Courthouse wedding, followed by "traditional"

I didn't do this but I know people who have with being in the military. It worked out great for them to have a court house wedding and then having a bigger wedding later on. If you are able to save and budget I don't see why not. It would be like renewing your vows for everyone in your family I'm sure they would still love to be there for that.

My husband and I did this! We got married at the courthouse November 2018 and are having our small family and friends wedding this upcoming February. It took so much pressure off of us for the big day since we don’t have to worry about paperwork, or even having an officiant since we are already legally married! I know it’s not for everyone but I loved what we did.

View Quoted Comment Thanks for your comment! Does your family know you did it?

View Quoted Comment Thanks for your comment, Evey little bit of advice helps!

View Quoted Comment They did! We told the families, my MIL was able to be there and we Skyped in my mom

View Quoted Comment And they were ok with that? Because our family has mixed feelings about things and we were thinking of doing the courthouse and just not telling anyone :/ it's all just so stressful

I've heard of people doing this! I think it's totally fine to have a celebration later on after a courthouse wedding!

In my first marriage we eloped then planned a vow renewal for our 7 year anniversary. Neither seemed to feel right, honestly. And when I think of my wedding day then I think of the actual day we got married and not our vow renewal.

My sister also did something like this where she did a church office wedding (similar to courthouse style) and is now planning a vow renewal but it's been 10 years for them.

For my second marriage we did an in-between event. It was a "church office" ceremony with just a few guests (we ended up in the sanctuary anyway but with no decor) with a small afternoon tea vibe reception. I honestly liked that option a lot more than both of the others. I got the convenience of having things very simple but still was able to have an overall vibe of a planned event. Still did photos, hair, first dance, etc.

We'll be doing this! We'll do the courthouse wedding when I finish grad school in May. Then the church wedding and reception with family and friends the next January. For us, it's because I was raised Catholic and my parents would have a huge problem with me moving in with fiance before marriage. Actually, my dad's still not thrilled with it happening before the church wedding. We're not just doing the whole big wedding right away since I'm not bringing in any money while in school, so waiting will give us time to save up to have the nice wedding we'd like.

View Quoted Comment Do you think people will still go to the big celebration if you're already married? Or do you think it's gonna take anything away from that big day and make it less special? We are in a similar boat. I just graduated and still have yet to land a job, so we keep thinking pushing back the original date to save money would be a good thing but we have waited long enough to be married, you know? We are just worried about what family will think or if it won't be worth it because we're already married.

View Quoted Comment I think so! If someone wouldn't want to come because we're already legally married, then they clearly don't really care about us. We won't miss them. We'll just celebrate with people who do want to join our big celebration.

View Quoted Comment That's a good point honestly. Do you think it'll be less special between you two?

View Quoted Comment Was your wedding day any different because you were already married?
I’m in a similar spot right now!

View Quoted Comment Did you do the whole “walk down the aisle” ,wedding dress, and bridal party?