Small wedding?

Question

I want to have a small indoor wedding for about 30 people but I'm not sure how i can keep the costs down any more than I plan to. A friend told me it should cost no more than 1,000, but so far, our bill is up to $3,000. We are planning to have the wedding at a local restaurant and the reception will follow at the same place. We're having an open bar for 3 hours and a food station style dinner. I'd like to get costs down on the flowers, the decorations, ect. Also, has anyone ever used disposable cameras on each table for their photography?

I really want to have a nice party that doesn't take too much money away from paying our credit cards and other more important bills.

Just to clarify, we already have some credit card debt and are not planning to use the cards to pay for any part of the wedding. I'd rather not go into any further debt because of a wedding or use money that we could be using to pay off our cards.

Answer 1

instead of an 'open bar' limit the drinks to beer,wine & soft drinks- up to a certain amount /time - anything else guests pay for themselves- have someone make an announcement about this as soon as all the guests are assembled - or put it on your invitations - maybe provide some champagne/wine for any toasts you wish to have
decorations/favours are really just an extra cost that is NOT totally necessary . also if you do have your reception at arestaurant - they will possibly decorate the tables you may just need to provide place cards for seating arrangments
lots of good suggestions for your flowers from others - another 1 - if someone asks what you would like for a gift - then ask if they would be prepared to pay for you bouquet - so long as the cost was reasonable - or even a bunch of flowers that you can then arrange yourself
I heard of a bride who asked all her female guests ot bring a single bloom of their favourit flower
- which she then gathered into a bunch & tied with a ribbon to make her bouquet - this made the guests more a part of the celebrations
If you ahve not already asked anyone to be bridesmaids - it is not essential to have attendants - you just need to have someone (maybe 2 people) to sign your papers
disposable cameras are a good idea- my daughter did that & got some fantastic candid shots
BUT do have 1 person assigned to take some specific shots that you want
GOOD ON YOU - for wanting to keep costs down- it is not necessary to spend heaps to still have a memorable day. & if you ahve those people who are really important to you sharing your celebration it will be.

you could also say on your invitations that you invite your guests to contibute to your "treasure chest" in lieu of gifts & have a ** chest or wishing well "" set up at the reception venue.
this is happening quite a lot here - particularly as some many couples have been toghter for some time prior to the marriage & ahve most of the household items they need.
you can find a number of amusing verses to put on your invitation that state your wishes for this.
also if you haven;t already done your invitations you can make
these yourself - there are program on the net to help - or do your own wording & just get some nice paper

Answer 2

Being where you live & what you've chosen reflects the cost of your wedding. I respect the fact that you don't want to still be paying for the wedding on your 5 year anniversary. But paying with a credit card gives you recourse should one of the vendors fail to live up to their contract. .

With that being said, disposable cameras are a hoot. You will get unimaginable pictures. I will advise this, that you find a friend that will take posed bridal pictures for you. You will want a couple. Take a look at some professional photographer's sites to chose which poses you like.

Diane Warner has a book called, "How to have a big wedding on a small budget"; see if you can get your hands on a copy from your library.

Look for silk flower sales at your local craft chain. Without alot of expense you can do tied bouquets, which are so very popular now. If you can't do it, recruit a talented family member or friend. Also if you need pew bows. They can really cramp you hands, even when you're use to doing it. There's a bow maker for under $10.

For decorations, you need to find out if you're allowed to use candles. Alot of places aren't allowing them as they don't want to pay for the open flame insurance. Otherwise, candles floating in a bowl or glass makes a nice inexpensive centerpiece. Or a few flowers in a vase/glass. Understated is always more elegant than too much.

Answer 3

Amy,

I was just married in August and like you, we kept costs way down because it seemed senseless to spend SO much on one day. Plan early and buy a little bit at a time. Our day was amazing! My #1 suggestion to you is this: When you look back on your wedding day 5 or 10 years from now, what do you want to remember about it? Even after 3 months, when I think about our wedding day, I think about the look in his eyes, the overall feeling of joy and happiness, and all that other non-material stuff.

Our wedding was outside. We put a big vase of fresh cut flowers from my aunts garden on the tables. We bought silk flowers and made our own bouquets (which I can keep in perfect condition forever!). You could keep it very simple and just carry a single rose, which does look elegant as well – or have your girls carry a single rose and do yours up just a bit more. I didn’t wear a big traditional wedding dress and the guys were in black dress pants and dress shirts. The only thing that needed buying was the dress shirts so they all matched since they all had black pants.

We had very little money into our decorations – crepe paper bells were hung here and there with tulle bought from an actual fabric store (much cheaper than the crafts stores like Michaels). You can do tulle on the head table with white lights intermixed (which someone in your family most likely already has a strand of). My sister made our “card box”.

My aunt took the “traditional” wedding photos of the wedding party and parents. She also walked around and took pictures throughout the day and evening. Have a couple people with digital cameras take your photos and then consolidate them. I would suggest one his family and one from yours and they can use their own cameras since they already know how to use them.

Good Luck and have fun. Your smart to keep the costs down =) because in the end, none of that stuff is what really matters.

Answer 4

I just got married in September and also had a small wedding. The easiest way to cut down is to make your own flowers. I am not Martha Stewart, but your local craft store will have tons of inexpensive books on how to make floral arrangements. You can even make it cheaper by using artificial flowers and splurge just on your bouquet so you can still have the real flower smell. Favors are also a place to go cheap. I got pre-cut tulle rounds at the craft store and put Jelly Beans in my wedding colors inside and tied it with a ribbon. It was a huge hit that was easy on the budget. If you have a wedding party make an afternoon of it and get some help making everything.
I decided not to do disposable cameras because at my sister-in-laws wedding she ending up with a bunch of pictures of the floor and peoples backsides. It all is dependent on who is holding the camera and if alcohol is involved.
Just remember this is your day and it is all about you and your Fiance, don't be so worried about if everyone else will have fun, just make sure it will be what you and your Fiance will enjoy. The day flies by so fast you won't even get much chance to eat.

Answer 5

Right, the first thing I would ditch would be the open bar (does this mean that its free to the guests)....would you expect the be invited to a wedding and not to pay for anything....honestly get rid of this one. A complimentary glass of bubbly or one of whatever each guest requests is absolutely fine. Flowers are expensive, could you find a flower wholesaler yourself and get somebody to make up some arrangements for you?? For yourself why not have a nice corsage? very 'funky' at the moment and something different. Decorations could be quite simple and sophisticated too.... We did the disposable camera thing just to get a few off the record shots, wouldn't advise it for your proper photos as many of them are gash. It doesn't have to cost the earth, a few different things makes it unique and funky and you may start a few trends among your mates. I had never been to a wedding where corsages were used, I had one (quite large obviously being the bridey girl...it was ace and now people always comment). I would advise that you cut back on the food and drink thing and maybe splash out on a photographer as these are what you'll look back on for a lifetime.

Most of all...enjoy YOUR day. Hope I helped.

Answer 6

Amy, I wish more people were as sensible as you.

Weddings are a total waste of money. Anything that has the word 'wedding' in front of it suddenly sky rockets the price.

If I ever had to do it again I would do it in Vegas.

I've known people to take out massive loans to have the 'perfect' wedding. One couple I used to know had a loveless sham of a marriage, but she felt too guilty to leave him because they had not yet paid off the wedding. Meanwhile they lived in a crappy rented house and drove awful cars. That money could have been a down payment on a home or even two better cars. Or perhaps a decent divorce lawyer!

Good luck with yours. Although honestly, $1,000 may be a little on the optimistic side.

Answer 7

I have to say I wouldn't recomend getting the cameras unless you do some research and get a halfway decent disposible camera. I bought the wedding cameras with the white and pink roses on them and they took ok close up pictures but any thing more than 15ft away didn't come out at all I was really disopointed with them

For flowers I would definitly recomend going to your local grocery store a large chain grocery store. I have a Price chopper by me go through their florist. I saved alot of money we did all of our arrangments ourselves and they lloked just as nice as going to a proffesional florist. I wouldn't recomend doing this unless you have a bunch of extra hands the day before the wedding. I had a wedding with 200 people I had
20 table arrangments with a hurricane candle with flower around the rim
6 large arrangment scattered around the reception
flowers for the outdoor wedding ceremony
7 large bridesmaid bouquts
1 large bridal bouqet
lots of corsoses and boutiners
and flowers for around the cake
The cost of all my flowers was $400 and it looked really beautiful
I used mostly roses with some fillers lillies carnations
email me if you want i will send you some pictures
[e-mail]

Answer 8

Well, I thought having the disposable cameras on the tables was a complete waste of money/film. Several of the cameras got into the hands of children and they took them down to a nearby playground and took pictures of kids who were playing in the park and a dog. You're better off assigning a couple of people to go around and snap candid shots. The digital camera idea was good.

We also did a lot of decorations from the dollar store. We got "flower garland" that was really pretty and put it on the aisle chairs at the church. We had a lady at church do our flowers (silk) at cost. We had no alcohol. We chose not to for a couple of reasons: We would've needed additional insurance on the reception hall, neither of us really drinks, and we didn't want the responsibility of people leaving our reception drunk and driving home.

Answer 9

You can have a pot luck, have e1 bring a dish for the food. You could also do luncheon meats, rolls, salads, and I hear some are doing cupcakes for weddings now. Cakes are really expensive, I know, just bought one for my sons wedding, was $400.00, and that was an inexpensive one. You can also do a cd of the music you like to play in the background. Sparkling cider for the toast. Decorations from the dollar store. Disposable digital cameras for everyone to take pics. You can also get wedding dresses from ebay, or even a second hand shop and have it cleaned, or maybe borrow one. Good Luck and enjoy.

Answer 10

you're on the right track to plan an affordable wedding. Yes, cost can be a factor, especially with all "the trims." Have you considered a sponsorship type of wedding? The idea may sound cheap to some, yet affordable when you can have someone set up your dinning, lining and special trimmings for free! Believe me, I have considered it for myself. I want a lavish honeymoon to splurge on and $$$ in the bank when I return (...NO CREDIT CARD PURCHASES...) Don't start your marriage out in debt, once the 1-2 hour ceremony is over, it's over; the money should be spent wisely to begin your new lives together (DEBT FREE).