Looking for great tips from any wedding planners out there and creative minds. We are getting married Aug 2007, and i am trying to have a beatuiful wedding , but on a tight budget of $8,000. We want to get married through church. I really need all the ideas that are out there.
2006-09-22 03:53:10 · 10 answers · asked by Soon to be Mrs. Zazueta 1 in Family & Relationships ➔ Weddings
the caterer will be the biggest factor, , keep food simple,, buffett is best,, remember people dont give a crap about your wedding, might be a nice day but in the end they just go home,
finger foods and mexican food is cheapest, why not elope and have a party then use the money to put down on some furniture for your new home together,
2006-09-22 03:55:32 · answer #1 · answered by rich2481 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sweetheart cut as many corners as you can and also
see what you can make instead of buying
there are many great ideas and you may be able to incorporate
things from used wedding gowns like pillows for the ring with beautiful lace
I made my own wedding veil and saved so much money
be reasonable, spend thrifty and let no one know your business so that your plans will not be sabotaged
And always ask God's holy angels to assist you and help you locate things
Perhaps a best friend or family member can give you ideas
or go on line and look up great plans for a wedding
have family friends cater the reception for you. Go with a buffet instead of a sit-down meal, or host a dessert reception, brunch, or luncheon instead of a multi-course meal.
Ask friends to take photos at your bridal showers, rehearsal dinner, pre-ceremony, and reception. Hire a professional only for the formal portraits and ceremony shots if you’re concerned about the quality of a friend’s photos.
I mean it is all about who has the best digital camera
Have some one take a picture with you at an angle looking at your groom on the other side of the window with you touch his hand through glass
Show a wine glass holding your rings sitting inside of the champagne surrounds by lovely flowers
Hook up a CD player or iPod to the sound system and pump out the tunes. If you’re set on having live musicians, hire a local music student(s) for the ceremony and/or reception
. The two best and easiest ways to cut down on your honeymoon costs are to stay close to home (to avoid transportation costs) and to limit the amount of time you need to pay for lodging. You can choose a nicer hotel for the same amount you would spend at a less-posh place if your honeymoon is a few days shorter.
everything simple and elegant—that lends itself to savings. From ring styles to cakes and bouquets, less is more, and with the right planning, your bank account can reflect the savings.
Go slow. Pick a non-traditional or slower time of year to get married. Think January, February, or November. Even consider a day and time other than Saturday afternoon—when most weddings take place. You can get a break on the venue and from the vendors for choosing an off-peak time.
Shop around. Prices and packages are negotiable with most vendors. Don’t ever settle for more than you think you should be paying. Moreover, use vendors who aren’t primarily wedding vendors and you’ll see cheaper prices (e.g., using a grocery store florist instead of a wedding floral designer).
have your husband to be
Rent a tux—some stores will even rent tuxes for $30 a day. If you’re wearing a suit and want to buy a new one, ask department store clerks when their next suit sale is or try an outlet mall.
2006-09-22 04:06:33 · answer #2 · answered by Queen A 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
First, meet with your priest/minister/pastor to pick a date and get prepared to get married in the church. You then will know which decorations and musicians and their cost to have.
Then find a place to find a reception. Look at places like a university or other places where they can cater for low prices. After you have the date set, you will be fine. Plan the food and then try to cater the wine and alcohol yourself. That saves tons of money. A beer and wine reception will save you a lot over an open bar.
Now for cake and flowers. I would do the supermarket/walmart cake idea. What you do is buy cake supports and then buy a sheet cake, 1/2 a sheet cake, 1/4 of a sheet cake, and 1/8 of a sheet cake. They will normally decorate it for you.
Flowers are great to do yourself. Look at Cosco, online wholesale, and other places for flowers. You will save tons of money to do it yourself.
Favors should be personal. Find a promotional products company or distributor to find unique items. You can also look online for them. Some cool things are lip balm and mints. "Promotional products" are far cheaper than wedding favors, and are of much better quality.
Centerpieces can be cheap. Get those glass flower bowls and just put a few big flowers in it and then set candles around it.
Good Luck!
2006-09-22 04:11:16 · answer #3 · answered by emp04 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I got married in August of this year and my budget was $8000. we ended up spending $7, 843.19 !!! It's so possible! (I have since started a wedding consulting business!!)
Do you need ideas on how to save up the money or how to save money on planning the wedding?
The number of guests you are inviting will have the biggest influence on the cost of your wedding. We had 60. We did not have a dinner, we had a candle light ceremony at 8 pm at night then served horsd'oevers, and only had a variety of wine and beer as choices for drinks. We hooked up my ipod for music. I bought many things on ebay (my shoes, tiara, decorations, boxes for favours, ribbon, cake server, cake topper etc). We did not get married in a church but had a minister perform our ceremony. We had our ceremony and reception at the same location (so we were able to re-use decorations and pay only one fee).
My cousin, however had 250 people at her wedding in May, her total wedding was $5000!!! With a dinner!!! Volunteers from the church made an elaborate buffet dinner which was served in the church basement. She made her own dress (I could NEVER do THAT) and her friends helped her make cookies for wedding favours. She also made her invitations and her programs.
Things to help save money:
enlist talented famility and friends to make anything from the wedding cake to the invitations.
Ask a friend or family member to video tape the events.
If you don't have a talented family friend to take pictures contact a local photography school to see if an advanced student would do it in exchange for using some of your photos in his/her portfolio.
E-Bay!!
Use recorded music (try the O'Neill Brother's piano duo A Day to Remeber CD www.pianobrothers.com) instead of hiring musians /DJ.
Serve only cake and punch or hors d'oevres
Buy a small cake or rent an artificial cake and then have larger slab cakes decorated in the same colour icing to serve (Costco??)
Use candles instead of flowers for decor.
Borrow lights, decorations etc from friends or friends of friends etc who have recently been married. If you have to buy lights - buy them a week after Christmas when they're marked down to about $1.00!!
When possible buy used items.
Congratulations! Good luck and HAVE FUN!
2006-09-22 04:34:55 · answer #4 · answered by family_matters 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
look for places in your area that have wedding dresses on sale. some places have them for as cheap as $50. you couls also rent your dress, but some women think just the thought of it is horrible. don't have a huge wedding. too many guests can be a bad thing on a tight budget. i agree with the person who said to do a buffet, but not mexican food, because not all people like it. find a friend who can help with table decorations at the reception. just go to a craft store or a dollar store and find stuff in mass quantities that you can use for your wedding. try google-ing for ways to save money for weddings or cheap wedding ideas or something.
2006-09-22 04:04:53 · answer #5 · answered by answer away 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Look up fire your wedding planner, online. It is great advice!! There are so many ways to save money when it comes to a wedding. Lots of people get so excited that they just are willing to spend however much is asked, and anything with "wedding", is going to cost more. The idea is "it's your money, so act like it". Don't just settle for anything, get the best for a price that is right for you. Def. Look it up, its great! good luck, congradulations
2006-09-23 09:36:13 · answer #6 · answered by just wondering 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
make sure you buy all your decorations and make them with yourself and family . Make simple beautiful flower arrangments in glass vases with some clear colored beads in them, they are beautiful and you can get huge cheap glass vases at walmart for like $6. Lots of candles which you can buy cheaply too that set a really romatic mood. if you dont want to pay for a dj, set up your own playlists like on itunes or something and play it thru the speakers from a labtop. and designate someone to do the speaking like the dj would. We did that and it saved us 800$ and worked out great because we didnt have some annoying dj voice guy at the wedding who could barely pronounce things right. try martha stwewarts website she realy has a lot of great cheap wedding tips. it also really depends on the colors, so many cheap but beautiful things can be done, i love organizing weddings, lol. but its really hard to describe things via text. good luck though and just research and steal peoples ideas and do them for cheap. no one really pays that well attention to the price of things., remember have it look expensive not be expensive.
good luck and congrats!
2006-09-22 04:06:35 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
That's not a tight budget.
Wear a bridesmaid dress in white or cream instead of an actual bridal gown.
If you schedule your ceremony and reception for a non-meal time of day (mid afternoon or late night) you can have a non-meal reception, which will save a LOT of money. It can be just cake and punch, or just a fruit and cheese platter, or tea and cookies, or desserts and champagne, or something like that.
2006-09-22 19:17:29 · answer #8 · answered by Etiquette Gal 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Elope or have 20 people and dinner at a restaurant like I did. Buy a house or save the money. Every bride I have ever met regrets the money spent.
2006-09-22 03:55:42 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Buy your wedding dress on ebay, keep catering as low as possible, ask for donations rather than wedding gifts (bit too cheeky maybe!)
Hire the groom's suit rather than buying it ... reduce the number of guests to lower costs too
2006-09-22 03:57:42 · answer #10 · answered by Marinersfan 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋