I am a young African American woman who wants an african-inspired themed wedding definitely want my pastor to officiate and he and I both have extremely large families with exhorbitant taste and very little money. We want the wedding that celebrates our love but will be memorable for our families.
Any suggestions? I have a year and 5 months to plan this. What comes first?
2007-03-17 12:44:48 · 12 answers · asked by Africa soon to be The Mrs. 1 in Family & Relationships ➔ Weddings
First, check out www.theknot.com. It's a wedding planning website that can give you tons of ideas...may I suggest enlisting the help of your large families? I think things are so much more special when you know the person who made them...as for a cake--do you have a relative who could make your wedding cake in lieu of a traditional gift, or can the women on your family take on making the food for the reception, or is there a family wedding gown you can wear for the ceremony? All those things would make your day very special becasue they've been made with love, and really, isn't that what your whole day is about?
2007-03-17 12:52:31 · answer #1 · answered by melouofs 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think you should start with a budget very little money means different things to different people. Now get a checklist and decide what is 1 and 2 and 3 etc in area of importance to you. I'm guessing you already have a date in mind call around see what is available it is possible to keep in budget you may have to change your day.then book your hall. See if you can hire someone you know to cater at a cheaper cost maybe more ethnic food if you get a caterer to do this it will cost a lot as they have to develop a menu for you (ask for special pay for special) Go with more traditional (African attire) for outfits and maybe bring in some people who do traditional dancing. I had a large wedding on a tiny budget (I'm stubborn and wanted to prove it could be done cause my family said weddings are too expensive) Just be willing to make and borrow stuff no one need buy all there wedding stuff most of it you will never use again. Try also to buy things off season my flowers were artificial and bought at the end of season for less than half price.
2007-03-17 20:01:37 · answer #2 · answered by emmandal 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Start a wedding book; this book should include ever detail of your wedding from what shoes you are going to where to the reception contract. You and your fiance make 3 different columns on a list; the must have for your wedding, the would be nice to have, and could care less if you have. This will make it easier to help stick with the budget. Next start looking at wedding websites and magazines to decide what colors and style do you want for your big day.
A few ways to help with budget...
Make it a small wedding party ie not very many bridesmaid and groomsmen.
Once you have picked your wedding colors tell the bridesmaids to pick a day dress within whatever color you choose.
Allow the groomsmen to wear their own personal black suit.
To allow this event to be memorable for your family have a smaller scale wedding an a huge reception.
Allways check ebay to make sure some one isnt selling it for cheaper their.
Unless you have your heart set on certain colors, choose colors that will be easy to find everyting to match... from napkins at the reception to dresses.
Black, white and red would be easy.
Hope these tips helped! Hope your wedding turns out beautifully!!
2007-03-17 23:24:55 · answer #3 · answered by katie d 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
For a dress, you can either get one secondhand or find one one ebay. There's a lot of sellers on ebay that will custom make a wedding dress to your own measurements, and because they're based in China, the dresses are a lot cheaper than ones from the U.S. Craigslist is good for finding inexpensive photographers, florists, DJ's, etc. Photographers that don't have a lot of experience and need to build their portfolios will have much lower prices. The florist can move the flowers from the ceremony to the reception site after the wedding so that you don't have to buy so many flowers for the reception. A buffet will be much cheaper for the reception than a seated dinner would be, since you don't have to have as many waiters.
2007-03-17 20:10:52 · answer #4 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Make a list of what is a nessesity for a wedding. ie.. Ceremony, Reception, Food, Drink, favors, invites, dress, rings ect. You will find that they all add up quick. Cut corners wherever you can. Like make your own invites or online. there are some great sites that let you invite people thru email and rsvp thru the site. Make your own favors. Go with fake flowers and make your own centerpieces. Find out what is the most improtant part of the wedding for you? Check online like furgalbride.com. there are some great sites that give you ideas on cutting corners. You can throw a really classy wedding with a little budget. We are getting his father to offciate. It's a lot cheaper to get him a license for the day and it has a lot of meaning to us. Make a budget and stick to it! I hope this helped a little and good luck.
2007-03-17 20:08:02 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Find those family members/friends that are good at planning and crafts, then do some heavy bargin shopping. Be sure to keep a wedding book to help organize everything. Check out www.ebonybridalplanner.com (or look up ebony bridal on yahoo), they have messageboards with other brides, pictures, vendors, and ideas.
Wish you much luck!!!
2007-03-20 13:35:42 · answer #6 · answered by star28_79 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
FIRST OF ALL , YOU SHOULD START WITH A BUDGET,ATTEND LOCAL BRIDAL SHOWS SO THAT YOU CAN GET A FEEL OF HOW MUCH CERTAIN SERVICES COST. DO THE RESEARCH ON LINE YOU CAN CHECK OUT THE WEDDINGCHANNEL.COM AND YOU CAN ALSO GOT TO AMAZON.COM OR WALMART.COM FOR SPECIAL BOOKS WHICH HELP YOU PLAN A NICE WEDDING ON A NICE BUDGET. DEFINITELY DO THE BUDGET, THEN DECIDE YOU AND YOUR FIANCE'S STYLE AND WHAT YOU HAVE TO HAVE IN YOUR CEREMONY.relax, FORTUNATELY YOU HAVE A GOOD AMOUNT OF TIME WHERE IF YOU BOOK EARLY YOU CAN RECEIVE GREAT INCENTIVES. GOOD LUCK!
2007-03-18 00:54:37 · answer #7 · answered by misstee 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Check out this wedding planner's site, she is featured on the show "Whose wedding is it anyway" and she has done abunch of African-American weddings and they are just lovely. She has some great ideas and she does alot of her things on the cheap, but they never look cheap.
http://www.theweddingdiva.com/
2007-03-17 21:17:18 · answer #8 · answered by kateqd30 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I design ring bearer pillows, guest books, flower girl baskets,I can match the color or theme of your wedding. I make everthing by hand. If you are looking for something different and unique and priced right. I can help you. What I make will be very different from anything you will see anywhere else.
DLG DONNALYNN'SGIFTS
2007-03-18 10:22:52 · answer #9 · answered by donna g 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I suggest visiting weddinglenox.com and post your request. Their matching system http://www.weddinglenox.com/f-membersignup1.php will match you up with local vendors with pricing you specified. I tried it and have good result as I only recieved response from vendors according to my request.
One problem I had with my wedding is that it is hard to locate vendors in most website as most likely they group by states and there are too many of them that's too far from me and I have to look at each site to figure out.
The sites I provide above have a easy to use layout to show you pictures, pricing and location in one page plus, you can send out your inquiry for matching vendor to contact you. That save me lots of time to locate the best vendors with the right price.
2007-03-19 06:29:13 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋