You know you want something intimate. Something that feels personal, meaningful, and free from the chaos of a 200-person reception. But should you elope or plan a micro wedding? While the two terms are often used interchangeably, there are some important distinctions worth understanding before you decide.
What Is an Elopement?
Traditionally, eloping meant running away to get married in secret. Today, elopements have been beautifully reimagined. A modern elopement is simply an intentionally intimate ceremony—often just the two of you, or with a handful of your closest people. The focus is on the couple, the vows, and the experience. There are no elaborate receptions, no seating charts, and no months of stressful planning. Just love, beautifully celebrated.
Our all-inclusive elopement packages are designed to make this experience as effortless as possible. Your venue, photographer, officiant, and coordination are all handled by one team, so you can focus entirely on each other.
What Is a Micro Wedding?
A micro wedding is a scaled-down version of a traditional wedding, typically with 10 to 40 guests. It often includes many of the same elements—a ceremony, a reception, a meal together—but in a more intimate setting. Micro weddings tend to involve more planning than an elopement, but significantly less than a full-scale wedding. They're perfect for couples who want the celebration and togetherness of a wedding day without the overwhelming guest list and production.
Key Differences at a Glance
Guest count:Elopements typically have 0–10 guests. Micro weddings range from 10 to 40 — 40 is the ceiling on our largest package, at Belmont Mansion in Nashville.
Planning timeline:Most couples book an elopement 6–12 weeks out, though same-month dates open up. Micro weddings usually need 3–6 months.
Budget: Elopements are generally more affordable since there are fewer vendors, no catering, and simpler logistics. Micro weddings cost more but still far less than a traditional wedding.
Formality:Elopements are typically relaxed and personal. Micro weddings can range from casual to quite formal depending on the couple's vision.
Which Is Right for You?
If you want to strip away everything except what truly matters—you, your partner, and a breathtaking setting—an elopement is the way to go. If you want that same intimacy but with your immediate family and closest friends there to celebrate, a micro wedding might be the better fit.
The good news? At Elopements Inc., we offer packages for both. Whether you're envisioning a just-the-two-of-us ceremony at Baby Bell Rock in Sedona or a small celebration with family at Spring Haven Mansion in Nashville, we have a package that fits your vision. Explore our destinations to see what resonates with you.
What Each One Actually Costs
The cost gap is smaller than most couples expect, because the venue and vendor team are the same either way — you are really paying for time and guest capacity. Our all-inclusive packages run from $575 to $2,975, and that single price covers the venue and any permits, a licensed officiant, a professional photographer with edited high-resolution images, ceremony coordination, and full guidance through the marriage license process.
A just-the-two-of-you elopement sits at the bottom of that range: $575 for a 15-minute ceremony at Belmont Mansion in Nashville, or $1,275 in Gatlinburg, Charleston and Savannah. Sedona starts at $1,875 because red-rock permits cost more. A micro wedding lands at the top — $2,975 for the largest Friends and Family package, which covers up to three hours and up to 40 guests.
Neither number includes the marriage license, which you pay directly to the county: $100 in Tennessee, $95 in South Carolina, $83 in Arizona, and $66 in Georgia with a premarital counseling certificate ($86 without). There are no hidden or required add-on fees on top of the package price. The only two optional extras we sell are videography (available on Getaway Plus and larger, $675 to $1,475 by tier) and RAW photo files ($100 to $300 by tier).
How Guest Limits Actually Work
This is the detail that decides it for most couples, and it varies by venue rather than by city. Belmont Mansion in Nashville supports the largest count in our network at 40 guests. Every other venue caps at 20. So a 30-person micro wedding is a Belmont Mansion day specifically, not a general Nashville option.
Guest counts also never include the two of you. "Up to 20 guests" means twenty people plus the couple in the room. If you are close to a cap, tell your planner the real number early — moving venues later is harder than picking the right one first.
The Honest Test
Ask yourselves one question: are there people whose absence would change how the day feels? If the answer is no, elope. You will spend the morning together instead of managing arrivals, and the photography will be almost entirely of the two of you rather than of a group.
If the answer is yes — parents, siblings, the two friends who introduced you — you want a micro wedding, and you should stop trying to talk yourselves into a smaller number. A 12-person ceremony with the right twelve people is not a compromised elopement. It is a different, equally good day.
If you find yourselves debating a specific cousin or aunt, that is the signal you have crossed from elopement into micro wedding. That is fine. Just plan for the day you are actually having. Our cost calculator will price either version by city and guest count in about thirty seconds.