Alternatives to going to the court house to marry?

Question

I'm in st. louis, mo. I am trying to plan a wedding under $3000. Our reception is gonna cost $1133, DJ-$445, Photographer-$550. This is everything we wanted in the reception. We only have about $800 left. And we havent gotten anything but the above.

I really want a walk down the asle and all that. But, for our budget I dont think we cant afford it. Is there any other alterntive than going to the courthouse?

I am going for the cheapest of everything that is left to get, and still we are over budget by like $500. We are a young couple and don't have a lot, to spend extra.

Any suggestions. I would be upset if we could only afford to go the the courthouse but, we cant afford: $250 reverend fee, $200 ceremony location fee, $200 for flowers, $250 dress, $200 tux ect.

I have looked and look, and so far the estiimated prices are the cheapest I can get.

We or any of our family members belong to a church. We are not religous. I was thinking a park also, does anyone know, if you rent chairs..do you have to go get them and bring them back yourself (The grand rental station is what i'm looking at - $1.00 per chair)
A friend of ours has a church, but they still charge $550 for it (that is total, music, reverend, small decorations)

No one we know or our family has a nice backyard. We already have the reception hall booked...it is what my fiance wanted very badly.

Answer 1

Ok, sweetie keep looking. You might find a package deal in your budget. A chappel somewhere that provides decorations. Consider Getting your dress on Ebay. I did and it turned out great. I spend $125 on my dress (which isnt all that cheap if you're trying to get out cheap, but you could get one used even cheaper.) No one would be the wiser. You could make your own flower arrangements with silk flowers for way less than $200 and I opted for the real flowers so I ordered tulips from Holland, $140 including shipping for 100 stems. I'll have to put them together with about $10 of ribbon and pins but I'm free. $200 is a lot for a tux too. Men's Warehouse has tuxes starting at like $49 and you can get a deal where if you have 4 other tux rentals for $60 the groom's is free. After tax, and their insurance the groomsmen's tuxes come out to $70. We're paying our preacher $100 too, which is about average. You should be able to find someone for that price. Consider looking on www.theknot.com. Someone may be able to recomment a preacher in your area. Try www.orientaltrading.com for decorations and I got my cake servers off of theknot also. They were $7 for simple cake servers with our names and the date engraved for free. I'm adding some flowers I got off of oriental trading (24 for like $2) and making them prettier. You can make lots of things yourself. If you email me, I can give you direction on how to make invitations for about $10 (makes up to 200 invitations) Flower girl baskets can be made from regular baskets ($3), add a few ribbons and bows and you've got a $20 basket. Make your ring pillow. $1 of material and some stuffing and about 10 minutes of time and you've got your pillow. Also, talk to family and friends, borrowing things is always an option, and it's free.

Answer 2

I have a friend who married at an amusement park. Cedar Point in Sandusky Ohio did a great job for my friend. They stayed at the resort and was treated like gold by the park. She wanted the traditional wedding too, but money was a problem. To this day she marvels over how romantic her wedding was, just the two of them. Disney carries wedding packages as well. You could marry on a beach overlooking the ocean. Or even on top of a hill in the country overlooking a beautiful meadow of flowers. Possibly even on a boat cruise. There are so many romantic ways to get married that are well within the $3000 range. Alot of my friends have actually had private ceromonies and then awhile later had a reception for the family. Anymore weddings are just too pricey for the average income. Don't settle for what you don't want. Look into private wedding ceromonies on the internet. For $3000 you could travel to any state and marry at any beautiful location you choose.

Answer 3

OK, here are a few money saving ideas.

Ditch the DJ and have a few friends take turns spinning disks. This sort of service falls into the same category as being asked "to pour" at a friends tea, and is an honor just short of being a bridesmaid, groomsman, or usher. Friends can also be honored by being asked to serve drinks, stand at the coffee urn, pass the cake, etc. Get at least two honorees for each position, so that everyone has a chance to dance and mingle. Don't let the caterer bully you out of honoring your friends in this way.

Cut the floral budget. Fewer roses and orchids, more daisies and carnations. For the men, you can buy a few stems of carnations at the supermarket and make your own. Alter piece and pew corsages can be omitted. If you want to seriously trim the floral budget, trim the corsages for bridesmaids and mothers too. A single bloom on a ribbon is nice. I got bouquet, 4 corsages, and the men's buttonholes for under $100, cash and carry.

$450 for location / celebrant is high, but I take at your word, that you have tried to do better.

We had our "professional" wedding portraits, with family members and bridal party taken at the photography studio before the wedding for a considerable savings. Our amature "shutter bug" friends got plenty of shots of the dances, the cake cutting, and so on. I was apprehensive about this, but in the event was so pleased to be able to simply enjoy the party instead of being ordered about by a photographer with a tight schedule.

Maintain total control of your guest list. You should have a yes list and a no list, never a maybe list. Do NOT pay for "extra, just in case" food and drink. And most certainly, do not allow people to bring "a date" ... this is an important occasion for you and your own dear friends, not a disco. Guest have no business bringing guests of their own.

Look at your reception plans and be merciless with that red pencil. Favors for each guest? Thirty years ago no one had thought of such a thing; this is a silly invention designed to sell merchandise to starry eyed young couples. Anything personalized, monogrammed, engraved should be subjected to close scrutiny. The Goodwill Store is full of personalized wedding paraphernalia that people got tired of storing. Look at each item carefully; is it really worth the extra $10 or $20 to have a fancy cake topper instead of the low budget version? Be the bride your caterer will never forget.

I hope you can a trim a few hundred with some of these suggestions. I think your determination to wed in a style you can afford bodes well for the future of your marriage. Best wishes for many years of happiness.

Answer 4

Well, for the reverend you might have to just go with that unless you know a reverend that would do it for free or a church that would offer you free services and its location. But for the ceremony location just find a friend or family member's backyard. You can go to a park. They might charge you, but it could be cheaper.

For the dress, that's pretty cheap for a wedding that's great. Have you looked into renting? You might be able to rent. Or see if you have a friend or family member that could lend you a tux or something. For your wedding dress you could make it or find someone to make it for you.

Can you find someone to take your pictures for you? Get someone in the family to do it. They won't be professional though so consider that. Also, to go less on food make it yourself.

If you're going to go over ask to borrow the money then when it's over and you get back on your feet pay it back.

Or you could just go to Vegas. They sell wedding packages that include all of that. It's not great, but it's an idea. Good luck!

Answer 5

Maybe you need to rethink the DJ and reception amounts. Isn't the wedding more important than the reception? Sounds like something needs to go, or be scaled smaller. And for the dress and tux, have you considered renting? If any of your family regularly attend a church, you might want to check there on costs, or find a smaller church outside the city.

Answer 6

Ok...you should be able to get aclerk of court to come to your site and perform a short ceremony for about $100. Get your dress and the tux. Loaction fee, you need to be creative... find a park, find a inexpesive lodge hall, or homeowners community hall. For flowers, get what you can. Try calling your local funeral homes and picking up flower arrangements for free from them. (a little morbid but they do throw away alot of flowers). You and your girlfriends, famnilies can rearrange the flowers making them festive rather than gloomy. Best wishes, and you could probably go a little chaper on the DJ. Have all your family chip in with the music and have cousin ed run the Stereo system...just dont give him a mike.

Answer 7

The only other option would be to postpone your wedding for a couple of months untill you have that little bit extra to spend. This is after all one of the most important days of your life and you want it to be perfect not just something that was thrown together just to get it over and done with. You can still be together, but wait a while at least just a couple of months and see if you can save some more to make it a day you will remember.

The other option is to talk to your bank and see if you can sort out some sort of an affordable loan.

Good Luck.

Answer 8

Hey neighbor! I'm in Lake St. Louis . . . small world!

My first wedding, we were married in my grandmother's backyard and my second was St. Charles County Courthouse. Your best bet would probably be to find a non-denominational officiant and have the ceremony performed at your reception site.

As for flowers and decorations, I used to work for Michaels in Chesterfield. They have a wonderful floral designer and you may be able to arrange a floral design party for you, your bridesmaid(s), your mom, grandma, future mother-in-law, etc. and you'll be able to create your own arrangements for the wedding at a fraction of the cost. Plus, there are tons of supplies and suggestions for wedding favors.

Now on to your dress . . . when is the wedding? I may be able to help you either buy your dress at a fraction of the cost or get a price for a custom design of your choice. I also do beaded jewelry.

Check out my website for more information!

Answer 9

Why not try a park or someones back yard. You can always have you "person who will marry you" go to where you are. In a pinch you can have a friend get ordained as a minister on the Internet. Might be worth looking into. No extra fee for you. Good luck and congrats!

Answer 10

Justice of The peace!!!!
This certified person can marry you anywhere you want and provide you with a legal document of your union recognized by the state of Missouri. You can ask the locall city hall for a current listing.
Good luck