My parents can't afford to give me a wedding!! My fiance is still in school!!?

Question

My dad just told me that he won't be able to pay much for my wedding...which is still over a year away. Money that I bring in goes to all by bills from school and my fiance is finishing is last semester. We are already putting off our wedding for a year and half...But what do I do? How can I pay for my dream wedding? Is it possible to have a beautiful wedding and reception with just a few thousand dollars?? I'm totoally bummed out.....:(

Okay....Some of you have understood my question...I don't want a big fancy wedding...But I do want A wedding...I was just wanting some helpful ideas and hints to make it as cheap as possible.....

Answer 1

I would suggest that you do what I did for my daughter to have her fairy tale wedding last year. we also had about one & 1/2 years to make it happen. I wrote down everything that was needed to pull off the wedding she wanted. then over the course of that year and ahalf I would take one item each payday and buy it. you say your dad says he won't be able to help much but how much is not much? You can find wedding gowns on sale and maybe he could pay for that. decorations for the tables can be purchased at a very reasonable price from hobby lobby when they have their 1/2 off sale usually about this time of year. during their 1/2 off sale you could also pick up your guest book, cake serving set, tierra, and veil. check with people that you or your fiance's, friends and both families to find out if any of them know someone who bakes wedding cakes on the side, oh yea you can also buy your cake topper at hobby lobby's 1/2 off sale. Now go to the church talk with the minister set the date, they will tell you all the fees that they charge. find a place that you both can agree upon and afford to have your reception, if you can't afford a professional catering company to make and serve the food check with family and friends to see if they are willing to help out, then you only have the cost of the food. alot of bridal stores give a discount if all the dresses are bought there and the tuxcedo's rented there, we also received 2 free tuxcedo's. from my own experience believe me you can make this happen. you only need to have faith in yourself and your family & friends, and be willing to do the work of looking for the bargins and doing the shopping. oh yea one thing I forgot to tell you you can purchase blank invatations that all you need to make them is a computer with wordprocessor on it. If you don;t know anyone who makes silk flower arrangements and bouquets someone you or someone you know probably does, and this can save hundreds of dollars. We also found a newspaper photographer that did wedding pictures on the side for a very reduced fee.

Answer 2

Frankly why put yourself in major debt by financing a wedding? You already have tight pockets because of bills. Don't add to it by wanting a big fancy wedding.

You can either save up a couple of years to have a nice wedding, or go to a justice of the peace and get married, then save up and have a HUGE renewal of vows celebration if you are still together ten years or so from now.

Some people's "dream wedding" is just that, a dream. I'd LOVE to go all out and have a HUGE wedding, but due to location and realizing its more practical, we are having a small casual wedding/reception that won't put us totally into debt. I am sure it will be as memorable if not more than some 'dream wedding'.

As long as it is YOU and your groom, that is all that matters.

Oh, and YOU and your groom should not expect everyone to help pay for the wedding. Foot the bill yourself and if someone helps you out afterwards then take it with gratitude. This day and age people pay for their own weddings.

Answer 3

Whether you have a big or small wedding, you'll still be married just the same.

1. Go to city hall with your immediate families and go out to dinner afterwards.
2. Then, have a pot-luck dinner later on - not necessarily as a reception but as a way for the families to meet each other. You could also have your vows renewed by a JP so that everyone can see you get married.

If you don't have the backyard space for a pot luck dinner for 100 or more people, see if you can rent a vacation house nearby for the weekend. My fiancee and I are looking into rentals and found that we could rent a house that sleeps 8 for $650 on the weekend (including the security deposit). We'll decorate the house, provide food (and have ppl supplement that food with whatever food they bring) and bring some games: a volleyball set, baseball gloves, ect.

Here is the budget that we made up (my dad is covering some of the expenses):

City Hall Wedding:

Rings$400
Dinner$130
Marriage License and Ceremony $65

Pot Luck Party
Our expenses:
Vacation Rental - Weekend$650.00
Dress$50.00 - Sundress
Favors$250.00
Invitations $50.00 - VistaPrint.com
Food$500.00
Orlando Honeymoon $800.00
Spending Money $900.00
Total$3,200.00

Dad's Expenses:
Officiator $300.00
Decorations $150.00
Beer Kegs - 2 $300
Table and chair rental $200
Total $950

So, the total that we're spending is $3825, excluding my dad's expenses. Of course, you can cut out the favors to save money (I doubt ppl would expect them anyway) and you may not need to rent a house if you know someone with a big enough yard.

Also, we're having a friend take photos for us so we don't need a photographer.

Answer 4

As you can already see...money is tight and all your money right now is already going towards bills. Why add to that with a big, fancy wedding? Why go into more debt? I suppose you could try to get a loan from the bank. The marriage is the most important thing and doesn't require a huge wedding. You can have a small, inexpensive, more intimate wedding and be better off financially in the end. Or you can keep putting it off until everything in your life is perfect and you can pay for a huge wedding, but why would you want to wait that long to start your lives together? Congrats by the way!

Answer 5

Reality check! Daddy is not always going to be there to pay for your toys.

Seriously, though... if you are old enough/mature enough/adult enough to get married, you should already know how to handle your money. If not, then you might want to hold off on this getting-married thing for a few years so you don't end up living in a box on the street.
Take the time to save the money. Cut down on your spending, stop going out to eat, put away as much as you can every week, and take some responsibility for your life. You could even look into student loans to help you keep ahead on your school costs while you put more into savings.

As far as a wedding-on-a-budget goes, it CAN be done! I had the most wonderful, beautiful wedding ever for less than $1,000 (not including our rings, which were more pricey). How did we do it? We eliminated the traditions/"obligations" that weren't really important to us, such as bridesmaids/groomsmen, tuxes, etc. Then, we asked for help from our family/friends who had special talents -- one of my relatives took pictures, my grandmother helped me create homemade bouquets, and our good friend served as a wedding coordinator to help us make sure we got everything all set the day of. We had a cake-and-punch reception instead of a full meal, and did a lot of do-it-yourself projects -- the card box, programs, invitations, guest book, etc.
It was beautiful and exactly how we wanted it!
Good luck!

Answer 6

Hell yes you can have a beautiful wedding for a few thousand!! You don't have to have the best of everything. I am in the process of making all the decorations, flowers, bows, etc. Ask family & friends to pitch in a help out. I chose to spend my money on the dress, photographer, & food. Decide what is the most important to you and spend you money there and then compromise on the rest. Make sure you shop around for the best prices. I shopped for about 6 wks before purchasing anything for the wedding. Do you have a flower factory?? They have wedding stuff at really good prices. I checked hobby lobby, michaels, bridal shops, party city, factory card outlet, various party stores and the flower factory had the best prices by far!! I purchased everything but toasting glasses and the cake topper for around $300. Not bad and it is nice. Just spend time shopping and ask for help from family & friends. One aunt is catering for me, the other is decorating the reception, my sister in-law is making the cake. Everyone wants to help. I wish you luck. And just remember you don't have to go broke to have a wonderful wedding. As long as you & your fiance are happy that is all that matters.

Answer 7

I think that times have changed and people shouldn't rely on their families to pay for these weddings. The wedding business has boomed and in the "olden days" weddings were a lot less expensive and families were able to contribute. I am getting married and although my father says he will be giving me money I am not putting his money to our estimated budget. If I want a beautiful wedding then I need to save up for that. You will still be able to have a nice wedding but not a dream wedding for a few thousand dollars. Maybe you should look into getting married at a later date. Please remember that the last thing you want is to go to future weddings with your husband and be envious. Maybe the best thing to do is to save up and wait. Best of luck.

Answer 8

I understand that a wedding is important. You used the term "Dream Wedding" The truth is this, either put it off until you can afford it, or change your dream. The reality is that the type of wedding you have will not really effect the marriage. So have a nice simple ceremony now, and later when you can afford it, renew your vows with that dreamy ceremony. Avoid the urge to go into debt to pay for the wedding. Do not start life together in a financial hole. You will be fine.

Answer 9

we live in the day an age of brides an grooms pay for there wedding back in the day children would work an money would stay in the home vs today you work an buy what you want an move out parents should only pay or give what they can afford a wedding can be done with 100.00- millions all depends now you just have to shop around make thank you favors make centerpieces floral arrangements go to on line an find items an make it a goal to find what u saw an find it cheaper don't jump an say i want this an hate it later have a complete vision on how u want it an go after it look into VFW things like that to hold the reception an look into a BBQ or local restaurants to supply your food think affordable an classy good luck

Answer 10

A part of growing up is learning you can't get everything you want. You may not be able to afford your dream wedding but you can still have a beautiful ceremony on a small budget. Besides you have a wedding to show your love for each other with your family and friends as your witnesses. Later if it is still important to you when you are more financially able on an anniversary or something you can have the wedding ceremony you always wanted.

Answer 11

I eloped, and it was beautiful. I dont see the point in starting a life in debt. You may as well use the money for a house, then have a wedding ceremony and an at home wedding reception, which can be very classy and intimate. The day is about you two expressing your love to each other. I spent more on my rings and less on my day.I get to look at them every day many times, and I have a beautiful marriage. Thats all that matters. The day cost $2500 (AU)only.