industry.
February 18, 2013
This book was helpful while planning my wedding and, because of it, we did a hybrid elopement. It provided ideas that are outside of the box and it made me feel better about not having a cookie-cutter, expensive wedding.
June 25, 2007
Good stuff.
November 8, 2009
Good book if you are planning to elope. We are planning a destination wedding and there are better books than this.
October 21, 2021
More about how to plan a beach/destination wedding than "eloping."
September 8, 2015
This book makes for an okay introduction to non-church weddings, with some resources as well as points to consider re: telling family and friends.
Want to read
April 24, 2016I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/13920947
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/13920947
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews