How can you have a nice wedding without spending too much?

Question

It seems like weddings are so expensive these days. What are some things you have done to save money but still had a classy, nice wedding?

Answer 1

My wedding only cost $2,000 and it was really lovely. Some of the things I did maybe a lot of people wouldn't do, but here are some of them:

First of all, my wedding was in a church that cost only $450 and it included the "wedding coordinator."

I had my reception at home and my mother and aunt and cousin made orderves. They did wraps, chicken in different sauces on toothpicks, a fruit centerpiece made out of a pineapple, and some other pretty things that I don't remember what they were called.

My cake was done by a friend.

I did my own makeup but had my hair done by a stylist. But it wasn't an updo so it wasn't expensive.

My flowers were silk flowers but they were arranged beautifully. We used lots of candles.

My bridesmaids dresses were $40 each from this store individually owned by a nice Asian man.

One bit of advice though. Wherever you cut corners, make sure you just don't cut out the photographer. We had a friend take our wedding photos and none of them were that good. He did an excellent job on our engagement photos which is why we used him but he didn't know how to work with the church lighting, etc.
So GET A GOOD PHOTOGRAPHER.

Oh, and we made our own invitations. They were awesome and we got a lot of compliments. We've even been asked to make our friends'. If you're interested in our wedding invitation service...let me know! I can show you ours...

Answer 2

Im getting married this august, and have done alot of things to bring down the cost of our wedding.

1. Instead of renting a place to do the reception and ceremony at, see if you have a friend or famioly memeber, or possibly a state park, where you could have the wedding at for free and decorate up.

2. If you do it at a friend or family members house, you can rent all the tables and chairs, and about anything you could think of.

3. If your not picky about flowers being real, there is a place online were you can rent wedding flowers, and they arrange them to you however you want, and its like SUPER cheap, and the flowers are high quality, feel and look real. Nice for summer weddings so the flowers dont wilt.

4. If you want to serve a meal, cook it yourself (BBQ would be alot easier and faster, and then you could get all your guest fed really fast.

5. Instead of getting a DJ, burn your wedding music on a disk, and then just have someone pop it in after the ceremony, and theres your music... if you want ceremony music, you could do it the same way :) Save you alot of money. I went to a wedding where they did that, it was just as good!

5. Make your own invitations. If you want party favors, make them yourself. Its really easy and alot of fun

6. One thing to keep in mind is when you buy your dress, and if you need it altered, sometimes you can find a place somewhere else that does a better job and a lower price. Thats what happened with my dress. Also, if you shop around the time when bridal places are getting new dresses, they put discontinue a bunch, and they end up being way cheaper. The dress I wanted was over $1200, and I got it for $600. but even davids bridal has those $99 sales. They have some beautiful dresses sometimes in there.


Hope something on there helps!!!

Answer 3

I didn't have a limo, my mother and I made my wedding dress and friends and family made the food for the reception. Also we didn't use the church for the wedding, we had it all at the same reception hall. Also you can save by having a friend or a friend of a friend do the photography if you know someone who will do a good job with it. My cousin did mine and put the photos into a personalized album for us. We had a dry wedding since I was pregnant and wanted people to enjoy themselves without getting drunk. That all saved us a lot of money, also try to limit the number of quests to close family and friends if you can. Don't go inviting everyone you ever talked to just because you feel you have to. We did the decorating the day before, and my father-in-law made a trellis arch that stood behind us during the ceramony.

Good luck.

Answer 4

You can do alot of things. My husband and I had an entire wedding for around $3,000.00 We made our invitations. I just went out, bought card stock, found the way I wanted to word them, and voila! I also tied ribbon through them. It was time consuming, but worth it. We had a big outdoor party/reception which saved loads! All the family members made our fave foods. We went shopping at diff bridal shops and looked for dresses that were out of season or discontinued. My best friend and I sat up and made our flowers. It cost us about $100.00 to buy so many artificial flowers, ribbon, and misc that we didn't know what to do with it. We also had a cupcake cake instead of a traditional one. It was very time consuming, but saved us a bunch! Plus, everyone loved it and talked all night about it. The most expensive thing we had was the photographer. I personally don't think this area should be bargained. Those photos will stay with you forever, and you want them to look nice. Plus, with all the money you save in other areas, you can afford a nicer photographer. Hope this helps!

Answer 5

First I booked everything early. This will save you money and you have more power to negotiate. I used my own church for the wedding so they cut me a deal on facilities. (Luckily the church has a banquet hall so I used that for the reception.) We rented a tux, but guys can wear suits that are much cheaper and look just as elegant. A friend of mine did my hair. I kept it simple so there was not much to be done (This is also useful for the wedding night. My best friend tells a story of her wedding night. She had a complex updo with tons of curls and swirls and bobby pins. The first thing she and her new husband did in the bridal suite was take out the tons of pins in her hair...very romantic.)

I made my own food for my reception and a friend of my mom's, by chance, made wedding cakes for fun. She made mine and only charged the cost of materials. The most expensive thing besides the dress was our wedding set which we got on sale from Zales. Flowers, we picked seasonal flowers and prearranged designs so it made it cheaper.

Decor, we used several yard of cheap cotton twill draped over things. Luckily the church was very beautiful so it didn't need much decor.

Hope that inspired a few ideas.

Answer 6

My husband and I got married by a justice of the peace in his sister's back yard. She decorated it with little silk butterflies that she found at the dollar store and lots of tulle that she got on clearance somewhere. The entire family helped out with cooking and drinks. It was great! We had a fairly small wedding, only about 20 people, but you can still do the same thing on a larger scale! It was almost like a Wedding/ BBQ but nicer... we got the flowers from a local florist up the road, we got the cake from the grocery store (which is great because whenever you want to remember your wedding, you can go buy cupcakes from the store and it really takes you back!!) and my uncle (who's a musician) had his band provide all the music! If you want to see some pics, shoot me an email and we can chat! Our wedding was very casual, but you could still fancy it up a bit, but still keep it cheap! :-) Good luck!

Answer 7

I came across this and thought about how expensive weddings cost. I know of some great ways to cut cost and still have a great wedding, and everyone will think you spent a mint. If you would like to email me at [e-mail] I will gather some really great price cutting information up for you. Just give me a idea of what your dream wedding would be like and I will do my best to help make it all happen, Through some guidance it would be possible. Best wishes

Answer 8

Weddings don't have to be expensive it is the couple and the parents who decide on the price. The best way to make it a smaller budget is to invite less people, and if you have an evening wedding instead of a full meal just do appetizers. Go to www.weddingchannel.com or www.theknot.com they have some excellent tips, advice, and a checklist. Good luck with the planning if you would like more information or have any questions please don't hesitate to email me at [e-mail], planning a wedding can be fun but stressful

Answer 9

I think I had the cheepest wedding of all time. There were only 8 people, including me and my husband, no parents. We went to a commissionaire and got married in hsi living room. I had a dress that was actually a dress I had worn as a bridesmaid. After me and all my friends went out to the mountains and went horsebackriding. In the evening we went to a really nice restaurant and ate in a private room. It was very special to us. I know my parents would have liked to have been there but we wanted to have our wedding for us. It seems like most people are having a wedding for everyone else and not enjoying it because it is so crazy. I will never forget my wedding and we planned it in one week.

Answer 10

We got married at my church (by my father, no fee, but made a donation to the church). Then two months later had a reception. We saved a lot and could afford a trip. I asked close family members to sponsors things (food, drinks, music) and they were all willing to help. If you do it yourself buy in bulk and only what you need. Plan food and decorations for the season, don't get stuff out of season. Make your own wedding favors. Ask friends to help with decorating. Be creative and have fun. P.S. any wedding planning guide will do wonders. Congrats!