Andrew and Leah flew to Las Vegas the day after Christmas to elope, just the two of them. They wanted to stick to a small budget and be as sustainable as possible, so everything they wore besides the bride’s veil and the groom’s suit were secondhand.

“I thrifted my dress from Goodwill and had it altered to be a cocktail-length dress”, Leah explained. “I scored my shoes from Poshmark, my purple coat was also a Goodwill find, all of my jewellery was vintage. My husband’s cowboy boots were secondhand from eBay.”

The morning of December 27th began with breakfast in their hotel room, followed by a relaxed getting-ready session together. “We didn’t want to deal with the pressure of traditions or superstitions,” Leah shared. “We also didn’t want anyone else to dictate how we spent our day.” With no bridal party or family waiting in the wings, the couple took their time. They had room service for breakfast, got ready together and Leah did her own hair and make-up.”

The couple exchanged their self-written vows at the iconic Little White Wedding Chapel with only their photographers and the officiant present. “We wrote our vows that morning in little custom books. It was just us, expressing what it meant to have the other in our lives. I cried, and yes, I lost some of my make-up. That’s what I get for doing it myself!” Leah laughed. ““The best part was that we didn’t have to worry about anyone else watching or judging. It was just us, and the kiss got to be as passionate as we wanted.”

After the ceremony and photos with Tree of Life Films, they headed to a private dinner at Hugo’s Cellar, then returned to their hotel room to share wedding cake before heading to The Sphere for a late-night show. The day after they went to the Grand Canyon.

The couple’s elopement wasn’t without a few “what ifs.” Leah wished they had splurged on special wedding fragrances, and Andrew would have preferred a rental car for their Grand Canyon trip instead of a bus tour with other tourists. “Being in our own world for another day would have been that much more special,” he said.

However, all in all, their wedding was perfect, exactly what they wanted, and surprisingly stress-free. “Everyone kept telling us how stressful it was going to be to plan it. But it wasn’t at all!” Leah said. “We made decisions that made sense for us, and that really took all the complexities out of it. I wish we would have known to stick to our instincts and not let others’ post-wedding anxiety get in our heads. The most challenging part of wedding planning is doing all the work and then forcing yourself to be patient until the day comes. We almost went to the courthouse 20 times before our big day because of how eager we were to get married!”