Elopement

A lot of people choose to elope to a destination then have a reception back home afterwards. Or, you could just have a courthouse wedding with you and your fiancé (and a handful of people, such as parents and siblings, if you wish). Then you would just plan a reception for guests at a later date. The plans would basically be handled just like any other wedding reception.

What information/advice would you like? It is quite a broad question!

That’s really broad. What are you wondering about specifically? We’ve attended several elopements as witnesses. Generally an elopement is considered a standalone wedding and does not precede a renewal as is the current trend, because that defeats the purpose. If you are going to marry in front of your loved ones, why not just do the legal ceremony at the bigger gathering instead of the extra step, to save time/money/stress on your part?

My wife and I didn’t elope but we had a civil marriage at the Vegas courthouse. To me an elopement is when you go off to get married without telling anyone and come back married. A civil marriage is known by all but much smaller and cheaper. But now we’re planning our big wedding for May 2023.


We spent $1500 for the weekend, including our flights, and wedding night suite at the Cosmo. We catered from local taco and chicken spots. Had some local family show up to witness. Only 10 family members were allowed in the courtroom due to covid.
In no way do you have to “go all out” for a courthouse wedding. Our court fees were only $170. But we still wanted to do a lil extra for our civil marriage.

View Quoted Comment Beautiful!! Congratulations!!!

View Quoted Comment Ohh that’s usefull. I wasn’t sure if a courthouse wedding was considering an elopement wedding. I would say it’s a good way to save some money

View Quoted Comment Like typical destinations or budget! I definitely think it’s a good way to save money

We got married at the courthouse last November and our ceremony and reception are in March. We did it for benefits and insurance and I still go by my maiden name. We literally just signed papers and paid $30 so we're still having the full traditional wedding. The only difference is our "officiant" doesn't need to be ordained. Most everyone attending already knows we are legally married, for those who don't we either haven't seen them in person or it just hasn't been brought up.