Shotgun - Black Meringue magazine

If you’re in a hurry to organise your wedding, it doesn’t mean you have to compromise. Lucia Whittaker rounds up the options.

From the Brothers Grimm to EastEnders, the elopement has been a staple of romantic storytelling since Prince Charming rescued Rapunzel from her prison tower (although a fat lot of use he was – it was her ponytail that saved the day if I remember rightly). Most elopements in film or print involve a dramatic love story in which two star-crossed lovers, doomed from the opening credits, struggle against all odds to be together only to find that one of them’s dying (Titanic), dead (Ghost) or in fact they’re related to one another and it can never be (Hollyoaks). Then there are those tales of charming villains hell-bent on seducing naïve young maids with the sole purpose of ripping them off (Wuthering Heights) or sullying their name (Pride and Prejudice).

Perhaps it’s these literary ties to ivory towers, windswept moors and Chester that have wrapped the idea of elopement in danger, mystery and breathless, irrational romanticism. With all the expectant stress of pulling together a modern-day wedding, it’s little wonder that running away together still has its appeal.

There are pitfalls, however. In 2004 Britney Spears’ ill-starred union with childhood friend Jason Alexander famously lasted just 55 hours – a shining example of how not to go about tying the knot in a hurry. The Spears-Alexander annulment stated that prior to marriage the couple did not know each other’s likes and dislikes; desires to have or not to have children; or even where the other wanted to live. Sounds like somebody had been on the ale.

So for all you perfectly sensible individuals that simply want to avoid all the fuss of a big, complicated wedding which inevitably takes longer to arrange, here’s Black Meringue’s guide to doing it quickly, cheaply or on the sly without compromising on style.

The dress

Does my bump look big in this?

One in five women who get married in Britain today are pregnant, so the chances are at least some of you reading this are planning to walk down the aisle with a bump in the not-too-distant future. Although this is less of an incentive for couples to marry these days, it might make you want to speed up proceedings – and why not make your special day a double celebration? In the past, the biggest problem facing expectant brides was hiding the evidence. Today that stigma has disappeared, thankfully, and we’re left with more practical considerations, such as how to ensure your dress will fit on the big day, and how to look good without feeling uncomfortable.

In 2004  (typo, 2002) Natalie Gladman set up Europe’s first dedicated maternity wedding dress studio, after spotting a gap in the market during her own pregnancy. She launched her own-label collection Madeline Isaac-James (named after her children) in 2007 and has never looked back. “There are still those tutting traditionalists who believe it is wrong, but all the women I see want to celebrate the fact that two of the most exciting things in their life are happening at the same time,” says Natalie.

“What have changed are social attitudes. No longer are brides hiding their bump under strategically-held bouquets and smocked meringues – they now want to wear their bump with pride.” The Madeline Isaac-James collection has some beautiful contemporary twists on traditional styles that ooze Pre-Raphaelite elegance.