I am newly engaged and very excited! However, my fiance and I have to pay for everything ourselves...Does anyone know of any ideas to have a nice wedding but on a very tight budget!? Anything helps! Thanks!
2006-12-31 10:50:28 · 6 answers · asked by lilronny009 2 in Family & Relationships ➔ Weddings
Congratulations first off! =)
We are on a tight budget for our wedding also and found it can be very stressful as weddings seem to be so expensive!!
We have found that prioritising the most important things for the day has made it easier for us to work our budget.
We decided on areas such as photography/video being one we needed to spend the most on as it was a reminder of the day we would look at for the rest of our lives and want it to be perfect, where as an area such as flowers we could cut costs on or the music and have cds instead of a live band.
My advice shop around...I emailed 30 photographers before finding the right price and quality! Also dont be afraid to tell someone the price the others are giving you and chances are they will match it!
Final thing is we make ourselves remember is that you dont "have" to spend alot of money on your wedding! It is "your" day and the most important thing is that both of you are there and that you are becoming husband and wife! Guests will be happy just to share in that with you!
Good luck
x
2006-12-31 20:03:13 · answer #1 · answered by storm 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Congrats!
This is an excellent time of year to start shopping for wedding bargains. Left over Christmas stuff makes excellent decor for weddings-- candles, ribbons, and so on--especially things in gold, white, silver, etc. Many party stores will have deeply discount New Year's items this week also-- confetti, party supplies.
Skip the high end specialty bridal stores that sell customized supplies and shop for bridal favors at craft stores, party supply stores, Walmart, etc. No one will notice the difference.
Consider purchasing a gown from a consignment shop. A seamstress, or possibly a talented friend or relative, can modify gowns to add personal details.
Purchase decorative paper and cards at an office supply store and have them print your invitations and programs for the wedding.
Plan a punch and cake reception with simple finger foods-- sit down dinners and buffets are expensive and often wasted. Ditto for liquor plus it eliminates the possibility of drunken guests causing a scene.
Contact churches, colleges, civic group- buildings where your families have ties. You'll probably get a much better deal on space for the event than if you try to rent a hall or banquet room.
Ask your friends to donate their talents-- can someone play an instrument, prepare a dish, or run the videotape? Can you borrow items? Maybe someone has a punch bowl in the attic or table linens stored in the closet. Perhaps relatives have items used in their own weddings they would like to pass on to the next generation.
Above all, set priorities. Spend the bulk of your money on what is important to YOU, not on what other people want to do.
2007-01-02 00:30:57 · answer #2 · answered by jc 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Congratulations on your engagement!
There are many ways you can have a beautiful wedding at a fraction of the cost.
Minimize the amount of people in your wedding party. Don't worry, it is ok to have just a maid of honor and a best man.
Go for wild flowers instead of roses.
Either have a friend take the photos, or check with a local college is they have a photography dept, many photography students need to build up their portfolio. They will put their heart and soul into your pictures.
Go for a week night instead of weekend. Many places will charge up to 50% off the weekend price. So will many other vendors. If your guests love you they will make the effort to come on a weekday.
Instead of wedding favors, donate to a local charity and let your guests know this on the sign in table. they don't need another useless favor and you won't have to put together a bunch of favors.
Get married at the same place as the reception, one less thing to deal with and the cost will be better.
Good Luck!!
2007-01-01 11:21:27 · answer #3 · answered by Hudson Valley Ceremonies 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I'm also on a tight budget with planning my wedding. I'm doing my whole wedding for under $3000. But over $1600 of that is to rent the cabin for the wedding, reception, and 8-day honeymoon.I'm also having a small wedding (20 people), but I'm sure all this can be applied for even larger savings on a bigger guest list. Here are some things I've learned from searching around a little. First of all, you should set up your priorities. Spend the majority of your budget on what's important to you and your boyfriend. Making your own invitations can save you a ton. I got a kit of beautiful invitations from Michael's on sale...50(including envelopes) for $19.95+the 20% off coupon that comes in the paper every week. Ebay can be your friend. I found my dress on Ebay for $125, brand new. It was normally $700 at David's Bridal. Take the time to search for the best deal. Or you can find pretty gowns that aren't meant to be wedding gowns for around $100 or less. I'm using silk flowers instead of real. Some look SO realistic now. I splurged and spent $40 on my bouquet but since it's silk I can use it as decoration after the wedding. Skip the personalization on most things unless it's really important to you. People aren't going to notice or remember if your candles or napkins had your name on it. If you're having favors, pass by anything that is MEANT to be a WEDDING favor. Those are usually automatically more expensive. For example...We're having shot glasses for our wedding favors. We could've gotten generic personalized shot glasses for around $3 a piece. Instead we found a dish wholesale website and bought 20 heavy-duty shot glasses for a little over a dollar a piece and then found gold foil clear back stickers that said "Today I Marry My Friend" (our theme) and matching gold foil heart stickers that were on sale for 50 cents for a sheet of 25. In the end we paid almost $40 less for our favors. Also, do as much decorating yourself as you can. http://www.save-on-crafts.com/index.html... This is a great site for discount supplies. Other than that it comes down to cutting things. Cut your guest list down to only people who you and/or your boyfriend have or would turn to in case of emotional, spiritual, or financial troubles. Trust me, that'll narrow the list down big time. I've also noticed that cutting down the number for people in the bridal party cuts costs. Think about all the money that's spent on flowergirl/ring bearer accessories, flowers for the attendants and bridal party attendant gifts. Just cutting it from say 5 bridesmaids to two would save a bundle. I know this was long, but I hope it helps.
2007-01-02 01:10:13 · answer #4 · answered by Keruma 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
buy invitation kits and print them yourself.
Skip expensive flowers and get hand-tied roses for your boquet.
skip the favors, no one wants them anyway.
consider a daytime luncheon or a friday evening, it is cheaper.
best wishes.
2007-01-01 02:10:22 · answer #5 · answered by Jennifer D 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
http://www.theknot.com and http://www.weddingsolutions.com can help you greatly with a budget wedding :)
2007-01-01 11:28:57 · answer #6 · answered by Terri 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋