That's what the ex and I did. We couldn't afford a big wedding and didn't want one, so we went up to Prince Frederick with some close family members and friends, then went out to dinner afterwards. I do remember leaving the Courthouse and it was torrentially raining. Supposed to be good luck, right?
That is what happened to me. My mom took over the planning on the wedding down to what dress I should pick. Lucky for me, it was the dress my sister loved so when I thwarted the entire thing (early on in the planning so no money was spent except for the dress) and ended up eloping, it worked out.A lot of times couples elope because of all the drama involved in planning these events. They want to avoid all of that and can't figure out a way to handle it directly.
Some of the reasons weddings (can) bring out the worst in people, is because priorities are all screwed up anymore. Parents need to just back off and let the betrothed couple make the decisions about the wedding. It's not the parents of the bride, nor the parents of the grooms' wedding. If you hold them hostage because you are paying for the wedding, then YOU have psychological issues. Sheesh. Set a dollar amount, give it to them and let them decide what they want to do. Or not -but stop trying to make it all about you.
I am not concerned with whether my younger son gets married or not, NOR whether he has children - or not. It's not my choice. It's not my life. My life's worth is not tied up in whether he gets married and produces offspring so I can be a grandmother. Or not.
22 years and counting for me! Plus we only knew each other 3 months when we got married so we beat the odds twice, I guess. (And no, I was not pregnant.
) We were living in VA when we met and he was already planning on moving to SoMd for his job. We could either have a long distance relationship (which neither wanted) or I could come along. We planned on waiting to get married and have a church wedding but once my mom took over the planning and made it what she wanted instead of what we wanted, we went to the Courthouse and did it our way.
I had a ton of supportive people but they all live far away and wedding planning was still stressful. I have no sisters, my friends weren't the planning type, my mom lives far away, my husband, while helpful, only had an opinion about food and beer...it was all on me. And I will shout it from the rooftops: I only had a big wedding for my family (for myself too) but if it wasn't for my incredibly generous parents we wouldn't have been able to afford even 20% of the cost of it. I will forever be grateful to them, but they offered and I could never expect that of them again. It was one of the best days of our lives, but it was a lot of money.Thanks for using the smiley I contributed to the forum. Wow, you would elope if you had to do it again. It seems people were happier than you were, and wanted to share your day. Happy belated wedding wishes.Or
it was easier to say no kids except those in the wedding, and two familes with younger ones traveling far. Personal choice 
I accomodated for them though and gave them all a clipboard with coloring pages and crayons.
My 1st husband and I eloped, I was 18, he was 20 and no, I was not pregnant. My parents were separated at the time and neither had the money to put on a wedding, the ex's mother was working but, his father had just been diagnosed with Agoraphobia and Rheumatoid Arthritis. They couldnt afford a wedding. We decided to go to the courthouse and do the deed. My parents liked my ex and his parents loved me. I believe your ideas on why people elope are outdated. When I decided to get married again, we both chose the courthouse, I was in my late fifties and my husband in his sixties. My daughter was our witness and we had a very nice dinner afterwards. Dont regret my decision on either of my venues for getting married.
Then we had a family gathering later at the house, with grilled chicken/burgers and potato salad. (Crappy aunt boycotted, which was what I was hoping for)
After we got married at the Courthouse, we ate at Bert's Diner in Prince Frederick (now Jerry's Place) on our way to PA for our weekend honeymoon.Serious. When Larry and I were planning our wedding, we were thinking small and casual, maybe out on the dock in Alexandria where we had our first date. Then it started taking on a life of its own. He made the mistake of letting me watch his and Marcia's wedding video and I was struck by how stressed she looked, running around making sure everyone was happy. Then I thought about having to wrangle the kids, and my folks, and "well, you have to invite so and so", and Larry's crappy aunt who lived to be an insulting bitch to me....
So we decided to run off to Jamaica. Nobody was invited. Our attendants were the events coordinator and a bartender. It was lovely.
we had one super young couple (clearly new to the wedding and RSVP game) tell my husband they'd have to wait until the week of to RSVP as she might have to work (
) and my husband not understanding how seating and favors work, said sure! No big deal! ( ) The week of they said no they couldn't make it, and then the MORNING of, as I'm gettin' my hair and makeup did, he texts me to say they can make the reception! . So I shoved them at some random table and told them, since I wasn't expecting them, I unfortunately had no favors for them and to go lightly thru the buffet. Then they got drunk and loudly fought in the parking lot during the dancing 
Who does that!?! How rude!
That's awesome!Bride, groom praised for wedding invitations with extreme RSVP penalty
Bride, groom praised for wedding invitations with extreme RSVP penalty
A couple laid down the law when it came to guests sending an RSVP to their upcoming wedding.www.foxnews.com
Love it!
You posted quite a few of those videos not too long ago.
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