- November 14, 2024
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John and Chrissie Birney were introduced to one another through a family friend almost three years ago. A year ago, John popped that special question to Chrissie at the Bonnaroo Festival in Manchester, Tennessee. She happily accepted. The Birneys started to plan Chrissie’s dream fall wedding with a guest count of 120 people. After visiting a few venues and learning the cost of having a large wedding, however, the stress quickly became real.
They had also met with a mortgage broker, who explained the cost of getting into their first home.
How could they afford both a wedding and a place to live?
Someone suggested as a joke that they should elope. But the joke soon became a serious conversation. They certainly weren't trying to hide their marriage from anyone, but if they were to elope, they could get married sooner and put the money they would have spent on Chrissie's dream wedding toward a down payment on a home. They decided go one step further and ask their friends and family to contribute to their down payment instead of buying them wedding presents.
On May 14, John and Chrissie were married in a small ceremony in Atlanta with some of their closest friends and family — but not 120 guests as they had originally planned. The couple enjoyed the weekend doing something they love most: going to a music festival. To them, it was their honeymoon.
During the long ride home on May 16, just a few days before closing on the home, John reflected on the decision to "elope": “This was a really good move. We did something really special here.”
