Just got engaged....

[Sarita]

.... and we've decided on a courthouse ceremony with immediate family only, and then we'll make everyone dinner (we both love to cook).

The knowledge that I will not have to organize a Wedding, nor think about expensive venues, a gown, photographs, restaurants, etc etc etc is such a beautiful feeling.  I doubt the whole affair will cost more than a couple hundred dollars.

Many thanks to this forum for strengthening my resolve to do things my way, and the courage to say No to wedding insanity.

[caliq]

Congrats!  I said no to wedding insanity and got married in my living room this past June :)  It was SUCH a relief!

[Bracken_Joy]

.... and we've decided on a courthouse ceremony with immediate family only, and then we'll make everyone dinner (we both love to cook).

The knowledge that I will not have to organize a Wedding, nor think about expensive venues, a gown, photographs, restaurants, etc etc etc is such a beautiful feeling.  I doubt the whole affair will cost more than a couple hundred dollars.

Many thanks to this forum for strengthening my resolve to do things my way, and the courage to say No to wedding insanity.

Congrats, and I am currently SO JEALOUS. Getting married this summer. Even a "cheap wedding" just isn't cheap.

[iris lily]

That's great OP!

[KMMK]

Congratulations! That's the best way to do it. Ours was similar except my father-in-law married us and my mother-in-law cooked. Backyard wedding- immediate family only.

[MsPeacock]

Congratulations! Small is the way to go. My wedding had about 60 people and was considered "small" by family and friends. I thought it was huge, and complicated, and expensive!!! If I ever marry again (and I don't intend to) I would do exactly what you are doing.

[ltt]

Terrific!!  Small is the way to go!! 

[rubybeth]

Congratulations and best wishes! We thought about eloping, but we're pretty sure that would have killed DH's grandmother, so we did a rather small church wedding (50 guests), and tried to keep things low-fuss. You definitely won't regret keeping it small!

[lizzzi]

Congratulations! Small and personal, with lots of meaning and what is important to you…is the way to go. You will have beautiful memories. The whole wedding industry thing has become bloated, tacky, insensitive, and a huge rip-off to consumer suckas. I always (when in my ingenue years) thought I wanted a big wedding with all the stops pulled out…until I was a bridesmaid in someone else's. It was such a strain on the wedding couple and their families…I saw that no one was having any fun…it was more like trying to put on a Broadway show than a meaningful, personal occasion. That cured me from ever wanting one of those beanfests.

It is not about being cheap. It is about good taste, personal style, and lots of love and happiness to go around. I wish you all the best.

[LiveLean]

Congrats. My sister, 38, is mustachian and got engaged for the first time in September. She wanted to do what you did or go to the Elvis Chapel in Vegas. Instead, fiance guilted her into 130-person NYC wedding in April. (Cost is all on them.)

I fear for their financial future...and future in general.

[lizzzi]

Yeah, I've been to some of those big "Long Island" weddings. Fageddaboutit!

[Sarita]

Thanks for all your comments, everyone.  Makes me smile, and I am grateful for your support!

[willow]

.... and we've decided on a courthouse ceremony with immediate family only, and then we'll make everyone dinner (we both love to cook).

The knowledge that I will not have to organize a Wedding, nor think about expensive venues, a gown, photographs, restaurants, etc etc etc is such a beautiful feeling.  I doubt the whole affair will cost more than a couple hundred dollars.

Many thanks to this forum for strengthening my resolve to do things my way, and the courage to say No to wedding insanity.

Congratulations! That's awesome!

[wtjbatman]

Congratulations! That's the best way to do it.

I'm thinking a just as good way is to marry someone whose parents are retired and FI and are paying for 99% of the wedding. Open bar? Sure future FIL, it's your money. ;)

Of course I just lucked into that scenario. Me and the fiance have talked about how if we were footing the entire bill, it would have been a sub $1000 wedding (which still isn't really mustachian, but I could live with that).

[Pooperman]

Congrats! SO and I also got recently engaged. We decided to get married this October. If the place we want to have the reception at doesn't have any of those dates, we're going to do it just the two of us and a random witness (not family). Parents are paying because they can so it doesn't bother us too much either way. I secretly hope that the place is booked :D

[jmusic]

Congratulations! That's the best way to do it.

I'm thinking a just as good way is to marry someone whose parents are retired and FI and are paying for 99% of the wedding. Open bar? Sure future FIL, it's your money. ;)

Of course I just lucked into that scenario. Me and the fiance have talked about how if we were footing the entire bill, it would have been a sub $1000 wedding (which still isn't really mustachian, but I could live with that).

Sure it is!  You're respecting the tradition while refusing to shell out $$$$$ (five figures) for the priveledge of throwing a party for everyone. 

That aside, I'm getting married on Friday (yes, the 13th!) on the lawn by the courthouse.  We'll just have a quick 10 minute informal affair and won't even need any chairs.  Our honeymoon will be our cross-country road trip that'll be mostly paid for by my PCS move in June. 

[lizzzi]

Congratulations! When you say, "on the lawn" I'm assuming you live somewhere warmish. (Our lawn is under several inches of snow at the moment.)

[jmusic]

Northern California.  I originally was gonna say exactly where, but I think that's a bit too much detail for an internet forum. :)

[EllieStan]

Congratulations ! :) Weddings (and most events revolving around them) are getting way out of hand !

When we got engaged, my fiancé and I felt strongly about weddings being family-oriented, and we wanted to include everybody. It would have been a small wedding by today's standards (50-ish guests). However, when we started visiting venues and looking at vendors' prices, we felt... disgusted is the best word I can think of to describe the feeling. We felt as though they were trying to steal money from us at every corner, charging extras everywhere. ''Here, you can buy a bottle of wine that's 3 times the usual cost, but you'll also have to pay an extra $3 to open it.  And the usual 20% tip, of course.''

Now, we are on the fence about wether or not we should elope and have a ''weddingmoon'' just the 2 of us. But we're close to our parents and we both feel guilty about not including them. Same goes for our small families. Frankly, if we had a backyard, it would be a no-brainer. We're contemplating getting married home after we buy a house. It would be a 4 year engagement at this point, but if it's meant to be, then there's no rush getting to the altar.

[Mrs. Frugalwoods]

Huge congratulations! That's awesome you're having such a frugal celebration! What a fabulous way to start your mustachian life together :)

[jmusic]

Congratulations ! :) Weddings (and most events revolving around them) are getting way out of hand !

When we got engaged, my fiancé and I felt strongly about weddings being family-oriented, and we wanted to include everybody. It would have been a small wedding by today's standards (50-ish guests). However, when we started visiting venues and looking at vendors' prices, we felt... disgusted is the best word I can think of to describe the feeling. We felt as though they were trying to steal money from us at every corner, charging extras everywhere. ''Here, you can buy a bottle of wine that's 3 times the usual cost, but you'll also have to pay an extra $3 to open it.  And the usual 20% tip, of course.''

Now, we are on the fence about wether or not we should elope and have a ''weddingmoon'' just the 2 of us. But we're close to our parents and we both feel guilty about not including them. Same goes for our small families. Frankly, if we had a backyard, it would be a no-brainer. We're contemplating getting married home after we buy a house. It would be a 4 year engagement at this point, but if it's meant to be, then there's no rush getting to the altar.

Even if you don't have a backyard, you could rent a nice place on AirBNB or similar, have some caterers bring food, etc.  Invite the minister to the house, and you can throw a rockin' party for ~$1000.  Everyone will probably have more fun anyway; the alternative is to have a stuffy formal event with the black ties and one-time use gowns for bride & bridesmaids.  No thanks!

[11ducks]

Congratulations ! :) Weddings (and most events revolving around them) are getting way out of hand !

When we got engaged, my fiancé and I felt strongly about weddings being family-oriented, and we wanted to include everybody. It would have been a small wedding by today's standards (50-ish guests). However, when we started visiting venues and looking at vendors' prices, we felt... disgusted is the best word I can think of to describe the feeling. We felt as though they were trying to steal money from us at every corner, charging extras everywhere. ''Here, you can buy a bottle of wine that's 3 times the usual cost, but you'll also have to pay an extra $3 to open it.  And the usual 20% tip, of course.''

Now, we are on the fence about wether or not we should elope and have a ''weddingmoon'' just the 2 of us. But we're close to our parents and we both feel guilty about not including them. Same goes for our small families. Frankly, if we had a backyard, it would be a no-brainer. We're contemplating getting married home after we buy a house. It would be a 4 year engagement at this point, but if it's meant to be, then there's no rush getting to the altar.

Even if you don't have a backyard, you could rent a nice place on AirBNB or similar, have some caterers bring food, etc.  Invite the minister to the house, and you can throw a rockin' party for ~$1000.  Everyone will probably have more fun anyway; the alternative is to have a stuffy formal event with the black ties and one-time use gowns for bride & bridesmaids.  No thanks!

That's what I plan to do- rent a place near the beach with a nice garden for 3-4 days, hold the wedding there, have a dinner for close family after, party on, family can stay overnight, then we can stay there for a few nights as a honeymoon!

Also, congratulations!!!