Has anyone thrown a beautiful wedding for under $10,000 and if so how did you do it?

Answer 1

My wedding is not on this kind of budget, but coming from a person who is spending ALOT on their wedding, I can tell you what were my major costs and how to cut them down.
- Don't have it in a big city
- Have it *near* a big city though so you have a selection of caterers, florists, bakers, etc.
- Have it on a friday night or Sunday morning if possible
- Mornings are cheaper than evenings
- Limit alochol, or have no alochol (if its in the morning, then you really save on alochol! No one needs a cosmo at 9am!!! or atleast I hope they dont!)
- Have it buffett style or only have a 'cocktail reception' (you need LOTS of liquor and hors d'ourves) or have an afternoon tea reception (between lunch and dinner)
- I notice your name is TX, is that for texas? If so you are VERY lucky because texas has the BEST music schools in the country! (yes, I am a band nerd!) So go to the local colleges and hire your musicians from there! They are cheaper and TX has some of the best to choose from!
- Don't let the guest list get our of control. If you haven't talked to them in 2-3 years or they haven't been to your house in 5 years....they dont need to be invited!
- Candy/food favors are the best and it is cheap! - Make them yourself though!
- Look to your family? Cousin owns a resturant? Mom is a seamstress? Aunt is a baker? Niece is handy with flowers? Use these people!
- Make a list of what is the absoulte most important thing to you for your wedding (besides the future hubby) and agree to only spend a great deal of money on the top 3 to 5 things of the list, try to get everything thing else as an imitation or be willing to compromise....but have atleast 1 thing you dont compromise on (spoil yourself a lil)!
- Get married around a holiday when the church will be decorated, then you dont need to spend on flowers
- Pick a naturally beautiful reception location and save on decorating that as well

I hope this helps! I know these are the things that really set my budget so high so watch them carefully!

Answer 2

My suggestions - look at dresses at David's Bridal. I found a beautiful dress there for less than $300. Have the reception at the church if the church has a location or find a location with no site fee. Have a daytime wedding or move the wedding date to a Friday or Sunday. Use silk flowers rather than fresh or order the flowers in bulk and ask a friend to arrange them for you. Purchase an invitation software and do some/all the stationary stuff yourself. Skip the videographer and just have a friend film the key pieces like the ceremony, first dance, cake cutting, bouquet tossing, etc. In lieu of a rehearsal dinner, have an open house at someone's house and get deli trays from Costco (or similar). Don't serve alcohol at the wedding or have a cash bar.

You don't need to do all of these things in order to keep it under $10K. The biggest expense will be the reception. If you can do that a little cheaper, the other things will fall into place.

Answer 3

We are doing our wedding at a bed and breakfast. It's an old victorian style house that was built in 1898. The ceremony will be outside in the garden, so we won't need many other flowers or decorations. And the reception is inside the house. Again, it's an old victorian style house so we don't need any decorations, it's already beautiful. We are also having the ceremony at 2 pm. This way we don't have to serve a dinner. Just fruit and veggie trays and some croissant sandwiches. I think total, including everything is $8,000. The most we spent money on was the flowers and we a keeping them at the bare minimum.

Answer 4

we had about 100 people for that.
Decide what you want most and cut where you don't mind. We wanted a lot of people and good food. We had a sunday brunch which is cheaper. the wedding and reception were both in an old manor that was pretty reasonable. My sisters did the table flower arrangements. the local grocery did a beautiful job on the cake and bouquets. DJ, but not band or favors.
no limo
i found a deal on a dress...
but if we spent more on the dress or flowers i would have spent less of photographer or something. Just try to avoid buying stuff because 'you have to have that....'

Answer 5

This is way too easy a question! I did my own, for 125 people for less than that. The biggest expense was the catering for the food. I had the reception at an outdoor golf center, in a huge club house. I decorated all the tables with foil wrapped pansies, made chocoaltes for the tables, and had my mother make the gorgeous cake. I rented the table cothes. It was easy, with just a little help. The second biggest expense was the dress, only $500. complete. You can look and you can find anything out there for less than $10,000! Limo ride was won, nails being done was won on the radio. Gifts for my friends, made by me. DJ was an old student of mine, who did it discouted, and saved a bundle, too. Look for old friends to help!

Answer 6

I am doing my wedding for under three thousand,
how you may ask. I bought my dress on ebay for 83.00.
I making my bridesmaid dresses.
I found tons of books on flower arrangements, using silk flowers.
Then I am only having cake at the reciption so it will be an afternoon wedding.
Photography I am looking at colleges in the area to see if I can find someone to take pictures.
There are lots of good deals if you don't buy the first thing you see, go home, research, look some more, wait then buy.

Good luck

Answer 7

My wedding cost around $3000 and could have been done a little cheaper if not for "misbuys" make along the way. The early 1900s home we live in has huge rooms that were perfect for the ceremony and reception. I made my own floral arrangements, invitations, etc. I borrowed as much stuff as I could from family and friends. I limited the food to finger foods and desserts.

Answer 8

It depends on how many guest will be attending. I believe weddings are so over priced. Home weddings can be so lovely when relatives get together and prepare great family food dishes to serve, or have a local cater bring food to the house.My neice married at my granmothers home, we set up a wedding arch in the back yard and rented chairs from a local church.We bought flowers from a local nursery and decorated with ribbon and tulle bows....balloons.....and set up tables out doors for people to sit at. You could also do this in a nice park. Of couse you must plan the wedding when the weather is warm. We placed out door canopys over some of the tables. For the wedding cake we bought the glass 3 tier cake stands and order 3 nice decorated cakes on them and ordered a cople of extra cakes to set around this. It tuned out great! Good Luck

Answer 9

yup, we had a big one (bout 175 guests) that was amazing for around 6,000. the church was free b/c I have been a member of it since birth, we did a BBQ buffet instead of sit-down dinner, we had wonderful friends who provided a lot of the services, our DJ worked for a bottle of crown royal b/c he and my husband are such good friends and same situation w/the bartender, he worked for tips. As far as decorations, we didn't have lots of arrangements, mostly colums and ferns with ivy, it was really pretty and for the cost 1 arrangement would have been we did my whole stage. The only stuff we had to get a florist to do was cake flowers, bouqeuts, bouts, and corsages.

Honestly prioritize-- What do you really have to have and what can you downgrade on? I mean I decided we didn't need printed napkins, that plain hot pink and black ones would be fine, that saved 30 bux right there, do that enough times and you have a georgeous weddin that didnt cause bankruptcy!

EBAY! I got my tiara, cake topper, bridesmaid gifts, etc, on there, saved all kinds of money!

Wanna see pics? www.myspace.com/savageashlie

Answer 10

flowers:
ask friends or family if they can help make them
cake:
go to the supermarket or Walmart and talk to the bakery staff see if anyone does cakes on the side. it will save a lot
buy the decorations at a craft supply store and create the design that you want.I spent less than $3,000 for everything.and I have planned two other weddings for less than that,they were all beautiful