History Main / Elopement

*** Ser Criston Cole makes a proposition to Rhaenyra, that is fleeing in Essos with her in order to leave their commitment behind (the Kingsguard for him since he broke his vow to it, and her heir to the Iron Throne role) and marry far from the court intrigues of Westeros. Rhaenyra refuses, and Criston doesn't take it well, making him an enemy of Rhaenyra in the long run.
*** Laenor Velaryon and Qarl Correy pull off the "gay lovers" variant without marriage, FakingTheDead so they can have a new life of swords for hire far away from House Velaryon. It also makes Rhaenyra Targaryen free to marry her uncle Daemon.

* ''Series/GameOfThrones'':
** Robb Stark marries Talissa in secret, because he was [[ArrangedMarriage already engaged]] to one of Lord Frey's daughters [[AltarDiplomacy in order to seal a political alliance]], but Robb wanted to MarryForLove instead. This move cost him ''dearly''.
** Later seasons confirm a long-standing fan theory that was almost as old as the books: [[spoiler:that Robert's Rebellion was not sparked by Rhaegar Targaryen kidnapping Lyanna Stark, but instead by his elopement with her. Just like Lyanna's nephew Robb, this move cost them dearly; the anger of the families Rhaegar and Lyanna were [[ArrangedMarriage betrothed or already married to]] sparked a bloody civil war, support for which was incited by rumors that Rhaegar kidnapped and raped Lyanna, that upended the Targaryen dynasty which was as old as the Seven Kingdoms themselves. Their child Aegon - better known as Jon Snow - was raised without knowledge of his true heritage for his own safety.]]

** Lyonel Hightower's marriage to his stepmother, Samantha Tarly, was not considered legal since the High Septon, who considered it a form of incest, refused to bless it. As a result, their children were born bastard.

* The "Catholic Monarchs" of Spain, Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castille were united in this way in 1469. While Isabella was still the heiress presumptive of Castille, her half-brother, King Henry IV, promised her that he would not force her to marry, while stipulating that she would not marry against his will. However, he broke his promise and made several attempts to arrange marriages for her that Isabella found unacceptable. She averted this by eloping with her cousin Ferdinand, the future King of Aragon, whom she considered a more fitting match. This strained her relationship with her brother, but after his death, she managed to get herself proclaimed Queen. Isabella's marriage to Ferdinand effectively united Spain in the long term.

* Joseph Smith, the founder of UsefulNotes/{{Mormonism}}, married his Pennsylvanian wife, Emma Hale, by eloping to nearby UsefulNotes/{{New York|State}} in 1827. The reason Emma's father gave for disapproving of the match was that, beside being a stranger, he could not approve of Smith's "occupation", which at the time involved (unsuccessfully) using "psychic powers" to look for minerals and hidden treasure.

* The Scottish village of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gretna_Green Gretna Green]] is the place where English teenagers used to traditionally run to to get hitched when they wished to defy their parents (because Scottish law was more easygoing about such things, and it was the first Scottish village on the main London-Edinburgh road). It's still possible to go there for a traditional "wedding of the anvil", although this is no longer recognized in law.
* In the United States, UsefulNotes/LasVegas is popular for this since the marriage offices are open until midnight ''every day'', and in Nevada, you don't have to wait between getting the marriage license and getting married. Convenient! Before Vegas became big, Reno had this reputation. (So [[DivorceInReno you could have your quickie divorce]] from the one you hate, followed by your quickie marriage to the person you love!)

* Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism, married his Pennsylvanian wife, Emma Hale, by eloping to nearby New York in 1827. The reason Emma's father gave for disapproving of the match was that, beside being a stranger, he could not approve of Smith's "occupation", which at the time involved (unsuccessfully) using "psychic powers" to look for minerals and hidden treasure.

The last resort for a couple that wants to avoid a troublesome ArrangedMarriage or are DatingWhatDaddyHates. Run away and get married!

* In ''Literature/TheKingkillerChronicles'', Kvothe's mother is a noblewoman who ran away to marry his father, an itinerant performer.

[[folder: Film ]]

* At the end of ''WesternAnimation/{{Anastasia}}'', Dimitri and Anastasia elope.

* The second half of season two of ''{{Series/Hannibal}}'' has the titular [[IAmAHumanitarian cannibal]] psychiatrist and his [[MadDoctor patient]]/[[FoeYay frienemy]]/[[OneTrueLove soulmate]] Will Graham planning on leaving their old lives behind together, complete with plans to go to Italy and to have [[spoiler: their surrogate daughter, whose survival Hannibal had been keeping secret to surprise Will, join them.]] [[GoneHorriblyWrong It doesn't work out according to plan]] [[ConflictingLoyalty since Will's loyalties were deeply conflicted.]]

* ''Manga/MahouSenseiNegima'': Nagi suggested to do this with [[spoiler:Princess Arika]] when he realized she had developed feelings for him, getting a blast of magic in response. Ironically, [[spoiler:they end up eloping after he rescues her from her execution]].

* It's invoked and subverted in ''{{LightNovel/Toradora}}'', where [[spoiler:Ryuuji and Taiga find themselves finally in love with each other, but in dire circumstances; Ryuuji has left behind his mother and the scarce resources he had; Taiga has practically disowned herself from her mother's family after her absentee dad (her monetary sustenance thus far) skipped town following the failure of his business. As such, they only have each other. They decide to wait out the few months left for Ryuuji to turn eighteen so that they can marry unimpeded while living in manga cafés and odd places. Their friends Minori, Ami and Kitamura decide to help them by providing them with food vouchers, money and a roof to sleep; however, in her dejection and after leaving him behind, Ryuuji's mother provides him with a means not to elope by telling him to go to her parents' home. They resort to use this resource, preventing the elopement]].

* Niki and Marlene go to do this in ''[[Film/{{Rush2013}} Rush]]'', in direct contrast to his rival James's very public and showy wedding that quickly ended in divorce. Niki regrets it, less because he's now married and more because now he has something to lose if he dies in a race. [[spoiler:The very next race nearly kills him.]]

* This trope is the story of Lyndis' parentage in ''VideoGame/FireEmblem: [[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBlazingBlade Blazing Sword]]''. Her mother, Lady Madelyn, was the daughter of the Marquis of Caelin. Her father, Hassar, was the leader of the Lorca Tribe, one of the three tribes of Sacae, a group of nomadic people. In order to stay together, Madelyn left Caelin to live with her lover on the Sacaen plains.

* This trope is the story of Lyndis' parentage in ''VideoGame/FireEmblem: [[VideoGame/FireEmblemElibe Blazing Sword]]''. Her mother, Lady Madelyn, was the daughter of the Marquis of Caelin. Her father, Hassar, was the leader of the Lorca Tribe, one of the three tribes of Sacae, a group of nomadic people. In order to stay together, Madelyn left Caelin to live with her lover on the Sacaen plains.

* In ''Manga/CardCaptorSakura'', Nadeshiko and Fujitaka (the parents of TheProtagonist) did this, because Nadeshiko's [[ParentalMarriageVeto parents did not approve]] of her relationship with Fujitaka at all. Partly because he was in his 20's and she was only a teenager (still in high school), and partly because he was a poor schoolteacher, while Nadeshiko's family was very wealthy. According to Sonomi, she was still in her SailorFuku when they married.

* Scotland seems to be a country where elopement was an accepted fact of life. A story is told of Archibald Chisholm, who became an officer in the Black Watch in 1841. As the story goes, Archibald wanted to marry Maria Frances Lynch, who was of a very wealthy, well-connected family. Apparently due to her brother's disapproval, Maria's father withdrew his consent. In what must be one of the boldest elopements on record, a priest was brought into the bride's home at night who married Archibald and Maria in the kitchen; in the morning, Archibald informed her father of the fact and drove her away to Glasgow for a church wedding. Just in case Maria's family were to attempt to pursue them, officers from Archibald's regiment were standing guard along the way! The marriage is said to have been a happy one.
* Another contemporary Scottish anecdote concerns the celebrated piper John ''Ban'' Mackenzie, who was Piper to Davidson of Tulloch. Allegedly, his employer wanted to (bigamously!) elope with the heiress Maria Mackenzie and used John ''Ban'' as his go-between. The piper, however, was a handsome man, and in 1833, she ended up eloping with him instead. In need of a job, John ''Ban'', who was a master of his art, was taken on by the Marquis of Breadalbane; he had to be single for the position, so Maria lived apart from him. Eventually, though, John ''Ban'' was compelled to admit to the Marquis that he was married; the latter took it well and brokered a reconciliation between both John ''Ban'' and Davidson and Maria and her uncle.
* Alice, the beautiful young daughter of James Douglas, the first Governor of British Columbia, fell in love with Charles Good, her father's secretary. Governor Douglas forbade them to see each other; in 1861, when Alice was 17, they caused public sensation by sailing to the nearby United States and being married by a justice of the peace. On their return, Douglas saw that they were properly married in the Anglican Church. The event was immortalized in the song "Chief Douglas' Daughter". The union did not last, however, and was dissolved in 1878, after which Alice remarried.

* The Scottish village of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gretna_Green Gretna Green]] is the place where English teenagers used to traditionally run to to get hitched when they wished to defy their parents (because Scottish law was more easy going about such things, and it was the first Scottish village on the main London-Edinburgh road). It's still possible to go there for a traditional "wedding of the anvil", although this is no longer recognised in law.
* In the United States, UsefulNotes/LasVegas is popular for this since the marriage offices are open until midnight ''every'' day, and in Nevada you don't have to wait between getting the marriage license and getting married. Convenient! Before Vegas became big, Reno had this reputation. (So [[DivorceInReno you could have your quicky divorce]] from the one you hate, followed by your quicky marriage to the person you love!)

* The "Catholic Monarchs" of Spain, Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castille were united in this way in 1469. While Isabella was still the heiress presumptive of Castille, her half-brother, King Henry IV, promised her that he would not force her to marry, while stipulating that she would not marry against his will. However, he broke his promise and made several attempts to arrange marriages for her that Isabella found unacceptable; she averted this by eloping with her cousin Ferdinand, the future King of Aragon, whom she considered a more fitting match. This strained her relationship with her brother, but after his death, she managed to get herself proclaimed Queen. Isabella's marriage to Ferdinand effectively united Spain in the long term.
* The 17th-century aristocratic French writer Charlotte-Rose de Caumont de la Force fell in love with a much younger man, Charles Briou, whose family did not approve of their union. When Charles was locked up at home, the resourceful de la Force visited the Brious with a theater troupe disguised as a dancing bear. She managed to get access to him in this guise; they ran off and got married with the King's permission. Unfortunately, Charles had a highly-placed and influential father; his family had the marriage annulled and Charles locked up in a madhouse. Perhaps unsurprisingly, de la Force published the fairy tale ''Persinette'' in 1698; an early version of ''Rapunzel'', it also deals with the theme of forbidden love.
* In 1795 the then-Army officer and future short-lived President of the United States William Henry Harrison wanted to marry Anna Tuthill Symes, but her father, a judge, disapproved of the match and would not sanction the relationship. They were married when the father was away. Supposedly, when Judge Symes returned and demanded to know how Harrison meant to support his daughter, he gallantly replied "by my sword, and my own right arm, sir."

* In ''Manga/CardCaptorSakura'', Nadeshiko and Fujitaka (the parents of TheProtagonist) did this, because Nadeshiko's [[ParentalMarriageVeto parents did not approve]] of her relationship with Fujitaka at all. Partly because he was in his 20's and she was only a teenager (still in high school), and partly because he was a poor schoolteacher, while Nadeshiko's family was very wealthy. According to Sonomi, she was still in her {{Seifuku}} when they married.

* The second half of season two of ''{{Series/Hannibal}}'' has the titular cannibal psychiatrist and his [[MadDoctor patient]]/[[FoeYay frienemy]]/[[OneTrueLove soulmate]] Will Graham planning on leaving their old lives behind together, complete with plans to go to Italy and to have [[spoiler: their surrogate daughter, whose survival Hannibal had been keeping secret to surprise Will, join them.]] [[GoneHorriblyWrong It doesn't work out according to plan]] [[ConflictingLoyalty since Will's loyalties were deeply conflicted.]]

** In season three, [[spoiler: Hannibal and Will do escape together after murder Dolerhyde, admitting mutual romantic feelings while drenched in blood before Will throws them into the ocean.]] Though his true intentions (whether he wanted them to survive or not) aren't know because the show was cancelled in its prime, WordOfGod has confirmed that they did survive and would spend a hypothetical season four on the run as an OutlawCouple.