Any Ladies/Gents here eloped when they got married?

Question

My fiancé and I had our wedding planned for February 25, 2018. That’s our one year anniversary of our engagement, and we’ve been together for 2+ years at that point.
He is a police officer and I am a clinical Pharmacy Tech/Pharm.D student at an army base where we live. 
Long story short, we make good money together, have our own home, pets....our life is great.
The only thing that makes us want to not have a large traditional wedding is the fact that my family consists of less than 5 people and his family is huge. I love his family and everything, but we are (well, mostly me since I make more than him) paying for this wedding. He doesn’t like extravagant ceremonies and I don’t feel like paying out the ass for a wedding that’s about his family. Throw us a shower and give us gifts- I don’t wanna pay for you to eat lobster and get drunk on my special day. It’s not about them....and his parents are trying so hard to make it this way.
With his job, and our financial situation changing btw now, (he is leaving this city and going to abide local dept) he will have a lapse in employment for at least a month or two maybe more who knows...and then comes insurance etc.
We are just trying to be mature about this and his family is making this miserable for both of us. The financial aspect, the family drama and the fact that two of my bridesmaids are due for their babies in the same week as my wedding are killing me. 
I don’t want to move it to January because it was PLANNED to be an outdoor wedding at one point and February is cold enough and I can’t see having two new moms who are planning to breastfeed and one that KNOWS she will need a csection (long story) come be a part of this if I move it to March or April instead. This stress is getting to us and at this point it’s about us. Not them. We just want this for us.
Has anyone else had anything similar and eloped? What did you do exactly? Did anyone find out and how’d they react? How did you keep it a secret? Did you have a full ceremony down the road when the time was right? How did you resist the urge to change your name on Facebook???! GAH!!!

Answer

.... A wedding ceremony is about you and your husband... If you change the date, the location/venue, the food, the drinks, the accommodation size, or anything like that to please someone else you are setting yourself up to fail. Mainly because then other people are going to come out of the woodworks with complaints forcing you to make other changes and then eventually this won't even be y'all's wedding anymore. My husband and I get married without any warming. One day we decided we were going to do it and we got married that day. Had my mom and sister be our witnesses and then called everyone after we did it. Yes some people were angry because they didn't get to be there or be a part of it but the fact is, it wasn't their choice.. it was ours. You can't give in to others when it comes to your life, if later down the rode you guys plan to do a renewal of the vows and have a big ceremony (like we plan to) then great, but you have to consider what is best for your family now. And to me, it sounds like maybe that big wedding with all those people isn't going to be best... 
  So if I were in your shoes, I would set up a small gathering (if you don't wanna do what me and my husband did) like just your immediate families and maybe closest friends, and have a small wedding in your backyard or something. But tell his family that unless they are going to pay for everything, right now it's not the best idea that you guys spend extravagantly because of not knowing how long you will be without his pay. I've seen people who paid thousands of dollars for a beautiful wedding because they had the money to do it right then. Spent all of their savings doing it. Then ended up in a financial free fall after one of them lost their job due to cut backs. They ended up losing everything they had because none of their family members, who just had to see them get married, would help them stay afloat. Not saying that would happen to you guys at all, but in this economy it's worth considering

Answer

We did. My husband and I got engaged December 2013 and initially we wanted to have a wedding. We started trying to plan an ultimately it became too stressful not to mention expensive. I was the first one to mention eloping and he was quickly on board with the idea. We were paying for it ourselves and eventually decided we had no desire to spend all this money to throw a party for everyone else, it just wasn't worth it to us. 
So July 2015 we finally looked at each other and said what are we waiting for and we made an appointment at the courthouse. We only told my dad and stepmom (his parents have both passed) so they could be our witnesses. Everyone else found out afterwards when we switched our status on Facebook and posted a photo. We got a few angry phone calls but we didn't really care. Anyone who really loves y'all and cares about you both isn't going to be mad about it and at the end of the day it's about you two and what you want to do.

Answer

I had a whole wedding planned and a wedding dress and then realized it wasnt worth it and eloped 🤷🏽‍♀️ when you get down to it you realize that a wedding is for other people to enjoy and not yourself whats the point? You stress and stress for the perfect day just so you can have other people tell you how much fun it was . You barely eat , or breathe in that dress . Save the money and do something for yourselves. Vacation or something! Hell put a down payment on a house!

Answer

You could always do it somewhere special to the two of you — just you two — and live stream the ceremony so friends and family can watch. 
My parents eloped and my moms parents were really upset but then threw them a small party at a local VFW hall to celebrate. 
My one brother and SIL also got married outside of town hall in front a fountain with just immediate family present.
My other brother chose to do a very small wedding at a local church followed by dinner at a nearby restaurant. 
I chose to do a huge wedding because I wanted both of our families to come together for the weekend, and because we had some financial support for that decision since the parents wanted it too. 
All three that I attended were really special in their own way. 
I think you have to do whatever is right for you, and disregard what other people are telling you “is right.”

Any Ladies/Gents here eloped when they got married?

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