small wedding. Just me, DH, our parents, DH's sister and my two BFFs. No kids or skids.

Courthouse on a Friday afternoon. My dress cost $15 - clearance rack at J. Crew.

Walked across the street to a restaurant for drinks when we were done.

DH and I have been married for 6 years.

My first wedding was a gigantic affair with all the usual trimmings, but I INSISTED on no kids. And, I got my wish

Very small wedding. Us, the JP and two friends. We were on the patio at the most beautiful winery on a beautiful (and chilly) March afternoon. It cost us nothing, other than the cost of the JP. My dress was less than $100. We had wine (including at 2 other wineries that were near) and a nice dinner that evening.

It was a perfect day--exactly how we wanted to get married.

That was 2.5 years ago.

That said, my first wedding was a poop storm. XH insisted we have a wedding and reception--because his mother would have been devastated otherwise. It was still small ~40 people, but it was miserable and God Awful expensive. I should have known then...

Alright let's share our wedding stories.

Big wedding? Small wedding?
Small wedding. We had a destination wedding on an island. Only my father was present. We invited my in-laws, but my MIL was unable to travel for health reasons at the time.

Budget?
We didn't have a specific budget, but we spent about $10k altogether for us and my father to spend 4 days in a luxury upscale resort. This included the ceremony. I spent an additional 1500 on the dress and most importantly...my Jimmy Choos!

Wedding Party?
None

Were the skids there?
Nope. DH informed SD we were getting married, but didn't actually invite her.

Any interesting stories?
We went on a sunset private sailboat cruise after our ceremony. It was SO romantic!

Food and alcohol?
Provided by the resort. Lots and lots of champagne

Location?
On a beach in St. Lucia

Colors?
I had a green sash on my dress, and DH picked out a green shirt that matched. He didn't know my dress, but I did give him a sample of the sash color for him to coordinate.

Wedding song?
We decided on a song for the video we had made that was played the night before our wedding while we were discussing plans with the resort manager. Our "wedding songs" are actual the 3 songs used on our video since we didn't have a reception.

Wedding dress?
It was beautiful. I bought it at David's Bridal, and even though we had a beach wedding, I still had a pretty, lacy dress.

How many years married?
8 years

Anything else you want to share?
We had a picnic a month later back home so we could celebrate with our families and friends. We had pictures from the wedding on the tables for everyone to see. It was absolutely perfect! We hope to go back and renew our vows there someday! If they allowed children under 10, we would go back for our 10th! Looks like 15th will be the earliest.

I assume you're talking about the marriages that made us a "stepfamily?" My first wedding was a big church wedding. I knew I didn't want to do that again for Wedding #2. Also, my parents had recently divorced due to my mom cheating with another man, and I didn't want THAT drama at my own wedding! lol. Here are my answers:

Big wedding? Small wedding?

TINY wedding. We did a "Weddingmoon" and got married on a gazebo overlooking the Caribbean Sea in Jamaica. I can't recommend this highly enough for a second (or even first!) wedding. It was the MOST stress-free wedding possible. I bought a gown and my DH rented a tux to take, but we could have worn anything. The resort took care of everything else--the marriage license, getting the minister, attendants, photographer, videographer and music. When I got there, all I had to do was choose a cake flavor (Caribbean rum!)and a bouquet from several options (I went with red and white tropical flowers.)

Budget?

The entire wedding was FREE with a 6 night stay! And the entire trip, no doubt, was less than most people spend on a wedding. Probably around $4,000.00, though this was 17 years ago now.

Wedding Party?

Just the two of us, plus 2 attendants from the hotel staff. (our "best man" was a female! lol!)

Were the skids there?

NOPE. They were 3 and 5 at the time, and I had no children of my own.

Any interesting stories?

We had to delay the wedding a couple hours due to a heavy rain shower that came through. They told us it was "liquid sunshine" and when it rains on your wedding day in Jamaica, it's considered a blessing. We totally agree!! In fact, the beautiful gardens of the resort where we took pics after the wedding were still "dewy" from the rain, which made all the pictures look magical and stunning. Also, we loved it so much that, a few years ago, DH and I took our 2 boys back to Jamaica and renewed our vows in a ceremony on the beach where our oldest escorted me and our youngest was DH's best man.

Food and alcohol?

In addition to cake, the resort provided hors d'oeuvres with meats, cheeses and fruit, along with champagne.

Location?
Sandals, Ocho Rios, Jamaica

Colors?
Red and white

Wedding song?
We had our first dance to Tim McGraw and Faith Hill's "It's Your Love."

Wedding dress?
I bought a white floor length form-fitting off the shoulder gown from a local bridal store for under $100 and had it altered to fit perfect.

How many years married?

17 years in just a few weeks.

Anything else you want to share?

After we returned from our "Weddingmoon," we had a small reception at a local restaurant with immediate family and close friends, about two dozen people. The SKs did NOT attend this, either. They were 3 and 5 at the time, and we thought they'd be bored and/or need constant attention. We kept our wedding low-key with regard to them and just told them about it after the fact. Their mother had married within a month after she and my DH divorced and also had eloped with her new DH, so they already had an understanding of the situation. 17 years later, I have NO REGRETS about marrying my DH or the wedding we chose, which was perfect in every way!

https://imgur.com/CodaMBq - Pic of SSs playing in my wedding dress during dinner!

Big wedding? Small wedding? - We had 105 guests, I have a large family!

Budget? - All in it was around $25K-$30K, of which my parents paid about half.

Wedding Party? - On my side, my sister was my maid of honor, and my stepdaughters (then 15 and 12) were bridesmaids. Oh DH's side, my brother was a groomsmen and so were his two sons (4 and 5 at the time)

Were the skids there? Yes, they were in the wedding party. We also did a rose ceremony. We each had a rose and we had an engraved vase with our last name. officiant gave a little speech about becoming a family and we all put our roses in the vase one at a time to create a bouquet

Any interesting stories? DH and I gave SSthen5 the mic when we were saying thank you for coming everyone and told him to say thanks for coming. Instead, he took the mic and made the cutest off the cuff speech! It went something like "Thank you everyone for coming. It's a beautiful day. It's lots of fun. Thank you. I love you all. Thank you. I love you." SO SWEET!! People were crying. Also, during dinner, SSthen4 and SSthen5 had a blast playing under the table in my wedding dress. Here is a pic: https://imgur.com/CodaMBq

Food and alcohol? First there were passed hors d'oeuvres (I forgot all of them, but there was a mini cheesesteak egg roll, mini beef wellington, fig and brie bites, etc. For dinner inside we started with a caprese salad, then choice of steak or chicken francaise .

Location? Yacht club in Philadelphia, PA

Colors? Navy and White

Wedding song? Arctic Monkeys cover of "Baby, I'm Yours"

Wedding dress? Ellis Bridal Style 19033. Here is the front on a model - http://www.ellisbridals.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/19033-2-448x672... Here is the back on a model - https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/44/f0/ac/44f0ac7bfdc2195ddbbe6...
Here is the dress on me - https://imgur.com/a/auc4R

How many years married? It has been 11 months

Anything else you want to share?

first wedding was 30 people hosted at a bed and breakfast for under $5K including dress!
first wedding for both of us, no kids and only close family and friends. No honeymoon.

second wedding was a destination with just my DH and myself. No one went with us. We did it in St. Thomas.

We chose the destination wedding for several reasons.

1. my parents were older and I honestly thought a wedding would be too much for them.
2. It wasn't a first wedding
3. We didn't want to deal with the issue of his ex wanting to come so she could take care of her girls.

We had a small wedding, there were 28 people there and 8 of them were kids. I think we ended up spending around $2500 when it was all said and done. My sister was my MOH and my older SS and BIL were DH's groomsmen. We had four flower girls and three ring bearers lol. I thought it would be so cute throwing all the kids and my nieces and nephews into the wedding but it was pretty much a disaster corralling that many small kids on a hot summer evening. We had catered BBQ and no alcohol bc it didn't seem worth the money. No one in DH's family drinks and very few in mine do.

We got married under a huge oak tree at a cute little local history museum and then had dinner in the museum's event room. I wanted to set everything up outside but it was just too hot since we got married over the summer in Texas. My poor DH was sweating buckets in his rented suit lol. I bought my wedding dress pre-owned for $100 which was a great deal but then had to spend $200 on alterations :/. We didn't have any dancing but we consider our wedding song to be Calico Skies by Paul McCartney since that's what I walked down the aisle to.

Our flower girls wore white and my MOH wore a black dress. DH and the groomsmen wore grey suits. We only used sunflowers and babies breath. The bouquets were beautiful and we used fake sunflowers for all the other decor. I still have two big garbage bags of artificial sunflowers I might find a use for one day.

Looking back I can't believe it still cost over two grand. We got married on a Thursday to keep costs low. I know the cost of renting the museum alone would have been our whole budget had we tried to get married on a weekend.

Big wedding? Small wedding? - small. just dh and i, a minister and a witness who was also the photographer. lovely little wedding chapel in the mountains.
Budget? - didnt have one.
Wedding Party? - nope
Were the skids there? - nope
Any interesting stories? - we got pulled over on our way up, it was the wee hours of the morning, still dark. the officer asked "where are you headed at this time of day in such a rush?" dh said "we're running off to xyz to get married!" the officer shined his flashlight in the backseat and saw our little overnight bag. he wished us the best and sent us on our way!
Food and alcohol? - we stopped at walmart and got some steaks and some charcoal, and a bottle of red.
Location? - wont divulge.
Colors? - nope
Wedding song? - nope
Wedding dress? - dh and i both wore white long-sleeves, blue jeans, and boots.
How many years married? - 8
Anything else you want to share? - it was the perfect way for us.

HOWEVER - exactly a year later, we had a small ceremony

Big wedding? Small wedding? - small, about 20 people
Budget? - 1k
Wedding Party? - MIL stood for me, oss stood for dh.
Were the skids there? - yup!
Any interesting stories? - my cake topper was lovely and elegant. from the front.... the back shows the bride grabbing the groom's @$$. we took photos to match lol!
Food and alcohol? - good ol' southern feast, fried chicken, mashed potatoes, mac n cheese, corn, green beans. and of course sweet tea! no alc.
Location? - renewal ceremony was in MIL's front yard, with the preacher standing on the porch steps. the reception was at the preacher's church!!!! it was so nice, they had round tables and table cloths, long tables for the food, pretty glass plates.
Colors? - lavender and white
Wedding song? - you saved me, kenny chesney
Wedding dress? - simple spaghetti straps, straight across neckline, beaded bodice with a slight cowl, empire waist, a-line ivory chiffon. i had it shipped from david's bridal on clearance - it fit perfectly, no alterations needed!
How many years married? - 8
Anything else you want to share? - i took a lot of 'shortcuts' - printed my invitations and stickers at the office. i got my veil, blank invitations, little tins w/ the blank printable stickers for our favors (filled w/ reese's pieces instead of almonds!) all at hobby lobby ON SALE. i bought stemmed tea glasses from the dollar tree and told everyone they could take theirs with them. from there i also got small vases for the centerpieces, which each held a single ivory rose, surrounded by glass tea light candles and rose petals. instead of a sign in book for such a small reception, we had a picture from our actual wedding in a frame with a white matting, with no glass yet in the frame - the guests all signed the matting, we put the glass in it, and it's still up in our living room today.

WEDDING DAY IS IN ONE MONTH! 9/2!

Big wedding? Small wedding?
Small, 21 guests total...

Budget?
Teensy tiny, but had to use some credit because we decided to buy everyone dinner.

Wedding Party?
Just my niece and SD12

Were the skids there?
They will be - no issues with this.

Any interesting stories?
Talked SD10 into a skirt (let peer pressure do it's thing).
My crazy family isn't showing up till last minute and leaving first thing.
They love DP they are just strange.
Can't wait to see his sisters!

Food and alcohol?
Oh yes.

Location?
San Diego! We're combining it with a little vacation and mini-honeymoon for 2 nights (without SDs!)

Colors?
Ha. I didn't think so till we started buying clothes. Navy blue and coral.

Wedding song?
Nope - but it's unofficially "By the Sea"

Wedding dress?
Yep. Casual but pretty, beachy. Wasn't going for white but the white dress looked stunning.

How many years married?
0

Anything else you want to share?
I am so not stressed as it's small, a package wedding deal and we don't have to do hardly anything but get down there.

Small wedding - about 40 ppl

Budget - about 5K

Wedding Party - nope, we walked each other down the 'aisle'

Any interesting stories - We were going to have a portion where people would stand up to wish us well, and I was afraid no one would take the initiative, so I asked about 3 people beforehand if they would say something. Everyone stood up, and the last of the original 3 people was up-and-down like a yo-yo trying to say her piece!

Food and alcohol - No alcohol, 6 dishes passed around, the rest sandwiches and finger foods. Some my in-laws brought from the Netherlands.

Location - my cousin's house.

Colors - nothing official. My mom got a corsage for all the adult ladies in both of our extended families including the cousins whose house we were married in, and a boutonniere for the men. (About 5 or 6, I think.)

Wedding song - We printed out the verses to "I Got You, Babe" and had everyone sing as we entered. So much fun! I really wanted "The Best is Yet to Come" as sung by Tony Bennet to be my wedding song and played at the end, but we forgot.

Wedding dress - I had a red dressy-dress (too formal to ever wear again, really), and DH just dressed in a business suit (which he otherwise never wears, not even to work, lol!)

How many years married - 7.5 so far

Anything else you want to share - I had family from across Canada coming, and DH's mom, sister, and paternal grandmother from NL and his dad was coming from the DR Congo, and I wanted everyone to be able to mix at the wedding itself. The day before, we had a brunch for the extended family in my apartment, and everyone got past the inevitable family drama and language barriers before the wedding.

At the wedding itself, we turned one end of the living room into a coffee/tea area and as people arrived, we greeted them and invited them to help themselves. Soon everyone was chit-chatting and it was great!

I still remember having a couple of goals for the day.
1. To not care if it went smoothly or not, it was my day to ENJOY and not worry about anything or what someone might think etc. I want to be able to look back when I'm old and say, "Yeah, that was a really great day!"
2. To try to be a bit more formal than my nature to honour this special event, but to be my usual casual and friendly self so that it could be a special event for me.

Total success.

DH and I stopped at the courthouse in a tiny town in Florida (no lines). We paid $130 to get married. No fuss, no witnesses, no flowers - just a clerk who signed the forms. We wore shorts.

Big wedding? Small wedding? Very small - JP, me, DH and 5 others

Budget? Pretty much non-existent just nice clothes for DH and I. I'd say probably $200 total including the license and booze. Oh - unless you include the rings. Still very frugal. Clothing from thrift stores and photos taken for free by DH's SF.

Wedding Party? n/a

Were the skids there? nope - in fact, we didn't even tell them or my own son to make sure BM didn't get wind

Any interesting stories? We were planning on having a destination wedding at an all inclusive resort (after much coaxing and pleading with my DH who hates the idea of flying) the next summer. Then 9/11 happened. We decided that life is too short (and my DH flat out refused to fly!) and just went to the JP

Food and alcohol? plenty }:)

Location? Courthouse

Colors? floral (my outfit)

Wedding song? n/a

Wedding dress? Well, I still have my wedding dress from my ex-fiance. Does that count??

How many years married? Will be 15 years married this fall.

Anything else you want to share? BM found out when we sent insurance cards for the skids back with them. Insurance was through my work and they issued new cards with my married name. According to SD's impression of her mother, BM was none too happy Oh, and my nervous hubby forgot that his sunglasses were on his head so that's how the photos were taken LOL.

OK, here is mine

Big wedding? Small wedding?
Small. Maybe 50 people

Budget?
We got 'er done for less then $4000

Wedding Party?
Nope. Just a friend walked me down the pathway (it was an outdoor wedding in my friends yard)

Were the skids there?
Yep

Any interesting stories?
The wedding was 5 years ago and folks in my office are STILL talking about SD28's inappropriate pink dress

Food and alcohol?
Yes, my friend catered it

Location?
My friends gorgeous back yard

Colors?
Lavender and blue

Wedding song?
None, it was a casual outdoor event

Wedding dress?
Bought it from Dillards. Very casual lavender dress

How many years married?
5

Anything else you want to share?
Our parrot was the "best bird"

Big wedding? First time around was big.. what a waste!!!! Small wedding? small wedding for DH and I

Budget? not really.. just small

Wedding Party? no one

Were the skids there? NO!

Any interesting stories? It was almost 100 degrees the day we got married, I woke up with a headache, ended up having to throw up while SIL was doing my hair.. thankfully we didn't get married until 5 p.m. and I was feeling a little better by then.

Food and alcohol? Nope, DH and I just went out to fancy restaurant after and then did a dinner boat cruise on the lake the next weekend.

Location? The pond (a NICE pond... don't be picturing some swampy ass thing! lol) behind our old house

Colors? None

Wedding song?None

Wedding dress? Simple from Davids bridal.

How many years married? been married 6 years.

Anything else you want to share? MIL had a HISSY FIT that she could not come. I told her it was nothing personal, it was just if I invite her, then I have to invite FIL and SIL that live with them, then I have to invite the other 3 SILS and then before you know it there's 100 people coming. She knew our neighbors and threatened to go to their house and sit out on their deck and watch us get married. Thankfully she didn't! We got married on a Monday, I almost broke down that Friday and let her come because she was being such a jerk, but then DH talked some sense into me and I didn't cave. It was just JoP, my mom and my best friend who just happens to be a professional photographer so she took pictures for us.

Kind of OT but I've been to expensive weddings and I've been to inexpensive weddings. The nicest wedding I have ever been to was an inexpensive one. My BFF from childhood got married and I was the maid of honor.

She bought the wedding dress at a thrift store (for only $20!) and then had it altered a bit to make it her own (it was vintage and she had the lace/high neck part removed and made it off the shoulder. Gorgeous.

My dress was part of one of my prom dresses (lace over-dress) and part handmade (the silk underneath dress). The seamstress was a friend and did both for very reasonable.

She bought the flowers for her bouquet (stargazer lilies) from the supermarket and we wrapped ribbon around the stems. She also bought the corsages for the men there but they only had white. She put them in water with food coloring to color the carnations.

The wedding itself was at her DH's parents' house as they had a beautiful place with lots of gorgeous flowerbeds. Afterwards, we all went to a nice restaurant where they had paid for everyone to have a meal and some champagne.