Wedding Elopement Destination Ideas in the U.S.

[crono_clone 213]

Hi everyone,

 

My fiance and I would prefer to elope over having a traditional wedding ceremony, especially since it's so much more flexible and easier to plan while waiting on our K1 visa approval, so we were wondering what some good destinations would be to travel to. We're a gay male couple, so LGBT-friendly places would be preferable (especially after the recent attack on a male couple even in Miami: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/article208551274.html)

 

I know most people would mention Las Vegas, but I think it might attach a negative connotation to our marriage ("Oh you eloped in Vegas like Britney Spears did? Good luck....") so I've been pondering some other possible destinations. Maybe Hawaii? Palm Springs? Some would also say Key West but I'm leery of Florida at this point. If anyone has some good suggestions, please let us know! 

[NikLR 13,231]

 Like romance? Try Maui.  Like the mountains? Try Colorado.  

 

Seattle and San Francisco also come to mind. 

[Ben&Zian 4,398]

13 minutes ago, crono_clone said:

Hi everyone,

 

My fiance and I would prefer to elope over having a traditional wedding ceremony, especially since it's so much more flexible and easier to plan while waiting on our K1 visa approval, so we were wondering what some good destinations would be to travel to. We're a gay male couple, so LGBT-friendly places would be preferable (especially after the recent attack on a male couple even in Miami: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/article208551274.html)

 

I know most people would mention Las Vegas, but I think it might attach a negative connotation to our marriage ("Oh you eloped in Vegas like Britney Spears did? Good luck....") so I've been pondering some other possible destinations. Maybe Hawaii? Palm Springs? Some would also say Key West but I'm leery of Florida at this point. If anyone has some good suggestions, please let us know! 

 

A lot of people get married in Las Vegas, doesn't mean anything honestly as long as it's a legal marriage. We did a court house wedding in downtown. Made no difference.

 

And hi from the Katy area.

Edited April 18, 2018 by Ben&Zian

[Ontarkie 14,369]

~~Moved to Off Topic, from K1 P&P - as the OP is looking for places to Elope and as much as the getting married part is part of the K1 it's not a visa related question.~~

[crono_clone 213]

9 minutes ago, NikLR said:

 Like romance? Try Maui.  Like the mountains? Try Colorado.  

 

Seattle and San Francisco also come to mind. 

West Coast definitely comes to mind, though I think Hawaii is a strong contender we're both islanders and love the beach. I'd love to visit San Fran though since I've only been to LA so far. Thanks for the suggestions! 

[crono_clone 213]

10 minutes ago, Ben&Zian said:

 

A lot of people get married in Las Vegas, doesn't mean anything honestly as long as it's a legal marriage. We did a court house wedding in downtown. Made no difference.

 

And hi from the Katy area.

Hi there, fellow Houstonians! 

 

And yeah, Las Vegas is probably fine, but even then I'm not sure exactly what to do there. I don't like casinos or gambling, and I don't like Elvis (my fiance doesn't have an opinion on either of those), so at this point the only thing I could think of that would draw me there is if Celine Dion herself agrees to officiate our wedding.  

[Ben&Zian 4,398]

2 minutes ago, crono_clone said:

Hi there, fellow Houstonians! 

 

And yeah, Las Vegas is probably fine, but even then I'm not sure exactly what to do there. I don't like casinos or gambling, and I don't like Elvis (my fiance doesn't have an opinion on either of those), so at this point the only thing I could think of that would draw me there is if Celine Dion herself agrees to officiate our wedding.  

 

True I myself really never had much desire to go there. If I wanted to gamble I'd just go to Louisiana to some of the casinos there; but as for how it is "looked at" for AOS and to USCIS, it doesn't matter long as again you get married and fulfill the K-1 requirements, that was more the point. Definately a lot of good places to go though.

[AbenaKofi 132]

Aww, shame you’ve decided against Key West - I’m not sure if you’re familiar with KW but it’s extremely gay-friendly and has a very laid back island feel that you wouldn’t get in mainland FL. DF and I were considering that since my family is mostly east coast and there are a lot of very reasonable elopement packages. 

 

So so back to Cali - you’ve got so much scenery from north to south!  I’m in the Bay Area - up here you have plenty of redwood forests for a rustic feel, or our chilly coastlines too. SF is definitely LGBT friendly but not sure how urban you want it to be. You could find a spot in the headlands with a great view of the golden gate bridge 😍.  Look into coming north! Best of luck.

[crono_clone 213]

5 hours ago, AbenaKofi said:

Aww, shame you’ve decided against Key West - I’m not sure if you’re familiar with KW but it’s extremely gay-friendly and has a very laid back island feel that you wouldn’t get in mainland FL. DF and I were considering that since my family is mostly east coast and there are a lot of very reasonable elopement packages. 

 

So so back to Cali - you’ve got so much scenery from north to south!  I’m in the Bay Area - up here you have plenty of redwood forests for a rustic feel, or our chilly coastlines too. SF is definitely LGBT friendly but not sure how urban you want it to be. You could find a spot in the headlands with a great view of the golden gate bridge 😍.  Look into coming north! Best of luck.

Thanks! I can probably look at the elopement packages for Key West to see what they're like. I'm just hoping whatever happened in Miami was an outlier and isn't a sign of where Florida is heading. There's been a recent spate of hate crimes here in Texas too, so I'd really rather go somewhere where I have a decent chance of not ending up in the news. 

 

Hawaii is currently at the top of my list but if the cost is too prohibitive then I'll look into the Bay Area as well. The views you describe sound fantastic, and it also has the Pacific Ocean as a big selling point hehe. 

[Muffinji 43]

Just a note, if you plan to have a civil ceremony at SF city hall though you will need to book slots up to 90 days in advance. (Can be done online though ) 

and you will need to get the license before the ceremony and you won’t get your wedding certificate right away.  

(just logistics you will need to consider) 

the place though is beautiful. 

[crono_clone 213]

26 minutes ago, Muffinji said:

Just a note, if you plan to have a civil ceremony at SF city hall though you will need to book slots up to 90 days in advance. (Can be done online though ) 

and you will need to get the license before the ceremony and you won’t get your wedding certificate right away.  

(just logistics you will need to consider) 

the place though is beautiful. 

Thank you so much for the tips! That's really helpful!

[Fredd 69]

On 19 April 2018 at 3:27 AM, crono_clone said:

Hi everyone,

 

My fiance and I would prefer to elope over having a traditional wedding ceremony, especially since it's so much more flexible and easier to plan while waiting on our K1 visa approval, so we were wondering what some good destinations would be to travel to. We're a gay male couple, so LGBT-friendly places would be preferable (especially after the recent attack on a male couple even in Miami: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/article208551274.html)

 

I know most people would mention Las Vegas, but I think it might attach a negative connotation to our marriage ("Oh you eloped in Vegas like Britney Spears did? Good luck....") so I've been pondering some other possible destinations. Maybe Hawaii? Palm Springs? Some would also say Key West but I'm leery of Florida at this point. If anyone has some good suggestions, please let us know! 

My Fiancee and i already decided to get married in San Francisco City Hall... Very beautiful Architecture and at the same LGBT-Friendly as well.

[Fredd 69]

On 20 April 2018 at 2:59 AM, Muffinji said:

Just a note, if you plan to have a civil ceremony at SF city hall though you will need to book slots up to 90 days in advance. (Can be done online though ) 

and you will need to get the license before the ceremony and you won’t get your wedding certificate right away.  

(just logistics you will need to consider) 

the place though is beautiful. 

Oh gosh is this true? My Fiancee and i are planning our wedding on the 3rd day after my arrival there, unfortunately we cant decide what dates are those and we cant wait for 90 days to get married. I hope theres option.

[Muffinji 43]

4 hours ago, Fredd said:

Oh gosh is this true? My Fiancee and i are planning our wedding on the 3rd day after my arrival there, unfortunately we cant decide what dates are those and we cant wait for 90 days to get married. I hope theres option.

If you want cost effective budget one then,  it’s will be a normal civil ceremony where you need to get a California marriage license before the ceremony. And I’m not sure how quick dates get booked because I made sure I booked my date the first hour of the 90 day window because I needed exact dates as my family travelled over for it and had other travel plans after. 

If you’re unable to get a booking for a civil ceremony I believe another option would be to hire / get someone to officiate for you instead at the location - actually maybe you can PM me with any questions you have and I’ll try to answer based on what I know.  

Also here is the link : http://sfgov.org/countyclerk/marriage-civil-ceremony

 

also my only other concern for your plans that you need to consider will be the marriage certificate as San Francisco don’t offer expedited marriage certificate processing   ‘A certified copy of a Confidential Marriage License is not available until 10 business days, AFTER the license is received from the person solemnizing the marriage. The County Clerk's office handles certified copies of San Francisco Confidential marriage licenses. A non-refundable $15.00 record search fee will be charged. If the record is found, a certified copy of the record will be issued.  Additional certified copies are $15.00 each.  If a confidential marriage record is not found, a Certificate of No Record will be issued.  Copies may be purchased in person or by mail. We DO NOT expedite registration of marriage licenses or orders for certified copies. Please plan accordingly.’  

Edited May 8, 2018 by Muffinji
Link

[Fredd 69]

12 hours ago, Muffinji said:

   ‘A certified copy of a Confidential Marriage License is not available until 10 business days, AFTER the license is received from the person solemnizing the marriage. The County Clerk's office handles certified copies of San Francisco Confidential marriage licenses. A non-refundable $15.00 record search fee will be charged. If the record is found, a certified copy of the record will be issued.  Additional certified copies are $15.00 each.  If a confidential marriage record is not found, a Certificate of No Record will be issued.  Copies may be purchased in person or by mail. We DO NOT expedite registration of marriage licenses or orders for certified copies. Please plan accordingly.’  

 

 

is it the same thing if my fiancee's best friend will marry us, since his best friend has a license to practice as solemning officer. Yes, we are just planning to have a civil wedding in the City Hall. And i heard that there are also some wedding agency that can provide you a simple civil wedding on a full package in a small amount which includes solemnizing officer, photographer, and boutonniere or corsage.