Wedding bells ring, at a bargain price

According to many estimates, the average wedding cost in the United States now hovers around $25,000. Depending on various choices by the couple and their families, that figure can be substantially more or substantially less.
For one southern Illinois couple their wedding cost Friday was well below that when they tied the knot at the Franklin County Courthouse. 
They had done their own research and came to the conclusion that getting married by a judge here in Benton was the way to go. 
Turns out that the Mt. Vernon duo checked out the cost of a courthouse wedding there in Jefferson County and followed that up by checking prices for the same ceremony here in Franklin County, and the difference really surprised them.
For the now newlyweds, Christopher Acheson and his bride Shannon Wheeler Acheson, both of Mt. Vernon, they chose Benton over Mt. Vernon simply because of the cost savings. 
"The reason we decided to marry here is kind of strange, but it was going to cost us twice as much to get married in Mt. Vernon in their courthouse as it did here," Christopher said. "We didn't want a big wedding. We just wanted it to be small and private."
The beaming bride explained the cost difference.
"It was going to cost us $85 total in Mt. Vernon and it only cost us $40 total here for the same thing," she said.
After stops in both Franklin County Clerk Greg Woolard's office to obtain the license, followed by a trip across the hall to Franklin County Circuit Clerk Jim Muir's office to be assigned a judge, they were married by Circuit Court Judge Eric Dirnbeck. 
The new Mrs. Acheson's sons, Michael, 10, and Beckley, 9, also were on hand for the short ceremony. That put a smile on the groom's face as well.
"For the first time I'm a father now!" he said.
Acheson said he actually grew up in Benton, and his wife is a Johnston City native.
"We both work at General Tire, but we didn't meet there," he said. "Her sister fixed us up!"
The new Mrs. Acheson said that was two and a half years ago.
"It was time we tied the knot," she said.