To have a small wedding or wait and have the big one we want?

[SoulCupcake]

My current DH and I eloped. We had a themed handfasting ceremony. Total, we spent about $1600 for everything, including dinner after. Neither of us wanted anything big, and he'd never given weddings much thought beforehand. We have discussed renewing our vows down the line at a destination location where perhaps our parents can attend (Hawaii or a cruise), and the kids may be able to participate, but that's something down the line.

My MIL threw a "reception" party the following month.

[Serpentine]

I never really thought about a wedding. I didn't even think about marriage until I fell in love with my DH, even then all I saw was the marriage. DH mentioned a wedding, I begged to go to the courthouse and he said we needed a ceremony for the families. We had a 9 month engagement, but the wedding was planned in 3 months Dress, D.J, officiant, venue (FREE, it was at a restaurant ).. It's not hard and I feel like once you're married, who cares about the wedding? To me marriage & wedding go together. The main event is the commitment, the marriage. I've declined going to a reception months after the wedding but sent a gift when the marriage happened. It's your call, do what makes you happy because you only make the choice once. And

[Reagan]

I've never really been a fan of two weddings. Either have a small one, or wait to do a big one, not both. But that's just how I feel. I just feel like if I rushed to do a courthouse wedding, and plan to do a big one later, it would never happen. So if a big wedding was important to me, I would just wait so I would have no regrets down the road.

[AmberRenee]

Thank you! Honestly we did not have any friends or family attend our courthouse wedding because we are having our big wedding next year. Our wedding was about us and us only. We didn't have to worry about other people and feel obligated to entertain them. The big thing is that I absolutely want a big, fun wedding so this was our "compromise" in a way. Having just done the courthouse yesterday I can tell you that I would not have it any other way. It ended up perfect for us.

Looking back at your original post you were very clear that you want a big wedding. You can definitely put something big together in a small amount of time if that is your dream. Remember to stay true to yourself and what you want

I never really thought about a wedding. I didn't even think about marriage until I fell in love with my DH, even then all I saw was the marriage. DH mentioned a wedding, I begged to go to the courthouse and he said we needed a ceremony for the families. We had a 9 month engagement, but the wedding was planned in 3 months Dress, D.J, officiant, venue (FREE, it was at a restaurant ).. It's not hard and I feel like once you're married, who cares about the wedding? To me marriage & wedding go together. The main event is the commitment, the marriage. I've declined going to a reception months after the wedding but sent a gift when the marriage happened. It's your call, do what makes you happy because you only make the choice once. And

Thanks for all your input! You're making me feel way better about doing this stuff last minute lol. At least I'm not the only one!