Wedding Wednesday: Should you have a courthouse wedding?

Even before we got engaged, my fiancé and I talked about getting married at a local courthouse. We questioned the idea of spending thousands of dollars on one day and figured we could do wiser things with our money. These wiser things included backpacking through Europe, making a down payment on a home, and a few other exciting ventures we’re interested in.

Of course once we expressed our courthouse desires to family members, they urged us to reconsider citing the importance of celebrating such a joyous occasion. To be honest, I still am not 100% sure about what we’re going to do but I thought I share my thoughts on the topic and pose the question to others. Should you have a courthouse wedding? Let’s explore…

Do you have wedding dreams?

If you’re one of those people who picked your wedding colors as a teen and started planning the event even before you had a mate, chances are going to the courthouse for a fifteen minute ceremony isn’t a good option for you. However, if you’re a go-with-the-flow type of person it may be best to see what your mate wants and decide jointly on how you will say your vows.

Consider your financial circumstances.

If both you and your mate live paycheck to paycheck, splurging on a wedding ceremony is an absolute no-no. Using a credit card to fund a wedding isn’t wise as you’ll be left with debt to pay after the celebration. We all know that money issues are among the leading causes of divorce so going into a marriage this way isn’t ideal. If you can afford to spend the money on the ceremony of your dreams, do so. Otherwise consider celebrating your union with a smaller ceremony/reception or head to the courthouse to alleviate any financial stress.

Avoid comparisons and plan within your means.

I’d be lying if I said I didn’t look at episodes of “My Fair Wedding” and wish David Tutera would help me plan a roulette-themed wedding reception that’d go down as one of the most epic events in history. I’ve tweeted David and that’s not happening so I had to stop comparing my upcoming wedding to what I see on television. I “said yes to the dress” and it didn’t cost me thousands of dollars. I won’t have hundreds of people present if I decide to have a wedding, it’ll be more like 50 and that’s perfectly OK. There’s no need to compare my wedding plans to what I’ve seen before because we’re not those people. I will plan according to what works for us and I encourage you to do the same.

Make your own decision.

When you’re getting married, numerous people will want to give advice and have suggestions for what you should do with your money. Have a wedding they say, you’ll regret it if you don’t… Make wedding decisions based on what you and your mate want, not what others would prefer unless, of course, they’re making generous donations to help fund their visions of your wedding day. Don’t feel rushed or obligated to do things for others because after all, the wedding will be about the two of you.

So should you have a courthouse wedding?

The benefits of a courthouse wedding include money saved, less planning stress, and the opportunity to have an intimate ceremony. There are ways to make this type of wedding special so that you won’t feel like you missed out on anything. You can still hire a photographer to take photos at your ceremony and dress up as fancy as you’d like. Whatever you decide, do what feels right and focus on what’s important which is marrying the person you plan to spend the rest of your life with. What could go wrong with that?