For two years, my now fiance and I have discussed eloping instead of having a wedding. He has a huge family (easily 200+ with just his family/friends) and the idea of a wedding where the budget/guestlist could get out of control is just too much to risk. We don't have a ton of money nor do we want to throw money into one day since a wedding has never been important to either of us. Having a small ceremony/reception is not an option with this family, considering there are 25 people with his parents and siblings alone (his parents are remarried).
Since our engagement, we have kept things under the radar because it is still our plan to elope and I can already anticipate the reactions. I have told a couple of coworkers and a few friends and the general reaction is people telling me that it is mean to exclude our parents from our plans. Other people just show pity on my plans. We have planned a beautiful elopement at San Francisco City Hall and I trust that it will be a beautiful day with just the two of us, but it is hard not to feel annoyed with people who feel sorry for us because we aren't having your quintessential wedding. I feel frustrated having to justify myself to people when I feel so right about our decision. Has anyone else experienced this? Any suggestions?
Thanks!