Not every wedding is a day-long feast.
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Not every wedding is a day-long feast. Couples have always slipped away to marry quietly, married at the registry office, joined a mass ceremony run by a charity or a church, or chosen a beach, a chapel in Las Vegas or a castle abroad. This page covers elopement, courthouse and civil weddings, mass weddings, destination weddings and the micro-weddings that have grown in recent years.
To elope once meant to run off, often against a family's wishes, and in the Scottish border village of Gretna Green, couples from England married over the anvil after 1754, when English law made marriage harder for the young. Today the word often means a small wedding of two people and a witness or two, chosen for privacy, cost or ease. A civil wedding at a registry office or courthouse is legally complete in minutes in most countries, and many couples follow it with a party or a religious blessing later. Some countries, such as Turkey, France and Germany, require civil registration whatever else happens.
In a mass wedding, many couples marry at once, usually organised by a religious body, a charity or a local government to cut cost. Samuhik vivah in India, group weddings in Pakistan, Egypt and the Gulf, community weddings in Indonesia and the Philippines, and the large ceremonies of the Unification Church in South Korea are examples. For poor families a mass wedding means a dignified ceremony without debt, and some include gifts of clothes, utensils or gold. Supporters see solidarity, and critics sometimes note the pressure on couples, so the best programmes make sure that consent is real.
Couples travel to marry on a beach in Mexico or the Caribbean, in Tuscany, in Bali, at Las Vegas chapels, in Copenhagen, where Danish rules for foreign couples are simple, or in Cyprus, which is popular with couples who cannot marry at home. Las Vegas is famous for its quick licences and drive-up chapels, and the Danish and Cypriot industries have grown because of fast paperwork. Check that the marriage will be recognised at home, which usually requires a certificate, translations and sometimes an apostille, and that the paperwork is correct before you travel.
After 2020, the micro-wedding of 10 to 30 guests became a lasting trend, driven by cost and a wish for intimacy. Couples spend more per guest on food and place, share the day with a few close friends and relatives, and sometimes hold a large party later. It is a way to honour a family that cannot travel, to keep a budget, or simply to keep the day relaxed.
Samuhik vivah, community mass weddings, are organised by temples, trusts and state governments, often around Akshaya Tritiya, with dozens or hundreds of couples marrying in one ceremony. Some state schemes give gifts of household goods or financial help to poor families.
Mass wedding, being writtenCharities and religious organisations hold mass weddings for orphans and poor families, with a shared nikah, a meal and household goods as gifts. They are widely praised as a way to avoid debt and dowry demands.
Mass wedding, being writtenThe Unification Church holds blessing ceremonies, in some years for thousands of couples at once, which are controversial. Most Korean couples choose a short hall wedding of about an hour, with a photo session.
Unification Church mass wedding, being writtenMany couples marry in Hawaii or Guam in a small resort chapel, a trend from the 1990s, or in a hotel chapel at home. The legal act is the registration of the form at the city office.
Marriage in Japan, being writtenLocal governments hold kasalang bayan, mass civil weddings, often around Valentine's Day, with dozens of couples and free licences and a shared feast. They give a legal wedding to couples who have lived together for years.
Mass wedding, being writtenIn Soviet times the registry-office wedding in a palace of weddings was the standard civil rite, followed by a feast and often a church blessing later. Today civil registration is required before a church ceremony in many former Soviet states.
Civil registration, being writtenAlso part of it, and being written: Gretna Green (The Scottish village of quick weddings.), Mass wedding (Many couples marry together.), Destination wedding (A wedding away from home.), Civil marriage (The wedding at the registry.), Las Vegas wedding (The chapels of Nevada.), Unification Church mass wedding (The blessing ceremonies.), Courthouse wedding (A short civil wedding.).
Yes, if the rules of the place are followed, such as a licence, an officiant and witnesses. A symbolic ceremony without registration is not a legal marriage.
Usually yes if it is a legal wedding where you married, but you may need a certificate, translations and an apostille. Check with both countries before you travel.
A ceremony in which many couples marry at once, organised by a religious group, a charity or a government. It cuts cost and is often free for the couples.
Because couples could marry there quickly, after English law tightened in 1754. It is still a wedding destination today.
Usually 10 to 30 guests, though there is no fixed number. The idea is a short guest list and more attention to each guest.
Written by the EveryShaadi desk with AI assistance. Customs differ from place to place and family to family. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.
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