is $1500 enough to pay for a small descent wedding?

Question

We're doing a cow-boy wedding in the church court yard

we're doing a cowboy wedding, in the church yard, and my dress is being made by my aunt

cowboy theme, church yard, dress is being made by family, no tux, just jeans, c.b. hat and boots, white button up shirt and c.b tie

Answer 1

you can do it with enough family help and the determination to stick to your budget....maybe you can get a family member or close friend to do the cake-some brides are using cupcake tiers at each table, edible centerpieces-, do your own flowers (with your country theme you can just plunk them in Mason jars and tie a simple ribbon or piece of twine or jute round the neck of the jar, and if you have enough time in advance you could even grow the flowers) -or get cowboy boots and/or hats at thrift stores, spray paint them black or white or whatever, and tuck the jars inside.... borrow tables and chairs from the church, prolly very little cost....the biggest cost will likely be food, and honorariums for the preacher.

You must decide what is most important to you and spend your money on that-I was perfectly happy with canned music and did not miss a live band at all, but many would rather have live music and canned food, lol...food costs can be quite daunting, a real cost cutter is a dessert and coffee reception, and have your aunts bake pies....if you're doing this, schedule your wedding and reception away from common meal times.

best wishes,
cryllie

Answer 2

If you keep everything as simple as possible, you can get away with that amount. You have to be very budget conscious.

You can get flowers inexpensively at Costco/Sam's and make your own bouquets.

As far as food, either do cake and punch (if you are required to invited LOTS of people), heavy appetizers from Costco, or Boston Market if you want a full meal (if you can get away with a smaller guestlist). Skip the alcohol if you can because that will increase your expenses and do not do a cash bar. If you can't afford something, don't offer it, period.

Skip the favors. Go very simple with the centerpieces. You could even skip them and most people won't notice. For an evening wedding, use unscented candles as centerpieces.

A videographer is not necessary. While I don't recommend DIY music (I have never seen it done successfully), alot of people do recommend it. When all is said and done, your pics are the only things you'll have left at the end of the day other than your new spouse so get the best photographer you can that you can afford. Shop around and see what you can find. You may be able to find someone willing to work for you. Otherwise, check into local community colleges. Most have a fine arts program with student photographers trying to build portfolios. Most will be very willing to work for you.

Good luck.

Answer 3

Other than the wedding being small and there not being the usual expenses (like the tuxes, gown, etc.), you still have to consider the cost of feeding your guests. What type of reception is it? If it's just cake and punch, probably. Does the church charge you a rental fee for the grounds? Do you intend to buy flowers? So, the $1500 might be enough, but I'd guess plan to spend about 5 or 600 more.

Answer 4

You can do it if you are crafty and have a lot of crafty friends. Decide first where the money should go. You're going to see a lot of things that you just absolutely love and just simply are not going to be able to afford. Good job on getting the dress made and opting out of the tuxes. Your next big ticket items are going to be the invitations, photographer, cake, music and the reception venue (another thumbs up on the church yard!). Plan on spending the majority of your money on the big ticket items and spend your time and the rest of the money on personal touches. If you're going to craft a lot, give yourself plenty of time before the wedding and really budget your time for the crafts. Take a calendar and plan out how long it will take you to do each craft and mark it down on the calendar. Give yourself some "free" days because you will need them. Try re-posting one at a time for crafting inexpensive favors (name your color & theme), programs, decorations, etc. You can do it, you're just going to have to stay disciplined and realize that although something may be "perfect" it won't always fit in the budget. Find less expensive alternatives that represent what you like about things that you can not afford. Good luck & many congratulations! Ask for all the help you need!

Answer 5

Ok, that is very possible! I got married out by a lake (so had a site rental fee), bought my dress ($100 @ Dilliard's), bought my 2 bridesmaids dresses ($25 @ Dilliard's--they were 75% off-pale green and pale yellow, same design dress), bought a wedding arch ($20 at Michaels), shoes ($15--they were 50% off), gazebo type thing ($180 I think at Wal-Mart--this was to have in case it rained and to provide shade), all the flowers (my mom and I made the 3 boquets), my parents bought the cake ($175), we made our own invitations to match the whole "daisy" thing, a bunch of disposable cameras (we didn't want a photogropher--we wanted everything to be natural looking for pictures), and can't remember everything else. With the exception of plane tickets to go back home, we pulled this all off with just under $1000 and according to everyone that I talked with it was one of the simpliest, most organized, most enjoyable weddings they had ever been to. Dress for the occasion was smart casual, so a lot of the women there just wore dress pants and a dress shirt or something along those lines. My husband wore a collarless shirt (no tux or any of that jaz b/c I wanted to be comfortable. All in all, yep, we spent just under the $1000 and had a blast. GOOD LUCK TO YOU!

Answer 6

It's allways more expensive than you think. But if you do away with a lot of the bells and whistles the price comes down. Caterring, floral, Tux Rentals, Bridal gown, and Hall rental are usually the killers. If you just have an outdoor wedding with a justice of the peace and either potluck or home made food it get's cheap. My Friend's wedding was under $400 with tux and photographer and groceries.

Answer 7

You say small wedding but you didnt say how many people. It all depends on how many people you are going to feed. You can do something very simple for 1500.00 but I mean very simple. I just got married in our back yard a few weeks ago. I wanted small and inexpensive. We ended up spending over 3000.00 and we had 65 guests. It was a great day that I will never forget. If you are having a reception do you have a place to have it? All these things cost money. Ours was at out house but we still needed to rent a tent, tables, and chairs. You really didnt give enought info for us to help you. Good luck and congrats to you.

Answer 8

Let's get to spending, girl....you will have money left over! What a wonderful idea. A cowboy wedding....do you know my cousin just made a wedding cake with that theme. She had little fences, and cows it was grogeous. You can find all kind of stuff for this at your hobby stores, and on-line.

I would keep the food simple since you are having it outdoors. Checkered table cloths. Tin buckets with flowers in them for center peices. At my daughter's wedding, we were doing just a big family styled picnic...we used old antique wash tubs-filled them with ice and load them down with bottled coke, rootbeer, and sprites. I hung the bottle openers from the tree with ribbon. It was so cute.

We used old pans that our grandmothers had shelled beans in for years as bread baskets. My daughter hates those silver warming trays, so we took garden fencing and boxed them. After that we decorated the fence with flowers and butterflies. We also used mixed matched plates, but I don't recommend that...please go with a good heavy duty paper plate. We had ice cream iced down in big silver water buckets..The couple had all kinds of ice cream toppings in small tin buckets(Walmart .97)

Honey, there is so much you can do, and with this kind of a budget, use your imagination and some elbow grease and your quests will think you spent a fortune. You just have the happiest of weddings day possible.....

God bless us all..............

Answer 9

Of course it is!! Congrats on your engagement. I will be getting married shortly,too. I have a budget of only $2,000. We're doing just fine! I found this absolutely AWESOME place to have the reception and the ceremony at...12 hrs for $200!!

Good luck with your wedding!

Answer 10

Yeah, but you better tell people to BYOB!! Also, I think that you should carry no flowers and also use those disposable cameras instead of a professional photographer. Oh, and one last thing....I think that if you order more than 10 pizzas from Pizza Hut then you should call well in advance so they have it there by the time you are ready to eat.