AisleDash

Lots of couples decide to elope when they get frustrated with all the pressure and expense of planning a wedding. Big weddings and secret elopements are not your only options, though. There's a middle path being forged by celebrities: the surprise wedding.

Surprise weddings are a sort of public elopement, where you invite guests to a party, and when they arrive, you surprise them with your wedding. There's still a ceremony, so there's of course still some planning to do, but it's much more low-key and low-stress than a traditional wedding.

When you have a surprise wedding, you sidestep the problem of overbearing relatives who hijack the wedding plans, and you can save big money. We also know that putting "No gifts, please," on an invitation won't stop people from bringing presents by the truckload -- so for the couple who really doesn't want or need any gifts, this is a great way to stop them from coming. And, according to Marilyn Oliveira, senior editor at the WeddingChannel.com, holding a surprise wedding is the perfect way to "make a big splash without a huge budget."

So before you toss all your spreadsheets out the window and run to City Hall, maybe you want to consider hosting your own surprise wedding instead.