My wedding is in 5 months. Were on a tight budget. Looking for ideals we dont have to spend alot of money on?

Question

Will be an outdoor wedding.Like centerpieces for table ideals. Arch to get married under. Buying a house at the same time, need all the help I can get. Thanks to all

Answer 1

ok... here ya go!!
1.) when buying a wedding cake... order a small decorated two tier cake, then order sheet cakes of the same kind to feed your guests. You will not have to pay for the decorations on the sheet cake.. and it saves you a bundle on the cost of your cake!! On average a moderately decorated cake would cost you about 3.50 a person... this way... you pay maybe 75 bucks for your cake... and probably around 50 per sheet cake!! Go to alot of different bakeries and get prices and bargain with them... or... go to your local grocery store that has a bakery and ask them if they do wedding cakes!! A friend of mine did that.. and her cake was GORGEOUS and cut her cake cost in half!!
2.) Your dress. Go to bridal stores and check out their clearance or discontinued styles. Alot of times they will have store samples or what not at discounted prices. As much as I hate recommending EBAY, you really can get a good deal on a wedding gown. There's alot of options out there, just make sure there are pictures and that you are able to return the merchandise. Alot of times if they have a return policy, then their product is legitimate and you don't have to worry about getting riped off.
3) Flowers. Now-a-days you can do so much with flowers which cost a fortune if you use all real!! I do alot of my floral design by myself and buy in bulk from registered bulk flower websites. Buy an unfinished arch from home depot, wal mart ect. and spray paint it yourself. Or go with plastic (which lasts longer) and keep it for your back yard at your new house... then you have a constant reminder of your happy day...
Then decide on what you can budget for your flowers... once you've decided do your research... I would recommend going to craft stores and buying a TON of fake greenery. in most cases you can not tell that it is fake. Then depending on what flowers you are chosing look for silk or fake versions of those too. Then for your bouquets, and for random accents purchase some real flowers and tie them in. I had a bride that used all fake flowers... and you would've never been able to tell.. seriously.. it's amazing what is out there. Using fake flowers will save you a small fortune!!!
4.) Food. If you're having an outdoor wedding/reception you have sooo many options. Depending on the time you're getting married you can do a brunch with assorted bakeries, juices, and fresh fruits. ABSOLUTELY classy!! I love morning weddings and doing brunches!! This is a great trick too.. because you do not have to tell the bakery it's for a wedding. Pick up your goodies the night before... and they will not overcharge you (most things associated with a wedding cost at least 40% more).
For an afternoon, doing buffets are always less costly. Or simply cut out the entire meal all together, and have a h'ors devour's and cake!! Seriously... the people your inviting will knnow your financial situation with just buying a house... and you can have alot of fun creating different munchies and what not.
5.) Centerpieces... CANDLES, CANDLES. CANDLES!!!! It saves so much in costs. You can use water bowls and float some fake gerbera daisy flower heads with colored crystals on the bottom... you can buy bulk planted flowers (gerbera's are great, mums, ect) and purchase little pots and spray paint them yourself, or little colored buckets... and use those as your centerpieces. (go to google.. and put in "outdoor wedding centerpieces")
Well, I hope this helps you a little bit and gives you some alternative ideas!!! Really there is sooo much you can do to cut costs if you just sit down and get creative!!

Wal-Mart is great for candles, centerpieces, fabric to make table dressings ect. and fake greenery. (I hate to admit it, but I love walmart!!!) Also supercenters offer great party trays with wraps, veggies, and bakery!!! Seriously.. you'd never tell that it was from there!!!

Just let me know if there is any other things I can help you with!! Good Luck hun... and Congrats!!

Answer 2

Well, for centerpieces I would try the local garden shop, and buy POTTED flowers or visit your own garden, then, a few days before the wedding, invite family and friends over to have a small party and everyone helps make the centerpieces. Try a store like Michaels or Hobby Lobby for ribbons, and the Dollar Store has great clear vases and they're really cheap. Just make sure that you keep the frresh centerpieces in a freezer or refidgerator to keep them looking healthy untill the wedding day.
As for an arch to get married under, I would suggest visiting WalMart or another supply store. They often sell arches that you can put together yourself. These you can cover with fabric, flowers, lights, etc. , and cost very little.
Good luck!

Answer 3

I don't know what your budget is but to give an example, the catering at my wedding cost $50 a plate. So to feed 300 peolpe that's 15 grand right there! That doesn't count the officiant fee, venue rental fee, catering rentals, tent, flowers, attire, limo, DJ, and all the other hundreds of things you need for a wedding. Granted 20% of your guest list will decline so if you invite 300 you can expect 240, but that's still a very large wedding. I think 100-200 is considered medium size and anything over that is just huge.

Answer 4

You can save money by not importing fancy cakes. Go to your local bakery. A lot of the time, the cakes are just as gorgeous, and taste better. You could have a wedding at your home, In your backyard. If that's a bad idea, do it at a beach. My granny did that.

try not to get some over the top Lacy dress. Make it simple and elegant. And for food, have a local chief make some simple but tasty meals. A key thing is NOT TO HAVE 20 BRIDESMADES! Thats a lot of dresses, and a big dent in your wallet. Try to keep it small, like two or three. (Same goes for ushers) Dont get over the top decerations like a milk chocolate dolphin that spits out imported wine. There are a waster of money. Try to sell some un-nessary things on ebay. That can get you more money then you would think.

If you need more ideas, feel free to email me.
Have fun with a elegant but low-costing wedding!

Answer 5

Buy house & make the wedding small. Go on Big long honey moon.
Know that old saying "fools gives feast & wise man eats".

You will get married even if 400 people will not dine. So why to waise money on people will they come to support you when you will be in need?

write on your invitation card "no gift cash only please"
You are tense free before & after marriage that will count for long & happy married life. People will not do anything to you. Do lots of decoration which is cheap it will help you to feel happy.Because it takes time.

Peoples junk it is difficult to consume but money can be used in anyway.what people bring sometimes it is sure junk for us but money can be utilised in any way.

Purchase of home was not a right step because at the time when you had to be in less tense you are tensed but if you have startedthen finish it.
In life always prevente 2 big expences & 2 big decisions togather.
God bless you a very happy & ever lasting married life

Answer 6

I am a bride-to-be and I am trying to accomplish the same things. I just went to the site posted by another for your answer (http://www.fireyourweddingplanner.com/...) and it's not free. It's just a scam to get your email and then as you for money for a program and book.

I have been using www.weddingchannel.com for the same things that the above site offers. You can do your guest list there, free website, and there are some really helpful checklists and itenariries. You can get lot's of ideas from there from other brides as well. I've also used www.theknot.com and www.brides.com.

For creative ideas try www.invitingideas.com, a site by Michaels for ideas on wedding projects.

I've also found "lots" of items on ebay, like votive holders and candles.

Good Luck Planning!

Answer 7

Since you're on a tight budget. My suggestion are: 1. You may rent your wedding dress. 2. Simple wedding will do,another option is to have a civil wedding. 3. Invite only those who are close to you. 4. Reception at home will cost you less. 5. Buy a simple cake and inexpensive wedding.

Answer 8

Do what I did, run off with 2 friends and have a small ceremony with just them and you, using a wedding chapel. Then get all your family and friends together to throw you a very big reception, and you save a ton of money. Saves on a lot of stress and hassles as well.

Answer 9

Check Craigs List or ask around in local churches for previous brides. Brides are stuck with tons of pew decorations and vases they used for centerpieces. There is nothing they can do with it. They'd love to sell them to someone else for even half the money they spent on it.

My best friend ordered her wedding gown on ebay. It was gorgeous. She wanted a huge puffy dress. She did a search for "located in china" and they took her measurements for every part of her body. It was a gorgeous dress. Cost was next to nothing but $120 for s&h. cost like $150 total. and the gown fit perfectly. Plus I've seen several "never used wedding gowns" on ebay. But I liked the idea of a custom made one better.

Big flowers are great centerpiece ideas. Floating a flower in a bowl of water or arrangeing hydrangeas, sunflowers, or other big flowers like that--you won't need as many flowers to take up the same amount of space like you would with roses.

I ordered my flowers at Sam's Club from the florist. She put in the order for me (I used glads since it has multiple flowers for each stem) and then I just had to pick them up the day of or day before my wedding. I did the arranging by myself but basically put 5 stems in each vase and it looked gorgeous. Email me if you want to see pictures.

Have bridesmaids carry just one flower. You could buy a dozen roses and divide them up. Bridesmaids carry one down the aisle. Groomsmen cut it off and put it in the lapel. Guys don't want tons of babys breath and all that anyway.

It's cheaper to get married in the morning or early afternoon. Photographers are cheaper since they can usually do another wedding. It's cheaper to get married on Friday than Sat.
Consider doing a punch and cake reception instead of a huge reception with food. Or if you do want a caterer, if you have a casual reception you might consider having a restaurant cater. Barbecue is rather inexpensive. Or pasta.

Walmart makes great wedding cakes. I was very impressed with the one at a friends house. Or if you get a stand, you can simply make your own cake (or ask a friend). and place the cakes on the stand. If you don't have to get the tiers to stand up its not near as expensive.

But definitely consider asking other brides...or if you see on ebay/in classifieds a woman who has a "never used wedding dress" ask if she had bought any other items that she needs to get rid of. Trust me--I bought 20 vases and was so thrilled when someone wanted to buy 10 of them from me for a party.

Hope this helps! Feel free to email me if you want to ask anything else.

Answer 10

Instead of a huge cake, just cake a smaller cake and use sheet cakes as extras. Saves tons of $$.

We are not doing a big blow out dinner. We opted to go for simple sandwiches and salads which will be prepared by friends of the family. That really saved us.