Would you have a big wedding or elope?

Me and my fiance are currently in the planning stage for our wedding,at first we wanted to have a big wedding,but we decided it would be a little bit out of our budget,then we were thinking about having a small wedding,and the later on having a bigger wedding,which we decided wasnt a good idea either,after talking to my mom,we have decided to compromise and have a medium sized wedding,which we are planning on having toward the end of next year,hopefully somewhere in our county,and we will only have like sixty to eighty people there,and we have decided to do the reception in my parents front yard,and instead of having something fancy,just have either barbeque and pizza,or hamburgers and hotdogs,and pizza,and also have stuff like potato salad,baked beans,and macaroni and cheese so that way it will be a good reception but wont cost alot when it comes to getting the food,we are also thinking about later on renewing our vow's because we both think that would be a good way to re dedicate our love to each other.

When I got married, it was only hubby and me, plus one witness. To be honest, I never regretted doing it that way. Sure, a big wedding sounds wonderful, and it can be great for memories. But having hosted wedding receptions and planned weddings, for me, it sounded more like a nightmare. Furthermore, the expense incurred can reach unreasonable amounts, money that the newly-weds could have used to start their new life. I won't elope, but I will not have a big wedding.

Neither. I only know about 20 people total, so I'm having all the trimmings of a "big" wedding, without all the people involved.

if i had to do it over, i would so elope! i heard yesterday that someone spend $1,300 on her dress alone! thats insane! by the time you spend all that money on a wedding, you could have a downpayment for a HOUSE!

Congrats Just Married

I'm not going to go crazy with my wedding, but I certainly don't want to elope. If I end up marrying my boyfriend, we would have a place for the ceremony and the reception for free as his father is the ceo of a rather lovely establishment. Other than that, I believe in saving as much money as possible, so I'm not going to throw tons of it out. The only expenses I see are food, invitations, and the dress. I'm creative so I will make my own invitations, and I know how to restrain myself when dress shopping. Plus I don't plan on inviting tons of people...only relatives that I enjoy spending time with and close friends.

My first marriage was a huge wedding, and I felt like I could please no one. I had nightmares after wards for awhile. I was widowed after several years. I met someone and we decided to marry, we had a small wedding in our church parlor, decorated with live plants. Invitation only. We then took everyone to a nice barbecue buffet for a reception and dinner, and left from there. Under $600 all inclusive, wedding, decorations, dress, reception. I enjoyed sharing the good moments with good friends and family, but it was so much easier that way. I may elope if there ever is a third time.

Well what I wanted and what we did were 2 different things. My husband and I just wanted a back yard bar b que with close friends and family. My mother would hear nothing of that. So we had a full blown wedding. It ended up being very nice and we had a great time. We didn't spend a lot. We had every thing from the, bakey cake, to the buffet dinner decorations, a great hall, I had a beautiful dress and so on. We only spent about $3,000. We were able to save on a few things like flowers, we used silk and my mom did the arrangements. We also made our own center pieces. We did buffet style instead of sit down dinner. We had the ceremony on the beach and the hall was at the hotel right next to the place so we didn't rent Limos or any thing. We got ready at the hotel. We got our room for free because thats where all the out of town people stayed. I found my dress at a discount store it was an Alfred Angelo but only cost 250 well 300 with the small alterations. The cost at Alfred Angelo was $900 so I did good there. The only thing I would do different is spend more on the photography. I had a crappy photograper and I would have spent the money on a better one had I know she wasn't going to do her job very well. But either way we have some nice pics.

Because our churches would not get along, we decided to elope and have a totally civil cerimony. Now we want to have a religious cerimony, and since we don't need an officient, we will just do it ourseles. I will ready something from the Bible, and he will read something from The Book Of Mormon.

I think you covered every aspect about the benefits of eloping. It's sad that the institution of marriage has become so costly. Thousands of dollars for just one day, and brides crying from frustration and all the politics of family members who can't get along. Small, simple and tasteful weddings are still possible. My second marriage was a quiet and lovely celebration among family. We got married in St. Augustine, one Florida evening, on a balcony illuminated by candlelight. We stayed at a bed and breakfast, and the couple who ran the place prepared a sumptous dinner and a cake from a dream. I hope other people find alternatives to expensive weddings and elopement both. Okay, that's it.

Well first let me say that most of what I am going to say here is emphasis on what hellcowboy has said as he is my fiance. Also, I may be long winded... just a warning. Well I think that having just an elopement and then a bbq is a good idea if you and your partner agree to it wholeheartedly. It would be the cheapest route, but you can find cheap ways to make it a bigger splash... I'm not sure if anyone else has mentioned that idea... but I thought I Would, and if they have then let me just say "more emphasis!" Looking around the internet for ideas, then going to smaller boutiques, then bigger botiques, then smaler botiques again would be a good idea. Look to see if maybe you can find someone who can copy a designer gown, but won't charge you... or maybe decide on jeans and skirts... My Fiance and I are probably going to do that.. ours is themed though... Which brings me to the themed part.... Themed Weddings are easier then people think, after you get over the zeal of wanting this and that or that and this you'll realize that it's probably one of the cheaper weddings if you know where to find stuff, or people to make it look spactacular...