I want to plan a small but nice wedding but kinda cheap to low on funds this year hopw do I do it?

Question

I want to get married before my brother goes overseas.. He will be leaving in September so I want him there so how do I go about planning a small nice but cheap wedding.. I am real low on funds this year but I dont want to just say I do in front of a judge just a few ideas that will help bring down the cost.. PLEASE HELP I want my lil brother to walk me down the axle since our dad is no longer with us..

Answer 1

Walmart and Michael's both have low cost bouquets (if you want fake flowers), invitations, tiarras, favors, etc., if you want to go that route for any or all of it. Although they're reasonable, it's always better if you can have someone you know take care of it for you. Ask around - people at work, church, etc. You never know who has a hidden talent that would be willing to help you out. Word of mouth goes a long way.

Try going to Walmart, Target or even Hallmark after a holiday to get items for favors or decorations. After July 4th, they may have star shaped containers or sparklie items for decorations? After Father's Day, they may have items you'd like as well? I recently saw guest books 90% off at our local Hallmark, along with tons of other wedding supplies. Oriental Trading has plenty of items that are also a good deal.

Try a friend or relative for your gown and jewelry. They can work for your 'something old or something borrowed' as well as be a huge cost saver! For favors, something as simple as bubbles would do the job and please the guests, as well as give you great photo ops, as would rose petals or any flower petals for that matter.

My wedding was in May, and I went to my Mom's garden to get lots of Easter Lily bouquets for the church and reception. Someone you or your groom to be has to have a garden or knows someone who does who could get flowers for you to decorate or use for your bridal bouquet?

Walmart can do a fairly cheap, but nice wedding cake. If you reduce it to only 2 layers, it will be even cheaper. We had a local bakery make ours and they gave us a better deal than Walmart. We had so much cake, plus a groom's cake ($12.00 from a local grocery bakery) left over and untouched - and it was a 2 layer.

I have seen someone take the Pirouette cookies and tie about 50-100 together with a light ribbon and stack them on a cake plate, then tie another 25-50 with ribbon, stack on top the first layer, then a third small group stacked on top of that, in the shape of a traditional wedding cake. It actually looked quite nice, and for those who don't like cake, it was a real treat. I've also seen cupcakes and truffles stacked on three heights of cake plates in the same 'wedding cake' fashion, and they too were just as nicely done. You don't have to restrict yourself to traditional wedding cake.

If you're from the south, traditional jambalaya and gumbo go a LONG way in feeding people for a wedding. One pot can feed 100+. Perhaps spaghetti or some sort of pasta dish could also do the trick? You could have relatives and family bring side dishes as well to keep cost down.

I recently attended a wedding for a wealthy relative who paid for the entire function themselves and their food consisted of a carved ham and turkey, made like a Thanksgiving dinner by relatives, finger sandwiches, cheese and veggie trays, pickles, okra, crackers with shrimp dip, and drummets and wings from Albertsons and no one knew it wasn't catered. She had everything laid out on fancy dishes and had friends dress up to serve, so no one knew the difference.

You could save on soft drink cost by making a large bowl of punch instead, and maybe even on liquor cost as well by having two bowls of punch - one non-alchoholic and one loaded. You could get a box of wine and a keg if $ permits, and have the punch besides?

Decorations can be as simple as Christmas lights and groupings of tealight candles. We bought a bolt of tulle and shimmery organza and decorated the chairs, banisters, and columns with it - both cheap and elegant.

Try a consignment store, or look in your local paper for a used wedding dress if you don't know anyone who has one for you to use. This route shouldn't cost more than a couple hundred. I also agree with the route of prom dresses. I recently bought a wedding dress that was WAY more than I was wanting to pay for a dress. Months afterwards, after Prom...I saw photos from nieces and discovered that their prom dress, with the exception of their pink color and missing train, was the exact replica of my more expensive wedding dress, and they got it for $150 or so, if not less. You could even go with a bridesmaid dress yourself or even a mother-of-the-bride dress, as there are many options to choose from. It could be a less traditional champagne color, or even a platinum color - both increasing in popularity with brides looking for something different. Heck, you could even go to a costume or party store and rent a costume looking like a Victorian or 18th century gown - also growing in popularity. Another option would be to get a pattern from Walmart or elsewhere and have a friend or family member make it. It doesn't have to be the traditional huge ball gown with flowing train, but could be a straight dress in lace? Sky's the limit with that option.

For your pictures, you could try a local college and ask around for someone training in photography. They should give you a very reduced rate, and would still be more professional than 'Uncle Joe' taking them. Have a list of photos you have to have - like vows, rings, cake cutting, bouquet toss, etc, and have other family members take the candid shots for you with either their own cameras, or buy a few disposables. You can get good deals online, as well as Oriental Trading, or even Walmart. Have a friend videotape. If the sound doesn't come out on the video, you can ask a friend to save the video onto a DVD with their DVD burner, and add in music you walked to or danced to in the background.

Instead of buying bouquets for your bridesmaids, I've seen weddings where they used lit pillar candles instead. It was a night wedding, and seeing that really set the mood, besides being a tremendous money saver! I've also seen flower 'balls', which would also be cheaper than your traditional bouquet.

Ask around for a cheap dj if possible or get a friend to help with the music. You could even plug in your Ipod with all your wedding music into your facility's sound system and let it go that route? XM radio and let it play straight thru on the channel you've chosen? Our first option for our reception was at a restaurant that had live music every Saturday, thus eliminating the need for a dj/band and it's cost. Maybe your area has a place such as this that would interest you?

Whatever you decide - start now. The sooner you start, the more you can get accomplished yourself instead of having to purchase everything. Elect close friends and family to help if possible. Decide what's important and what you can do without. Perhaps you can save money by not purchasing toasting glasses and using your Mother's (or anyone's) set, or use what the facility has to offer if it doesn't matter if you keep them or not. Borrow cake servers, guest book pens, candelabras, potted plants, etc so you don't have to purchase them yourself. Our reception cost less than $1000 and if we wouldn't have had it catered, we could have gotten away with far far less.

I don't blame you for wanting your brother to be a part of your wedding - especially considering the circumstances. I'm sure he will be honored that you thought of him during your wedding plans. Best of luck and congratulations!

Answer 2

If you are low on funds then the best thing to do is wait. Im pretty sure that your wedding will still be wonderful even if your brother isn't there. But the last thing you want to do is have a cheap wedding, you will regret it later on. Wait until you have saved up enough money to get the things that you want for your wedding,and to make it look really beautiful. But by rushing to do it and being cheap will show that you didn't take this wedding very seriously and put some thought into it. Besides, youre not marrying your brother. You could even do something creative like video tape your brother in a nice suit etc. saying something really special to you and your fiancee before you walk down the isle, or the tape could even show you and him walking down the isle in the same church with your dress on for that part of the wedding. Then after the guest have watched this tape thats when you really come out with maybe your fiancees father or something and continue the wedding, the guest will love the idea. Dont settle for less, Im pretty sure your brother will understand and except it. This is a very important event so your'e supposed to go all out and make it special. DONT BE CHEAP ON THAT SPECIAL DAY!

Answer 3

Do you want in indoor or outdoor wedding and reception? How many people do you want to invite? What exactly is your budget? Decide these things first and foremost.
To cut down costs definitely try to have the ceremony and reception at the same location. In someone's yard or house perhaps. Weddings on the beach and at parks are only inexpensive if your guests are standing; which at a small ceremony is perfectly acceptable.
Have the wedding on an "off day", like a Thursday or Friday. Vendors will sometimes be cheaper and more available.
The more you do yourself the more $ you will save. Make the cake and food, or have a potluck. Bring in your own fake flowers. Have a camera happy relative take the pictures.
Chop out unnecessary things like favors and save the date cards.
Not sure just how "cheap" you want to go...

Answer 4

You can a have a great time with just a couple thousand, maybe even less. Search for a dress at a department store. Many of the prom dresses look exactly the same as a wedding dress and since prom season just ended you can find them super cheap. Enlist your friends to help with other things. You can buy invites super cheap at places like Target or Michael's. Just use a computer to print them up. You probably know someone willing to make the cake and do some simple flower arrangements. If you know someone with a nice garden it will be even easier. Host the reception at someone's house. My husband's parents have a large yard, so we had ours there. One of your friends will be willing to host it. Have everyone bring their outdoor tables and chairs so you won't have to rent any. Buy or borrow a couple of tents. They aren't incredibly expensive. My husband's family regularly hosts large get togethers, so they already had 5 tents between them all. Makes lots of little desserts like cookies and brownies in addition to the cake. Make punch and buy several cases of beer or get a few kegs. Buy some boxed wine if your family likes wine. If you have a friend into photography, ask if they will take pictures as a wedding present. If not you can just get a bunch of disposables or hire a freelancer. There are lots of people who do weddings on the side to supplement their income. They are usually experienced and inexpensive. If you want more than just desserts and punch ask people to bring dishes in lieu of presents. Most people will still bring a present anyway though. You have more than enough time to plan everything as long as you don't procrastinate. Good luck.

Answer 5

My wedding was very low cost, but I'll describe it and it may give you some ideas for yours.

We had it at my best friends house, in her front yard under this really nice tree she has there. We invited our closest friends. Everyone had to wear grey t-shirts and jeans (we are not fancy dress up people personally, you can wear what you want). The kids baked our wedding cake and decorated it (a friend could do yours). Instead of a photographer we gave all the wedding guests cameras, including the kids, and they took all the pics. We had tons of the kiss moment! We cooked out afterwards and just had a great time.

No, it wasn't fancy or expensive but it was a day we will all remember for the rest of our lives because it was nothing like what you would expect for a wedding.

Hopefully that will help you get some ideas and realize your wedding day can be as great as you make it even if you don't spend a ton of money. You can't buy memories.... you make those with what you have.

Answer 6

Some suggestions: keep the guest list low; do most of the work yourselves--the food, cake, flowers, decorations; buy a simple dress; have a small bridal party; accept all help that's offered to you; ask people you know are talented for help and advice; talk to other brides about what they've done for ideas; buy a book specifically geared to having a wedding on a budget; just have the important stuff, don't worry about having the fluff; shop at the dollar store--you'd be surprised how many items you can find there if you think creatively.

Answer 7

Just a list of ideas:
1) You could have a pot luck dinner reception
2) You could ask for music to be played by a student instead of a professional to avoid high fees.
3) Have the wedding in your house or yard. If that's not suitable, then ask a friend or relative that has a beautiful house/yard. If no one has a nice house or yard there are parks that will let you rent shelters and chairs for inexpensive.
4) Ask your bridesmaids to buy their own dress as a gift to you.
5) Start planting tulips and roses now so that you can make your own decorations and boquets.
6) Design your own invitations. Print them on your printer at home.
7) Ask your family if there is a sentimantal wedding dress in the family. (like your mom's or aunts) that it would be an honor to wear, and you also would save the expense.
8) Ask a friend to make the cake for you.

Good luck.

Answer 8

We hope to have a small and inexpensive wedding (but the guest list is growing from 200 and we are having it in Hawaii). To keep our costs as low as we can, we plan on having the ceremony at either an outdoor location or at our local (tiny) church. Family friends will pitch in to decorate, make floral arrangements and to even cater the reception! For the reception, we plan to either have it at our homes (in the yard) or some other inexpensive outdoor location. So, I suggest calling upon family friends to participate in the planning and preparing and look for wedding and reception venues that cost very little. I also think that opting for an earlier wedding (and avoiding a dinner reception) would reduce costs. Congrats and good luck!

Answer 9

limit the number of invited guests. Hold the wedding at a park in a gazebo or something of the like. Hold the reception at a restaurant. Ask the invited to pay for their own meals instead of bringing you a gift. Or skip the reception until you can afford a big bash. Forgo the flowers. Or keep them real simple. Search for a second hand dress.

Answer 10

There are alot of things you could do with a hall. Just chose which colors you're utilizing and then use white and silver lace , and run a border across the high of the corridor and drape them within the corners , have a little striking ivy drape from them , have plant life within the corners which you would do your self together with your favorite plants, and use the same effect for the tables , use white desk clothes and then alternate the lace , white & silver ,white & what ever the opposite color you chose , place a single flower in a small long neck vase , with petals laying around them and so far as the identify playing cards for the reception just print your possess , and also the invites ,as a way to equal you a bundle , and as far as the photos ,black and white , would be individual ,. But to not lots of them , it would be to tacky, and so far as the pix , you could have a buddy video tape it and one taken images , there are tons of ways to do a wedding with out breaking the bank ,, simply recognize what you see your marriage ceremony as ,after which determine find out how to get it done .. Good success

Answer 11

Congrats on the wedding that is wonderful.

Keeping it cheap, well more like inexpensive.

Try the dollar tree or dollar general for small items as center pieces.

If you have a friend or family member who is a priest or is allowed to do weddings ask them to do it. They may do it as a wedding present.

if you live near to Las Vegas, or Reno, check out small chaples there. They always have great deals for it.

Most of all, make sure the important people are there.

My wedding consisted of myself, my husband, and my parents ( his died many years ago, but there is also a 20 yr difference in age). Those were the most important people to us to have at the wedding, and then we spend the rest of the day just enjoying our family members who weren't there.

good luck!