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Question

My fiance and i dont have the money right now to have a big wedding.But we want to have a big wedding.should we have a little one with just him and i at the courthouse.and when we have the money do a big wedding? what do you all think?

Answer 1

Have a small wedding with close family and friends, at a park or someplace special. Then start planning a big reception for next year. It doesnt have to be expensive, just fun. It's a celebration after all.

Answer 2

If you're already acting like a married couple, i.e. living together, sharing financial responsibilities, having sex and planning for children, you should make it official. The problem is committing to the big wedding. Most couples never get around to doing it. Other things tend to take priority.

Personally, I think that money could be spent more wisely on reducing debt, preparing for expenses, purchasing a home etc... Weddings are over-rated in MY book. If you do decide to go the courthouse route..., I recommend not keeping it private. Guests are allowed at most civil ceremonies. If you arrange for SOME "big wedding" type things, it could make the real thing obsolete in your case.

On the other hand... If you've been a morally straight and chaste couple, waiting to do it up will be all the better. Good luck.

Answer 3

I would wait till you could save enough money for your dream of a big wedding or you will regret going to the courthouse. I don't think it would be the same to have a big wedding later after you are already married. Try to find friends that can help you with your plans. They may be able to know someone who can take pictures, make the cake or know somewhere where you can have the wedding that would be cheaper on you. Good Luck! My son is getting married tomorrow. His brides dream was to get married by the beach in Guam and it is coming true.

Answer 4

A wedding isn't about how much money you spend, it's about the two of you and how much you love each other and want to spend your lives together!
We just got married in June and it was fantastic and we're not in tons of debt because of it!

For flowers we went with the bare minimum of what we needed, your bridesmaids can carry a single flower for an elegant look and you can pick a church or ceremony/reception site that is going to be beautiful enough without adding tons of flowers.

A few ways we saved money were:

1. We did our own invitations with the Kits you can get at a craft store, I embossed a pretty stamp on each one but you have to figure that you and your parents/grandparents are the only ones that will keep the invitation for a keepsake so why spend tons of money on them,.

2. The cake- we ordered a cake for 150 people and invited 200- we ended up still having a lot left over. Not everyone eats it so don't order tons of it!Another thing people do is order a smaller decorative cake and then have a sheet cake with the same colors out back, less on the design=less expensive.

3. We did a catholic wedding in a GORGEOUS church so we didn't need as many flowers.

4. Our centerpeices were candleholders from Christmas Tree store, we paid 1.99 each for them and they gave the romantic candle lit glow and looked great the whole time.

5. to save on a photographer have them come to your ceremony and then the reception for the key events. There's no need to have a full day package that is going to cost you a couple thousand dollars. To get more photos we put disposable cameras on the tables and we're going to develop them a couple at a time and be able to relive our wedding throughout the year!

6. The catering, a lot of caterers offer a bunch of buffet options, go with the minimum that you need, don't over order we ended up with tons left over!

7. Don't invite every single person you know and don't get into the whole friend of a friend deal, you'll save money and headaches this way. It's YOUR day not theirs!

8. Instead of favors we donated to a charitable foundation in honor of our guests and we made up little cards that said "In honor of our guests we have made a donation to: blank"

Our wedding was fabulous and I couldn't have asked for a better day. We are definitely not in any debt because of it. We spread our planning over the course of a year and paid things as we went and as we could afford it. Hope the info helps!

Congrats and good luck, enjoy your planning and wedding day the best you can because they will both be over before you know it!

Answer 5

It would really be up to the two of you. But I would sit down and really think about this. If you really want to get married now do a small wedding and then you can have a big wedding. But what is your rush? You don't have to rush. My personal opinion would be wait and the reason I say this is because if the two of you are going to stay together then you can be happy without being married. Trust me the planning will go by so fast you won't believe it when you are already married.
Good luck!

Answer 6

Why don't have a small wedding first but not with just you and the courthouse. Invite your parents and the groom's parents. That way you will have the most important people there and the wedding will still be small. You can have the bigger wedding when you guys get more money. Whatever you do I hope the day is perfect for you!

Answer 7

Why don't you try getting married at the courthouse, having a big reception and with the money people give you just go on a nice honeymoon. To be honest big weddings are too stressful...I had the big "fairy tail" wedding and am now divorced...the next time around I will be doing as I suggested...

Answer 8

There are lots of ways to have a wedding on a budget. Keep your guest list small (ours was 110 people). Get family and friends to help you with everything. You can make a lot of things that will save you money. Don't go overboard on flowers, find them cheap at a flea market or do something different for centerpieces (like floating candles). And you could even put together your own bouquets for cheaper. For pictures, a good idea that I've seen on here is to take the bridal party to Glamour Shots before the ceremony, it's a lot cheaper. And then just have someone take pics of the ceremony and the reception with a good digital camera. You could also get a friend to videotape it and make that their gift to you. For food, go with a buffet. This will be your most costly thing. Get some quotes from caterers, tell them your budget and they'll tell you what foods they can serve for that price. If it's still out of your price change, get party platters from restaurants. You could do stuff like wings, eggrolls, chicken fingers, ribs, mashed potatoes, salad, or even Italian. They'll supply you with huge servings of whatever food you want. You would still want to hire some servers to clean up and set up the food. You don't want to worry about that on the big day. And if you're serving alcohol, get a bartender. Letting guests serve themselves can cause a big mess. Buy your alcohol and sodas when they're on sale. Get your cake from Publix, they're reasonable and it's good.
If it's important to you to have a big blow out, get married at the courthouse and have a big wedding later. The only thing is, you don't know when you'll have the money to do that. It could be a long time away.
Congrats and good luck!

Answer 9

I recommend that you do not have a courthouse marriage unless there is a pressing need.
The big wedding may turn out to be an anti-climax if you are already legally married and living together during the time between weddings.

Be patient, save your money and have a great big (single) wedding.

Good luck!

Answer 10

I would definitely wait. Also, take a look at what you can save on in the wedding... we had a lot of things that really were'nt worth it. You just need to know what is important to you guys. We splurged on pictures, and good food. No DJ (friend), and little everything else. all people want to do is eat and talk anyway. if you have a dancing crowd get a DJ. (but be careful....most I've seen aren't that great). Congrats!!! and good luck!

Answer 11

Wait. Take some positive steps to get yourselves to that goal, figure out a budget and then do it. If you go to the courthouse you'll never set aside the time or money to get that big wedding. Plus if you're already married it won't give you that certain satisfaction and elation that you are looking to get from your big day.