5 reasons why you should consider having a court wedding

If so, you may be coming to the realisation that an elaborate wedding has many cons, while if you’ve looking for an alternative, there are many pros to having a court marriage.

We’ve pulled together the top reasons why all couples should seriously consider having a court wedding for the upcoming nuptials.

1. They save money

If an extravagant ceremony seems too overwhelming for your schedule or your wallet, getting married in a courthouse might turn out to be one of the shrewdest financial decisions you’ll ever make. Registering a marriage in court costs just N2,000, compared to around N200,000 for a traditional wedding even on a micro-scale. You’ll have many more options to keep the event within a smaller budget. However, even when spending less money, you and your partner will still be ‘Mr’ and ‘Mrs’ by law.

2. Court weddings are less stressful

One of the main benefits of a court marriage is that they can be small events. Sometimes planning a big wedding with a long guest list can feel overwhelming, especially when you feel the need to please everyone. With a court wedding, you only have to invite a few close family members and friends, and after the registry session, you can head out for a small reception somewhere. Alternatively, with the money saved you could splash out on a large reception instead, or reserve the money saved to help set up your new life together. You really can save yourself a lot of headaches by having a courthouse wedding!

3. You’ll have legal security

While getting married is a romantic event, there is also a serious side to your union. Like a licensed church or licensed office wedding, a court wedding protects both the man and woman, but especially the woman, in law. While you may go into marriage expecting the best outcome, sometimes things do go wrong.

Having the legal security of a court wedding may turn out to be a saving grace in the event that everything doesn’t go well. For instance, being legally married protects you against the practice of bigamy, which will be punished by 5 years of imprisonment. So your partner needs to get a divorce before getting married to someone else.

Note: Bigamy is when you marry someone else when you are still married to the person you married in court.

4. Court marriage is fast

Have you ever left a long wedding ceremony and thought it was lovely but could have been half the length and equally lovely? If long ceremonies aren’t your thing, rest assured that courthouse weddings are real fast, and can be wrapped up in around 30 minutes.

As opposed to church or traditional weddings, there are no long sermons and songs in courts, keeping the events short, and also removing a few more items from your wedding plan list. Isn't that amazing?

With all the time saved, you’ll have more energy for your reception, celebrating your wedding day with your nearest and dearest, rather than at the formal part of the event.

If we haven’t convinced you that a court wedding is a great option, then I’m not sure what will! Whatever you decide, congratulations and best wishes for your big day.

5. There’s no dress code for court weddings

One of the most expensive and involved choices when getting married can be what to wear! Getting married at the courthouse means you can feel more comfortable wearing something that isn’t a white gown.

There are no strict dress codes, so prospective couples can wear whatever they like and everyone can be happy. All colours, shapes and styles are potential outfits, and you even have the opportunity to buy an outfit that you can wear again.

A more relaxed dress code not only means that you can express your own style more fully, you can also choose an option that does not cost the earth!