Jumping between eloping and reception later or the traditional wedding

So I brought up the idea of just not doing the ceremony and just having a reception to my partner and he was fine with it. We are moving out of state and I pretty much won’t hardly any insurance unless I get legally married to him so I can be on his plan. We would also save a few thousand dollars by doing it that way (would pick a different venue). Problem is, the reception wouldn’t be for like another year (September 2024). We would be like legally married for a year before the reception even happens. Is that too long? Should I just not tell people the day I got legally married? Or should I wait to get legally married till closer to when the reception is?


The other option is having a ceremony at the same place as my reception. I really enjoy that venue and the farm would look super pretty in fall with all the corn fields. We would have to spend a few thousand more for it, but I don’t have to “finagle” anything with getting legally married earlier. Also, we won’t be living in the state we are getting married in, so I thought it would be easier to get married in the state I currently live in. Should I just spend the extra money so it doesn’t have to be confusing? I’m still super torn and I really want to pick my venue by the end of the month.