The Simplest, Perfect Wedding Ceremony in Loudoun County, Virginia
I just got married about six days ago, and it was absolutely perfect. I’m not just saying that because it was my wedding, but because it truly was perfect. My [now] husband and I are both busy people; we work full time, commute, and I am back in college. We didn’t have time to plan a wedding, and really didn’t want to spend a lot of money doing it. We decided to keep it simple. We contacted our local courthouse to find out what we could do. They had a list of “Civil Celebrants” (since there is not a “Justice of the Peace” in Loudoun County, Virginia). We contacted a woman by the name of Suzanne Fox who, in a matter of minutes had us booked for August 4. She said that we could meet her in front of the Old Courthouse in Leesburg, VA (Loudoun County, VA). The Old Courthouse is a very nice brick building with lots of trees and a pretty brick sidewalk (it is in the historic part of Leesburg).
We would be inviting parents only, to keep costs and tension to a minimum. Because my parents are divorced and remarried, we would have my husbands parents, my mom and step dad, my dad and my grandmother. Since we were not having a big wedding, we did not need to have a reception. Our family all had things to do that evening, some had to travel back home, so we made plans to have cocktails and dinner with our friends in Reston Town Center.
I went on ebay, of all places, and found a beautiful, white, bohemian skirt that was about mid-calf length. It was a brand new Banana Republic skirt with white embroidered flowers. I went to Hechts and found a mauve chiffon camisole and a white loosely crocheted short sleeve sweater. I found a pair of white strappy sandals at Target, on sale for $11.48. All-in-all, I spent less than $100 on my entire outfit.
We took the afternoon of the 3rd off from work and went to get our license (also at the Loudoun County courthouse in Leesburg, VA). I then went to Harris Teeter and picked up a few different cheeses, crackers, olives and a crab dip. The people at the deli were nice enough to give me two trays for free. We bought two nice bottles of Champagne from World Market. We served the cheese, crackers, olives and dip at our house before we proceeded to Leesburg (Loudoun County) Courthouse.
We arrived a few minutes before we were to meet with the officiant, Suzanne Fox, and waited in front of the courthouse. She arrived and filled out our marriage certificate and other paperwork, and asked us to pick a place where we would like to have the ceremony. She performed the traditional vowels and said a few lines that she uses when she performs marriages. She was absolutely wonderful. She has a great personality and did a great job. I even teased her telling her that I would call her if I ever get married again. She took us up to the circuit court and got us copies of our marriage certificate so that I could go through the name changing process.
We all came back to our house for a champagne toast and more snacks, and then everyone went their way. My new husband and I took a few minutes to read our cards and change our clothes, then headed to Reston Town Center to meet up with our closest friends. We had drinks at M&S Grille and he smoked cigars with some of the guys and the ladies enjoyed the “Pound Cake Martini’s”. We then went to McCormick & Schmick’s for dinner and more drinks.
The entire day turned out to be perfect. In the weeks leading up to the wedding, I was afraid that I would regret not having a traditional wedding with the white dress all the guests, etc. I would not have it any other way. My husband promised me that if I was dissatisfied with the way we did things, that we could renew our vowels and have a traditional wedding. I don’t even want to do that now. I wouldn’t change a thing about the way we did it.
If you want to do the same thing, and you live in or near Leesburg (Loudoun County) Virginia, I highly recommend Suzanne Fox as a “Civil Celebrant.” You can go the the Loudoun county government website at www.loudoun.gov and follow the links to the circuit court to get information about marriage licenses and a list of other officiants (civil celebrants) in the area. The civil celebrants can meet you anywhere you please, or you can do what we did and do it under a tree in front of the Old Courthouse, which was beautiful.
