If you’re thinking about getting married, one of the first things you’d probably want to know is how much it will cost to get married in the courtroom of your county or state. There’s no exact answer, but I can give you an idea of what to expect. Each state has its own rules about who can get married and who cannot.
When you think about it, the thought of marriage seems (and should be) romantic. All that tradition, all that excitement, and all that legal obligation. However, when you look at the amount of money you have to spend to get married in the U.S., it can seem a little overwhelming
In many states, only couples who are 17 and older can get married—and the ages of your guests will not matter! Some states allow marriage between any two people regardless of gender or sexual orientation, while other states limit marriage to heterosexual couples or solely prohibit same-sex marriages.
In some states, there are a lot of rules and requirements you’ll need to meet before you can be legally married. You may also need to go through a court process (called “divorce proceedings”) if one or both of you wants a divorce.
In today’s society, there is a great deal of pressure to throw a beautiful and extravagant wedding. The flowers, 3-carat diamond rings, candlelit dinners, and chandeliers hanging from restored barn rafters are some of the things we spend YEARS pinning.
Once we have created this vision in our minds, we are greeted with a wave of disappointment when the proposal arrives and we begin to plan the wedding.
My parents are assisting us in a small way, but we are covering approximately 95% of the costs of the wedding. I am indeed spending far more money than I can afford, and this has placed a tremendous burden on my shoulders that did not need to be there in the first place.
As a recommendation from our wedding planner, we decided to get legally married in the United States before our destination wedding. I began researching what we would need to do to make this happen.
How Much Does It Cost To Get Married In The Courtroom?
I set a date for our courthouse wedding ceremony in February. The ceremony was $10.00 in total. The cost of our marriage license will be $20.00, which we will apply for a week or so before the wedding. That’s all there is to it. That is how much it costs to get married in the real world.
The average cost of getting married is $30.
In case you are curious about how my wedding went, It was decided that I would hire a local photographer, purchase a simple white dress to wear to the courthouse, as well as a bouquet and boutonnière made of greenery, and plan a celebration dinner for our closest family and friends.
A simple greenery bouquet and boutonnière cost $60.00 each from Lulus, and my dress was $86.00 from the same retailer. I spent $100.00 at a local salon to have my hair and makeup professionally done.
We paid for dinner for 11 of us, and I believe the total bill came to around $600.00. My mother also brought a cake from a local bakery, which we all enjoyed.
For an hour and a half of coverage, the photographer charged us a little more than 400 dollars. When we were getting ready at our house, we went downtown and in front of the courthouse to get some photos taken!
I had only a few short days to plan everything, and it turned out to be magical. All in all, this perfect, small wedding came to approximately $1,000.
Only $1,000 was spent on our beautiful courthouse wedding | Miranda Schroeder’s Blog
Do Not Exercise Stress On Yourself.
The process of planning our courthouse wedding helped to put things in perspective. To all of my fellow brides out there, I encourage you to follow your heart and choose what is most meaningful to you. However, avoid stressing yourself out by trying to live up to unrealistic expectations.
In my experience, many couples have stated that they are delaying their wedding because they cannot afford it. You do not have to spend thousands of dollars to become a member and have a special celebration to celebrate your achievement!
In the end, all that matters is that you and your partner become husband and wife. It was one of the happiest days of my life when I arrived at the courthouse. Later, in Mexico, we were able to throw a huge party with our entire family and friends, but that was just the icing on the cake.
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