To elope, most literally, merely means to run away. More specifically, elopement is often used to refer to a marriage conducted in sudden and secretive fashion, usually involving hurried flight away from one's place of residence. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

In England, a legal prerequisite of marriage was the "reading of the banns" — for the three Sundays prior to the intended date of their ceremony, the names of every couple intending marriage had to be read aloud by the priest(s) of their parish(es) of residence. (The intention was to prevent bigamy or other unlawful marriages by giving fair warning to anybody who might have a legal right to object. In practice, however, it also gave warning to the couples' parents, who sometimes objected on purely personal grounds.) To contravene this law, it was necessary to get a special license from the Archbishop of Canterbury — or to flee somewhere the law did not apply, across the border to Scotland, for instance. Motto: (French for God and my right) Anthem: God Save the King/Queen Capital London Largest city London Official language(s) English (de facto) Unification    - by Athelstan AD 927  Area    - Total 130,395 km² (1st in UK)   50,346 sq mi  Population    - 2005 est. ... The banns of marriage or, simply the banns, (from an Old English word meaning to summon) are the public announcement from the pulpit that a marriage is going to take place in that church between two specified persons at a specified time. ... Arms of the see of Canterbury The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior clergyman of the established Church of England and symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion. ... Motto: (Latin for No one provokes me with impunity)1 Anthem: Multiple unofficial anthems Capital Edinburgh Largest city Glasgow Official language(s) English, Gaelic, Scots 2 Government Constitutional monarchy  - Queen Queen Elizabeth II  - Prime Minister of the UK Tony Blair MP  - First Minister Jack McConnell MSP Unification    - by Kenneth I...

In America, more recently, some states required blood tests or waiting periods before marriage; a couple wishing to wed quickly (before, usually, their parents could object) would travel to a state without such a rule. In the musical Guys and Dolls, for instance, a police officer suggests that Nathan Detroit and Adelaide, his fiancée of fourteen years, elope to Elkton, Maryland, which does not require a blood test. Motto: (Out Of Many, One) (traditional) In God We Trust (1956 to date) Anthem: The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington D.C. Largest city New York City None at federal level (English de facto) Government Federal constitutional republic  - President George Walker Bush (R)  - Vice President Dick Cheney (R) Independence from... Blood tests are laboratory tests done on blood to gain an appreciation of disease states and the function of organs. ... Guys and Dolls is a successful 1950 musical. ... Elkton is a town in Cecil County, Maryland, United States. ...

Today the term is colloquially used for any hasty marriage or one performed away from home with few (if any) guests. Some couples find it romantic, for instance, to "elope" to Las Vegas, Nevada and be married by an Elvis impersonator there. More seriously, now that certain states and municipalities in the United States have begun allowing same-sex marriage, elopement for legal reasons may see a resurgence. Nickname: The Entertainment Capital of the World; Sin City Location of Las Vegas in Nevada Coordinates: County Clark Mayor Oscar B. Goodman(D) Area    - City 131. ... Elvis Impersonators An Elvis impersonator is someone who impersonates or copies Elvis Presley either as a hobby, career in entertainment or occasionally for fun. ... Same-sex marriage is the legal union of two people who are of the same biological sex or gender. ...

Young couples in the United States and similar countries have been resorting to elopement to circumvent anti-marriage laws (usually based on age) since the 1970's when such laws became popular. Prior to this, lovers had to elope to avoid anti-marriage laws that prohibited marriage based on skin-color. There is some speculation that mixed-race marriages were one of the motivations behind restricting all marriages in the USA in the 1970's after the civil rights movements of the 1960's. Civil rights or positive rights are those legal rights retained by citizens and protected by the government. ...