Since the blog is now live I figured this would be a good time to pop on here and introduce myself ( Emily) as well as Melanie and give you a little bit of the backstory on our business.

Melanie and I met over five years ago when I was her wedding planner out in Las Vegas! Melanie opted for an intimate wedding ( she had less than 50 guests) and I am so happy this ended up being the start of a long lasting friendship that turned into a business relationship!

We decided to start Elope Tampa Bay last year as a way to service couples that didn’t necessarily have the budget or want to spend a huge amount on a large wedding. We began meeting with venues and vendors to partner with that we already had relationships with to create all-inclusive packages as a way to simplify things for our couples .

To be completely honest there was no big rush on starting the company and getting it off the ground for us and then….insert covid-19.

You see, Elope Tampa Bay was never meant to be JUST for couples that were affected by the shut downs across our country. Elope Tampa Bay was designed for couples that simply didn’t want the fuss of a huge wedding. They didn’t want to spend a fortune on a big wedding and wanted to do things like buy a house and travel the world! They wanted to keep things simple and have fun on their wedding day without having to worry about friends and family members opinions on if they were doing the “right” thing.

I believe at the end of the day your wedding day should be about YOU. Not what your mom has dreamed up for you, not with your mother-in-law and sister want for you, but what seems right for you as a couple. Regardless of who is paying for the wedding I sincerely believe couples should never compromise on what they have envisioned for their wedding day … especially if that happens to be something less grand and over-the-top.

When I think about all of the people that I know including clients that opted to do an elopement style wedding or intimate ceremony I cannot think of one person that has regrets and thinks “man , I sure wish I would have had done that huge wedding!” In fact it is quite the opposite… A lot of people I know that did have a big wedding end up saying that they wished they would’ve done something smaller and kept it more simple. Big weddings can be incredibly stressful for everyone involved and that is one of the things we wanted to try and take away from our couples as we came up with our business model and as we designed the packages we offer.

Now, I’m not saying elopements and micro weddings are for everyone. But, if you have ever thought about eloping or having an intimate ceremony we are SO happy you are here ! – Emily

All Photos by Mariah Lacy Photography