"I got married in secret like superstar Adele - with just my husband and our photographer on the guest list"
- 5 months ago
A bride got married in secret like superstar Adele - with just her husband and their photographer on the guest list.
Carys Hicks, 20, spent just £3.9k on her big day and tied the knot with her partner, Adi, 21, a grad student, in a courthouse.
While she told immediate family members and best friends about her plans - none of them were invited, and her wider circle of pals found out about it on Instagram days later.
She thinks lots more couples will choose to elope in the future - thanks to high-profile brides like Adele discreetly tying the knot.
Carys, a wedding photographer, from Portsmouth, New Hampshire, US, said: “It was so special, we didn’t have a big ceremony - we just got to run around together for three hours, totally in love.
“We’re best friends, and we wanted the day to be as intimate as possible. I couldn’t imagine having a big ceremony.
“I’m so glad the wedding trend seems to be shifting towards elopements and really small, secret ceremonies.
"No-one knows yourself and your partner like you - and only you should have a say in how you celebrate.”
Carys first encountered Adi in May 2021 when she was a senior in high school and he attended University of New Hampshire - studying for a BA in mechanical engineering.
She spotted him on the uni prospectus - and thought he was “really cute”.
Three months later, Carys enrolled at the same university to study nursing and met Adi at bible study and the pair began dating on May 18, 2022.
She said: “I hadn’t been in official relationships but I’d dated around - it felt very different this time.
“I just felt very peaceful with Adi - and so assured about our relationship. We both felt like we didn’t just want to date for fun, this was serious.”
After talking about getting married from just two months into their relationship, Adi eventually proposed on March 19, 2023, when they had been together for 10 months.
Carys knew early on that she didn’t want a large ceremony - after hearing about her parents’ traditional church wedding.
“Adi wanted a big party initially,” she added.
“But then realised he didn’t want to do all the planning.
“You don’t really get to enjoy each other at a big wedding either.
“It’s the biggest day of your life - you don’t even get to see each other.
"My parents didn’t even bump into each other at their wedding.”
Carys bought a £2.3k satin wedding dress with long sleeves and a short train, with Adi’s suit rental included in the price.
They splashed out £240 on a charcuterie board, got a £60 cake and spent £25 on earrings from Etsy - spending £19k less than the average cost of a wedding in the US.
The couple tied the knot on May 26, 2023, at a courthouse in Hampton, accompanied by just their wedding photographer.
They then unofficially said their vows again in the evening, on North Beach, Hampton, NH, surrounded by both sets of parents.
While their parents knew the wedding was going to happen, the couple say they had mixed feelings about being uninvited from the main ceremony.
Carys said: “It was a hard decision, but I wouldn’t change it because it was the right thing for us.
“It’s probably tough as a parent to hear that you want to elope just the two of you - even tougher for Adi, who comes from a family of six.
“I always encourage people to elope though - despite what their families might say.”
After carefully selecting which of her close friends and family members to reveal her wedding to, Carys announced her marriage to her wider circle on Instagram and TikTok.
She says everyone was really surprised to hear about her engagement - and subsequent wedding. But very happy for her.
She said: "I like to think I'm a very secret person - but I do love posting to TikTok and Instagram.
"We were only engaged for two months - I think people were more surprised about that.
"No-one realised we'd be getting married that soon.
"When we first got together - we wanted a year-long engagement. But we were just too excited."
Adi said: "From the beginning, it was something we'd gone back-and-forth about - but we knew we wanted a super small wedding which would allow us to spend more time together.
"I'm so glad we did it this way - we had the elopement with a photographer we really, really wanted.
"We got to spend the day together doing our thing and it was really fun. We didn't have to worry about anything except ourselves, which was really awesome.
"Because we're Christians, we did have a religious ceremony afterwards with our parents and close friends there. It was really just hanging out though, like very intimate."
Carys Hicks, 20, spent just £3.9k on her big day and tied the knot with her partner, Adi, 21, a grad student, in a courthouse.
While she told immediate family members and best friends about her plans - none of them were invited, and her wider circle of pals found out about it on Instagram days later.
She thinks lots more couples will choose to elope in the future - thanks to high-profile brides like Adele discreetly tying the knot.
Carys, a wedding photographer, from Portsmouth, New Hampshire, US, said: “It was so special, we didn’t have a big ceremony - we just got to run around together for three hours, totally in love.
“We’re best friends, and we wanted the day to be as intimate as possible. I couldn’t imagine having a big ceremony.
“I’m so glad the wedding trend seems to be shifting towards elopements and really small, secret ceremonies.
"No-one knows yourself and your partner like you - and only you should have a say in how you celebrate.”
Carys first encountered Adi in May 2021 when she was a senior in high school and he attended University of New Hampshire - studying for a BA in mechanical engineering.
She spotted him on the uni prospectus - and thought he was “really cute”.
Three months later, Carys enrolled at the same university to study nursing and met Adi at bible study and the pair began dating on May 18, 2022.
She said: “I hadn’t been in official relationships but I’d dated around - it felt very different this time.
“I just felt very peaceful with Adi - and so assured about our relationship. We both felt like we didn’t just want to date for fun, this was serious.”
After talking about getting married from just two months into their relationship, Adi eventually proposed on March 19, 2023, when they had been together for 10 months.
Carys knew early on that she didn’t want a large ceremony - after hearing about her parents’ traditional church wedding.
“Adi wanted a big party initially,” she added.
“But then realised he didn’t want to do all the planning.
“You don’t really get to enjoy each other at a big wedding either.
“It’s the biggest day of your life - you don’t even get to see each other.
"My parents didn’t even bump into each other at their wedding.”
Carys bought a £2.3k satin wedding dress with long sleeves and a short train, with Adi’s suit rental included in the price.
They splashed out £240 on a charcuterie board, got a £60 cake and spent £25 on earrings from Etsy - spending £19k less than the average cost of a wedding in the US.
The couple tied the knot on May 26, 2023, at a courthouse in Hampton, accompanied by just their wedding photographer.
They then unofficially said their vows again in the evening, on North Beach, Hampton, NH, surrounded by both sets of parents.
While their parents knew the wedding was going to happen, the couple say they had mixed feelings about being uninvited from the main ceremony.
Carys said: “It was a hard decision, but I wouldn’t change it because it was the right thing for us.
“It’s probably tough as a parent to hear that you want to elope just the two of you - even tougher for Adi, who comes from a family of six.
“I always encourage people to elope though - despite what their families might say.”
After carefully selecting which of her close friends and family members to reveal her wedding to, Carys announced her marriage to her wider circle on Instagram and TikTok.
She says everyone was really surprised to hear about her engagement - and subsequent wedding. But very happy for her.
She said: "I like to think I'm a very secret person - but I do love posting to TikTok and Instagram.
"We were only engaged for two months - I think people were more surprised about that.
"No-one realised we'd be getting married that soon.
"When we first got together - we wanted a year-long engagement. But we were just too excited."
Adi said: "From the beginning, it was something we'd gone back-and-forth about - but we knew we wanted a super small wedding which would allow us to spend more time together.
"I'm so glad we did it this way - we had the elopement with a photographer we really, really wanted.
"We got to spend the day together doing our thing and it was really fun. We didn't have to worry about anything except ourselves, which was really awesome.
"Because we're Christians, we did have a religious ceremony afterwards with our parents and close friends there. It was really just hanging out though, like very intimate."