Courthouse weddings are booming as many couples skip pricey traditional ceremonies

A number of West Coast couples are reportedly foregoing costly, extravagant weddings these days.Instead, they're favoring simple courthouse ceremonies.The demand for straightforward civil ceremonies is causing a rush for marriage appointments at municipal buildings in California, the Los Angeles Times recently reported."They pretty much get picked up as soon as we release them," Santa Barbara County Clerk Melinda Greene told the publication.

"We have people from all over the world."TAYLOR SWIFT'S WEDDING SPARKS HOLIDAY WEEKEND ETIQUETTE DEBATE FOR GUESTSSlots to get married at California courthouses have been filling up months in advance, while some couples snap up last-minute bookings.Elopement has turned from "a breezy wedding alternative into a formal contact sport," the same publication reported.There's been a surge in California courthouse weddings, according to a recent report — instead of pricey weddings at formal event venues.(iStock)"It books up so fast, you have to be online at the exact time [of day] you plan on having your appointment," Asha Marshall of So Fetch Photography told the Times.

"A lot of my brides get stressed out."Micro-weddings are reportedly on the rise due in part to social media posts inspiring couples to get married at the same venues where celebrities have tied the knot.Santa Barbara’s Spanish Moorish revival courthouse, for instance, is a sought-after spot where Kamala Harris married Doug Emhoff and where Kourtney Kardashian got hitched to Travis Barker.TEST YOURSELF WITH OUR LATEST LIFESTYLE QUIZ"We see dozens a day, starting at 8 o’clock in the morning," Roy Lee, Santa Barbara County supervisor, told the Times.San Francisco City Hall, where Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio were married with great fanfare in 1954, is a top spot for a courthouse wedding, according to the Times.The venue hosts some 7,000 weddings a year.Despite the uptick in California courthouse weddings, couples are still spending major bucks on their big day...