Thank you to NetGalley for providing an ARC.

The title is misleading. There is very little about eloping your life and more about eloping your wedding. The little that is about eloping your life comes out strongly in the conclusion. I didn’t mind life < wedding but it did skew my expectations.

The ebook formatting is weird. The photos didn’t show up well and there were random boxes where I think it was supposed to be frames for the photos. At one point there is a list that was all over the place. I hope it’s better with the actual release.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of Elope Your Life.

I have never been the type of person who wanted a big wedding; if I ever get married, I always imagined eloping. That is why the title of this book caught my eye and I was pleased when my request was approved.

Elope Your Life was a bit too self-help-y for me, but I like the author's intent; how taking control of one of the biggest days of your life, doing your wedding your way is a step in taking control of your path in life; where do you want to go? Who do you want to be?

Ms. Starns covers all the details that come with planning your wedding: location, location, location, but I especially love how she mentions that some brides may wish to get married in a religious institution, natural environments can be regarded as reverent places to marry in.

At times, this read as more of a vanity project on the part of the author: she was unhappy with going forward with a traditional wedding and wishes she and her husband had gone ahead with their first instinct: to elope instead.

Perhaps authoring this book was a way of purging all the bad vibes and feelings she still carried after her wedding was over.

Elope Your Life does have a great message - have the wedding you want because it's about you and your partner.

But, family and societal pressures take a huge toll when planning this special day and everyone is different. Some people will cave to such pressure and others will follow their own path.

I think readers are wavering between eloping and going forward with a traditional wedding would really benefit from Elope Your Life.