California courthouse weddings surge as Gen Z drives civil ceremony boom
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These days, some couples on the West Coast are reportedly giving up on expensive, extravagant weddings. Instead, they prefer simple courthouse ceremonies.
Demand for simple civil ceremonies is causing a rush for wedding appointments at town halls across California. Los Angeles Times was reported recently.
“As soon as we release them, they get caught right away,” Santa Barbara County Clerk Melinda Greene told the publication. “We have people from all over the world.”
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While quotas to get married in California courthouses fill up months in advance, some couples make last-minute reservations.
The same publication reported that elopement had evolved from “a breezy wedding alternative into a formal contact sport.”
According to a recent report, there has been an increase in California courthouse weddings instead of expensive weddings at formal event venues. (iStock)
“Bookings so fast you have to be online at the exact time [of day] “A lot of my brides get stressed out if you’re planning on making your appointment,” Asha Marshall of So Fetch Photography told the Times.
Micro weddings are reportedly on the rise, in part because social media posts are inspiring couples to get married at venues where celebrities have gotten married.
Santa Barbara’s Spanish Moorish revival courthouse, for example, is a sought-after location where Kamala Harris married Doug Emhoff and Kourtney Kardashian married Travis Barker.
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“We’re seeing dozens a day, starting at 8 a.m.,” Santa Barbara County supervisor Roy Lee told the Times.
San Francisco City Hall, where Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio were married to great fanfare in 1954, is one of the favorite venues for courthouse weddings, according to the Times. The venue hosts approximately 7,000 weddings a year.
Data shows that despite the increase in California courthouse weddings, couples are still spending big on their big day. (iStock)
This trend also coincides with Generation Z, generally said to be born between 1997 and 2012, now entering their peak marriage years.
Online wedding planning and registry company The average age at marriage for oldest members of Generation Z reaches 28 Zola reported. and this generation has become the key driver of the wedding industry.
Micro weddings are reportedly on the rise, in part due to social media.
“The 2026 wedding season reflects this generation’s broader cultural shifts,” Zola said in the “2026 Wedding Trends: First Look” report, which surveyed more than 11,500 couples getting married in 2026.
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“Our couples are using TikTok and AI in their daily lives, embracing both mocktails and mocktails, and prioritizing their mental health,” the report said.
While affordable and modern civil wedding ceremonies are popular in some places, the average cost of a wedding is $36,000, according to Zola. The average number of guests remained constant at around 145, similar to last year.
Latest data shows that the average wedding costs $36,000 and includes 145 guests. (iStock)
“Despite economic tensions, we are seeing couples prioritize the celebration of their choice over other financial goals,” the company said. “The sentiment is clear: 85% of couples say their wedding will be worth every penny.”
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Bank of America In June 2026, “wedding-related spending is up 8.5% year-on-year so far in 2026…suggesting that higher prices are not completely restricting spending on that special day.”
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The report also found that consumers are spending less on one-off formal wear purchases, and more economical, laboratory-grown diamonds continue to attract attention.
