Getting Married? Why Not Save Money and Elope?

I was watching the Disney™ Channel recently, and I learned that, if you have the money, you and your fiancee can get married at Walt Disney World™ in Florida, or Disneyland™ in California. You can actually plan and have your “Fairy Tale Wedding”, as long as you have the money to pay for it. One wedding I watched take place was quite nice, but it wasn’t one of Disney’s top-of-the-line affairs. It only cost the bride and groom a mere $28,000.00. That much money could make a significant down payment on a house. I couldn’t help but look at the TV screen and ask, “Getting married? Why not save the money and hassle and elope?”

Don’t get me wrong! I’m all for lavish, expensive weddings. If you or your rich daddy has the money to spend, why not splurge on the “most important day of your life”? But many people nowadays have so many debts and so little cash available that an expensive wedding is out of the question. Of course, I personally know two couples who opted to put the costs of their lavish weddings on credit cards. Unfortunately, they’ll be paying off those huge credit card bills for years to come. Their monthly statements will be constant reminders of their wedding days.

If you and your significant other are thinking about slipping away and quietly getting married, the planning of the event is really rather simple. By getting married this way, you’ll save money and hassle. Especially when you compare it to having a full-blown wedding with countless guests! All you have to basically do is answer the questions, “Who? Where? When? and How?”
The “Who?”, of course, will be you, your significant other, and a minister or other official that can legally marry you. This can be a judge, a ship’s captain, a mayor, et cetera. Don’t worry about needing a witness to stand up with you two. Any guy or lady can do the job nicely.

The “Where?” part of your plans to elope is the most important. You can go as near, or as far, as you choose to get married. As long as you have the money to get there, that is. You may consider doing what more than 100,000 people do every year- elope to Las Vegas. That’s what makes Las Vegas, Nevada widely known as the “Wedding Capital of the World!

Why Las Vegas? There are several reasons why Las Vegas is the perfect place to elope to. First, lovers who are getting married have their choice of more than thirty wedding chapels to choose from. Second, there are no blood tests to go through. Third, there is no waiting period. Fourth, your wedding license will cost less than sixty bucks cash. Fifth, you can be married in as little as fifteen minutes. And sixth, you can get everything you may want- a bridal gown, tuxedo, flowers, rings, and so on, right there at many of the wedding chapels.

The marriage license office in Las Vegas rarely closes. The office is open from eight o’clock in the morning to midnight Monday through Thursday. Then, on Fridays and Saturdays, (undoubtedly their busiest times of the week), you can get married twenty-four hours a day. The marriage license office closes again at midnight on Sunday nights.

So, you can see how you and your significant other can save money and hassle by choosing to elope to Las Vegas, Nevada.

Whether you decide to elope to the “Wedding Capital of the World”, or not, keep in mind that every municipality has its own laws in regards to getting married. For example, to get married in Las Vegas, you and your significant other must be eighteen years of age or older. Adults who are eighteen to twenty-one will need to prove their ages. If you or your significant other is younger than eighteen, you may get married if a parent appears in person and gives their permission at the marriage license office. Or, if the parent is absent, his/her permission may be granted via a written, notarized affidavit.

And, if you or your fiancee have been married before, you’ll need to take your divorce papers along with you.

It might sound like a lot of hassle, but getting married in Las Vegas is as easy as one-two-three.

Once you have the location figured out, you’ll need to decide when you’re going to elope. This, of course, will depend on your and your fiancee’s personal schedules.

And then, the final answer of “How?” will need to be answered. If you’re planning on eloping to a nearby destination, you can simply drive by car, take a public bus, or hire a taxi to transport you. If you’re going to another state to elope, you can always take an airplane, or maybe travel by bus or train. Or, you can even elope to another country and take a ship to travel there as well.

Eloping and getting a “quickie marriage” doesn’t carry the stigma it once did. Many couples are choosing to elope to get married. It saves money and countless hassle. Instead of spending approximately $19,000.00 on an average American wedding, couples can save that amount and have a much smaller, more intimate wedding instead.