I am getting married in Chicago September 2007. How can I have a fantastic wedding on the cheap like under $5000 total for everything for under 100 people?
2006-09-05 05:26:20 · 12 answers · asked by mecca2lux 1 in Family & Relationships ➔ Weddings
Try doing your own invitations. Skip favors (they can cost 200-500 and most people throw them out anyway). Having a wedding on a Friday night/Saturday or Sunday afternoon usually reduces the cost of the reception. Have a d.j., not a band. Buy your dress at David's Bridal (they have a $99 sale often)
or.......skip the BIG reception. And spend the $5,000 on a fabulous honeymoon. Many hotels provide free wedding services with your booked stay.
www.sandals.com
www.palaceresorts.com
www.secretsresorts.com
Hope this helps. Good luck and congrats.
2006-09-05 05:32:33 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
The first thing to do is lots of research. This question (or similar ones) is asked 100 times a day on this site. By doing some prep work, you can find all the answers that you need, more than you need.
You need to decide the type of wedding you want to have. Do you want to honour your guests by being thoughtful and elegant or do you want to churn out an "all about me" wedding or a wedding where you've overinvited people so now they are cattle? If it's the latter, then simply have bad food catered in, make the food yourself, make the guests pay for alcohol, and find a cheap community center to have the reception.
If the first one sounds more like what you'll want, then start contacting places to find out what it costs per person and then work backwards. If it's $50 for a nice dinner and free flowing champagne/wine, then figure out how much you'll spend on flowers, your dress, accessories, the officiant, the wedding site, the DJ, etc. If after all that you are left with $3000, then you'll know that you can invite 60 people.
Remember that an elegant wedding is not one with costco trays, a BBQ pit, a cash bar, a bad boom box with home mixed CDs, etc. But, it also doesn't have to be dripping with flowers, lobster, Dom Perignon, Vera Wang, and Top Shelf Liquor. A happy medium is the best way to honour your guests and yourselves. :)
2006-09-05 12:50:47 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
OOOOO do I have great news for you!!
i got married July 21, 2006. and i had the same budget
I wanted to get married in a church so that was my priority the price... $950 and the ceremony looked like it came out from a movie!
Step.1
what are you priorities? what means the most to you?
church? or outside? Sit down dinner? or cocktail party (snacks and drinks) also (remember the weather )try not to take too many chances they might not turn out like you planned always prepare for thw worst have plan a,b or c available just in case
Step2
I chose to have a sit down dinner at a nice banquet hall for 100 people Banquet halls are fantastic because "a good hall" will take care of all things such as video, photography, decor, cake, mc, DJ, limo my banquet hall offered all that for me at a low price which was $4,500 (everything is nogotiable always try to get the most for your money) you will need lots of time for hair, makeup, dress, bridesmaids,honeymoon, and favors these things also take time the best thing to do is shop shop shop around get prices see picturesm, this will help you find the personality of your wedding dont spend too much money on little favors some are good but wedding stores on internet or out in the streets target you will cute little things that will be over looked at the wedding they are far too overpriced and they will eat up your budget!! TRUST ME
Step 3
Follow you heart do and choose what you want choose your mom, grandma, aunt, cousins all had their wedding chance now it your turn! dont choose or pay for something you really dont want you WILL regret later. also keep in mind that planning your wedding may be fun now but when you ae working on a tight budget it may be easy overly involed in wedding madness take it day by day even though you are stressed dont take it out on your man and if he does not semm interested in the cute little bows you chose or the cute cate topper its OK he is a man and men dont care about those things! the Wedding Day is only ONE day so focus on your honeymoon and focus on where you will go after the wedding and the honeymoon dont get trapped only thinking of your wedding, when its all over it will be over and weeks later it will be a memory to all, yes... it will be sad i got sad and even cryed but the important part was not and is NOT the wedding but the two people who love each other so much the decided to marry and start a family!! Congrats and God bless your union!
2006-09-05 07:15:20 · answer #3 · answered by Social 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Plan the wedding and reception for a non-meal time of day so you can just serve finger foods or just cake and punch. The biggest expense in throwing a wedding is the reception.
2006-09-05 18:09:11 · answer #4 · answered by Etiquette Gal 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Shop at www.customweddingsolutions.com. They have great accesspries, favors, invites, and attendant gifts.
I also recommend having friends and family prepare food. You will save atleast $1200. We are having a buffet with bbq pork sandwiches, meatballs, deli meat sandwiches, cheese tray, fruit bowl, crackers and dip, salsa & chips, and veggie trays. Everyone who knows about our decision to not have a catered meal says its a great idea. Catered food takes too long to serve and usually is not all that great anyway.
We are having just under a 100 guests at our wedding and we stayed under our $5000 budget by shopping at that site i mentioned and doing our own food.
2006-09-05 09:11:14 · answer #5 · answered by Mommy-of-Twins 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋
I'm also getting married in September of 2007 and keeping costs down should be easier because we have a full year so I (or family/friends) will be making or doing many of the things for ourselves. We also checked out several different locations and decided on a heritage house that is now used as an art centre. The grounds are so beautiful so we'll hold the ceremony outside. But the interior is large enough to have the ceremony inside if the weather is lousy (plan B). We are able to have the building and grounds from 4 pm the night before (when the building closes) right through until midnight on our wedding day - for only $300.! Tables, chairs, kitchen, provided.
We're planning on doing a buffet dinner, and will be doing most of the cooking ourselves. I've already told my mother that she is mine for 4 weeks prior to the wedding! We'll cook what we can well ahead of time and freeze it (rent a freezer if necessary for the couple of months leading up to the wedding).
As for alcohol, this fall we'll try experimenting at one of those make-your-own-wine shops. So, far it looks like we'll be able to make about 30 bottles for $100. Since our wedding will be less than 60 people, we plan on one case of merlot and one of white wine. Then we'll purchase one or two kegs of beer - and a few bottle of Champagne, of course. Check out licencing requirements for your area. Here (BC, Canada) you need a licence to serve alcohol but it only costs about $30.
We also plan to make our own cake - but have a plan B in case we realize this is too big a job for us.
Decorations can be as simple or as complicated as you want. Use plain white sheets on the tables and Invest or rent a sewing maching to make colourful table runners and matching napkins (a no brainer to sew and you can get some really beautiful, inexpensive fabrics). Float a single flower in a bowl, place a small grouping of candles, etc. Party favours can be a few mints in a tiny drawstring bag (which is easy to sew) or something eaqually simple.
Put together your own music - so easy to burn your favourite songs onto different cds. Label the cds very clearly then ask a friend to be in charge of the stereo system. ie: CD1 is for the ceremony, CD2 is for during dinner, CD3 has first dance and father/daughter dance, etc., CD4-7 has assorted dance tunes. If you have a teenager in your life as them to burn the cds if you give them a list. (just remember to keep a list of what you've got and to burn back-ups).
I also plan on making my own dress - and no, I'm not a particularily good seamstress (grade 8 home-ec. was a long long time ago!) but I've picked out a simple dress that I really love and I've got a year to practice (and I've got a friend who can help me out if I get in trouble).
Last, we've noticed that the flowers my finace gives me always seem to look healthier and last longer if he's bought them from a grocery store (Safeway) and not one of the local flower shops! And they are a fraction of the cost! Try experimenting by buying one or two flowers from a few different places and seeing how they last. We're definitely going with Safeway. But like most of the things in our wedding, we also want to keep it simple. Our priority is on the venue, food, music, and alcohol - we want to make our celebration fun. The rest are all nice touches but are not the highlights of the day - for you or your guests. (Oh, and we'll do all our own stationary on the computer). Have fun! Zenobia
2006-09-05 12:22:26 · answer #6 · answered by zenobia2525 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Look and see if any bridal expos are coming to your town. It is a great way to meet vendors and start negotiations.
I know when ordering flowers don't tell the florist it's for a wedding - they tend to markup.
I would also look on
www.theknot.com
www.weddingchannel.com
you should also join www.meetup.com you can meet other brides in your area and talk about wedding costs and tips.
2006-09-05 06:26:29 · answer #7 · answered by OohLaLa 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
fireyourweddingplanner.com is an excellent place for ideas.
My oldest daughter was married for the second time last sept and did it all for around 5000 (85 guests).
2006-09-05 06:40:29 · answer #8 · answered by wild_orchid_tx36 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I would rent a hall and do your own photography. My wedding is going to be about $5k and we are doing things cheaply but will be awesome! Your wedding is what you make it.
2006-09-05 06:19:51 · answer #9 · answered by jessigirl00781 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You will have to keep your guest list very small, and you probably won't be able to serve a full dinner.
2006-09-05 05:29:39 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋