BellaOnline Forums Relationships Weddings Wedding on a Budget

This is a nice thread with great information. I have no plans on getting married, but I will share the link here if I read anywhere of someone wanting tips.

My first wedding was held down at the pool at my Hollywood apt. We got the person to officiate through the yellow pages of the phone book!

The second marriage we went to some lady's house in Beverly Hills who advertised in the phone book that she did weddings. We even got an audio tape of the ceremony. She had her living room set up, probably similar to what a Las Vegas place or chapel would be like - I am guessing.

I went Hollywood style cheapo both times.

My friend who is married 15 years had a wedding on a budget...a local dressmaker made her gown (which retailed for $3,000 and she paid $800) and our dresses (all 7 of them) with headpieces for about $150 (and they were one-of a kind and beautiful!) 10 a.m. mass, 12 o'clock cocktail hour and reception from 1-5 pm. NO alcohol served as it was a money saver AND being a Saturday, we all went out afterwards anyway. They honeymooned at a bed & breakfast in MA, travelled there and back by train and only spent two days away. The reception hall was a local place and had a room available and great food...

Anyway, what I'm getting at is that you don't have to go broke to have a great wedding and remember that it is YOUR DAY, though you want your guests to have a great time at your wedding, it is YOU who will have the memories (and photos!) for the rest of your life. If you are not happy with it, who else will be? Small wedding party, small limo. Small reception, less food and cake. Have a champagne toast and just serve beer, wine and soda if you like. If guest want mixed drinks, have a cash bar and make that known in advance...some people may not like it but why should you pay for them to drink on your wedding day...???

Am I rambling? Sorry, I don't know when to quit.

Anyway, I guess what I'm getting at is: budget first, shop around and know what you want before you start "shopping" for wedding stuff (that means everything!). You'll visit less places and be less stressed if you have everything laid out and planned when you are preparing for your wedding.

Good luck! And Best Wishes to you both...in the end, I'm sure whatever you choose, it will be the best choice for you!

Ooh, Michelle, your #5 sounds wonderful! My partner and I were thinking of doing a coffee (and tea) bar with our hors d'oeuvre reception too, since we're both really into coffee.

I just remembered another way to save cost: don't tell vendors it's for a wedding! I've read that as soon as a vendor hears "wedding" the price jumps up--so just tell the hall that you want to have a party there rather than a wedding reception, order the flowers as if it were for an occasion that's not a wedding, etc. And if you make things for your wedding, stay out of the "wedding aisle" at the craft stores because sometimes you can find the exact same thing in the regular sections for less money (once read about someone who got some little beads in the regular section; they were the same as the ones in the "bridal section" but the latter cost more and came in a smaller package).

I'm getting married on a smaller budget myself. We've called in alot of favors. For instance I work for an entertainment company, so one of my fellow employees is my DJ and my boss is loaning me his sound equipment. The hall we're getting isn't gorgeous but it's free cuz my future FIL worked for years with the gentleman who owns it. My best friend is getting ordained and is going to marry us (no cost). We're getting married at my dad's house (no cost). A friend of mine is helping with flowers and organization. We're borrowing everyone's xmas lights to decorate the hall (covered in tulle) Another friend of mine is making our cake for a small fee. ummmm... I'm making my own favors and centerpieces (using silk for the centerpieces so i can buy them over a period of time) The only alcohol we are serving is margaritas and beer and champagne. We will be providing mixers if people want to bring something themselves. A friend of mine has offered to bartend for us. I also have sponsors (i'm Latina) so someone is buying my dress for me and others are getting the different things we need for the ceremony (lazzo, arras, bible...) I'm making my own Save the Date magnets and invitations. oh! and programs! I'm ordering alot over the internet.

lol this was going to be a short post. My advice is give yourself enough time to shop around and call in as many favors as you can.

My brother just got married and they literally had a couple hundred dollars to spend on their wedding because the bride's Dad refused to pay for anything (a long and painful story).

Anyway, a TON of people helped them out when they heard of their predicament. The leader of our church allowed them to use the cultural hall for free and our neighbors made a ton of goodies and treats for the reception.

The evening ended up being wonderful because it was more comical than anything else. Sometimes it is the weddings on a tight budget that people remember as the fondest.

I'm reading these threads because I'm helping my daughter plan her wedding and we are on a very tight budget. However, I would absolutely die before I would have a cash bar at a wedding, or at any other function I hosted, for that matter. Sorry, I just don't understand the attitude of
"why should I pay a guest to drink on my wedding day?" - you are not PAYING guests to do anything, you are ENTERTAINING them. Would you invite guests to a dinner party at your home and then charge them for the cost of the food? The principle is exactly the same.

If you cannot afford a bar or alcohol at all, just don't have it. Period. There is absolutely nothing wrong with a wedding without alcohol - but there is lots wrong with being a cheesy hostess.

I have to agree with you, PollyPolly. A cash bar is seriously tacky.

I bought my dress from a woman who ended up not getting married. I went to a wedding shop to look for a plain white bridesmaid dress and the clerk said they had a whole room full of new bride's dresses women ordered but weren't able to use since the weddings were canceled. These women didn't want to take the dress home so the shop resells the dress for them and takes a commission.

I found the perfect dress with a fingertip length veil for $400 (it was around $4000 new) and I paid $75 in alteration fees to size it.

my mother and I did all the flower arrangements ourselves with high quality silk flowers. They weren't exactly what I wanted, but I realized the wedding was 1 day and I'd rather have the $300 price difference to put towards our first place together rather than on cut flowers that would dry and drop.

Meg

One of my wedding clients had a tiny budget.

She already had her dress...we had already worked-out the floral issue (I did all her flowers onsite and bought them all at the local farmers market saving a LARGE sum of her budget money.)

She didn't have a church or wedding venue booked - AND she and her fiance were of differing faiths.

She didn't have a caterer or reception space - not enough money in the small budget.

What she DID have were relatives that were members at the cutest little white country church you have ever seen. "In the middle of nowhere", it was surrounded by fields of wildflowers and the grounds were lovely - large old oaks and maples, an old-fashioned arbor (if you arent familiar with this term, think of an outdoor sacred space with a vine covered roof and no walls - and antique church pews) to get married in and pretty dappled light for an outdoor reception.
AND since the relatives were members, the couple was only charged a small donation to the church for the use of the wisteria- covered church arbor and the grounds for THE ENTIRE DAY!!

We decided to play up the strengths of the venue by making her reception an Southern Old Fashioned Ice Cream and Cake Social!
The families of both bride and groom dug out all their ice cream makers - both electric and hand-cranked.We ended up with 9 ice cream flavors and 2 'mix-in' stations.

The bakers of both families baked and donated as wedding gifts a total of 10 cakes to provide a flower-strewn "country cake table" (all different flavors and colors).

The mothers of the bride and groom joined in the celebration, donning fresh white aprons over their wedding attire, and made gallons of fresh home-made lemonade, limeade and orange-ade for all the guests.

I found a local string band to play soft mountain music and old Jazz standards for this breezy afternoon reception.

The photographer - found working on the local newspaper staff - said that he got the best shots of his career at this budget event! He refused to charge for the labor - only charging for the developing and prints!

I STILL get calls to do a repeat at this same venue -


All this to tell you the following:

1.) LOOK AROUND YOURSELF - ask your family and friends for ideas - you don't have to settle for typical dinky/craftie homemade "favors", mints and punch! And you certainly don't have to sacrifice the possible breathtaking Romance-Factor to have a money-saving wedding on a budget!

2.) Think OUTSIDE THE BOX on wedding/reception venue, food, music and even dress code.....
One client that got married beside a lake, asked all who attended their wedding to wear "water-colors" - blues, greens, aquas, even violet! The photographs were GORGEOUS and EVERYONE who is in them looked as though they were IN the wedding party!
Another client asked that everyone attending wear white or cream or pale yellow - they were getting married in a very interesting sculpture garden outside an art museum - the photos were all done in black and white and when they were delivered, were reminiscent of scenes from the Great Gatsby!
Memories are made when you get truly creative and don't bow to convention or typical/expected ideas for your wedding!

Here's to YOUR Happily Ever After!! <img src="/images/graemlins/rolling.gif" alt="" />

Hi ArtGlam. I was wondering if you might be able to give me some pointers on starting up a business as a wedding planner. My friend and I live in an area where people flock to get married and are seriously interested in starting a business. Thanks for any pointers you might be willing to share.

Laura