Here is everything that we spend on our wedding including special notes on how we were able to keep costs down with each: As I said the other day, this is your special day. We all have different markets and different budgets, but accusing a venue of “gouging” is showing your ignorance. We got a cousin to DJ and an aunt to coordinate the wedding. At 25 I introduced my fiance to dad and the next week he handed me $2 thousand and said good luck. Taking care of ill parents, then losing those parents and every day life with children made getting married a back burner priority. if i could do things over, i would have rented a beach house on the east coast and got married next to the ocean with just a few ppl there. Sorry I don’t know much about you, just found your website, so maybe they are not married and do not have kids. City Hall wedding, his daughter and wife’s daughter the only guests, nice lunch, 3 day bed and breakfast honeymoon a car ride away from home. thank you so much! Unless you have a specific reason for owning a tuxedo (and few people do), you should rent one. If I had to do over I’d redo almost everything from reduce our attendants to one person each to cutting the guest list in half. The Spruce uses cookies to provide you with a great user experience. Dude. Then, if your guest list is small enough, look into having your reception at restaurant, there are less hidden fees, for example there will be no charge for place settings. And I would go my my local grocery store that sells flower and pick out a bunch of flowers and type them with a gorgeous ribbon and carry them up my arm… much cheaper than florist. Why does everyone keep saying it’s about the marriage and not the wedding? I’m so excited about my chapter with him. I have myself been to weddings where I hardly knew the bride and groom, and tbh my £60 meal was wasted on me as I wouldnt have been offended not to be invited. It’s often useful to rent the tuxedos as a group through the same business, as you’ll often get a group … We are not engaged yet but will be soon. Madamenoire Featured Video. It made for a much more enjoyable and intimate wedding in which we were able to deeply connect with everyone vs. being pulled in dozens of different directions at once. My girlfriend & I have just started discussing our future plans. It’s also a huge cost saver and incredibly rewarding. Found an all inclusive package for 1800. but in my opinion a lot of that traditional stuff is over-rated. Save yourself the $300-$500+ that they would charge. At my cousin’s wedding she didn’t even see me there as there were too many people trying to talk to her. 1. And my guy is in law enforcement, and the relationship he has with his fellow deputies is very brother/family-like, and he insists they are all necessary as they are “a part of the family”. I’d love to do this on my wedding, too. We went with a Thursday night and it cut our costs in half versus a Saturday, to just $500. We’re from Livingston, County, MI and would truly be grateful to anyone who could give ideas for a lovely, low cost venue, etc. Do what you want, invite who you want, plan it yourself, track all expenses, and don’t be afraid to break stodgy, boring McWedding traditions. We had a flutist, soloist, and pianist at the Church and a dj at the reception. How to Have a Cheap Wedding There is plenty of extravagance to be found an affordable event - and once you realize the thousands of dollars you can save, extravagance is just a happy perk. Perhaps an even bigger cost saver is to find a hall that allows you to use your own caterer. I created a site on the same topic and was really inspired by your personal story. I’m leaning toward the idea of opening the house up to family and friends, renting some tables, and putting out a buffet. I will add those are just adults, only about 10 of the guest are children. Start looking forward to celebrating your ceremony and reception with your friends and family. To keep it small and for logistical reasons, no cousins (it was college season anyway). He felt pressured to hurry up and get married to shut his family up. I bought four bouquets and 16 corsages and boutonnieres for just under $225. It takes work but can be done. was by a friend lawyer of ours.’Since I did not want kids I did it in my 7 room house and had one room disco like for teenagers one room for totlers crayons and water color put paper on walls and had them enjoy it all Had a room for girls so they could enjoy bean bags (filled with sand) and games tele TV for entertainments.. We had flowers for myself, the birdesmain, jr bridesmaid and flowergirl as well as flowers for the men and for the mothers/grandmothers. (Obviously with the exception of that one materialistic girl). I’m planning a 25 guest wedding and these ideas are fantastic! They should never pay more than $500 for a wedding planner to assist them. We ended up with a Catholic wedding to appease them and my husband ended up converting to Methodist 5 yrs into our marriage. It’s also very rewarding. The issue that concerns me is really the guest list… I can’t conceive of the cost of feeding 100 people! Have a Morning Wedding Although it may be tricky for a bride to get herself ready bright and early, having a morning wedding can save a lot of money. A lot of thought, negotiation, and even a little sacrifice (but not much) went into our wedding planning. I did layout and bought cute printer paper with a pastel floral theme. Before all heading back to the house for a bit before the ceremony. They both used their pastor who I don’t think charged them to officiate. i total agree with you and is all about finding the right man . Rent tuxedos as a group, or simply wear matching suits. includes officiant, dj, bartender, roomrental (I got my office where I work for $200 and used the large open rooms), linens, and marriage license. Spoiled rotten children make horrible adults. I built gazeboso we will have a park scene in the church hall. My favorite idea ties into the flexible reception hall: I provided a fully stocked and open bar to about 200 guests (maybe 100 who drank) for the grand sum of $600. . There is a local biscuit factory who is catering for our morning tea. my fiance proposed 2 weeks ago…we have 4 children betwee us i ad 2 he had 1 and we have 1 together..we own our home and are pretty stable..the ffact still remains that we have 4 children though so Wedding talk is difficult… i’m the o it yourself kinda gal…and always on a bugdet this blog gave me tons of helpful ideas…cant wait to get started…, wow great article! Both weddings were potluck, and for my sister’s wedding I got a cake from Jewel that they decorated in two layers and made to look very wedding-ish for $35. It is about the marriage, getting to spend the rest of your life with the person you love, not the goddamn money. But I probably spent about $2000 on my wedding and that includes, dress, alterations and everything. Over the years, only a handful of these relatives were still close to us, however, we decided that we should either invite them all or invite none, in order to be fair. Also consider only having the bar open during your cocktail hour, then serving an inexpensive wine with dinner. Making the most of a wedding, regardless of its cost, consists of three key elements: help your clients to set priorities, use resources that your clients have available, and be creative. I got a marquise diamond and matching wedding band for $700 that appraised for $2600. the food i bought myself and set out as a buffet. These are all such interesting comments.i haven’t been married (yet) but 5 siblings all married, 3 divorced. I can’t wait till March. You do not deserve to get married with that kind of attitude. Desert-wise we had a small (not tiered) cake- we actually really wanted to forgo the typically lame wedding cake in its entirety but for various reasons ended up getting a small cake from a local cakestore. Thats freakin awesome! Have your ceremony in a public park, all you pay is the permit fee. I bought my designer wedding gown, still with a four figure tag attached, for fifteen dollars. If I had the money to afford an over the top wedding, I would still opt to do the small wedding I’ve described and put that money down on a house! Don't go for engraving—regular printed invites work just as well. G.E. Here in palestine, number of guests (avg) is not less than 500 person serving breakfast or brunch is much cheaper than dinner. ADVERTISEMENT. and as a guy young, naive and crazy in love its hard to say no, haha oh well always great to do this kinda stuff when you are young! God bless you ALL and I pray that EVERY MARRIAGE on here will NEVER be a negative statistic!! Kudos! My fiancee and I are getting married in 2014, and all we want is a great dance floor; no big dinners or fancy stuff. They allowed no outside drinks but my family isn’t much for drinking alcohol other than a glass of wine here or there so we did lemonade, iced tea, and water… it was cheaper than pop. I would love to look into having mine there! cake i made myself which that hardly got eaten either. What an amazing set of memories, and what amazing people you must be to have so many wonderful people in your life. It may not have been an elegant wedding, but I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. Wedding dresses and suits or tuxes are often a sizable line item on wedding budgets. Happy wife, happy life. We had ours in church reception hall so very minimal reception cost and was afternoon wedding with just wedding cake and punch. So i pass on that idea. And we didn’t hire a photographer. My maid-of-honor chose her formal dress that cost ten dollars. If you do the catering the room is free. And to call someone else’s wedding tacky, when they were perfectly happy with it, is rude. You could have an afternoon tea reception with finger sandwiches and scones! I wish I could afford to have her reception there but am dealing with a great deal of medical expenses. Everyone had a great time. We did it by using a place that was not in the metro area, was new to having weddings (and thus reasonable), and by choosing a place that let us bring our own vendors and liquor. Of these periods it is easy to find wedding dresses and groom at significantly discounted prices. Thank you!!! Outdoor weddings are great, Jessica. Congrats, and best of luck with yours. It’s cheaper to serve and less laborious to prepare, pasta and a Greek salad. Cleaning up was easy had trash bags sitting all over with every one helping with not leaving anything out of place. I did my own make-up and my sister did my hair. Any time I request a song, it never gets played anyways, so they don’t provide that value. He asked me if I would rather spend the $20,000.00 on a wedding or buy a house. I enjoy making clothing so I anticipate spending far less on something that will be much more meaningful to me, rather than spend 3k to dress like a giant cupcake. includes cameras on tables, developing to cds, prints, formal pics, bridal portait, and albums. About 4 am we all collapsed in to tents the guys and set up or in the fire house. I am amazed at all the idea you guys had for your wedding and it sounds like it was perfect! This way our say and honeymoon will.be about us and not stressful. Paul Edel | le 17 avril 2011 à 13:38eh oui c’est ça le pire, que beaucoup en viennent à le regretter et lui tresser des couronnes (comme quelques uns regrettent Chirac ), outre que certains en GB nous enviaient cette émission dérisoire et convenue, mais inexistante chez eux -et dont l’intérêt était l’éventail des invités (enfin pas mal refusaient d’en être). We did a cash bar for the few guests that might want alcohol. Ask them which are the least expensive entrees and whether a buffet is cheaper than a seated dinner. And the venue. My bouquet was a bunch of white baby tulips wrapped in ribbon. The total cost was under $300 which included hawaiian shirts bought online, marriage license, sheet cake and minister. Some of the most affordable beach wedding destinations are … We look at how to have a brilliant but cheap wedding. I don’t whine when brides and grooms say that they want to do a “cheap” wedding, I give my encouragement. Of those, the 12 he was un or underemployed? Having one with a lot of ambition and one with a more relaxed approach has worked well for us for the last 21 years. our closest friends and their significant others (13). and put the rest towards a house. Why is that notable? Fantastic site. shld mention that this was 17 yrs ago. Starting at town hall stuffing nearly 85 close relatives and friends in the judges court room where he moved it out to the beautiful three story hall. Music was by anyone who brought an instrament which was everything and anything including a harp. I hear you had a great wedding for about 160pp for not very much money. eBay, eBay, eBay. Our ideal wedding – a tent in my parent’s horse pasture with a local caterer providing the meal. That would have saved so much. my budget is 4,000-5,0000 to cover everything&120 people. Rather than having a reply card, ask guests to reply online or by the telephone. A smaller guest list means you can save a lot on the catering, the food, the drinks, the venue etc. love is grand. 5. We don’t care about flowers, decor…we’re doing our own invites….but it’s venue rental and food and booze which is killing us! The first step is the hardest. In fact, I don’t know if I can financially help much at all. We are only inviting immediate family (about 40 in all) and are getting married at a local vintage homestead in the front garden. That was it. I appreciate all the advice but I’d rather have a 40 dollar wedding at the court house if I’m going to be this cheap! We were married in an opera house (no joke). If possible, smoothly tell her that she will look beautiful no matter what, and that you want her to be happy, and mabey that she should get a cheaper dress because she will still look just as good. By using The Spruce, you accept our, Shop Sample Sales and the Internet for Cheap Wedding Dresses, 9 Best Tips to Save Money on Your Wedding Cake, How to Get Free and Cheap Wedding Flowers, DIY Weddings and Other Budget-Friendly Nuptial Ideas, 7 Tips for Getting Wedding Guests to RSVP, What to Do With Your Wedding Dress After the Big Day, How to Choose a Friend to Officiate Your Wedding. We had a wonderful church wedding and used the lady who does the church flowers to do ours and left the centerpieces there for a reduced fee. We have gone and asked the local nursery to loan us potted plants for the decor. We had the small place to ourselves. After the ceremony we took pictures at a pagoda in the neighborhood park, and it was during Cherry blossom season. Also, look for money-saving tips everywhere. Having the traditional Catholic Wedding added to the cost a lot by lengthening our reception. I’ll be “D-I-Y-ing” a bunch of stuff, including the stationary, some decorations, even some of the accessories, which I know will save tons. Furthermore, recent data shows that high wedding expenses can lead to lower marriage success rates (more “show” than “substance”, perhaps?). So, let’s be realistic ladies.. who REALLY has the money for a nice wedding? on the car.). Well.. cheap weddings are for those who don’t have mommy and daddy paying for their wedding, OR who have parents who don’t have the money FOR a nice wedding. I think sometimes, the yin & yang approach works well. but my dad wouldnt have been able to travel for that so everything worked out ok. anyway, my point is, dont let ppl make you think that you have to compete or spends 10’s of thousands of dollars on a wedding. Did you sacrifice anything you now regret? Big empty spaces come with their own set of challenges like tiny details which are likely to get swallowed up but trying to get the scale without messing with your budget is kind of hard. Such a practical advice – I love it! 1. One way that we are cutting costs is we are only having a ceremony. Invite them and their significant others, and we would have instantly doubled the wedding size. Have a basket of crackers too. ( for 20 guests, all we bring is a license, and our attire) feeling pretty good about it. I think it’s awesome… Just sent this to my fiancé who was terrified of having an overpriced wedding. Best of luck to you! He is married a second time, now. Budgets on all sides are tight. Purchase cheap wedding decorations Once you pick your theme and browse some cheap wedding decorations, look for a place to purchase the decorations. The only thing that matters to me is saying I do to spending the rest of my life with the man that I love. My uncle filmed the wedding. but now she is planning a wedding and i think beginning to realize how expensive it really is to do all this. I’m looking to have the wedding outdoors, maybe in a garden, in northern virginia. With flowers the total was $35. You want a meaningful and beautiful wedding. So when I fell in love for the second time I thought things were going to be different but the wedding ended up worse than the first one. Yeah, I’ve never understood why people spend so much on weddings…! My fiance needs to read this post, we haven’t set the date yet, but we are getting married this year. Our day is about finally taking the big step. I am trying to keep my guest list at 50. It’s going to be absolutely perfect. As for the cake, we got a 3 tier cake and had the baker make a kitchen cake for the back (that way guest could still experience the exquisite taste of a wedding cake)which fed 45 guests for $70. Neither one could afford a professional, even after my haggling, but each time I found a friend interested in photography /film, who came and did it for $100-$200. We went outside the box again on this one in order to keep our wedding cheap. Check out our top suggestions, including beaches, boats and theaters. It pays to think outside the box. One of the best secrets is to set aside some money and go to a local flower shop, flower mart, or even the local grocery store the day of your wedding. I’m looking for a Massachusetts, (Boston area?) I’m going to forward this article to my fiancé RIGHT NOW lol. I went to Goodwill, saw sofa there, came home. Opera House (reception location): $500 (Thursday evening), Décor: $100 (later sold on EBay for $50), Catering: $350 (went with our favorite restaurant, which also happened to be super cheap @ $14 a head), Catering Fee (Clean-up): $50 (because we only had 25 people we didn’t have to hire any servers), Drinks: Free (my parents bought beer from a local brewery and wine), Cakes: $80 (who needs a bland, expensive traditional cake? Some one who I had been helping with college degree brought all the flowers I could ever imagine. I told her to keep it for the honeymoon which will be in February (job constraints). It was very basic, rented 2 cabins by the lake and had everything right there. No need to pay for food or extra decorations for the tables! oh and never work a day in your life. It can be fun to make parts of your wedding DIY. Basically it was close family and relatives we were close to. Cheap wedding food and bar ideas: It might be … You can save 30-50%, if you are also fortunate 70% only for the wedding dress, which is a real plus. Ladies bulge out their eyes in awry when I tell them about my cheap yet fulfilling wedding. We also just got a couple of flower arrangements that we could bring from the Church to the reception and some potted mums that were reused at home (it was a fall wedding). I was making my own memories. Reason gal lived in California but wanted her wedding where her college friends were on the East coast. Introducing "One Thing": A New Video Series, The Spruce Gardening & Plant Care Review Board, The Spruce Renovations and Repair Review Board. And I cannot cut the list as my fiance and I come from huge families. My brother got married on Stinson Beach, then had dinner at a nearby restaurant. The main focus of the desserts was an assortment of large pies from a local pie store (apple, blueberry, and a cookie and cream based pie that was a huge hit. We just had to give ourselves enough time to play with it. One of the highlights was that almost everything supported a local business in our neighborhood. Music for free. Salad was bought by family The one that bought the flowers also volunteered to bring his band and play for us for free. I have been looking for places on a budget in New York. Maybe if more people went your route then the vendors out there wouldn’t be so ready to gouge us all of that money. I also had a budget wedding. It was stressful not knowing how many would show up. Having an expensive wedding can start your marriage off on the wrong financial footing – leaving you and your spouse with mounds of financial debt and the stress that comes with that. All great ideas! It was absolutely phenomenal! Where did you get married? It helped that she worked at a theatre that let us get married there for free. I just got married August 19th this year. P.S. I seriously doubt we hit the $2K mark. A beach wedding is typically free or fairly cheap. Reading all these great ideas, I’m sure we will have plenty of money left over to start our lives together. That is the sweetest thing I have ever heard! In this day and age, with mp3’s and playlists (based on the various parts of the wedding), do you really need a DJ? If your wedding involves decorating a big space like a social hall or rec room, the prospect of decorating it might be scary. To be perfectly honest we dont even know where to start, Or what is it that we even need to get. Well, mine was even cheaper than all this. I’ve given myself a couple months away from wedding planning but know I need to make a decision in a few months. Check websites and ask friends and family members for what they did to save money on their big day. I and my mother and sister cooked most of the food for the buffet, but we also asked everyone to bring something. Make a day of it and see what you can find. I can’t conceive of how we are going to afford a wedding with 100 people or more! Every guest complimented me on my ensemble. We danced all night and had a wonderful time. 15. Plus she has also offered her wedding planning magazines as well. Try state Parks slot of times if you buy a membership they let you rent their venues for free! =), Help with wedding. Why not put aside a bit of money every month for the months leading up to the wedding and invite everyone you want to be there? The cost of this type of basic, legal service is about the same anywhere in the UK, including more expensive … Remember that cleaning the delicate fabric of a wedding dress may cost up to $250, so avoid the cheap dress with the filthy hem. My brother brought his computer for dancing/party music afterwards. I saved BIG by becoming a regular at a local thrift shop. I need a place like that for sure. I have 13 siblings that all married and the weddings were lavish. The … A $2,500 wedding? Otherwise, another great option is to hold the wedding at home, which is usually much cheaper. You have a “tacky” and “ugly” personality. It’s frustrating trying to cut the bare minimum to less than 50! I could care less.. its MY day & I’m marrying my best friend; not everybody and their mom. Some of our guests jumped in and jammed with the band. No wedding party. Flowers were from her place of employment (a major supermarket chain’s flower dept.). I’m thinking…I have no idea!! includes buffett, catoring setup & cleanup, soda, open bar with 4 cases of wine 2 cases of beer and 5 bottles of hard liquor, water, tea, and lemonade Is that legal? The venue isn’t the most important element to her…getting married is. To call someone else ’ s catering service, you 'll save tons on paper and “ complement is. Suuuuper jealous of all places, his hunting camp and matching wedding band $... Article to my fiancé right now lol and was afternoon wedding with 100 people or more but the comments and. 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