I am in Chicagoland and am getting married next year. Does anyone have any ideas about how to plan a beautiful wedding on a (small) budget?
2006-08-09 05:35:04 · 23 answers · asked by ~ReignbowGirl~ 1 in Family & Relationships ➔ Weddings
I just got married on July 22 and my daughter and I made alot and got everything through Ebay.... We live in Lake Havasu, Arizona, a resort town where they brought over the famous London Bridge so we bought a wedding package at the hotel next to the bridge and we got married in the room over looking the Channel... It is really pretty.. We told them my colors and they decorated and we had that room for $200. Then we got a honeymoon suit for just that night for 100, which normally is 300 but because of the package it was 1.. Included was a beautiful private dining room for our dinner, we had picked 4 courses for our guests to choose from, that keeps the price under control. I went to a local bakery that is always good and had 2 of their famous cheese cakes made and had them decorated and brought them the cake toppers which I got on Ebay....That cost total was 90. Then our Dress's I bid for on Ebay... They were just beautiful, total 200. Our shoes, ebay, and they were the hit of the wedding, everyone couldn't believe our shoes... even the guy;s and strangers came up to us and said , shoes are great!!!!! Those all came to 75. Flowers, the in thing now is silk and if they are real you are looking at a few thousand, we bought a package of everything that was needed, bouquets, bootineers, mother corsages, etc., for 100. They were beautiful everyone couldn't believe it and you pick everything about them on how they are made.... And the reverend was 100......We shopped around for tuxes and we found that the party stores have the same books of tuxes for half of the price of wedding store's.... The store we got them was called Party Express..... It turned out beautiful and all fell into place, we were soooo happy, oh and the photographer is your most expensive they start at 1000, so we had family members do it and they are better then professional...you can call a local college and ask if any student photographer does it on the side, and you will save alot of money that way.....Our total was under 2500..... Pretty good, hah...Shop around and start now and you will be surprised what you can do yourself.... have fun and congratulations
2006-08-09 06:14:45 · answer #1 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Okay there are several options you can do:
1) elope then have a reception afterwards
2) have a wedding at someones house or garden, your dresses and the tuxes or suits can be borrowed or you can rent, have a talented relative or friend be the musician, put a camra in every table, honey moon, you can just stay a week in a place not to far where you can drive to yet you love, catering, you could make your own food, cake, get a cake with simple design, consider doing your own makeup, rings get them at walmart, why spend all that money for just a peice of jewelry, hope this helps!
2006-08-09 12:56:42 · answer #2 · answered by Newlywed 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you have a church you belong to you can get married there for cheap and they usually have a fellowship hall or banquet room you can use for just a small fee. If you don't like that, you can have your ceremony out in the middle of a park and have your guests BYOC (bring your own chair). Afterwards, you can go to a restaurant for the reception where you can rent out an area or a banquet room and they will usually give you a flat fee per person that is affordable. Good luck!
2006-08-09 12:41:12 · answer #3 · answered by Precious 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The most expensive part is the reception, food and alcohol. Everything else can compromised using ebay, sales, etc.
Find a reception site that will allow to bring your own caterer, you can find one for $12/plate. Find a reception hall that will allow to provide your own liqour. Together these to will save you $20-$50 per person!
No DJ, use iPOD or CDs - $500 savings
No more than one attendant each. $250 savings
Beer and wine only - $450 savings
Etc etc
Make side deals with EVERYONE! Neg. all prices from hall to liqour dealer.
2006-08-09 12:58:37 · answer #4 · answered by A. Sorola 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
HELLO! My first suggestion would be 'EBAY" You can start right now looking for all the frills and decorations and believe me...it's all there. Go on auctions, some start with 50 cents up for a whole bunch of frills and stuff....we started two months in advance and completely decorated, cheaply and beautifully both the wedding and the baby shower from E-Bay for under three-
Hundred dollars. Then found Caters and Bakers on line to finish it up. I bought my Daughter a gorgeous "Lacey White Wedding Gown" for two-hundred dollars..only needed a little adjustment in the bust. Go for it...it is the best thing for any occasion.
2006-08-09 12:46:49 · answer #5 · answered by GRACE 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Get all your relatives to help. Have a bring-a-dish reception, make your own cake, buy a used gown, forget the DJ or band, use a kid's karoke machine, make it a byob, you supply sam's club cola, have the wedding at the parents or a friends house or a park (no church or hall rental) use silk flowers for everyone but the bride & groom. Hint (don't ask) for money as a gift & use it for a great honeymoon.
Cheap, yet functional.
2006-08-09 12:42:18 · answer #6 · answered by scarlet 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Good thing you are planning early! I started a year before my wedding date - and planned a wedding & reception for about 120 people.
I ordered beautiful roses from flowerfarmstogo.com - and made the bouquets & boutanierres myself.
I tried on wedding dresses locally and then ordered the exact dress from www.bridalonlinestore.com. (saved me a few hundred $$$).
I also went to ebay and found the flower-girl dresses, and bridesmaid dresses!
Basically if you shop online - you get some REALLY, REALLY good deals!!
2006-08-09 15:20:20 · answer #7 · answered by cecenred 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
We had ours outdoors at a private park. It was nice. Beautiful day, not too hot, not too cool. Perfect. We held the reception in their dining hall. We had a lot of pizza, sandwiches, and stuff like that, our favors were Japanese candy, because that's what we like. We had a great cake. It turned out pretty good. I wouldn't change it. After renting everything and buying all the food, drinks, favors, and alcohol, it was just under 2500, which isn't too bad. We were lucky, I play in 3 bands, so they did some songs, my friend's wife makes wedding cakes, so we got that a great price, my mom has connections on catering, so it worked out great for us.
2006-08-09 12:40:51 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I lived in Vegas. Go there and get married for cheap. You'll have fun and you can have the reception at home.
If you want to have it at home, a little church for the wedding. And a big back yard for th reception. It doesn't have to be expensive to be memorable. It's your day. You decide everything. Don't let anyone *** it up.
2006-08-09 12:42:41 · answer #9 · answered by hellrazor 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
My aunt had hers in her backyard and it was BEAUTIFUL!!! Absolutely gorgeous. They have a huge yard with a beautiful clean pool and they got married in the comfort of their own home. It was amazing. All they did then was rent out a tent and then put tables underneath it for the reception. Granite, they didn't invite a buttload of people, but it was gorgeous. Hope it helps and congrats on the engagement!
2006-08-09 12:39:53 · answer #10 · answered by *HOTTIE* 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋