Today we’re heading back to Vegas which I feel like is the birthplace of the elopement (there is a good chance I just made that up based on movies).
I love how fun and playful and colorful this wedding day was! This is how it should be! Have fun. Pop champagne. Roam the streets of Vegas with the person you love.
Check out some Q&A with the couple below!
Photography: Carrie Pollard Photography
Beauty: Gossamer Beauty
Officiant : Ashlee’s Brother!
How did you meet?
Jared was in the marines and stationed at Camp Pendleton in California. As cheesy as it sounds we met in a bar one night in San Clemente and that was the end and the beginning all at once! We stayed in California for a while but then after I got pregnant we decided to move to Georgia which is where Jared is from.
How did you decide to elope? Did you have any challenges along the way?
Neither of us wanted to spend a bunch of money on an actual wedding with lots of people who honestly wouldn’t appreciate it like we would. I mean it was OUR day after all. We wanted to spend more on the experience and the honeymoon. We knew at the very least we had to have my brother there and since he still lives in California it made sense to meet in Vegas! There really was never a moment when we were planning that it felt difficult or challenging it was just plain fun and simple and exciting. Maybe the most time consuming was making sure my brother got ordained and licensed since he ended up actually marrying us, which was also one of the highlights since it was so personal. It made it that much more special to us since it wasn’t a stranger.
How did you decide on the location?
Jared always joked about getting married by Elvis so we had always talked about Vegas. When it came right down to deciding though it just felt right. We just didn’t go the Elvis route lol
Tell you tell everyone ahead of time or truly elope?
We told our family and friends pretty much right after Jared proposed since we had already known we wouldn’t ever have a big wedding. So it really wasn’t a challenge and didn’t hurt anyone’s feelings. Anyone who knows us knows we would never be the big wedding type of couple anyways. We did record the ceremony and sent that video to all of the family and friends who wanted to see it. We also had an amazing photographer who walked us around downtown and got perfectly unique photos of the day. All of our family and friends have seen those as well 🙂
What was your favorite part of the day and why?
I think our favorite part of the day besides the actual ceremony was getting pictures taken. It was super fun to walk around downtown all dressed up and to have our day documented. Second favorite was partying and gambling the rest of the week in Vegas too!
Do you have any advice for couples currently planning their elopements?
Our advice, be true to you as a couple. Don’t let family or friends convince you of things on your wedding day that aren’t you or don’t matter to you. It’s your day! Do you! Your friends and family will love you no matter what and you’ll have amazing memories knowing you didn’t sacrifice on the one day you’re truly allowed to be selfish lol
