Yesterday I posted on love, money and bank accounts. Let’s continue the love and money theme: Money-Saving Tricks I Learned Planning an Elopement

The title grabbed my attention. I thought the couple decided to avoid a wedding ceremony with family and friends and simply head to the court house. Yes, that saves money. But what else? Blogger Andrea Dickson sets me right:

See, in the wedding industry, an elopement is really just a small wedding. It doesn’t have to be spur-of-the-moment, and it doesn’t have to be a exotic destination wedding. It turns out that many vendors treat any wedding under 14 people as an “elopement,” and some offer cheaper packages. I had never thought of our upcoming nuptials as “eloping.” I mean, who sits around planning to elope for 10 months?

She offers a number of tips for keeping the cost of a wedding down. Of course, not everyone wants a small wedding. Their wedding was 10 people. Still, the money saving tips are intriguing. Among them: Vendors will cut you a deal if you get married on a weekday rather than a weekend. And their secular wedding officiant charged them less than half of his normal fee because their ceremeony was brief.