Places to elope to ?!

[girlladywoman]

So, my partner and I (with our toddler) would like to elope - somewhere in Europe! Thinking perhaps Italy maybe. Anyway, we don't need a whole wedding venue as it's just the three of us. So we are just seeing if anyone has ever done the same and has any ideas for us? Maybe somewhere that has a nice registry office, or
Somewhere that does eloping as a thing??

Many countries have a minimum residency before you can marry. I know people who have married in Cyprus so that's a definite possibility, Italy I'm pretty sure allows it but you need to arrive a week before. Gibraltar is easy but Spain is really hard from what I've heard

Wonderful! We eloped.

Scotland - there’s no complicated marriage laws to abide by like living there for a week before marriage/having health tests. Marriage certificate is in the right language then too.

Italy is really tricky legally. Some friends of mine looked into it and abandoned the idea. I think you have to be there a certain number of days beforehand

other friends married fairly easily in Mexico if that’s an option

Great start - thank you!! I think rather than finding a package, we might try to find an independent wedding planner. That way, we can make sure it's all legit and we know where we are, but we may not need to pay loads. We don't need flowers and all the extras that I see currently within an elopement package!

@DogsAndGin Scotland sounds nice! And I'm half Scottish so makes sense too!

@Frazzled2207 interesting! Thank you. This is a fab start to working out what's best and what's not!

Gibraltar you just have to be there a day or something.
And Denmark is also popular for this, but I can't remember why! Maybe slightly longer than a day needed.

Have a think what you want and how long you have, to be 'resident' beforehand as that will drive what's suitable.

@TheSpottedZebra - we don't mind being somewhere for a week before. But we don't want to pay loads and loads of money, as our fund want to go mainly into the party with friends and family when we return! I was hoping just to DIY it as much as possible. But I know that's tricky as having a planner will help with stuff we don't know about. But all the planners cost so much and I can't find an independent one that will help a little just with a simple elopement! Basically we just want to find a hotel, get married one day, and that's that 😂

Iirc you can absolutely DIY it in Gibraltar!

... or also you can get cheap packages eg

Ooh Joh Lennon and Yoko Ono married there!

www.gibraltarmarriage.com/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwyMiTBhDKARIsAAJ-9Vui24S7iREihnCO0TZQ4AcwzxCXMHWXdmuMEn28Xarwf8sBokJ9_KsaAvfCEALw_wcB agency picked at random!

I worked with someone that booked a naice hotel there and the hotel offered the wedding as a package. This was years ago though.

Italy is fairly impossible, unless one of you at least is Italian.

I'd start with where is legal and easy and go from there 😁

We have just looked at Greece! Gov website shows it's fairly easy so may not even need a wedding planner. We had a quote for the wedding planner just to do the paperwork, and it was £800!

But on our own we can go to our local registry office to get the cert of non something or other £35pp, then you just need birth cert and passport.

It says to call the place directly in Greece and ask if they require anything else.

Seems a lot cheaper than £800!

Oh and this -

A wedding notice must be published in one local newspaper or (in small towns) posted at the town hall in the Greek language eight days before the application for the marriage licence can be submitted. One notice must be published or posted for the bride, and one notice must be published or posted for the groom. The names on the notice should be phonetically written in Greek and not in Latin characters.

I might need to create a new thread asking people about their weddings in Greece!