On February 20th Francene Miyake and I were married. We are very happy, thanks.
At this stage of our lives neither needed or wanted a large wedding and major reception. We originally planned just going to see a judge and having a very simple ceremony in his chambers. We later decided on a ceremony at our home. The only guests would be family, the woman who introduced us, and her family – a total of eighteen guests.
We chose a Hawaiian theme. Francene was born in Hawaii and our yard has a look that is somewhat tropical. We also knew of two restaurants that had great Hawaiian food available for take-out.
This type of wedding can be done much less expensively than a more traditional event. And the guests all said they loved it. With a small wedding there is less pressure on everyone. It started on time and was short and sweet. We are just as married as if we had said our vows in front of 200 people and spent a small fortune on the reception. Having the reception at home allowed the teen age boys to play games in the family room, the adults to talk at the table, and the six year old to go back and forth between all generations.
Here are some out of pocket cost breakdowns. You might want to compare them to a wedding you financed.
| Item | How Done | Incremental Cost |
| Save The Date Mailing | $0 | |
| Invitation | $0 | |
| RSVP | $0 | |
| Bride’s Dress | Closet | $0 |
| Groom’s Clothes | Closet | $0 |
| Flower Girl’s Dress | Target | $15 |
| Flowers | 3 Leis | $100 |
| Wedding Site | Home | $0 |
| Judge | Friend | $0 |
| Reception Site | Home | $0 |
| Reception Plates, etc | Paper with Hawaiian Theme | $10 |
| Reception Food | Hawaiian Take Out | $350 |
| Reception Drink | Beer and Wine | $150 |
| Photographer and Pictures | Groom and Guest’s Digitals | $0 |
So the total was about $625.
Click here for the full size official wedding picture from my camera: