Anyone have a non-traditional wedding, married by JoP?

[WeLoveLilo05]

Me and fiance want to get married, we have been trying to plan something for some time now, but I can't see spending big bucks for a big wedding. We have a daughter together and, if I was 26 did not have a child and those responsibilities, etc I would probably do the big wedding, but the truth is, I'd rather put that cash towards a house.

So, we are thinking of doing the whole court wedding. What do you usually wear? Are people going to think we're cheapies for doing this? And what type of thing can we do afterwards (dinner). We would probably have 30-40 people, is that too much? Will I look back and regret not having the big wedding with the white dress?
I guess I am looking for some ideas to keep it cheap but nice. Any idea, etc would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Mkrop]

My cousin got married at the mayor's office on Valentine's day. It made it special, we were all able to go and they had a specific time so it was just them and family. He wore a suit and she wore a simple white dress.

My aunt then treated everyone who came to a nice dinner at an Italian resturant.

Very simple but vey nice too.

 

[KittyHellstrom]

My parents got married by the JP I think if I ever end up getting married I probably will do the same or i'll hit a drive-thru chapel in Vegas (tacky, maybe...but I think it would be so much fun .) I'm always floored by how much people spend on weddings in general anymore.

I think the thing to remember is, it's YOUR day. Don't worry about what people are going to think. Just have fun with it.

-Kitty

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Me and fiance want to get married, we have been trying to plan something for some time now, but I can't see spending big bucks for a big wedding. We have a daughter together and, if I was 26 did not have a child and those responsibilities, etc I would probably do the big wedding, but the truth is, I'd rather put that cash towards a house.

So, we are thinking of doing the whole court wedding. What do you usually wear? Are people going to think we're cheapies for doing this? And what type of thing can we do afterwards (dinner). We would probably have 30-40 people, is that too much? Will I look back and regret not having the big wedding with the white dress?
I guess I am looking for some ideas to keep it cheap but nice. Any idea, etc would be greatly appreciated.

We got married by the JOP almost 20yrs ago.

I am not religious so this is what worked for us. We let people know we were getting hitched and they could show up or not.

Some other families were there wearing the whole kit and kaboodle and some were not dressed up. It is whatever you what.

We went to Olive Garden after. Now we only had a handful of people show up.

With 40 people you will need to make a reservation somewhere. So it won't be "cheap" in the sense of paying for that. At $20 a head, that is 800 bucks.

 

[KittyHellstrom]

btw, for an inexpensive reception party what about an outdoor BBQ at a park or a potluck supper?

-Kitty

 

[sunlver]

We have been married for 17 years. We got married In Chicago at city hall on a Saturday morning by a judge. There were probably 15 other couples there for the same reason. The judge took you in to her chambers, so you didnt have to get married with all the other people . I wore a simple dress, and my husband wore dress pants, dress shirt and a tie. My parents and grandfather were with us. We went to breakfast right after. A week later, we had a reception, that had about 50 people. I didnt want a reception at all, but my mother wanted to do something for us. We were 29 when we got married, and I just couldnt see the sense of having a big wedding, and all the expenses that go along with it. I am just very realistic when it comes to money. Even though its been 17 yrs, I do NOT regret the way we got married, it was simple and to the point..just like me

 

[LisaNJ25]

We did. 17 years ago got married by the Mayor at a park where people tend to go for pictures after their wedding and proms. I was 18 and we had out son already. We had about 15 people show up and than 2 days later (we got married on a Friday morning) we invited about 50 close friends and family members to a local steakhouse for brunch. It worked out great for us. I didn't have a traditional wedding dress but did have a white one.

I

 

[The Mystery Machine]

We have been married for 17 years. We got married In Chicago at city hall on a Saturday morning by a judge. There were probably 15 other couples there for the same reason.

Interesting. When we were married it was in the court with all the others waiting their turn.

DH and I will never forget the guys in the orange prison jumpsuits chained at the ankles and hands in the lobby walking by.

 

[hereyago]

I got married by JOP at our residence. It was actually fun to decorate things yourself,nothing fancy. We invited 10 people, then went out to eat.


He wore a suit that he borrowed and I wore a simple dress,room mate made the headband veil part.

 

[disneybound2010]

We had one of the most unconventional, but most beautiful weddings(elopements) ever

My mother was terminally ill and DH and I wanted to make sure she knew we were married. We contacted my former boss, who was licensed to marry people. She insisted we were not just going to "elope." She got in touch with a friend of hers that owned an old time general store. He had built on a "great hall" used for Celtic music gatherings. He agreed to let us use the hall free of charge as long as his customers could wander in and witness it(the hall was decorated for Christmas and was GORGEOUS) My BFF was home for the holidays and her DH's mother owned a flower shop. She provided the flowers for us free of charge. My other friend worked in a bakery and surprised us with a small wedding cake. We were married on Dec.30, 2004. After the ceremony, we all went out to our favorite restaurant, owned by yet another friend of ours. He set us up in the balcony and we had a nice little dinner celebration. That evening, we surprised DH's family and my family with the news. Everyone was surprised that we were able to pull it off and could not believe how it all fell into place so easily. I do believe that everything came together because it was meant to be that way. Mom was ecstatic for us and was very happy that she was able to "be there" for it.

 

[MiniGirl]

I've mentioned my wedding a few times on the DIS. We did get married by a pastor (my FIL), but we were married at a hospital. Like the pp, my mom was terminally ill and we wanted her to be able to attend. My dad passed away (unexpectedly) 7 months later and my mom a month after that. We are very active in our church and it is an important part of our lives, but I have never regretted getting married where and how we did.

OP, your situation is your own, and your wedding needs to fit who you and your future husband are. I have been to many weddings over the years, and my favorite remain the unconventional ones.

 

[Tinkermommy]

Hubby and I were married 23 years ago by a magistrate at his condo. He wore a suit and I wore an ivory dress.

A couple of weeks later my parents had a catered dinner at their house.

My parents were married by a judge. They have been married for 44 years.

And although I love to go and attend them, I have never regretted not having a big wedding. I regretted not having a honeymoon more. But in the 23 years we have traveled a lot and someday I may just book us a honeymoon!

 

[SleepyMom]

Me and fiance want to get married, we have been trying to plan something for some time now, but I can't see spending big bucks for a big wedding. We have a daughter together and, if I was 26 did not have a child and those responsibilities, etc I would probably do the big wedding, but the truth is, I'd rather put that cash towards a house.

So, we are thinking of doing the whole court wedding. What do you usually wear? Are people going to think we're cheapies for doing this? And what type of thing can we do afterwards (dinner). We would probably have 30-40 people, is that too much? Will I look back and regret not having the big wedding with the white dress?
I guess I am looking for some ideas to keep it cheap but nice. Any idea, etc would be greatly appreciated.

We were married by a JoP nearly 20 years ago, at the courthouse. We had to make an appt. (11am) and we chose to only have my then 5yo DD go with us and my Mom and step-Dad as the witnesses. We were taken into an office and married privately, DH wore a suit and I an off-white dress, while DD wore a flowered dress as the flower girl

Afterwards we went and had professional pictures done at a studio, it was December and snowing so no outdoor shots Pictures are important to me, so I am glad we did that, I think if we hadn't that would of been the only thing I might have regretted.

That afternoon we had an open house reception in our home, it was decorated for Christmas, so I didn't do much else in that sense. We had a buffet table full of food (all easy to prepare ahead and put out as needed)and a sheet cake decorated in Christmas colors. People were able to come and go because it was an open house setting, so it was very relaxed. We probably had 30 to 40 people come, and not all at once so it was nice to be able to visit with them.

We have never regretted not having the big wedding, it was what we wanted for our day and perfect for us.

 

[purplegirl247]

Hubby and I were married by a friend who got his notary's license just for us (notaries can legally marry people here in Florida; not sure about other states). Maybe look into that as an option, if you don't want to go the courthouse route per se?

That being said, I was honored to be asked to serve as a witness to a sweet couple I worked with a few years back. She wore a simple lavendar dress, he a nice suite. There was a tiny gazebo/archway thing set up in one of the side rooms of the courthouse, very lovely. Maybe your experience depends on the courthouse? You can always check that out in advance, I imagine.

No matter what you choose, good wishes to you and your family!

 

[december]

Dh and I got married by a judge (family friend/church member) in my parents' living room almost 15 yrs ago. I wore a red Sunday type dress, which my grandmother thought was shameful. But it was the week before Christmas, and white was hard to find! Then my FIL had a reception at his house. We didn't want one, but his wife (dh's stepmother) and her daughter insisted. Got there and found out step-sil invited her friends instead of mine (we went to high school together).

Dh and I had been together for 8 yrs, I was 23, and was just ready to get married. He was dead set against a big wedding, and I really didn't care, so it was fine. We did have pics taken earlier in the day at a local park.

Oh....his mother didn't come, because his father was there, so I know a big wedding would have been a disaster anyway! Too much drama!

 

[npmommie]

We got married by the JOP almost 20yrs ago.



We went to Olive Garden after.

I wasn't going to post on here, but when I saw this I had to.................my dh and I got married by JOP... more than 23 years ago and we went to Olive Garden after too

my mom is a strict catholic and we did have a ceremony a few months later ( the marriage was "blessed") and a small reception with close family and friends.

oh and when we got married by the jop , we wore very casual clothes!

 

[kwitcherkicken99]

DH and I did the courthouse thing. We didn't even have a reception.

We aren't big party people, so the idea of having a wedding was a little nauseating for us. We could have, but we wouldn't have had fun.

We wore church-type clothes.

If you are worried about "will I regret it" you could always do what some friends did. They invited their family (about 20 people), rented a reception hall (that also offered certified wedding marrier services too). They had the wedding and a very small reception (cake, punch, mints). I think it cost a grand total of $400. She wore a little white cocktail dress and he wore khaki shorts and a polo shirt. It was perfect and suited them fine.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

I wasn't going to post on here, but when I saw this I had to.................my dh and I got married by JOP... more than 23 years ago and we went to Olive Garden after too

my mom is a strict catholic and we did have a ceremony a few months later ( the marriage was "blessed") and a small reception with close family and friends.

oh and when we got married by the jop , we wore very casual clothes!

We did "get married" in the Catholic Church about 7yrs later. Of course my mom was horrified that my kids were not baptized. So they were also baptized then as well.

I tried to go back to my faith one last time. Long story short, we are no longer Catholic or any religion at all. I did give it the college try but it was not meant to be for us.

And sleepy mom, our date is Dec 21st and it was also snowing that day which prevented some people that were going to show from coming.

 

[apirateslifeforme]

I am so glad someone posted this! I have been engaged for a month now, and DFi and I do not want the big fancy wedding. We are hoping to have a "restaurant" wedding - we want to host a buffet dinner on a Friday evening next fall with about 35-50 guests total (that includes us and our immediate families). We feel that his mother would really like us to have a minister at least, though, so we are looking for a non-denominational minister to marry us. We're hoping that we'll find a restaurant that will accomodate a ceremony right there in the banquet room, before they bring out the food.

We don't have much of a wedding party - his brother and sister only. The groom, the best man, and his father will wear suits, not tuxes. I've let his sister know that as far as the dress, "buy what looks good on you." I already have my dress...

(note: this isn't me; this is the photo from the Nordstrom website)

We haven't gotten very far yet. No exact date or venue set - we're having a party tomorrow with everyone so we can get a few things settled!

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Sounds like cool plans Pirate! And your dress is very beautiful.