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Chief
Would you be hosting a dinner or anything in Vegas? Factor that into the pro/con list (as far as whether you’re actually saving money, or whether your motivation is really more to avoid the ceremony/formality aspect of the vows). But all that aside, it’s your wedding, do what you want! I would think if anyone regretted not having a wedding it would be for not celebrating with family/friends, and it sounds like you’ll be doing that anyway if you celebrate in Vegas.
My wife and I did. We loved every bit of just going to the courthouse and not spending insane amounts of money on a wedding.
I proposed and we were married a few days later.
Chief
Look at the stress and the money you will save.
Rising Star
Just do one luncheon or dinner for your main family and friends. So cheap. No one else truly matters more than your spouse at the end of the day
Rising Star
Speaking from experience. 5 years married, we didn’t elope but got married very quickly
I would recommend it.
We took a two week vacation/honeymoon out of the country. Used an “elopement planner” to help with logistics like officiant, photographer, etc. got married by a lake, got great pics, then had a two week vacation.
A month or two later we were back stateside and threw a “reception” party at a brewery. Just bought out a food truck. Invited family and friends to that.
Saved money (but still spent a decent amount), reduced a lot of the stress. Would do again.
I'm currently in the process of planning my wedding. We're doing a civil wedding at the court house with only our parents, a symbolic destination wedding with about 20 people attending, then hosting a dinner party when we get back for all family and friends who can't make the destination wedding. We chose to do it this way due to financial reasons, we priced out a wedding here in Canada and it was going to be 50k. Do exactly what you want, it's your wedding! Just make sure you and your future spouse are happy with your decision. We considered eloping, but wanted at least our closest family there, so eloping was out of the question.
BEST. DECISION. EVER. We did exactly this, minus family/friends meeting us. We eloped in New Orleans. NOLA was #2 in best place for elopements and it was a dream and easy peasy. We were told Las Vegas is the #1 place so the process for you will be super seamless x 100.
Download “Wedding Planner by WeddingWire” app > Look up Officiants in Las Vegas and filter based on your desires/ratings you like > DM them asking about their date availability, cost and services …and before you know it you’ll have your elopement logistics done like it’s nothing. If you’re not into this, you can at least get an idea of what you need to do. Eloping there is very systematized so you should be good 🎉
I seriously considered doing this, and went back and forth with my now-husband about it. The stress, money, and navigating relationship dynamics really was taking all the fun out of getting married. We finally agreed together that, in our case, the wedding was less for us and more for our immediate and extended families to be able to celebrate us. Once we decided that we were throwing a party for other people’s benefit it took a lot of pressure off. So we did the big thing with the dress and the cake and party and people loved it and I have no regrets. We did get married in a private ceremony months before the “wedding” where no one we knew was present. To this day I only a few people know about it, it’s kind of like our little inside joke.
This is so cute and now the goal I never knew I had until now
We did courthouse by ourselves and then did a family dinner a few days later. Using the money that we would have spent on wedding to do multiple honeymoons.
No regrets. Sometimes I wish had more photos but in all honesty saved us a lot of headache and unnecessary spending.
About to do the same. We spent half a day trying to coordinate just our family’s schedules and decided we would do what best for us and have a dinner with our immediate family on less short notice.
"...gotten eloped..."? Sounds a lot like...kidnapped.
Enthusiast
We did, now 41 years in…
Pro
My wife and I did after 3 months of dating: been happily married for 6 years and had our first daughter. Best 75 bucks I have spent.
I eloped with my husband.Financially it was best for us at the time, however I do regret not having my family by my side.Now that I am a Mom myself, I see why my mother was hurt by our decision.She supported us, more than I probably would,if one of my kids made the same choice.We did have a party with friends and family on our first anniversary,but I have always wished we would have included some very close family and friends on the actual day of our marriage.Just something to consider.Blessings
Pro
We eloped thanks to COVID (had to cancel our big wedding, this was early 2020) and have zero regrets. It was super special and we saved so much money that became part of a down payment on our first home. We celebrated in special ways with small groups afterwards and I sometimes think about what a fun party we would have had if we’d had the wedding as planned, but then remember how special it was and feel totally fulfilled.
My husband and I (married 11 years this week!) landed somewhere just outside the realm of elopement and I always recommend that approach! We rented out a historical bed and breakfast in our favorite drivable mountain destination for immediate family and one friend on each side (+spouses) to serve as Best Man/MOH. We still partook in the “traditional” activities (boys’ zip- lining, girls’ spa day) and hired a photographer, florist and cake artist. The ceremony was held on-site at the B&B and followed by an amazing intimate dinner at our favorite local restaurant. The B&B offered privacy and ample opportunity for everyone to mingle without pressure throughout the weekend. There was zero drama, zero pressure and our budget was spent on quality over quantity.
Friends did parents/siblings at the courthouse and a dinner with them.
Then a few weeks later rented out a bar and hosted a party for family and friends.
🙋🏻♀️ we had a photographer and hired an officiant on thumbtack. I still had hair/makeup done and we wore wedding dress & suit. Not the cheapest elopement, but I think all in we spent about 2k (also stayed at a nice hotel in our city). Not a single regret. We did a family dinner at a nice restaurant a few days later that cost about 2k.
Our families were a bit annoyed but they got over it.
Pro
We did it and then had a big party later on back where all my family is. My wife really wanted it that way, I was indifferent but glad we saved all that money.
Eloped, loved the private part of it but my family was upset.
PS, also had a destination wedding, was a lot of fun and still cheaper than a stateside wedding (I did Jamaica). You're saving $ but your guests will be paying so you have to consider that too.
My husband and I eloped to Hawaii but got our families’ blessings in advance and also had a fairly normal ceremony (wore white dress and tux, walked an aisle, photographer plus guitarist plus bouquet/lei plus a small wedding cake and private dinner afterwards). A lot of hotels have packages for that; we paid a few grand including our hotel stay and it was perfect.
6 months later we threw a housewarming/wedding celebration party at our new home where food and cake etc were way cheaper since it wasn’t for “a wedding.” Valet and catering and everything was just a few grand for a nice party. My parents had given us $50k for whatever we wanted, so we ended up with a nice chunk left after a nice extended honeymoon in Hawaii to buy and furnish the house.
We figured we can always do a big party for a 5/10/15 year vow renewal if we end up feeling like we missed out. We don’t though.