Pop-Up Weddings Provide the Ceremony and Remove the Hassle

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PopWed Co., a Washington D.C. based elopement planning service, offers the betrothed a low-budget, low-fuss approach to tying the knot. The company’s two founders — officiant Steven Gaudaen and photographer Maggie Winters — organize quick pop-up weddings for clients in D.C. public spaces, sometimes to the chagrin of the local security guards. The Washington Post has a feature on PopWed Co. that details the pop-up wedding of Jennifer Miller and Michael Bennett, held inside the rotunda of the National Museum of Natural History. In the story, a security guard who interrupt is chided by museum visitors wanting to see the ceremony through. The Smithsonian website forbids public weddings from taking place inside their buildings.

What’s the Big Idea?

The National History Museum wedding cost Miller and Bennett about $1,500. Considering the average American wedding came in at about $30,000 in 2013, one can understand the appeal of the no-fuss, no-frills approach. At the end of the day, the newlyweds will still be married and have a lovely set of photographs to prove it. From The Post:

It’s a way to skip the trappings of traditional weddings — managing guest lists, renting a venue, worrying about whether Uncle Frank will make one too many trips to the open bar — while still preserving the romance of the day.

Half of Gaudaen and Winters’ clients are same-sex couples who travel to Washington from states where they are not allowed to marry. The pop-up format appeals to those looking to quickly elope yet still hoping to have the moments preserved in photographs.