Fast and inexpensive wedding and reception?

Question

We are planning to get married this sep. We don't have much money- I am not working and fiance just makes $12 an hour, And we have a baby. My fiance seems to not be into planning or giving any ideas. We plan to marry at Carmel Beach(free) have reception at moms back yard(free) any other ideas to keep costs low on everything else??? This whole process seems to be more depressing than exciting...

Answer 1

Welcome to Marriage Ceremony 101! just joking but congrats on doing the right thing! We did ours on a shoestring & it was great.

Balloons are cheap and easy to coordinate colors/ribbon-rent a cylinder and get hubby to fill/tie them.

We bought cheap little baskets,I cut flowers locally and we added balloons. Cheap centerpieces. Send hubby on a mission w/ a 5 gal bucket (also have him shake them real good to remove any wedding crashers)

We had a buffet line, you can get wire & foil chafing dishes now to keep dishes warm.

Bottom line, just do what you can and it will turn out fine. Anything that goes wrong will become something you LAUGH about down the road. Also whatever you save on the ceremony you can spend on the HONEYMOON!!!

We went to Cancun-cheap and great fun. Best wishes...

Answer 2

Have a very small reception. It's better to treat 10 guests right than to treat 100 guests like cattle.

Buy your flowers at a farmer's market that morning, if you can. If not, costco has great prices.

Have a local restaurant cater a buffet. Call around to see if you can rent plates, glassware, tables, and chairs.

Have 1 bottle of wine per 3-4 guests. Have a wine shop help you pick something out that's inexpensive but tasty. If you want, have a selection of beer on ice as well. A wedding where the person has to buy alcohol is tacky.

Don't worry about decorations and frills. Simplicity and elegance will be the way to get through this.

If you can't afford to do this, then don't bill the reception as a reception. Have the ceremony be only you and your parents and siblings. Invite everyone else to a pot-luck party/get together to celebrate the wedding. This will cut food costs and mean you can be much more casual.

Congratulations and best wishes for a great wedding and marriage!

Answer 3

Even though it's in a backyard you can still plan it really nicely. Don't be depressed. At a later date in time when you are more financially secure you can have another - like for a 5th anniversary or something like that.

If you belong to Costco you can get flowers pretty inexpensive there and food too.

Good luck and cheer up! This is a happy time!!!

Answer 4

The most important thing about a marriage should always be the love that prevails in it. Love will accept anything and pass through any kind of ordeal. Do the best you can, and treassure the memories. I can asure you that you smile every time someone asks you about your wedding in the future.
Congratulations on setting everything straight and may God bless you happy home!

Answer 5

For your flower bouquets, buy fresh bunches at the grocery store, walmart etc. Wrap them in pretty netting and tie with wide ribbons making a bow. We did this at my wedding and it was beautiful. Or Skip the netting and use single flowers with a little greenery and ribbon. for the reception, have your mom ask some family and friends to bring a potluck dish, people close to you won't mind.

Answer 6

You should feel real great venues for the ceremony and reception are usually a huge chunk of a wedding budget. You have time to put together a handmade wedding, which in my opinion, are more fun and charming than the ritzy, expensive weddings.

I would suggest having the ceremony on the beach around Sunset. You can pick up a cheap arbor at Michaels Crafts store and cover it with sheer white fabric (cover it with miniature white lights). This can be cut if you need to add more to the reception decoration budget.

Having the reception in the backyard in the evening means you can decorate with white candles, white paper lanterns, white miniature lights, shells and white streamers. All these can be recycled for Christmas use.

Bring back the arbor to add to the entrance to the house to greet guests.

Instead of getting a wedding dress, find a white bridesmaid dress or white cocktail dress. Since you are getting married on a beach, it doesn't need to be formal. If you want roses for your wedding party check these guys out. Although mum daisies might be cheaper and easier to decorate your wedding cake with. They are cheery and would match the casualness of the beach wedding. Just wrap a big bunch with a white ribbon. http://www.freshroses.com/mum.html

If you want to splurge at little on your bouquet, get Hydrangeas because the petals look like sea shells. You need only 2-3 stems to make a bouquet. Add a couple of stephanotis and you are set.

2G Roses
735 San Juan Rd
Watsonville, CA 95076
http://www.freshroses.com/access.html
1-800-880-0735

You can also do silk flowers from Michaels.

The best way to cut costs is to get friends and family to pitch in with a simple wedding cake decorated with leftover fresh flowers (the daisies!!), BBQ food, set up drinks, play music, take pictures and video, and clean up. One of the nicest weddings I been a part of was in the backyard and it was pot luck. I did the wedding cake, a friend altered an antique dress she lent the bride, her family brought over food, and couple of us took photos. We also put flowers in a wedding arbor and painted the foyer -- a wonderful wedding put together in about 72 hours.

Think about your mutual friends and family -- what skills and resources they have access to.

If BBQ is too pricey, then a pasta dinner with garlic bread and salad is just fine. Just go to Costco. They have chocolate covered biscotti that make great favors if you want to tie a ribbon around it. Or you can buy a bag of big shells and write your names and wedding date on them for favors.

Head count is what kills a budget. More guests, the more food and drink you need.

You might want to ask around if you can borrow some tables and chairs from a local church or from friends. Throw white paper table cloths, save some jars to put votive candles and daisies.

Get a blank journal with a white cover on it for a guestbook. Make sure you have a well lit space that you can take pictures with friends and family. Hopefully youll know someone who has a good camera with a flash.

If you have any friends with teenagers looking to make a couple of bucks or do a favor, they can play music or do set up and clean up -- and serve drinks and stuff. If you know any musicians even better.

Answer 7

have friends bake a simple tiered wedding cake and a grooms cake. have mints ect to snack on and punch ect...basically have just a nice fun get together in your mom's back yard.