|
Get hitched for less
|
 |
May 10, 2001: 12:31 p.m. ET
Weddings don't have to break the bank and can costs less than dinner for two
By Staff Writer Kim Khan
|
NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Be honest. Spending more than $20,000 for one day you're too stressed out to even remember, in return for six pairs of candlesticks you didn't even want, is sounding less and less appealing.
For couples grappling with the expense and effort of planning a big wedding, a cheap yet fun ceremony may be the answer; leaving the checkbook to use for an exotic honeymoon, home improvements or simple savings.
|
|
|
Stick to a bare-bones ceremony and you can pay the license fee with a month's spare change (File) | |
Keeping it simple
Despite what you read in the magazines, weddings don't have to be a big ordeal.
A simple ceremony can cost as little as the $35 marriage license and can be done during a lunch break. The only planning involved is checking the state's waiting period, which can range from no wait at all to more than three months.
But if the bare minimum ceremony is not appealing, there are plenty of exciting wedding options to fit most budgets.
According to Scott Shaw, author of "Let's Elope: The Definitive Guide to Eloping, Destination Weddings, and Other Creative Wedding Options," one of the most fun yet easy ceremonies is the surprise wedding.
"You just invite people over for a surprise birthday party, but really it's a surprise wedding," Shaw said. "The bride comes in, everyone yells 'surprise,' but she's in a wedding dress. Then somebody in the crowd that nobody's noticed comes up and starts to do the ceremony."
Shaw said there also are elegant ways to have a quiet, inexpensive wedding, such as a dinner party with friends and relatives at a restaurant after the big event. And if the friends and family pick up the tab, the couple could even end up on the plus side.
He notes, too, that the trend today is moving away from what he calls the TBW (Traditional Big Wedding).
"Eloping, as we define it as anything other than the TBW, is really growing fast," Shaw said.
Loving Las Vegas
For a full range of options at the lowest prices, experts say the best destination remains Las Vegas, the wedding capital of the United States. Couples get the advantage of speed and convenience and walk away with enough money in their pockets to hit the tables.
"Las Vegas has probably 60 very different ways you can get married," said Aurore Leigh Barrett, co-author of "The Las Vegas Wedding Guide." "The prices range from $35 to $5,000."
| |
|
|
The famous Little White Chapel in Las Vegas (Courtesy LittleWhiteWedding.com) | |
"You can get the license and walk right over to the justice of the peace," Barrett said. "If you want to go a little more it starts at $50 for a chapel, and you can get married while bungee jumping for $65-to-$70 per person."
"Elvis usually costs you an additional $100," she added.
Barrett recommends advance booking on Valentine's Day and New Year's Eve, the two busiest days, but every other day is requires little planning. The license bureau is open until midnight Monday to Thursday and open 24 hours a day throughout the weekend.
If the budget is higher, elaborate theme weddings, such as a pirate ship, the Old West, or even Star Trek are available.
But what is possibly the most famous wedding destination in Vegas is also one of the most affordable.
The Little White Chapel, located on the Las Vegas strip for 43 years, has married Michael Jordan, as well as Bruce Willis and Demi Moore. The chapel hosts 50-to-100 weddings daily, with ceremonies starting at $250, all of which include limousine service from the hotel to the wedding and back.
|
|
|
The minister conducts the ceremony at The Elvis Wedding Chapel (Source The Elivis Wedding Chapel) | |
The top-tier package, which includes beauty salon services, a choice of gown and tuxedo, flowers, music, and facilities to host up to 100 people, costs just $800.
"I want (our customers) to have the very best wedding they can afford," said Little White Chapel owner Charolette Richards.
For those really in a hurry, Richards' offers the Tunnel of Vows drive-thru wedding chapel.
But both Barrett and Richards stressed that tradition also has its place in Las Vegas.
Couples can get married in a tradition setting at one of the non-gambling hotels in the city, a poolside reception and dinner for 50 people for between $4,000 and $5,000.
"It can be very traditional, it's just quicker," Barrett said. "And it costs much less that it would cost back home." 
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
