Block Island Elopements: How Much Does Eloping Cost? -

Ok, the days of eloping at the court house in jeans and a t-shirt are totally behind us — we can do something far more epic, but if that’s your speed, rad let’s go. Everyone likes to ask: how much does eloping cost? I get it, getting married these days isn’t for the faint of heart. So let’s have some real tough love talk about finances.

Wedding days can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars — million dollar weddings DO happen. That said, $500 wedding days do also happen. Your elopement will fall somewhere in between.

What do you need to spend money on for an elopement?

The real answer: …whatever you want. There are no rules with an elopement. Literally, no rules, do what you want. So if you want your elopement to cost $500 or $20,000, it can.

When planning an elopement I like to look at a few things: what is important to you on your day? Is there something that will make it feel special and unique to you? What about your wedding attire? Do you want something that you’ll wear again, or the usual?

The one thing that is essential, totally biased here, is photography. Out on Block Island, there’s limitless ways to use a photographer. With diverse locations so close together, you can get 5–6 locations done in 2 hours. You could also bring your photographer along for a day of parasailing, helicoptering, sailboating, free diving, surfing, whatever you want.

On Block Island, an officiant’s fees are typically around $250. An officiant is kind of essential (it’s why I got ordained), and with how busy the island can be it’s definitely smart to book early. Both the Chamber of Commerce and any of the Block Island wedding resources have solid and current lists for officiants.

When it comes to flowers if you’re down with flowers, head over to Mimi Arnold for a flower crown or bouquet to celebrate your wedding day with. Mimi’s work is invaluable — a focus on sustainability, localism and regenerative farming, her work gives back to the community in ways I’ll never understand (because …science).

Well, how much does eloping cost? So all in all, if you keep things cost effective, you could get a 1–2 night stay on Block Island, a photographer + officiant, flowers, and your wedding attire for under $1000. Not too shabby. But if you want to do a few little special things, like a helicopter ride, going all out on your wedding attire, and more, you might be looking at $5000 or more.

This is the beauty of an elopement, you can keep it chill or go big — but either way you won’t be spending $50k+.

For more about Block Island elopements, click here.

Originally published at https://blog.seasmtns.co on September 10, 2020.