Hi girls,
Would you please tell me anything you know about eloping? We`re thinking about doing that and then having a ceremony, but right now we just want to be married. Where can you elope in New York? Any idea on the cost? Do you have to apply for a marriage license like with a regular wedding? What happens if we want to have a ceremony in a church later on? Any help would be appreciated! Thanks so much!
I had a friend who had a 'planned' elopment.They were married in NYC by a judge, then flew to Tahiti to get married (again) on the beach.They had to get a marriage license prior to their private ceremony by the judge (I'm not sure of the cost). They plan on having a big party in celebration of their marriage soon. I really don't know about the church ceremony, but I would imagine (depending on your faith) it would be fine.Good luck! Please keep us posted!
Continued success to all...
If you are married by a civil judge than you can get married in a Church anytime after, since they do not officially recoginize your marriage.
You can call your local town hall and ask how to get a marriage license and where you can have a simple civil ceremony. Even though you eloping I suggest that you make it special, after all you are getting married. Maybe get your hair done that morning, get a bouquet made from a local florist, ask a friend (you usually need a witness anyway) to take photos or video tape the civil ceremony.
Are you eloping for an special reason?
Also, after you elope you can send out marriage annoucements letting your family and friends know that you tied the knot.
I don't know any of the eloping details, but I had a friend elope to Niagra Falls.
Someone is in my boat!!
I am also considering eloping b/c of the high costs of wedding in LI. We made a list of possible guests and we covered 195 not even including friends of our parents' we forgot about. Between saving for a wedding and a place its way over our budget. Although we are not yet engaged and my dad doesn't know (the one with the most $$) I am also considering alternatives to a grand wedding in LI.
My love's family is from Aruba and I looked into doing the wedding there. You must get married by the Justice of the Peace here and bring that certificate to Aruba. If you want to get married in one of their church's (Catholic Church-St Anne's I hear is beautiful and is a historic site) you must go through the procedures at your home church i.e. pre cana (spelling??) and get the priest's 'ok' and a letter in writing stating that you had never been married in a church before. There are a few other requirements but nothing major.
I hope this helps and post any ideas that you have come up with. I would love to hear them!
Oh and of course there is Vegas...
Thanks everybody for your help. The reasons I have for wanting to elope have a lot to do with the cost of weddings here. The way I feel now, I would like to be married rather than have a long engagement in order to save enough money for a full wedding. We will have a party, probably a church ceremony also, eventually. Thank you again for your suggestions. This is a great board. I've been hearing about it from a friend of mine for a long time.
But if the only reason you want to elope is financial, consider having your church ceremony and a small dinner party afterwards. I had close friends who did that. They only invited siblings, parents, grandparents and 2 friends each. It was hard to deal with the 'but what about Aunt XX. She will be so hurt if she is not invited' but they just stood their ground and explained that they wanted a very small wedding, period. They had a nice dinner party at the George Washington Manor, which was super helpful. They burned their own CDs, had a photographer only for the ceremony and for posed photos right afterwards, and made their own invites. This couple had the $$ to do a big wedding but really didn't want it.
The only regret that the bride told me was that she wished she had invited a few more friends because she missed sharing her day with them.
This way your parents and siblings can see you get married and share in the joy with you, and you do not need much $$ to pull it off. Just something to consider.
