“They pretty much get picked up as soon as we release them,” said Santa Barbara County Clerk Melinda Greene, talking about marriage appointment slots. “We have people from all over the world.”
Courthouse weddings are in demand on the West Coast. The Los Angeles Times reported a rush for appointments at municipal buildings in California, where slots fill months ahead and some couples grab last-minute openings. Asha Marshall of So Fetch Photography told the paper that “it books up so fast, you have to be online at the exact time [of day] you plan on having your appointment”. Her brides, she said, get stressed.
The Times described elopement as having gone from “a breezy wedding alternative into a formal contact sport”.
Where couples go
Social media is part of the pull, since couples want to marry where celebrities did. Santa Barbara’s Spanish Moorish revival courthouse is one such spot. Kamala Harris married Doug Emhoff there, and Kourtney Kardashian married Travis Barker. County supervisor Roy Lee told the Times: “We see dozens a day, starting at 8 o’clock in the morning.”
San Francisco City Hall, where Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio married in 1954, is another top choice. It hosts some 7,000 weddings a year.
The other side of the ledger
Not everyone is cutting back. Zola, the online wedding-planning and registry company, puts the average wedding cost at $36,000, with the typical guest count steady at around 145. In its survey of more than 11,500 couples marrying in 2026, 85% said their wedding will be worth every penny. “Even with economic jitters, we’re seeing couples prioritize the celebration they want over other financial goals,” the company said.
Bank of America said in June 2026 that wedding-related spending grew 8.5% year over year so far in 2026. Higher prices, it said, haven’t completely curbed spending on the day.
Timing matters too. Gen Z, born between 1997 and 2012 by the common definition, is entering its peak marrying years. Zola reported that the oldest members are reaching the average marrying age of 28, and the generation has become a primary driver of the wedding industry. The same report found shoppers spending less on one-time formal wear, while cheaper lab-grown diamonds keep gaining ground.
