Our last minute intimate ceremony

[u/trixiewutang]

We got married on 10/10. Some backstory- We’ve been friends for a decade and were never single at the same time until December 2025. Found out I was pregnant the end of February/early March 2026 and through hell and high water I was determined to keep the baby as I have never been pregnant before. Since we were still an early couple, things weren’t perfect but we realized no matter what we would come together to raise our little best friend on the way with all the love we have. At first there was some pressure from family to get married as soon as possible and that gave him cold feet. We spent weeks talking it through and that we could be a couple, and enjoy eachothers’ company and focus on having fun/building a better relationship. We’re both lucky to have family that supports us as people and supportive of the baby, and have committed to helping us with anything.

I found out a month ago my insurance was terminating tomorrow, 10/15, a month before my due date. I made arrangements as best I could to find new doctors and mental health professionals that could accept Medicaid in the chance he still wasn’t ready, I would be covered. After my final therapy session with a therapist I connected with over the last 2 years, I was in tears. I told him honestly, losing my doctors I have a relationship with, some 10+ years with was very hard on me emotionally. He told me he would once again consider marriage so I could be covered. I kept him updated on the health of our baby and myself throughout my whole pregnancy and we both committed early on to being kind and patient with eachother. And one day, it clicked for him, that life would just be harder for everyone involved and he trusted that I love him for who he is and that he loves me for me, not just because of the baby.

We decided 10/2 we would get married. No rings, no reception, no guest list, no DJ, no cake, no bach parties. Immediate family only with my uncle who is a pastor, and like my second father, officiating the wedding. I had just had a big baby shower where zero of my friends attended and it felt good to not stress about who would attend my wedding ceremony.

$28 at the local registrar for the marriage license. Since I’m 8 months pregnant there was no way I was finding a dress I wanted in short notice so my only option was Amazon - $35 on a prime day deal and I was gambling on it fitting since I’m also 4’11” with no alterations.
His suit - $106 at H&M that he bought for a previous wedding of a friends 4 weeks prior.

I’m lucky to have an older sister who treated me the day before to getting my nails done, bought my shoes from a Clark’s outlet for $30, and we made my bouquet at wegmans for $60.

The venue cost us nothing. We got married at Cooper River Park in Cherry Hill, NJ where you don’t need a permit. Our original plan was to get married under a gazebo close to the sculpture park but the day of my uncle texts me that this section of the park is closed to a big event. My dad and I arrived 5 minutes later to see the cops blocking off the road. Looked it up and it was a 5k race for a charity event that would last all day. I quickly scrambled onto Google Maps to see if I could find another gazebo/pavilion that was still in the confines of the town. I knew crossing the bridge meant we would be in Collingswood. Push come to shove- I was ready to get married under a nice tree if it came down to it.

But I was lucky again, and found a pavilion “Subaru Pavilion” only 1000 feet away from the skatepark and still within the town that we put on the marriage license. Since it was 10:30 am, we were lucky there wasn’t many people at the park. I sent the location to the pastor, my sister/mom, him, and his mom. Within 10 minutes we were all gathered and ready to go. I cried pretty much the entire time we said our vows from happiness.

Photographer was my sister using my DSLR camera and her 1 photography class knowledge from high school came in handy.

Once the ceremony was over, we all headed to a local restaurant for brunch. They normally don’t take reservations but worked with us to seat all 17 people and keep our table even though we ran a little late.
Our dads split the $315 brunch bill.

We agreed to write vows for eachother and read them privately and we did that the next day when we were both alone with eachother.

Marriage certificate and extra copies came out to $45 cash.
While there is some things I wish we could’ve done differently (like have a Chinese tea ceremony), I’m still grateful and over the moon happy with how we chose for our very simple, low-budget, intimate wedding so we can give our baby a better life. We agreed maybe someday we will have a bigger reception down the line with my giant family and more of his family to celebrate our marriage but for now, buying a house and raising our son is our top priority.

[u/nolelover16]

Absolutely beautiful and congratulations

[u/Curious_Event4848]

Adorable, congrats