I have only 5 Months to plan My Wedding and I have no idea how to ! I don't have alot of money !Very little !It is going to be low key and smaller but I still Need help If you have any hints please let me know!Thank you
2007-02-06 15:38:54 · 9 answers · asked by gena7589 1 in Family & Relationships ➔ Weddings
First things first: Decide how much money you can spend. Don't feel bad about the amount, you will use what you can use!
Find out the requirements to get the marriage license and an officiant. Put aside the money for that.
Decide where you will be married. A friend's or family member's house or yard? Your church? The local park? A community club? The courthouse? How much will you have to pay for the venue? (If anything) Put money aside for that.
Now, those top two things you MUST have. The rest is just details. How many things you do depends on your taste, desires, and how much money you have left. Subtract the cost for those top two things from your budget. Now you know how much you have to spend amongst the details. The less it is, the more you will have to cut, OR the more creative you will have to be!
Look for a dress on eBay, thrift shops, after prom sales, and department stores. It doesn't have to be a big white wedding gown, just find a dress you like within your budget. Or you can wear a dress you already have. My Mama made my wedding dress, it was just a plain, blue, street length dress. So if you can sew, you might make one yourself.
If you have attendants, let them wear their own clothes in your color. Or you can ask them to buy their own dress (which is traditional, BTW, that the the bridesmaids buy their own) The guys (and groom) can wear their own suits. .
Get in the habit of dropping by the $1 stores to look for decor items. You can find some amazing decorations for a buck! My friend got her wedding veil there, we just dressed it up with some silk flowers and it was beautiful. I guarantee no one knew we paid $1 for it!
ASK ASK ASK friends and family what they have that you could borrow to use for your wedding. Folks have all sorts of nice linen, tablecloths, silver, fancy candlesticks, and serving pieces just sitting in a drawer somewhere. They will be thrilled to see it put to use, and flattered that you want to use it!
Ivy is everywhere and looks great on a buffet table. Also magnolia and cedar, even pine. Readily available and free. Potted ferns are great for decoration.
In 5 months, there should be wild flowers available in the fields. You can supplement with flowers from friends and family's yards and flower gardens. Also, Cotsco and Sam's Club are good for flowers, or your local supermarket. You can borrow vases to put them in. Buy some ribbon at WalMart and make the bouquets and boutonnieres yourself, it's not hard.
The biggest money is in the reception. Cheapest would be to just serve cake, punch and coffee following the ceremony. If you get married pretty early in the afternoon, that will be fine. You could also do potluck and have people bring a dish to serve. You can buy wholesale at the warehouse club and have different finger foods, veggie trays, meat trays, crackers etc etc. They make lots of frozen goodies, quiche, things such as that, just heat and put on a platter. Ask someone to be in charge of the buffet and getting it ready.
Your cake can be made by you or a friend. Just make from a mix and decorate with white icing and flowers, add a cake topper if you wish. Or supermarkets make nice wedding cakes for a reasonable price.
Now for photography.
Folks will say put disposable cameras out and depend on those for your wedding pictures. OK, go ahead and put them around, but DO NOT depend on them alone if you want any usable pictures! I am a photo lab manager and part time wedding photographer. You will be lucky if 3 frames on a camera turn out worth keeping. If you cannot afford a real photographer, then ask your friend with a decent camera to take some pictures. In fact, ask all your friends to bring their cameras! But do ask someone to be responsible for taking pictures of the ceremony and the important things, like the cake cutting, and pictures of you and groom, the wedding party and you with your families.
These snaps will not be as good as a professional, but you will have them for memories. You might also try Craig's list. Photographers advertise there for cheap, and sometimes free, to build their portfolios. Or ask at the local college if they have a photography department and see if a student would be interested in shooting. Or even the local photo lab, occasionally the 1-hour lab is staffed with good amateur photographers who shoot on the side, or would like to try.
Don't get too stressed about your upcoming wedding. Decide what you can comfortably spend and stick to it! Look for unusual things, or different ways to use the usual stuff. Don't let the big white wedding industry convince you that you have to spend thousands of dollars to have a beautiful wedding...That's not true! ASK people for their help. Delegate when possible. And have fun!
2007-02-07 01:44:22 · answer #1 · answered by Ara57 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Congratulations! You have done the most important part of the wedding day and that is finding each other and falling in love. With out you two this day would not be happening, therefore it’s your special day to celebrate your love for each other. After the ceremony eat drink and be merry, enjoy the evening and have fun after all it will be both of you that will remember this day the most and you want to have loving happy memories with no stress. So let your hair down and dance the night away. Of course there are still necessary things you need to do to get to that point. . If you can, get a wedding planner. This will make the process much less stressful. If not, a friend or your mom will likely be happy to accept this role.Here is a web site to help
2007-02-06 15:53:18 · answer #2 · answered by babydoll 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The knot is a great website that will help you get and stay on track if you are planning the wedding yourself. Some important things to secure asap: (in this order)
reception site
ceremony site
photographer
everything else will fall around these things. Since you are working with a short timeframe, you may want to consider a venue that will let you have the reception and ceremony in the same location. Aside from the convenience, you can save money on transportation. For instance, you can have your ceremony and reception at a local church. A good photographer is another vendor you will have to secure. Check out message boards at the knot and at weddingchannel.com to see who brides are recommending (and more importantly NOT recommending) you may also want to check on craigslist.org for photographers and other vendors such as musicians and videographers. Other ways to cut costs include:
ordering your wedding cake from your supermarket bakery
ordering flowers in bulk online and doing your own arrangements
If you haven't gotten your dress already, consider David's bridal. Their prices are relatively inexpensive and you get to take the dress home that day! I have tons of other tips so if you want some more advice shoot me an email at dieselingn@aol.com
Best of luck and congrats!!
2007-02-07 01:48:21 · answer #3 · answered by SupaDupaWoman 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Try checking out and signing up for http://www.theknot.com
It is a free web site that not only gives you a complete checklist, but also keeps a budget and a compiled list of vendors, ideas and answers to just about any question you may have.
My wedding will be in March and I too started out knowing nothing. This web site has changed everything and has alleviated a lot of stress.
Good luck!
2007-02-07 00:12:59 · answer #4 · answered by Duane"s girl 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The most important things are pictures and flowers. I planned my wedding in two weeks with $200. Wait until after prom ends to find a great deal on a dress. Grocery store flowers are wonderfully affordable. Ask family members to make their favorite dishes and have a potluck. Pay a nephew $50 bucks to take a video. It will be funny to look at later.
2007-02-06 15:48:20 · answer #5 · answered by Sweetie 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I really stressed myself out when I got married, trying to plan everything on a budget, get everyone where they were supposed to be (we went to the mountains in TN to get married). After all was said and done, the only thing that mattered was that we were married. Relax. If everything doesn't go perfectly, oh well; a month from then, no one will remember it! Good luck!
2007-02-07 01:33:30 · answer #6 · answered by bamagirl 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
http://www.marthastewart.com/page.jhtml?type=learn-cat&id=cat247&rsc=SC287206 This website might help you find some info on here. download the wedding book ot tells you step by step what to do good luck. http://a444.g.akamai.net/7/444/703/20050425213415/www.marthastewart.com/images/pdf/wedding_workbook.pdf
2007-02-06 16:04:51 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Check out this website: www.theknot.com They have checklists and all kinds of info and help on there.
2007-02-06 15:41:27 · answer #8 · answered by patchouligirl 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
google( or do a yahoo search) the words wedding, bride, marriage. I use the knot and many more websites.
2007-02-06 15:46:39 · answer #9 · answered by pchiz 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋