Why It's Important That Meghan and Harry Eloped

Let’s clear something up first – I had never been interested in the royal family until Meghan Markle came along. I’m sure there are just as many people who don’t like her as people who do, especially after those tabloids came out attacking her so frequently for things that other royal marriers have done before. Personally, I think she represents so much of the world as it is today.

If you haven’t been tuned in to recent news, Meghan and her husband, Prince Harry, sat down with the queen Oprah Winfrey to tell their side of the story. Until this interview, I truly had no idea what problematic things were happening with the royal family.

Photo courtesy of CNN.

According to Meghan, there were/are some deep-seeded racist feelings within “the institution,” as she so carefully calls them. As the first person of color to join the royal family (ya know, that family that has literally been in power since the 800s), she was carrying a pretty huge weight on her shoulders. Suddenly this long-standing establishment was yanked into the 21st century when Harry married a woman of color, and an American, no less! (this also doesn’t include the facts that she was divorced when they met, raised Catholic, and an actress – PrObLeMaTiC)

The British tabloids tore her apart, and “the firm” did next to nothing to stop them. According to Meghan, this firm that she was brought into was the exact same that hosted parties for the tabloids that were destroying her credibility. Makes total sense, right?

I could speak more about how much of an issue this is, but we’re here to discuss the small glimmer of joy in this interview:

Meghan and Harry eloped.

Photo by Alexi Lubomirski.

Anyone who’s familiar with the British royal wedding traditions knows how involved and planned out they are. The two had their formal ceremony on May 19, 2018, in St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle in the UK. Her veil was 16 feet, or roughly 3 people, long, and there was a grand processional through the city after the ceremony. To put it nicely, it was a BFD.

Photo by Alexi Lubomirski.

But the thing is, by the time they were walking down the aisle, they were already married, and had been married for 3 days! This probably came as a shock to a lot of people, but their reasoning was actually incredibly sweet:

“…This spectacle is for the world, but we want our union between us, so the vows that we have framed in our room are just the two of us in our backyard with the archbishop of Canterbury,” Meghan said.

This statement is exactly what eloping is all about. Eloping really allows couples to focus on what’s important to them. At the end of the day, when all is said and done, you have your marriage. And frankly, as long as you’re marrying your favorite person, who cares about what color your tablecloths were?

Weddings are a very traditional process in general. There are about a zillion hoops to jump through, and a lot of people have a lot of opinions about what’s “correct.” But eloping in the modern era really lets couples take a step back from all the hubbub and put all of their energy into committing themselves to each other.

Photo by Alexi Lubomirski.

As a Las Vegas and destination elopement photographer, I might be biased, but what could be more romantic than that?

If you’re ready to say “Sayonara Sammy” to the whole big wedding production and elope instead, get in touch so we can make some magical images that will stand the test of time.