An elegant wedding for less than $5K?

Question

I'm getting married next spring and am looking for tips on how to have a small, elegant and inexpensive wedding. We will probably marry at my old college...the setting is exquisite. We might skip the cake and my dress is going to be a bridesmaid dress instead of a big cupcake of a wedding dress. Any other suggestions? Thanks!!

Answer 1

It sounds like you're on the right track so far. I just got married this past June and we spent $6,500 with 110 guests. Don't skip the cake, though, that is such a great tradition. You can get a cake from Publix, or any grocery store, for a reasonable price. Mine was $220 (including the delivery fee) and it fed 100 people. And you have the right idea about your wedding dress, I got mine from Dillards. Some other tips are: 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. Are you having the reception at the college, too? If not, you could rent a hall for it or just have it at a park or someone's house to save money. 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, Italian, just about anything. 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. You could even serve only beer and wine to save more money. For wedding favors, shop around on the internet, then check out Ebay for the same items and compare prices. I found the same exact stuff on there for cheaper than other websites. They also sell wedding invitations which is how I found mine. Good luck and remember this is yours and your fiance's day, nobody elses!

Answer 2

What I've seen becoming more and more popular are destination weddings. This is where you, and both parents from each of you, and any relatively close friends might gather together at a vacation destination... In another state, maybe in the caribbean even, or perhaps aboard a cruise ship? This can minimize expenses on the wedding, while certainly no less elegant. Now, the other side of things is that some people are also choosing to have a reception which is typically much larger, when they return from their destination wedding. The reception itself is what can be terribly expensive if you're not careful. Good luck to both of you!

Answer 3

Oh I could kiss ya, I love people willing to pay for their own weddings. It's became such a give me give me world. Now, someone offering to help is different, any chance either parents will want to help with some of the wedding cost? Maybe mother or grandmother who's just dying to buy your dress or cake? If not, and even if you get help, budget, budget, budget....and stick to it. There will always be something unexpected coming up, so hold a bit of your budget back for that too. Use the resources around you. Does your sister may gorgeous flower arrangements, well maybe she could help make your bouquets. Does an aunt bake delicious cakes, ask if she'd make your cake for you, even if it's only sheet cakes. Best friend plays a mean piano, well you get the idea on asking for help from those around you! Think about shopping eBay or resale shops for dresses, even yours. You'll be surprised what you can find for great prices. Look there for items like ring pillow, flower girl basket, etc, chances are you'll get for at least 1/2 off original price. Do an afternoon wedding where cake & coffee will be all you serve, feeding the masses cost a small fortune, so don't do it. Skip the alcohol, another huge expense. People should be coming to your wedding to share in the joy of your union with the one you love not to see what their going to get to eat and how drunk they can get on your dime!!! Keep honeymoon short, don't be afraid to ask for discounts, buy cake at your local grocery store that has a bakery rather than from a cake specialty shop, make the centerpieces yourself if you are crafty, and keep your wedding party small. If you'll take on these items yourself, plan ahead which project you're doing next and save, save, save, you should be able to do your wedding without the use of credit cards. As proud of you as I am that you're trying to do this all on your own, I'll be even prouder if you go on your honeymoon without wedding debt! Best of luck, work hard and you can have a nice wedding on a tight budget and still be debt-free in the end.

Answer 4

I really feel my wedding was elegant and we did the whole thing for right around 2K - that included my wedding dress, the bridesmaid dresses for 5 kids (ours), cake, reception, and honeymoon cruise for 4 days. My dress I purchased at an outlet for right around $500, the bridesmaid dresses (2) were $100 ea, the flower girl dress was $50, and the tuxedo rentals (2) were $75 ea, the cake was $150, and the rest went to food and the cruise, etc. We did get the church rental for nothing because it was our home church. The biggest cost was the cruise and we made payments on that for 6 months before the wedding, so I know you can do it. Instead of fresh flowers a friend made silk flowers (I helped) for everyone including my bouquet (beautiful). For things like alterations I had a friend who is very skilled help me with. So, it is all in your friends and contacts, I would say. If you were in California I might have contacts for you, but I know you can do it...it is all in the planning too, I even had a runner on the floor to walk on, the seating rows were decorated, and we had candleabras with 12 candles (2), of which I rented. I could think of more, but no time, sorry. I just really spent time searching out the best deals I guess. It really helps to shop frugally...Our invitations were under $100 even, and we sent out at least 250 of them. I got them from a party store and they were on clearance and best yet, they were my colors and I liked them. So, there ya go! Best wishes and congratulations, my prayers are with you =)

Answer 5

This all depends on where your having it, but like some others have suggested you can find sites that include your preacher, florist, photographer, cake, food, etc...in one for one low price.

We did this just a couple of weeks ago at a log cabin resort, it was beautiful. We saved by only having immediate family and close friends = 20 guests. We only had a maid of honor and best man, and we did not spend money on things that for us would be meaningless after the wedding, i.e. cake servers, unity candles and holders, expensive centerpieces, and a bunch of extra flowers etc. We also did our own food, well my parents helped. We ordered a "office pack" from a local restaraunt to feed up to thirty and then had my parents and grandmother make a few extra sides. We were able to do all of this plus we had two nights in a cabin for under 4K. So you can def do it, just look around for these type of options in your area.

Answer 6

You can get really pretty dresses for a decent price at David's Bridal, but a bridesmaid's dress would be a lot cheaper anyway. And the cake, you can get it made at like Walmart or some grocery store bakery (if you might want one). And instead of getting the food catered, you might want to try asking a few family members make the food (of course you'd probably have to buy it, but that should save you a lot of money alone compared to having it catered anyway), use plastic plates & utensils... it can still be very elegant, but not over the top expensive.

Answer 7

My suggestion:

2 Tickets to The Bahamas*,
1 Week all inclusive stay at the flagship Sandals resort*.
Your wedding, on a golden beach with a turquoise ocean backdrop will be free of charge and arranged by them for your personally.

Wedding Attire: White linen for your man, simple shift for yourself. Both barefoot, of course!

Then spend the remainder on a party for family and friends when you return.

You get a truly unforgettable intimate wedding in paradise, a dream honeymoon and your family and friends forgive you with the party/reception when you return!

* Or try the Dominican Republic, where the beaches are just as stunning, the resorts equally as elegant, and weddings can still be had for free!)

Answer 8

Sometimes certain places have wedding packages that fit all your wedding needs at one estimated price. I live near the gulf coast and would like to have a yacht wedding through this service that offers wedding packages from $4,000 and up. A yacht wedding is something I consider elegant yet not pricey. Plus it's a fun atmosphere!

Answer 9

Your wedding sounds pretty. I enjoy simple weddings better than the big fussy ones.

You can't skip your cake. It is a special part that you may regret not doing. Do you know of anyone who makes cakes that could do a smaller one? Or you could do a sheet cake. Here is a recipe for wedding mints. They are super easy to make.

Wedding Mints
• 12 oz. cream cheese
• 3 pounds powdered sugar
• 6 drops peppermint flavoring, or as desired
• food coloring

Put all ingredients except food coloring into a bowl and cut with pastry blender until ingredients are incorporated in pieces the size of small peas. Add food coloring or, for varied colors, spoon equal amounts of mixture into several small bowls and add 1 drop of food color into each. Stir and knead the dough in each bowl separately until creamy and smooth and of even color. You may want to do this on a table rather than in the bowls. Roll the dough into tiny balls, then dust with fine granulated sugar or powdered sugar. If desired, press into rubber or plastic molds; immediately remove and let dry overnight. These mints will remain soft.

You could ask someone you know to take the photos instead of hiring a photographer.

Best of luck with your wedding!

Answer 10

Check with your County Courthouse regarding a civil ceremony.

Call local VFW halls for your reception. An alternative would be if you know anyone that has a large enough house/yard to hold all of your guests. You could also make the food yourself or ask friends and family members to help (ie: potluck). http://allrecipes.com/

Check out Dreams by Renee. They have some absolutely gorgeous dresses PLUS they can do custom work based on a drawing/picture at extremely reasonable prices. http://dreamsbyreneebridal.com

Are you (or do you know someone willing to help that is) crafty? Check out Michaels for decorations, floral, favors, etc. It will help with your budget if you can do as much as possible yourself. I used to be an Instructor/Event Coordinator for them and we had alot of classes for wedding related items. Plus at this time of year, they are discounting the spring and summer florals to get ready for the fall and winter florals! http://www.michaels.com

As for invitations, I'm a rep for Regency Thermographics. Let me know if there's anything I can do to help. http://aphroditescreations.regency.ac

Good luck!