Couples decide on a courthouse wedding for many reason; some budget, some for the uncomplicated nature, and others to avoid the fuss. I know this first hand because I had a courthouse wedding! My husband does not do “organized fun” (that ladies is a direct quote) which he emphatically explained upon his proposal, included weddings. My dilemma was to marry (wink) my wish for a day that still gave importance to the occasion with his wish to avoid the “organized fun”. Challenge accepted! Here is our wedding day story… the great, the good, and the things I would have done different.
Our wedding was held on a Friday in June here in Anchorage… it rained for good luck (how nice). Our appointment at the courthouse was set for 2 pm so girls being girls, my daughter and I began the getting ready process early. I had picked out a short and flowy white dress and my daughter was wearing a short teal dress with fuchsia heels. She had fallen in love with both so we just ran with it making those our “colors”. My mother-in-law also found a wonderful teal dress and the little bit of effort taken to coordinate our dresses made us feel like a true wedding party. In hindsight, I do wish we would have arranged to have our hair and makeup professionally done. We did our best but it would have been nice to have been pampered like any self-respecting bridal goddess should be!
DO: Find a special dress
DO: Have a theme and wedding colors
DO: Ask your guests (close friends and family) to dress in your colors
DO: Make an appointment to have your hair and make-up professionally done.
Flowers are such an important part of feeling like a bride and being a courthouse bride does not mean you have to do without! I worked with a local florist to design a bright and cheerful hand-tied bouquet for me, a small version for my daughter, a lovely corsage for my mother-in-law and boutonnieres for my husband and his father. These were delivered to our home about the time we began to get ready.
DO: Have flowers for your wedding party.
We carpooled to the courthouse in all of our finery and even that small thing helped build the expectation that something special was about to happen. Going through the TSA like entrance to a Federal courthouse has the potential to squash the romanticism of the moment but there’s something about sending a bridal bouquet through the x-ray machine that brings a smile to your face! We gathered ourselves and headed up to the courtroom. None of us were sure what to expect as we waited in the hall and as much as I’d like to tell you it was the most wonderful part of the day, the reality is that getting married in front of a judge is a bit anticlimactic. This just drives home the need to make the rest of the day as special as possible!
DO: Add something special to getting to and from the courthouse. This is your “procession”!
Immediately after the 10 minute courthouse ceremony, we carpooled over to the Westchester Lagoon area for our “formals”. In hindsight, my biggest regret from the day was not hiring a photographer (you think I would have known better, eh)!! This would have been the perfect day for the wonderful photojournalism side of wedding photography! I would have LOVED to have had getting ready photos with my daughter, images of us carpooling to and from the courthouse, courthouse and ceremony photos that included all of us, fun and unique formals, and some lovely images from our “reception”. The few photos I have were from my own camera set on auto and passed among the few of us in true snapshot fashion… a truly lost opportunity. [sigh… don’t judge based upon the few photos I have shared above.]
DO: Hire a photographer. You cannot get that moment back and YES, you and your family WILL want albums and prints!
Following our formals, we headed to Simon and Seafort’s where we had reservations for our “reception” of five guests. They knew we were celebrating our wedding with them because I had given them the heads up when making the reservation. We were welcomed and made to feel special all throughout our dinner. Even though there were only five of us at our table, having the entire restaurant of diners there almost felt like we were sitting at our head table of our much larger reception.
DO: Have a reception, even if it is just you and your honey at your favorite restaurant!
One of the best decisions I made was to order a wedding cake for our little affair. Working with Creative Cakes by Jeryll, we designed a beautiful and unique 3-tier cake sized perfectly for our small group. Not only did Jeryll deliver our cake directly to Simons and Seafort’s, but working with the wait staff, brought our cake directly to our table with all the flair a reception deserves. It was a lovely and special moment and one we are truly thankful that they gave us!
DO: Have a special wedding cake and consider having it delivered to your “reception” restaurant.
The most important take away from our day was that having a courthouse wedding did not mean we had to sacrifice traditions and other special moments found in a more traditional wedding. The day can be as special as you make it!
DO: Make your day as special as your new life together will be!
Happy Planning,
Elegante Light Photography
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