The Elopement

I’m 39 and my NEW HUSBAND (!!!) is 42. Neither one of us has been married before and we’ve never wanted a big wedding.

I’m from the USA, Bobby is from South Africa and the logistics of bringing family over to Australia became complicated and very expensive.

At the time of writing this, it was going to cost $30,000 AUD to have a group of 20 people at a small elopement ceremony followed by a catered BBQ and free flow beer / wine for 1 night. This price doesn’t include any flights or accommodation.

Instead of having wedding guests, we decided to elope and splurged on things important to us like-

professional photographer
celebrant to conduct the “ceremony” and file the marriage paperwork
private villa accommodation in the beautiful Hunter Valley wine region
professional hair and make up for me
flowers
DIY alter in nature with lots of trees, garland and candles
private chef to cook dinner for us in our villa after the elopement
we booked a private party room to celebrate with friends a few days after the elopement with a friend DJ setup, grazing platters and a cash bar

The new plan got the total cost down to $13,000 AUD.