How much does a wedding usually cost? What are things that we can do to keep it cheap?

Question

We are going to have close friends and family to the wedding. We are also going to pay for this wedding ourself.

Answer 1

A wedding can cost as little as the marriage license - probably $50. or as much as $114,000,000.

Things to make it cheaper:
1. Have it on a day other than saturday.
2. Make as much of the stuff yourself, or through friends (cake, flowers, etc).
3. Food and Hall are the most expensive part, if it's a small gathering, go pot luck.
4. Don't be afraid to ask for cash instead of gifts to help offset the costs.

Answer 2

Diane Warner's book, How to have a big wedding on a small budget, is GOOD. Retails for $15; see if you can get it through your library, half.com or some other half-price book store.

Also shop around for your officiant. Some people think going to the courthouse is cheaper, but it isn't always.
To find an officiant type into Yahoo your city, state & wedding officiant (no 's' on the end). There will be some tho choose from, usually on the 2nd page as the bigger bridal sites seem to get top billing. If you do go to a bridal site & see someone you think you might like, visit their web site. Those bridal site make vendors & officiants pay for your contact info so you may not hear back from your info requests.

And don't plan on favors. Most in up in the trash before the comple arrives at their honeymoon.
If you do a lot of the leg-work yourself ( or utilize family & friends, you can save a bundle)
You can make your veil, pew bows (there's a good bow maker on the market), depending on the complexity, your bouquets.

If you can get over the stigma, large chain grocery stores & Walmart have real GOOD cakes & GREAT decorators. Have a smaller wedding cake & then use sheet cakes in the same flavor. Anot small fortune saved.

Answer 3

The average cost people spend on weddings now is between 25000-30000. But there is absolutely no reason that you wouldn't be able to do it for a lot cheaper. You can still have a great wedding as long as you don't cheap out on CERTAIN things...for instance, great food and music are a must. You can cheap out a little on things that are more insignificant like the table centerpieces and decor etc. You can buy your cake at a local grocery store and it will be a ton cheaper. Try making your own invites too. Maybe you can find a college student to do your photography. If you think outside the lines, you can do things cheaply, but still having it look nice.

Answer 4

My sister is getting married soon and the bride usually pays for most of the stuff. I don't remember how much the whole thing is costing us but i do remember ways we kept it cheaper than usual for the amount of people we have. First thing is to try to limit the amount, try to invite the most important people to you ( this will be the family and close friends, AKA the "A" list) then make another list of people you would like to invite but they are not too important, this works well if you have more than around 150 people. Then you should find out when there are bridal shows to find places to get things like flowers, dresses, tuxes, reception halls, etc. There are websites to help you plan and find places where you live as well. Another thing to keep in mind is that when you are booking a reception hall, do not find a place to big, and go look at it for yourself set up for another wedding so you can see what it looks like when its ready to host people. If the place is too big then they will charge more per person than if you go to a place that holds a smaller amount of people. Good luck and if you are the one getting married congrats.

Answer 5

go to places like walmart around this time of the year b/c they are putting their wedding stuff out on clearance to make room for this upcoming season's stuff. I got the make your own invitations kit for $5, the cheapest I have seen there is $15....just shop around. Buy your flowers in bulk- the arrangements, bouquets, corsages, etc. are VERY easy to make (you can find directions online if you need to)...also, do not fall for this: most places to hold a reception at charge to rent the place, but then you still have to buy the food. I suggest at least looking into having it at a hotel (in their banquet room), because they don't charge to rent the place...they just have a minimum to meet with their food and drinks. Also, look into hyvee catering if you can find a cheap place to rent out. They are fairly cheap. However, they do serve on plastic, but from what I've heard, it is surprising how nice it is. Also, you could always go to the $1 shop and buy dishes if you want real plates---dollar general sells cheap silverwear if you get the ones that are grouped with like 3 or 5 for $ .99

oh and if you do it at a hotel, they usually provide a couple of centerpiece options if you would like to use them (it is just offered if you do it there- there isn't a fee or an option of not using them and paying less)

Answer 6

Make your dress yourself. Find a pattern and if you can't do it yourself, ask someone in the family who is rather handy with a needle. Have the ceremony at home, in the garden or in the living room if you have sufficient room. Decorate it simply with flowers and if you can buy some fabric in bulk to decorate the room and give it a festive atmosphere. Stenciling on fabric, sashes on chairs and the table where the buffet is will be simple, but stylish ways to do it. Have a look at Martha Stewart, use her ideas and down scale them to your pocketbook. Try to focus your money on flowers and food. Have your fiancee look for a suit on sale. Quite often there are some good sales with quality merchandise. But before you do anything, get a book with ideas, your color scheme and budget. Try and stick to it and get an outsider (with party/wedding experience) to help you determine if you budget and ideas are resonable for the amount of money you have to spend. But always, always before you say yes, ask what it costs and never be hasty with a decision. Mull it over, but not too long. The more you've planned ahead, the less misshaps later.

Answer 7

Weddings can be really expensive. But if you do it right you can do it for a good price. I got married a year and a half ago and we did it pretty cheap. You want to look for halls that are cheap like a church or something like that. Find something that you can decorate yourself and that you can bring your own beverages in. If you get a place with all of this in it then you are paying outrages prices. Look around for a small caterer. They can usually beat catering bussiness hands down with price and the food is good. The best advice would be to ask friends who they used. I was able to find people who had small bussinesses to help such as photography only cost $500 for the entire wedding. If you want to make it cheap you have to get creative and willing to do work.

Good Luck

Answer 8

I have heard of a Blue Jean Wedding.
The bride wore a Blue Denim Jean Dress
The groom wore Blue Denim OverAlls
Every One wore Blue Denim that was in the wedding.

Everyone came to the wedding in jeans. The wedding was by a pond. The flowers were picked from a field. This wedding was not expensive at all. The couple then went on a nice trip.

Answer 9

That is such a broad question. But let me say that one way to keep things reasonable is to do the wedding at home. This works well if you are talking about a small group. You could even have the food catered and still come out relatively inexpensively. Another thing that you can do is to rent your dress. There are places that have wonderful dresses that can be rented. The book referenced below might help.

Answer 10

the average wedding is around 20,000 to 30,000. It is hard to have a wedding under 30,000. If you want a reception of at least 100 or more people. If you want to cut costs have the wedding reception in a backyard of your house with a small group of family and friends, if possible. If not possible plan on spending several thousands.