Would it be possible to have a wedding on a very low budget?

Question

My fiance and I would like to get married in May but were very short on cash... is there a way to have a nice wedding on a low budget? Any ideas for wedding ceremony/reception and favors would be greatly appreciated. We have no set budget but would like to keep it inexpesive.

Answer 1

Have a civil ceremony at the courthouse, have your reception in somebody's backyard, have a potluck dinner, buy a full sheet cake (wedding cake), do at least most of the flowers and/or decorations yourself ( http://www.michaels.com ).

As for your dress and invitations (shameless plug coming), I am a Personal Bridal Buyer. This means that I am an authorized representative of various companies and can offer you discounts that the public wouldn't normally be given.

Some of the companies I represent are:
Regency Thermographics (invitations) http://AphroditesCreations.regency.ac
JDS Marketing (engraved gifts and favors) http://stores.ebay.com/Aphrodites-Creations
Dreams by Renee (wedding gowns - including custom dresses at extremely reasonable prices) http://www.dreamsbyreneebridal.com
(The prices listed on these sites - except for the invitations - are suggested retail and I am able to offer discounts.)

For more information including the other services I offer, feel free to visit my website http://www.aphrodites-creations.com and let me know if I can be of any assistance.

Congratulations and good luck!

Answer 2

1.) Make up an invite list of people that will definitely be there. Set your number to something manageable. Such as 40 to 50. This will make things go so much smoother! Of course that means that most of your guests will be family and close friends, but that will just make it more special.

2.) Do It Yourself kits! Check Michaels Craft Store for their DIY invitations kits. It is a great price.

3.) Flowers don't have to be expensive. Instead of a florist, order your flowers bulk. A great place for flowers is Costco. You can order bulk and it's also a great price! You can also make centerpieces with these bulk flowers by finding vases at the dollar store.

4.) The best place to have a reception is at a restaurant. Find a restaurant that has a banquet room. Set your menu. It should cost no more than 50 a person. And I'm pretty sure you can do better than that depending on what is on the menu.

5.) For favors, there are so many things you can make. Check out orientaltrading.com There are lots of cute things for you to order. Or check out the dollar store.

6.) The cake. Some grocery stores make wedding cakes! I kid you not! You may have to ask them if they don't have anything on display.

7.) Dress. Sale rack! David's bridal always puts their dresses from the previous season on the sale rack. I got mine off the rack... It was originally 1050 and I paid 250. It's gorgeous!

Answer 3

Not only is it possible - but it's also a lot of fun! You have the next 10 months to shop. Plenty of time! First thing - choose your colors. Once you know what colors you want, tell everyone you know to keep their eyes open for bargains. Next - shop Hobby Lobby, Michaels, JoAnn Fabrics and Walmart, every week. Now is the time to find Spring colors at major clearance prices. Watch for candles and holders, flowers, ribbon and vases. Stock up on these items. It's amazing how pretty a room can be, with not much more than dim lights and a ton of candles. Get your girlfriends together and take a flower arranging class at any craft store. Not only will it be fun, but you will make memories you can share for years, rather than spend a ton of money on flowers you only need for one day. Start calling around to different tux rental shops. Some places rent bridal party dresses - clear down to the flower girl. Unless you have to be married in a church because of religous reasons - don't. There are many different and unusual places to be married. Check out appartment complexes. Some of these have beautiful courtyards and club houses. You can reserve these for a very small amount of money, and you don't even have to be a resident! The best part - Mother Nature has done most of the decorating for you. Friday evening at 7:00 is a perfect time. Rental shops are great for your chairs and tables - with this comes the most important thing... Friends. A friend with a pickup truck, three or four more with strong muscles - you've got it made! They can set up the room, move furniture out of the way for a dance, then tear down and return the next day. For the cake, look at your local grocery store bakery department. Not only are they cheaper than a bridal store, but they also taste better. Most important don't stress and have fun!!!

Answer 4

my wedding was planned in 3 weeks and it cost me about $3500. That included my dress that I got on sale and all the tux's, the church and minister and the SMALL reception that we had at the church. That's a great way to save money. Don't have a big reception and if the church will allow it, hold it there. That way everyone will be able to attend and you don't have to worry about getting alcohol and such (most churches won't allow anything other then some toasting champagne). I made my own decorations and decorated the church myself, rented a few plants, the videographer and photographer were both friends that did it for free as my wedding gifts from them.

Good luck to you!

Answer 5

It all depends on what you are looking to do. Some parks require a permit for weddings, so these are things you have to factor in. Perhaps choose a destination wedding where you can get things in packages. When we got married in January, the package that we got from the Chapel in Las Vegas (we got married in the Excalibur Hotel's chapel), was $1300 and that was for an hour of chapel time, which included, all flowers (including bridal party), champagne, two nights at the hotel, breakfast and dinner on them for one day, all taxes, the officiant, all photos, two video tapes, and a wedding coordinator to help with the details. They also provided us with a beautiful white leather case for our marriage license. We had a reception out there because we had 40-50 ppl who flew out for it (we all live on the east coast). The Tuxedo rental only came out to $85 and that was including a charge for pick up and delivery (they brought it to the hotel concierge and picked it up from them).

You would be surprised on how much we saved doing it that way.

Answer 6

Yep, you can have a wedding for the cost of the marriage license if you are careful and creative.

Use a public park or a backyard. A friend can get ordained online to officiate or you can use the family pastor. You have time to grow the flowers yourself. You can get your dress made by a friend or try bartering for it if you want a traditional wedding dress. If not just wear something pretty and summery. Have a potluck dinner for the reception and you can bake and decorate your own cake (they sell cake decorating stuff at walmart but you can improvise)

Answer 7

I got married last August for a just under $1000, and my dress and accessories were right at $600! We got married on my in-law's deck in the backyard. There was only IMMEDIATE family there (parents, siblings, grandparents) and our pastor. We got our cake for $60.00 at Wal-mart (it wasn't some big elegant cake like you see on TV, but it was great for us); we got a meat and veggie tray for afterwards; we got plastic champagne glasses at our local Party store; no professional photographer or videographer, but we still had great pics taken by our family and friends. Everything was wonderful. My best friend got married in June and spent over $30,000...the entire time she was stressing, and I just remembered being so (relatively) calm the day of my wedding! Money can't buy happiness, and an expensive wedding can't guarantee you a great marriage. Just remember, six months from now when you're struggling to pay the electric bill, you might be wishing you had spent less on your wedding and saved the money for something else. I always wanted to have a great big Catholic wedding, but my backyard wedding ending up being absolutely perfect.

Answer 8

Of course, I have spent a total of $2,000 dollars on my wedding. I was in the same boat as you. I had a friend that got married last year so I asked her to ask all her girls if we could use their dresses, the guys usually pay for their tuxes, we got all of or decorations at www.orientaltrading.com very inexpensive! I got a great deal on the church (i asked a member to get it for me :) ) Then have a small reception at a family or friends house. Hope this helps and Congratulations!

Answer 9

My husband and I married in Maui, HI. It was not only beautiful but we had our honeymoon there too. We only had about 15 guests and that was our immediate family.

The total cost for the dinner, the site, flowers, dress, tux rental, favors and cake came to $5600.00.

I was fortunate enough that my brother paid for our airline and my Mom has a condo in Maui. With that our total would have been about $6700-7000.

The best advice I can give you is purchase everything on line. Find the best deals. And find all the crafty people in your family to help with certain things. Buy all the bridal magazines you can, they have great tips and ideas. Also don't rush, give yourself enough time to save and plan. We planned and saved for 2 years.

Good luck to you!!!!

Answer 10

I'm getting married in september and I have three kids and one income in my house so what we did was to combine a cost. We are giving wine glasses for the favours! We found some nice ones at a dollar store and they are about big enough for a 6-8 oz drink. I am making charms with beads on wire so that they will be able to tell them all apart!!! That way they can drink to you anytime!! and you can customize it to your colours and sparkle it up and you don't have to pay to rent glasses too!!!

Also instead of a free bar we are doing a cash bar but we are making wine to put on the table for toasting which is pretty cheap too..

it's not that easy and you always look enviously at these girls who get to be cinderella but with enough time you can do it!!!!!