{"id":4518,"date":"2022-05-12T12:43:51","date_gmt":"2022-05-12T16:43:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/espacestudio.ca\/we-eloped-in-italy-for-nearly-1-10-of-the-average-wedding-cost-in-the-us-heres-how\/"},"modified":"2022-05-12T12:43:51","modified_gmt":"2022-05-12T16:43:51","slug":"we-eloped-in-italy-for-nearly-1-10-of-the-average-wedding-cost-in-the-us-heres-how","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/espacestudio.ca\/en\/we-eloped-in-italy-for-nearly-1-10-of-the-average-wedding-cost-in-the-us-heres-how\/","title":{"rendered":"We Eloped In Italy For Nearly 1\/10 Of The Average Wedding Cost In The US \u2014 Here’s How"},"content":{"rendered":"

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This Essay article is part of a Narcity Media series<\/a>. The views expressed are the author\u2019s own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Narcity Media. <\/em><\/p>\n

The average wedding cost in the U.S. was $44,000<\/a> in 2018 when my husband Alex and I started having real conversations about marriage. <\/p>\n

Since then, the industry changed drastically. The global pandemic led to many couples opting out of traditional ceremonies, and instead, getting creative with their plans<\/a>. <\/p>\n

So, in 2020, when we found ourselves engaged with little desire for a flashy big, white wedding, we decided to follow suit. <\/p>\n

After several months, a few COVID jabs, and one unexpected \u2014 but welcomed \u2014 pregnancy later, we decided we were ready to start planning. (We had already missed the deadline for a “shotgun wedding.”)<\/p>\n

We got about two minutes into a sleep-deprived session of drafting a guest list and brainstorming cake flavors before giving up and deciding what we wanted more than anything, was a vacation. <\/p>\n

We had just made it to the other side of white-knuckling a grueling pregnancy, and a spell of postpartum depression that knocked the wind out of me. <\/p>\n

The thought of shelling out tens of thousands of dollars for one long day of fuss and unwanted attention on my tender mom-bod in a sea of white tulle was wholly unappealing.<\/p>\n

I wanted calmness, I wanted romance, but most of all I wanted my ever-helpful husband to finally get a good night’s sleep. We deserved that.<\/p>\n

My indulgent imagination took this idea and ran. Before we knew it, I was consumed with visions of a chic, sun-kissed woman with a bob wearing shapeless loungewear and drinking white wine in the Mediterranean. <\/p>\n

Who was she? I didn’t know but I was determined to embody her.<\/p>\n

Flash forward to April 2022: My carry-on is stuffed with every linen dress I could find from the H&M sales rack, and my angelic mother has plans to take our ten-month-old on their own little mini-vacation to visit family members in Florida.<\/p>\n\n

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