The Shotgun Blog

In December 2012, same-sex marriage became legal in Washington state. By 2:00 am on the exact night the law took effect, Bronwen Stevenson of Shotgun Ceremonies was already performing ceremonies. Not because it was good marketing. Because it mattered. That week, Shotgun did over 30 free same-sex weddings. Then they did it again at Seattle Pride on the lawn of the Seattle Center, for three years running. And on July 25 this year, Bronwen will do it again, this time at Georgeto

How to Get Married in Seattle Without Telling Everyone First Not everyone wants a wedding with an audience. Some people just want to be married, and they want to decide later who needs to know about it. That is more common than the wedding industry lets on. For every couple planning a year out with a guest list and a seating chart, there is one who would rather skip the announcement entirely. No opinions from relatives. No questions about why now. No production. Just the two

You've done the easy part. You picked your person. Now you're realizing you don't actually want the year of planning, the guest list negotiations, the venue deposits or the catering minimums. You just want to be married. That's a completely reasonable thing to want. And it's more doable than most people realize. A lot of people assume the only simple option is the courthouse. It's not. The courthouse is optional. Seriously. In Washington state, once you have your marriage lic

Most wedding content is there to tell you what a wedding "should" look like. Flowers, venues, timelines, seating charts, vendor lists. An elopement ceremony is none of that, and if you're reading this you probably already know that's exactly the point. But "we skipped all that" doesn't tell you much about what actually happened instead. So here's the real version. Before you arrive The only thing you need before you elope is a valid marriage license. In Washington State, that