A lot of people consider eloping as a way to save money. That is totally reasonable. I do believe that you should have the wedding you want. Budgets are a part of that but don’t elope if you really want to have a wedding in a church and visa versa.
So, let’s lay out a few things about how much various aspects of a wedding actually cost. In the chart below, you’ll see an inexpensive and average cost for both a wedding and elopement. For both, I am going to assume that you are getting married relatively close to where you live (so no planes are needed).