New Halifax Wedding Company Specializes in Elopement
HALIFAX — We often envision a grand wedding for our special day. But a giant wedding comes with high costs, lots of planning, and lots of stress. As one can imagine, especially in tough economic times, there are couples out there looking for something a little smaller but still fashionable.
A brand new company, Happily Hitched Halifax, specializes in just that. The owner and founder, Ashley Groves, had a ribbon cutting ceremony last Friday. She wants to take on the stress of planning and design so happy couples can just enjoy their day.
“I love love, that’s for sure,” said Groves. “To get into the business of weddings, there’s a lot of emotions. Honestly, one of the first words that come to mind when you talk about wedding planning is stress. And where my passion lies is taking that away from people to turn it into something that’s fun and enjoyable and memorable for the right reasons.”
As someone who once planned her own wedding, and who now specializes in them, Groves understands why larger weddings can be so stressful. With great cost and great planning comes immense pressure and expectations. Sometimes those expectations come from family and guests as well.
“A traditional wedding typically costs a lot of money in Canada,” says Groves. “It’s a little bit lower here on the East Coast, But the general amount that people are spending on those 150- 200 person weddings is about $20,000 to $50,000.”
“It’s a lot of money for people to spend on one day. So, with that comes a lot of expectation, right? You want everything to be perfect and then there’s the expectations of everyone else. As much as people go into it with the intention to just do everything they want, there comes this feeling of obligation to make it enjoyable for other people.”
Groves is also able to take some of the burden off family and friends as well. It can be expensive and difficult to travel for someone’s wedding. But Happily Hitched can do a livestream of the ceremony for those who can’t make it.
Happily Hitched offers wedding packages that cost as little as $1,500 and as much as $3,500. In larger weddings, some people spend that much on photography alone.
The $1,500 option is aptly called Elopement. The ceremony lasts 45 minutes and you can have up to two witnesses with you (no other guests). The largest package ($3,500), allows a maximum of 20 guests. But all options come with a Justice of the Peace to officiate, photography, and a bit of bubbly for a toast, and cake and or cupcakes.
The efficient part is couples don’t have to spend hours looking for a venue. With Happily Hitched, all the ceremonies take place at their space at 5239 Blowers Street.
“Before the pandemic I was planning on doing micro weddings and elopements and I was looking at using other venues,” recalls Groves. “And it was a lot more complicated to do it that way. I just thought maybe I’ll have my own space. And so that’s what I did.”
“The space is set up with all of the furniture needed, and some tasteful décor. It’s a very neutral kind of space that anyone can get married in.
“[The ceremony] is very short and sweet; the maximum is 90 minutes. We figured we’re right downtown with lots of restaurants and bars. After folks are done with their family and their little celebrations, they can head off into whichever restaurant tickles their fancy,” said Groves.
Groves also prides herself on having a wedding business that celebrates all love. Today, there is no shortage of stories of wedding companies who refuse certain clients based on their sexual orientation. Happily Hitched welcomes all who want to get married.
“The biggest thing about the space is that I consciously try to make sure that folks know that it is a safe, inclusive, space to celebrate all love,” she stated. “It’s an awkward feeling for people to have to ask those questions. And as much as it should be implied that it is a safe space, it’s not always (in the wedding industry), and so I want people to know that.”
Derek Montague is a Huddle reporter in Halifax. Send him your feedback and story ideas: [email protected].
