For most people, unless you are from the kind of family that takes two-week vacations in Italy, it is best if you have a modest wedding.
I would find a nice but inexpensive venue, perhaps at a State Park or a Beach. In a pinch, you could use your parents’ backyard. Or, get married in a church. For a reception, keep it to about 20 people, including your nuclear families, and five friends from each side. Have your Mom and Sister make the food. You can have a good time with 20 people for about $1000 if you make an effort. Tell the guests to bring a case of wine as a wedding present. Something you can really use.
One advantage of a modest wedding is that you will weed out all the women with Princess Wedding fantasies. Besides being able to put the money toward a down payment on a house, you’ll have the kind of wife that will let you pay off the rest of the mortgage decades ahead of time. Maybe have a Big Honeymoon instead of a Big Wedding. Hardly anybody takes a whole month off anymore.
Brittany Sellner made a recent video about big weddings. But, perhaps more interesting were the comments on the video, which included many young couples that were thinking of eloping (getting married in secret) simply to avoid the pressures, difficulty and expense of a wedding! Weddings are supposed to be fun.
Among those that considered eloping instead of having a big wedding ceremony were: former Celebrity Couple Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez.
Here’s a guide on How To Elope Without Offending the Family — basically, it says: elope but bring the family.
Here’s a guide on how to escape the Big Wedding by eloping — including, naturally, Elopement Packages. In other words, the Big Elopement.
Here’s a website that recommends avoiding the Big Wedding by Getting Married While Skydiving.
So, I think it is now OK for young couples to dump the Big Wedding if they want to.
Cornerstone 