RUBY DEE PHILIPPA’s first wedding took place in 2000. It was elaborate, so much so that she estimated that her in-laws spent several thousand dollars on flowers alone. The marriage, she said, lasted less than a year.

So when the time came to do it again, Ms. Philippa, 47, a former restaurant owner, author of “Ruby’s Juke Joint Americana Cookbook” and lead singer in the rockabilly band Ruby Dee and the Snakehandlers, went in the other direction. She and Jorge Harada, 43, a librarian and guitarist for the group, went to a justice of the peace one Friday in April 2011.

And for the reception? The couple gave a barbecue the next day in their backyard in Austin, Tex. Invitations went out via Evite. Guests brought the food, drinks, dishes, grills, pillows and chairs.

“It was a picnic, really,” Ms. Philippa said. “No one had to dress up. They could come in shorts or they could put on nice clothes.”