How Would You "Elope"

we took friends and my family and went to vegas. We did the Star Trek wedding, which, unfortunately, isnt offered there anymore. You just need to do what makes you happy!

We went to Vegas. Took a few friends. Fun, low key and it can be as simple or as lavish as you like.

Could you have it your way (dressed casually and warmly for the cool/rainy weather, taking place in the outdoor cathedral), AND have the all-inclusive package with someone else handling food and such? Sounds like that would be ideal for you!

My husband and I eloped in Las Vegas because it's close to where we live, and because we knew we could "make it all happen" within 48 hours. We are not at all "Vegas" people, though, so we didn't use a package or a chapel. Maybe we were lucky but it all came together pretty easily. All we really wanted/needed was:
~ a marriage license (easy, we got it first thing that morning)
~ a nice suite at a good price (lucky, we booked it a few days in advance!)
~ a non-religious officiant who would let us modify the vows to our liking (found her on the internet)
~ some flowers and candles to decorate the room (we ordered same-day from a local florist)
~ some good food and wine to celebrate (room service!)

It was really easy to throw all of that together. The day of the ceremony, I went and got my hair, makeup, and nails done, while my husband arranged the flowers & candles in the room and made sure we had a nice order of food and wine ready to be delivered.

If you want it to be a little bit more than that, e.g. if you want a wedding cake, formal photography, etc., then maybe the package deal would be the easiest way to go. The more items on the list, the easier to let someone else do the organizing. :) I bet you could get them to agree to let you do the ceremony however you want, for example in the nice outdoor cathedral with casual dress.

Staying two nights might be a good idea. Such a big event can take a lot out of you physically and emotionally, even if you are approaching it with a casual, easygoing attitude! We crashed in Palm Springs for two nights afterwards. All of the excitement of planning and experiencing the big event really tired us out! :)

Disclaimer: I'm a wedding photographer. That means I've seen weddings everywhere - cathedrals, temples, back yards, parks, trailer parks - but it also means that my opinions dfefinitely lean toward professional photos. :)

Outdoor weddings can be so gorgeous, but remember that you need a plan B (a covered gazebo? a museum?) in case of weather issues. Usually, you can find a Justice of the Peace or a judge who'll come to you. I've also seen people have a friend or family member get one of the special licenses that will let them perform the ceremony. I'm not sure what CA law is, but you can probably look it up on the Internet.

My priorities would be: 1. finding somewhere you really love for the ceremony; that might be a beach, a park, or even your own living room. It doesn't have to cost a lot, but it should make you feel happy. (Remember, it'll be a 15 minute ceremony, but if you want photos, that will take about an hour, on average.) 2. Great photos :) If you know someone who's good with a camera, great. If not, hire someone. Photos and memories are the ONLY things that last!! I've seen too many people assume, "Oh, anybody can take pictures, and we'll just edit them in the computer," then be heartbroken when they have no good photos. 3. A great honeymoon trip! Check the Internet - travel companies are having huge sales right now. From CA, Hawaii is a great romantic, inexpensive option. 4. Announcements (with great photos of your ceremony and honeymoon); You can build these yourself. If you're not a scrapbook, ribbons and bows kind of person, use a computer or the do-it-yourself services somewhere like Shutterfly.com or even Walmart to build photo announcements. 5. A party to celebrate, if you want.

Congratulations!

22 yrs ago this upcoming New Years Eve, my hubby and I crossed the state line in from NC to SC and went to the Justice of the Peace.

We told no one. After the morning short ceremony, we went to our favorite place for brunch, that night we went to the annual party at the country club, STILL told no one.

The next day when people called and said Happy New Year, what did you do...we said..."We got married"

While we didn't elope per se, we did scale down our original plan for a 'fancy' wedding. I was a wedding/event planner, and originally had this whole lounge furniture/cocktail party idea on the rooftop of the San Diego Natural History Museum. While it still sounds like an awesome wedding & reception, we, like you, decided we really wanted to spend our money on the honeymoon.

We love wine and I rememebered that our favorite (and fairly new at the time) wine bar had a small room for private parties where you only had to spend $250 to get the room for free. Done. We basically had a wine tasting, pizza, salad & meat and cheese platters.

We live in San Diego near many great beaches, but unfortunately, it's not as easy as one might think to get married on the beach if you have more than five-ten people attending. However, in your case, with only a few people, it would be a great idea. We used an area of Balboa Park that wasn't common and very little foot traffic so it was inexpensive (comparatively) and for the most part, private. We also had a great friend get licensed for the day to be an officiant - it was $50 in San Diego.

For our honeymoon, we went to Italy for 3 weeks! 1 week at a cooking school and 2 weeks traveling all around with 1 bag each - it was awesome!

The point to my story, isn't for me to push onto you what we did, but realize that it was all about us. Just as your day should be all about the two of you. That picture you have in your head of you dressed casual in cable knit sweaters & jeans is the beginning of your wedding story so build upon that. Where are you in that picture; outdoors, indoors, forest, beach...no, you're in the park. You're wearing cable knit sweaters & jeans, so it's a cool, crisp day and may rain. However, if everyone's wearing their winter sweaters & jeans, your back-up plan could be as simple as providing cool umbrellas and rainboots and then inviting everyone back to your house for hot chocolate and board games. For all of this, be sure to hire a good photographer (even for the casual moments with family - those will be the best pictures). You see where I'm going with this?

When I was a planner, that was my first advice to people - to write out your wedding day first like it was a story and then like a script. You'll want to include the colors you envision, the smells, the feeling you're trying to produce (i.e. cozy cable knit sweaters in the park is a definite feeling). You do this exercise and you'll be amazed at how it will come together for you;)

Good luck and above all - have fun with your soon to be spouse;)
S.

What do you enjoy? All of your locations sound great! I love outdoor/nature weddings. Do you really need decor if you are eloping? When you say eloping, will there be any friends at all? Or, truly eloping? I love the white linens for a simple outdoor wedding. Spend the money on a photographer! Memories are a must!

I would do it CHEAPLY, doing something we both LOVE to do. The wackier the better.

I don't know if this would be wierd, but the Monterey Bay Aquarium? I don't know if they'd be able to, but I just had a picture of getting married surrounded by jellyfish in the fantastic lighting they do, or with a giant aquarium behind and all the fish swimming lazily in it. It would DEFINITELY be different! And all the decoration would be natural.

My husband and I got married in Vegas. We got married at Viva Las Vegas Wedding Chapel. We did the outdoor garden wedding. They have other outdoor options available. They did the flowers, limo, pictures, everything. They were really nice and the wedding went really smooth. Our close family came and a couple friends. Our kids were in the wedding, they were 3 yrs and 10 months at the time. I know people automatically think Elvis when they hear Vegas wedding but ours was far from it.

http://www.vivalasvegasweddings.com/lasvegas-garden-chape...

Hello, Several years ago, my daughter and her (now) husband were married by the Justice of the Peace at the county administration building. We live in San Diego County and the ceremony was performed outside with the harbor as a backdrop. They had an arbor under some trees and it was very beautiful. They supplied pictures and could pay for a video. The cost was $50.00, plus the video. They were able to invite a few friends and family. There were no chairs, but we were fine without them. I have also heard that anyone can be certified for a day to perform the ceremony. I have also been told that you can have this person to perform the ceremony anywhere as well as a park or by the beach, harbor or bay for a fee.
Good luck and congratulations.
K. K.

Hi J., Weddings don't have to be anything other than exactly what YOU want.

When my husband and I got married we has already lived together for about 5 years, we had everything we needed (actually 2 of everything we we moved in together! LOL) So when we got married we really wanted...NOTHING other than a really nice honeymoon/vacation. So that is what we asked for. My mom was a bit upset but she got over it.

We planned a very simple wedding in the park and hired a justice of the peace for $100. invited friends and family to our outdoor wedding. I made my invitations (I did mail them out) with a simple request, "we have all the "stuff" we need, the only thing we don't have is our honeymoon. Of course gifts are always optional, but if you choose to gift us a gift, please consider a donation to our dram honey moon. Please call (name of travel agent) for more info." We set up a travel agency to take "gift" from our guests.

Our dinner was at a local restaurant. My mother insisted on paying for some immediately family members but in the invitation it said "if you would like to join us for dinner, we will be going to (name of restaurant here). The cost is $20 per adult and kids under 12 are free. There will be a seafood buffet. RSVP to my mom. We had 56 people joined us.

Then we rented a hall for a dance. It cost $250, about 150 people came. We had out munchies and a cash bar. We ordered pizza at midnight based on the number of people who were still there as our "ate lunch". Our DJ was a gift from an aunt (it was her son-in-law!)

We had a great night, the party was wonderful and almost everyone who came gave us cash or the "receipt" from the travel agent. Not only did we pay for a week in Jamaica, we were able to put a bit away for our first anniversary trip.

Decide what you want then just ask for it.

B.
Family Success Coach

PS: i would recommended at least 1-2 nights away from your 9 1/2 month old after the wedding. She can join you after that, but enjoy the "married time".

Hey J.! My husband and I eloped this year in June and it was the best idea we have ever had!!! Okay so I know this is super cheesie but we did it in Vegas. The way I see vegas is in two ways: you can either go wild and out or you can do it in a more sophiticated manner. We have a 4 year old, so we did it in a more sophisticated way. Vegas has so much to offer to every type of person. They have amazing restaurants, and shows, and they even have things for kids now. We basically racked up a couple close friends and my parents. We were there for two nights, we did the whole pool thing with our son played games with him, took him to the Mirage etc. In the evening we had a dinner with all of us (the night before the wedding) and after my parents took our son. We had our little "bachleor/bachleorette" party. It was totally not expensive. We got married at a chapel downtown, it was super cute!!! They gave us a whole package deal for only $300. And to top it off the chapel we got married in could fit 200 people but it would have still been for the same price. I wouldnt have done it any other way. The whole weekend wasnt expensive at all. If you want to know specifics on where the chapel was let me know! Good luck!!

when we elope we are going to get a western background the boys will be in jeans blue denim white shirts and denim vests boots and cowboy hats.I will be in a white dress with denimskirt over it and denim vest and cowboy hat. depends on your life style and what you like. :) doing a western wedding I would pick the wrought iron or the woods or mountians. better yet woods with mountains in the background.

ps I wouldnt do any frills but mydream honeymoon is round 10 at the nfr. we tried to get it set up to get married at the pbr and the weekend we had it schedualed with bull riders and clowns in the wedding we were going to ask the clowns to be the maid of honor and bull riders the best men. :) was the weekend my step son died. just wasnt meant to be at that time

i think it would be nice if you got someone to marry you on the beach on the sand, with a photographer or someone to take pictures for you, then you can use the pictures for announcements or something.

We went to Oahu. If you or your fiance are military, you can stay at the Hale Koa resort for much cheaper than other local resorts. If not, I've heard of people renting condos/houses by the night for pretty darn cheap. And they have LOTS of wedding companies who will handle everything for you (we used Aloha Weddings Forever). You can go as simple or as extravagant as you want. We just got hair and makeup for me, then a preacher and a photographer. We were married in Hawaiian garb, barefoot on a public beach. It was perfect.

We went for the old staple of Vegas :) We flew from Detroit to Vegas non-stop, stayed at the Luxor (not my favorite place to stay now that I've been there and seen what is available), saw 2 shows and lots of attractions, plus got married on the outdoor observation deck on the 119th floor of the Stratosphere, all for under $1000. We did however choose to leave our four kids (ages 9, 6, 2 & 6mo) at home. We had a friend who was local to Vegas who served as our witness, along with his girlfriend (whom we had never met until then). Other than that, we were completely alone...just the way we wanted it. We had the girlfriend record the whole thing on video so we could show the kids and our parents when we got home. It was perfect and exactly what we had wanted....and much cheaper than if we had chosen to have a "normal" wedding at home.

My hubbie and I went to the Justice of the Peace and got married. We didn't tell anyone from the family until a few weeks later when we sent out a few cards to announce our news. For our families we all got together in the summer and had a very casual wedding reception at a nice park. Saved money, no one got left out, and everyone was comfortable.

I think any of your ideas are great. This is your wedding, go with what fits your "dreams". The park, cable knit sweaters -- followed by a gourmet picnic. Congratulations.

Have minister of the peace (or whatever there called LoL) There not religious & there cheap, my oldest brother used one at his wedding, I think they found him through the county court house? Then you can do it in a park or whatever location you want, with whoever you want there. I say save as much money as you can for the honey moon. Go to whatever city/town you want, then Motel 6/Super 8 it & spend the money on gas &/or plane tickets, food drinks & "fun things" ie; Snorkeling or swimming with the dolphins if in the tropics, or whatever fun things your area of destination offers. look up the things they offer or the things locals do in the area on google instead of a vacation agent, prepare as necessary & wing it!

If I had my choice of how to do a wedding, I'd have only my mom, my 2 sisters 2 bro's, there spouses & children & my best friend. Then his side would be his mom dad, bro & his best friend. Then of course our brood of kids. So about 20 guests, we'd tell noone excpet for the guests & only tell them a week ahead of time. We'd do it at Lake Tahoe on a small not well known beach over looking the mountains, a cute, simple non weddingish dress bought on sale for $10 @ Ross, ;) Him in some nice trousers & sweater vest & a bright red bow tie. LoL No decorations, (who needs deco when you've got the beauty around you?) A home made simple yummy cake, or maby a cheap cake from Costco to save time. Short 10 Min. ceremony given by his bro who has offered to get certified on line to be able to marry us LoL throw some burgers on the grill after, beer & soda in the ice chest, turn the music up on the I-pod, dance dance dance, & maby a little karaoke. ;) Sweet, simple, very cheap & FUN! But of course we have tons of aunts uncles cousins, clients, "friends" neighbors & members of our congregation who would all be Pod if we did that, ugh, plus Lake Tahoe is like 10 hours away from my family & there all broke, LoL. Our honey moon would be 4 days no kids in Lake Tahoe, snowboarding, hot tubing it, walks around the lake. Just relaxing & fun. Heck I think we both would be satisfied to hitch up the trailor, park it up at a pretty beach within an hour or 2, laying in the sand soaking in the sun, holding hands w/o kids pulling them apart & draggin them in 2 different directions, go out to eat & maby a little night life, all that ofcourse between catching up on sleep & sex, LoL

What about a destination wedding? You could call a travel agent and they could look up several options for you depending on your desires.

I got married in Caucun, Mexico on the beach at a hotel. The wedding coordinator set everything up with the hotel and we just had to bring our clothes and family. We had 20 guest that showed up and they were excited to go because they were couples who were in need of vacations. The hotel was all inclusive; therefore, we didn't have to worry about drinks nor food. They provided us with the wedding cake and champange also. The reception was located in one of the hotel restaurant. It was beautiful.

My friend got married in St. Thomas, but they took a Cruise there. My brother got married in Las Vegas, so forth and so on. There are good packages out there now because the economy is different from when I got married.

Check with a travel agent and congratulations.

I would go to hawaii and do on of those packages where you get married on the beach at sunset. Leave baby with parents 3 nights or take her if you must. I am sure that it would be romantic anyways and Hawaii is so nice and relaxing.

Step 1) Contact a good travel agent. I never travel without one. Seriously. $800 a night room for $150 a night is just so "par for the course" in working with a travel agent.

As for the rest... that's just so personal. I think a LOT depends on who you would want to be there. For example... if I had it to do over in the exact same circumstance that we were in at the time... I would elope in a heartbeat. Married in HI or Caribbean or Italy BUT my mum could have afforded to fly out to wherever we went. The only thing that was important to me as far as "structure" went was the white dress and the vows and having my mom and our son there. But I got sucked into a big wedding because I didn't really have a preference UNTIL I was "past the point of no return".