First, I want to say CONGRADULATIONS COFFEECAT!!!
We eloped. And we eloped on April Fool's Day, so anyone who didn't show up at the courthouse on a one hour notice didn't believe us. Including our parents.
But then, when our parents did finally believe us, we were "compelled" to throw a dog and pony show. Now, neither of us are much into tradition, but we understood that our folks felt jipped. So, instead of doing the normal thing (going to a church, having 50 million guests, etc), we had the dog and pony show at the pub that I worked at, at the time. My great aunt did the ceremony. My husbands ex-girlfriend was his best man, and my ex-boyfriend was my maid of honor (no, he did not wear a dress.) I had six bridesmaids, who all wore their favorite black dress. I bought a beautiful satin vintage wedding gown with the most delicate beading I've ever seen around the sleeves and collar for ~$300.00. A friend of ours, who's a fantastic chef, catered the whole event for $500.00, paid for as a wedding gift by my grandparents. That included a gorgeous 2-teir wedding cake, linens, silverware, china, and a scrumptious buffet. My aunt, an ex-florist, made my bouquet, the butineers, and the corsages, also as a wedding present. My mom made flower wreaths for the bridal party, and smaller ones for wedding souveniers. I made all of our invitations for about $150.00. We paid the bar $250.00 for an open bar, and they pitched in a case of champagne, for free. No one ever paid for a drink. My brother, who's a budding film director, videotaped the whole thing. A bridesmaid paid a friend of hers for photos for her wedding gift.
So... all in all, we spent (including tuxes and misc.), about $1000. And everyone had a BLAST. There are pictures of me playing pool with my husband in my wedding dress, we listened to our favorite music on the jukebox, the guests played darts and got drunk (but not sloppy drunk). But what I will always remember about that day is seeing both of our families come together, some of them having traveled thousands of miles to do so. I felt incredibly loved and supported.
The only thing we did wrong was not go immediatly away on a honey-moon... That would have made everything perfect!
Nanon