If I Get Married, I Don't Need An Offical Wedding

Last week, my mom got remarried. I'm super happy for her, and I know she's with a great guy, and all of my friends that knew were so excited. The one question I got asked the most was: when's the wedding? To which I responded: I have no clue. My mom has already had one wedding, and for her, that was more than enough. So, they went and got the documents signed (or whatever needs to be done) at the courthouse when they went on a super cool vacation to California, instead of paying for some big ceremony and/or a reception.

Honestly, I kind of see the appeal of it. As I've gotten older, I've definitely become less feminine, and if you don't see me wearing pants, I'm either at a swim meet or had to dress nicely for a banquet or presentation. Therefore, down the road, if I ever decide to get married, I don't think I'd want any sort of wedding.

My first issue would be the dress, of course. People on shows such as Say Yes to the Dress are willing to spend thousands of dollars for a dress that they wear for one day of their lives. Personally, I'd rather spend that kind of money going on a really dope vacation, or putting it towards saving up for a house, car, or some other expensive purchase.

Next issue: wedding receptions. I've only been to a couple weddings before, but it seems like it would be so stressful to try and plan how many of your close family and friends would be allowed to come to watch you get married, and then pay for a massive party to celebrate it. I know I would want a small group of people but at the same time I know I'd want as many of my friends there as possible. Why deal with the stress of seating arrangements and picking meals and deciding whether or not to have an open bar when you can just avoid the problem altogether?

Last major issue: I'm not really religious. None of my immediate family has ever been the type to go to church or be super involved in any specific religion, and so I've grown up not really having a church I attend, or any particular desire to start going to church. Since most weddings are in churches, I don't think I'd ever really feel right to have an important ceremony like that in a place that doesn't really have any significance to me when I could just go to a courthouse and save the time.

That being said if whoever I did decide to marry wanted a more official ceremony or to do it in a church, I would be open to reconsidering. Marriage and relationships and general work based on compromise, and I would like to believe I'd be willing to do some of these things if it truly made my significant other happier.