getting married, tight budget, need tips?

Question

im getting married in 8 months and we are on in incredibly tight budget, as many tips on how to save would be brilliant, original ideas would be great as ive already heard all the normal ways to save on it.

Answer 1

Congrats!!

Save some money like this:

- Make sure that your caterer gives you children pricing for children. They eat less so you shouldnt be paying adult prices for them. Get that agreement in writing. Also see can you get a plate discount if you have more than a certain number of guests. Lots of places will give you a 1-2 discount if you have over 100 guests.

- get all costs incurred with your choice of location written down- to the exact penny. Some places charge you a fee to feed their workers if they are working at that time (scary huh!??) Look for ways to cut those costs such as cutting your own cake instead of having them do it

- Make your own decorations. Go to your local craft store and get supplies that you can use to create what you want. For instance, for my centerpieces I am making a vase with glow lights in them and magic ice (pour water on the ice and it expands to a jelly like substance and will hold the gel sticks in place) and then i am topping off with a tea light. Total cost for 10 tables will be roughly 50 bucks.

-favors- dont give anything with your name on it. Just make some treats and put them in cute little bags. Try using these bags: http://www.uline.com/browse_listing_5507... and put some cookies in them. Add a cute little ribbon to the top (once again glue gun and ribbon under 2 bucks to do all of them!) Most people toss the favors away unless it is something you can use. So if you had your heart set out on embellished wine openers, and you give it to a beer drinker, you just wasted 20 bucks...lol.

Flowers: use silk. this site will price match and give you a discount if they arent the cheapest! http://www.wpetals.com/

More decorations: Use http://orientaltrading.com to get some cool things

-Limit your guest list. Just think that if you eat at 12 bucks per plate and each plate has 3 drinks, you can save over 100 bucks by taking 4-5 people off your list.

- you dont really need all the extra stuff like the chocolate fountain, fireworks, doves, etc. You can make your own bubbles by buying the bottles yourself and filling them with regular dish soap and water. takes some time, but you save oodles!

- cake- get a fake cake. the top layer is the only real one, and the bottom layers are just foam decorated to look like a cake. No one will know the difference as the cake is whisked away right after you cut it. Have two sheet cakes made up by the local grocery store and use that to share with your guests.

Invites: use http://www.sealandsend.net they will send you samples of colors and styles before you actually order and you will save money by not needing all the extra envelopes and whatnot.

these are just a few. Good luck and happy savings!

Answer 2

Have a dollar dance definitely! It raises more money for you and your new husband. Have liquor available cuz drunk people pay more to dance then sober people, I'm sure you've heard about having a family member make the cake, and food, and the decorations yadda yadda yadda....get your dress from a consignment shop or try buying a white prom dress, they have some real great ones that cost considerably less then those actually dubbed "bridal" dresses, or rent one. Have no bridesmaids, make silk flower arrangements, or you could have your guest pay for their drinks at the bar, although this may mean less money for the dollar dance (haha). Try checking out state or national parks for a venue because the tend to be either cheap or free. But then you have to worry about rain. There are tons of ways to cut the budget. Do some research on-line. and through other people you know that have gotten married recently. For favors, I didnt buy any of that fancy pre cut tulle, I got tulle by the yard at walmart and cut it myself and bought some valentines heart candy that was 50% off and tied them up in the tulle with cheap ribbon. Bought little kissing bells at the dollar store. The only thing I didnt go cheap on were the dress and the flowers. Keep in mind that you can always use your bouquet for the head tables centerpiece! Have your bridesmaids put their flowers in a vase or on other tables. Have the photographer only take pics at the ceremony. Buy one time use cameras and put them on the tables to have your guests take pics at the reception. Have a friend video tape everything. If you have a morning or early afternoon ceremony then you dont have to provide a meal at the reception. There are so many ways to save!

Answer 3

I got married in Colorado and in Denver there is a place that you can RENT wedding dresses and bridesmaid dresses and all of that...I got a dress that was covered in swarvoski crystals that cost $800 and I rented it for $200...the brides maid dresses I rented for like $20. I also used fake flowers and watched for sales for things like table cloths. My reception was at a very cheap place that cost $10 an hour...if that...and the wedding itself was free except for a tip for the pastor...and that came with flowers and a wedding planner!! My sister burned cds for us to use during the ceremony and we just did some research to find a dj and limo. Our whole wedding probably cost maybe $1500...if that...and we paid for it ourselves. Also, do not go by what all the wedding magazines say about when you should do things...plan way ahead...do lots of research and buy things whenever you see them on sale...even if the wedding is 8 months away. Also, make your own bouquets and bootiniers...ask family members for things from their wedding that you could borrow. That is what we did for our card holders and some decorations. Also a friend of the family did mine and my wedding parties hair...and it was all free. Go to all the grocery stores in your area that have cakes...they're a lot cheaper...or see if anyone in you family or friends know of someone or know how to make a cake. We got our cake from a grocery store and we had cupcakes. We had a small 2 tiered cake...and then we had cupcakes too that my mom made. Oh and we didn't have food other than nuts and cupcakes and drinks and mints...our wedding was at 11am...we figured we had to stop and get something to eat on our way to the reception they could too. Also, my aunt just used her regular camera to take pictures for us and other people stayed around and took pictures for us too so we had all kind of great pictures. In this day and age with the keosks (sp?) at the stores you don't need a pro photographer just someone who takes good pictures. and my uncle did the video for us. We asked a crafty aunt to do our gifts for the guests and our center pieces and told her that could be her gift to us. Oh and I would suggest if you are going to have the disposable cameras do not have a lot of them...cuz you'll get like 50 different pictures of you and your husband dancing...it's crazy...we did that and wished we didn't cuz we got all of the same pictures! I hope this helps you...if you have any more specific questions I'd be happy to help you.

Answer 4

First you will need to determine what is most important to you and then set your priorities. There are millions of ways to save money with the obvious being to do as much as you can yourself and watch for sales. Also if you have other friends getting married you could split costs and share items. One way to save in several different ways is to have small cakes created for each guest table and have a small wedding cake for yourself. That way you spend less on the cake and you get free centerpieces! I would definately keep an eye out in craft stores and bargain/dollar stores as well as sale aisles. I have found so many deals just by being alert. Also use the web to compare and find out if it is cheaper to buy it in the store or online.

Answer 5

First off congratulations. Buffet dinners, are cheaper than plate dinners. You could have a pay bar or open bar but only for the first hour. If it is open bar only well drinks and draft beer. Have relatives bake deserts like cookies, fudge whatever their specialty is. Get a small wedding cake just for the cutting and pictures and serve sheet cake to your guests. Buy some of those dance party Cd's and have a friend be a DJ. Try renting a fire hall or Elks club or something similar instead of a big banquet hall. Just some ideas.

Answer 6

sigh. ignore all of these age comments. no one can decide if you are ready for marriage or not...sigh....some of the people on here don't even care about answering your questions, all they want is to shove their POV's down your throat.

A couple idea's...

Sam's Club for flowers. You can get 100 long stem roses of any color (s) for around 100 dollars, depending on the time of year. Make your own boquets.

Buy an Invite Kit from Wal-mart or Target. They cost about 20 dollars, and each one does 50 invites. They look profesional, and all you have to do is type everything up on the computer and print it out.

Davids Bridal for your wedding dress. JCPennys's for your bridesmaid dresses. Payless for your shoes. ACmore or any craft store for your veil...

And decorations. A few yards of fabric can be drapped over tables for an elegant feel, and is pretty cheap if on sale. Candles!!! Dollar store's best merchindase. Have a candlelight themed reception....have everything lit by candleight. Makes it romantic and unique - not to mention, cheap.

Have several friends handy with a digital camera/camcorder take your pics and video.

That's all I can think of for now - best wishes!

I might be able to help more if I knew what theme/feeling you were going for.

Answer 7

Go to your local Dollar Tree. They have a wedding aisle and usually have favor boxes that come in a package of 10-12 for $1. Then you can fill the boxes with mints or candy. They also have the mini bubbles there... about 8-10 for $1....your guests can blow the bubbles during your final exit. Michael's carries a lot of wedding stuff there too. They have a beautiful line of invitations that you can print yourself...you can find them on clearance sometimes too! Also, instead of RSVP cards and postage, have them RSVP to an email address or phone number. Good Luck!

Answer 8

I would have the most beautiful wedding in the world on a budget if I were getting married! I have many many ideas, but there's WAY too many to name here. First off, you need to rack your brain on who has what and who you can borrow from. Do NOT be afraid of asking. Borrow as much as possible, shop clearance, don't buy your bridal dress at a fancy place, (go to Ross or someplace)... there's many more, but maybe a search on ask.com will give you many more ideas.

Answer 9

I did mine for $500 bucks!!! it wasn't easy but I pulled it off I did most of the work myself I made the grooms cake and the maids cake the only one I didn't make was the tear cake But it was nasty I wish I hadn't bought it My aunt and G-ma helped with decorations you can find a lot of cute stuff at the $1 shop or the dollar tree you know the stores where everything it a buck. I was lucky enough to get my dress for free my step-mother- in-low 2 b made it for me. but there are bridle places that run specials all the time my hubby wore a black jacket and black jeans w/ a white button up shirt(got it at a second hand store for $2 bucks and on one had a clue that it wasn't new)used a black ribbon for a neck tie (same black of ribbon used for the decoration!!) had 2 brides maids 1 Marten of honer got them matching clothes off clearance rack at Wal-mart 2 flower girls and 1 ring bearer same clearance rack 1 best man 2 grooms men 1 wore a gray suit the other 2 black jeans and white shirts (w/ black ribbon ties) the reception was the most but prerecord your fave music to play rent a cheap hall or club house have sandwiches and veggies and drinks we did BYOB and it was great had a nice wedding and came out ahead thanks to the money tree and the $1 dance. I hope I gave you some ideas on how to save money but still have a neat wedding. good luck and congrats hope you have a ling and happy life together

Answer 10

make the invitaions...favors....centerpieces....decorations....have a buffet style....

my friend made me her maid of honor, and told me we had 6 weeks. yes, 6!!!!!!! We made the favors, which were CD's that we burned of different love songs, then her fiance got the cd labels and printed a picture of them onto it. They looked soooo good, its a great idea, and pretty cheap.
We made centerpieces from inexpensive candle holders.
She bought the blank invitations from a craft store and printed them on the computer.
We used silk flowers and styrofoam balls to create hanging 'flower balls.' They sound funny, but were really nice.
They had the local supermarket cater the reception. (i know) sounds awful, but most supermarkets have a division that does catering for big functions, and it was actually really good.

Buy a small wedding cake for the couple, and then a large sheet cake to serve to guests.
Seek alternative transportation instead of a limo.
Have a friend take the picture. (Preferably someone with some experience)
........that should be a good start.....