No, although I do know several couples who simply obtained their marriage license ($150 in my state) and went on from there, sometimes without telling anybody for awhile afterwards. It's what I'd want to do when/if I get married.

A member of my in-laws' very extended family did. A few people grumbled, but several of them loudly applauded.

I also know people who've gotten married in very low-key ways. They got their license, took their parents and siblings to a city park where a JP or someone married them under a nice tree (no reservations needed), moms took snapshots, and then they went out to lunch at a local restaurant.

Having other people at your wedding does not mean you have to plan forever. (though the bride did go dress shopping--at Betsey Johnson, for a cute little non-bridal number.

What I'm talking about though is an actual drive-thru service, you actually sit in your car, just as you would at McDonalds. You never leave the car, and your wedding party consists of whoever rides along with you.

Sounds tacky, I know, but I'm just not concerned about a big ceremony and getting all wrapped up in the stress involved for a few short hours. Drive up, it's done, and enjoy the vacation.

Here is a link that might be useful: Drive Thru Wedding

A cheesy Las Vegas wedding would be fine, since you both want that.

I personally would rather not do the drive through. When driving, there is a huge difference in control of the situtation between driver and passenger. I have enough control issues to possibly make that less pleasant for me. I'd opt for the extra three minutes it would take to park the car and walk into a cheesy chapel.

You guys are funny! I see your point, though.

"Cheesy is as cheesy does." I've seen $40k extravaganzas that were cheesy and backyard weddings that were wonderful.

I predict that the cost of a big wedding will eventually make it just about impossible, except for people in show business...and God knows they marry enough times. Just like buying a house and going to college, weddings are going up and up and up - eventually what goes up must come down. Maybe the drive-through wedding is the first sign of a turnaround in consumer thinking?

Friends of ours "ran off" to Las Vegas and got married in a cheesy little chapel complete with Elvis as the witness. About 6 months later, they had a ceremony, which was completely different- pretty formal- because her parents couldn't bear the thought of their only girl not having a big wedding. You're in a different situation though. I figure, the second time around, you're entitled to do what you want, not what your (or his) parents want.

It's ultimately up to you. I'll just give you something to think about. It may not mean a hill of beans to you. But I want you to consider all the options.

A wedding IS very much a family event. We depend on our families when things get tough. When share with our families when life offers excitement (like new babies). I do not want to start out my marriage without my family's moral support, right there with me and my new hubby. I also don't want to ask them for help in the tough times if I didn't want them there to share in the blessing of the union. You can still have a very simple, no-frills day. When my father remarried, he married in cut-off blue jeans. It was a small event, immediate family only, in his living room. We all just showed up, offered our moral support and love, they got hitched then we celebrated with a small cake and champagne. No big planning, no stress what-so-ever. We have great pictures and have lots of fond memories. Their biggest stress was booking the preacher to come to the house. Which wasn't a stress for us since we attend a church regularly. But if you don't, that would be your biggest obstacle.

Just make sure you will not one day regret not having your family and/or close friends with you, whether in your living room or in your car.

My sister did the drive through in Las Vegas. But they stopped and got out of the car in the tunnel. It was not a first marriage for either one of them. They absolutely had a blast doing the drive through wedding. None of the family was with them which was what they wanted and we were all happy with their decision. They are doing great 3 years later.

I'm probably too late, but for what it's worth, I'd say go for it, if that's what you want. That's what DH and I *wanted* - just to go to Vegas (or Tahoe) and get married on our own, but we "caved" to the pressure from the "moms" to have a small ceremony here in town. It didn't take too much planning - that wasn't the problem, the problem was the almost *constant* pressure on us to do this or that and "give in" to how other people wanted the wedding to be. Even though we didn't have much planning stress, it was still made stressful by the parents, friends who were upset they weren't included, and non-immediate family who also weren't included. It was low-key - in a backyard (though even that was dicy, due to family trying to pressure us again), with a JP (which we caught flack for as well), lunch for the family (which we had to fight to pay for, and it was a pain finding a place that everyone would agree to - in the end, *I* ended up compromising & our wedding lunch was at a buffet, of all places)...I suppose it was okay, but it wasn't the "special" day just for us that I had envisioned. Nothing nearly as memorable or exciting as running off and just spending the day *together* somewhere else would have been, and we were both so focused on just getting it over with and getting away from the family that we didn't even really notice much of the ceremony or vows - it all felt like we were just "going through the motions" for other people, puppets on display, rather than two people vowing to be together forever (DH agreed with me when we had a chance to talk later). We didn't take a honeymoon because my in-laws wanted to go along (they were going to pay, and we couldn't afford one on our own at that point since we were buying a house)...we spent the night in a local hotel instead.

If I had it to do over again, I would *insist* on running off with just DH, and maybe a couple of our closest friends like we wanted to in the first place. It would have been an exciting trip, honeymoon included, and we wouldn't have had to deal with all the pressure and stress that just planning even a small wedding came with. So if running off and eloping is what you want to do - by all means, go for it!! You have the rest of your life to share with family - the wedding should be for *you* and your future husband, IMO...including family is "optional", and you shouldn't feel guilty for not wanting them there.