Hello, newly- and soonly-weds! Looking for advice on having a small ceremony or elopement and a big wedding later, or just waiting until you can do the big wedding.
I got engaged to my partner in June 2023. My partner had initially wanted to get married in Spring 2024 (this year), but I informed them that it would be cutting it pretty close to plan a traditional wedding. So for the past few months we've been running on the assumption of Spring 2025. Just this past week, we decided to move it again to Spring 2026.
It's not a huge deal, as we haven't booked anything yet. But I'm feeling a little disheartened just because... well, I want to be married. And so does my partner, of course. But they want a traditional wedding and have a sort of specific vision, for which we would need to save up quite a bit of money (we live Southern California, where venues, vendors, and anything wedding-related is, as I'm sure you all know, very expensive.)
And that's another reason we've pushed the date again: currently, we're very, very broke.
I wouldn't mind just getting a cute white dress at the thrift store, getting married at city hall, and then going to dinner with family and a few close friends. Just so we can be married, and then have the wedding later. But my partner simply doesn't want to do that, and would prefer to wait until we can have a more normal-sized wedding.
I feel a bit stuck between a rock and a hard place here. If any of you have been in this position, I would love to hear your experience and which path you ultimately decided on.
Much love.
-C
