How in the world am I going to sucessfully plan a wedding in less than a month!?!?

Question

For personal family reasons we have to up the date - and not a cent saved for this! So now, What do I do? Where do I start? HELP!

Need a nice cheap - cheap - cheap wedding.... and have until October 20th of 2007!

Answer 1

Your best option would be to find a friend or family member that can host an outdoor wedding, keep it small, family and close friends.

We hosted a wedding ceremony and reception at our home, and the meal was a simple bbq, with music and dancing in the backyard. We made burgers, steaks, chicken, tons of different salads and a wedding cake only for dessert, which was made by a family friend; and some close family members pitched in with salads, drinks, etc.

You can preselect your songs, burn them on a CD or on iPod, and let the music play. It was a simple wedding, but many pitched in with decorations, etc, and the wedding, although small (60 people), was one of the funnest weddings many of us had attended.

You can make your own bouquet and centrepieces, with flowers bought at your local grocery store the day before, just leave them in cold water overnight, and they should last through the whole day of the wedding. Your centrepieces can be done with nice vases purchased at the dollar store, with a few colored beads and water, with your choice of flowers. You can make your own invitations on the computer.

And you can always hold a 'stag and doe' night, and play money raising games, which will help pay for the cost of your wedding.

And remember, big and fancy isn't always better, it's what you make of your day, and in the end, you marry your soulmate in front of your family and friends, and that is what is truly important.

Answer 2

Okay well since you have a limited amount of time heres what you need to do to have a nice wedding.
1.) Pick a place. A friends/ parents backyard because to have it at a church or hall you have to have a year reservation.
2.) Send out invitations a month ahead.
3.) Find a wedding dress. They have cheap but very elegant looking ones at Davids Bridal and you can usually get all the brides maid dresses for a cheap package price.
4.) Buy/ Rent Tuxes. I find that renting is more efficent.
5.) Throw a bridal shower so you can get gifts and money that you can put towards the wedding.
6.) Mail out invitations for bridal shower make the date at least 2-3 weeks before the wedding date.
7.) Buy a simple yet tasteful cake from a local bakery or have it made by a loved one.
8.) Buy Jordan Almonds and Bubbles for party favors they can be found at craft stores / dollar stores.
9.)Hire a band or a dj. If it really comes down to it find someone with a good cd player and just play cds!
10.) Tents and tables- Local churches will loan you tables and chairs.
11.) For food either hire a caterer/ Make the food yourself Baked Ziti, bagged lettuce/ dressing/deli platter/ rolls/ cookies/h'oderves ( pickles, pigs in a blanket/ olives/ etc.)
12.) Have a friend be in charge of pictures.
13.) Don't forget to hire a priest/ justice of the piece.
14.) Relax and have fun.

Answer 3

Well that is more than a month! You have over 2 and a half months.

You will have to make it really simple- nothing elaborate, but I think it can be done! Keep the guest list small- under 75. Choose your location, then print your own invites. Then get your dress- it will have to be off the rack and one that needs minimal alterations. I'd have a small wedding party with just a maid of honor and a best man- then you don't have to worry about coordinating a bunch of clothing.

Do your own flowers and decor. Keep it VERY simple- just do bouquets and use candles if applicable better yet- find a place that needs little or no decor. Hire a caterer if you can't recruit enough family to cook. Order your cake from a local bakery or even your local supermarket that does cakes. Find a photographer or get a few friends/family with a very good eye and have them take photos and a video.

Sometimes simple and easy is best!
Good luck!

Answer 4

Find a nice dress off the rack. I'm thinking this will be a smaller intimate gathering. You don't need the $1000 gown (yes I know you'd like it, but you have to be reasonable now). In either a bridal salon having a sale, or try looking at the department stores nearby you. Silk flowers can be less expensive than fresh. Small wedding party - 1 or 2 attendants. Have the groom wear a nice suit rather than renting a tux.

See if a local social club will allow you to use their hall for the ceremony as well as the reception (saves on transportation and 2 sets of decorations) Burn your own Cd's for music and have a relative man the player.

For food, check to see if your church has a youth group or the local high school, that would be willing to come serve for you, with a small donation to the group's 'entertainment' fund. Get food from a Sam's Club or Costco, or GFS, in bulk. These places usually have excellent frozen items that are heat and serve, as well as menu planning that will tell you how much to get for your size of crowd. Skip the personalized napkins and the favors. Keep the beverage selection to 'softer' drinks (soda's, iced tea , coffee) and if you want alcohol stick with either beer and/or wine, and just one or two choices of each. You don't need a full open bar.

Craft stores have bolts of tulle and I'm sure you can round up white christmas lights from the friends and family. These in combination make very nice, inexpensive decorating done easily.

You should be able to pull all this off for $2,000 or less.

Good Luck

Answer 5

October is not that close, really. You have more than a month.
Cheap does not neccessarily mane nasty.
The best way to plan for this is to do most of it yourself. Caterers and such will probably be booked out anyways.
So book your celebrant or church.
Tidy up the backyard....and plan for finger foods. YOu can make really fancy ones, like the restaurants have, for a fraction of the price. Get some wine and beer, enough fro toasts anyways. Some punch and a cake. Buy your cake from a store instead of paying a fortune for a custom made one. The cheesecake factory make some lovely ones.
Get people to help you where you can. If anyone offers to help, take them up on it.
Decorations can be bought from ebay.
I am having a wedding at home and just wish it was closer because much of the planning I cannot do until a month or two before the date......you can do it.
Good luck.

Answer 6

First of all figure out where your having the wedding, alot of Church's have nice fellowship hall and will let you have a recption there also or a friend or family member w/ a really nice house could work. Then find the dress, look at local dept stores or bridal shops that are having sales. You can find a dress cheap, try and maybe borrow jewerly, tiara and things like that off a family member/ friend. That will save you some money also. You can get DIY invitations at Wal-Mart or anywhere very simple to make, that will save you some money. You can go to a local store that has a bakery like Wal-Mart and get a cake rarely cheap or get someone in your family to make you one.
You can get tons of lil things for decor at like a Dollar Tree, Dollar Mart something of that sort...Flowers buy fake and get yourself or a family member to make them for you.....
Sometimes you can rent a tux cheaper then buying a suit so just check around.....

Hope all this helps..

Good Luck :)

Answer 7

Well you have a little more time than me! I am trying to put together a wedding and a reception for Sept. 2!!

What we decided to do is an outdoor wedding at a local botanical garden. This is only going to be about $250... You may be able to find something like this in your area but at the end of Oct. it might be too cold. Your local parks and rec could have an indoor facility of some kind availabel though. Also, try local churches, bed and breakfasts (some of these are really nice), museums...

Our reception will be at a clubhouse at my friends apt. This sounds cheesy, but it is actually a really nice clubhouse and has a great deck. Best of all it is only $65 to rent it... We are prepping the food ourselves which will be a bit of work but it's only for one day...

Also if you are a student your university could have a venue that you can use at a discounted rate;

Answer 8

When I got married, we had NO money.
First - make a list
Who
Where
When
How Many People
Do you want a reception
Do you want to do a justice of the peace?

From there it will fall into place. We rented a gazebo in the park for about 20 bucks, had a very small amount of people at the actual wedding. Hit Davids bridal for the the dress or make it kitchy with a theme. A friend of ours was ordaned, so he married us for free. The part that we actually spent the money on was the reception. We had a ton of friends who all wanted to come, so we kept the wedding portion really small, then did an appetizer buffet, picking up stuff at Sam's or Costco - buying in bulk. We also stuck with a cake that was simple and tasty. All in all, we had nothing left. We did rent a room, but if you are affiliated with a church, many times they can help with all of that. Get your friends involved and have fun!

Skip the favors that are sent out, and I made our invitations. Amazing things - we printed 500 announcements with matching thank you cards at Office Max for 40.00 with the card stock and the envelopes.

For the flowers - I hit Goodwill and outlet stores and made silk arrangments, and my Matron of Honor still has hers after 9 years! She turned it into an arrangement for her bathroom.

Answer 9

Well if you need to do it by october you have 2 months...
Anyways. Just sit down and get organised. Write down the things you'd really like to have.
You can find second hand dresses at thrift stores, or on e-bay.
If you have a family member that could bake a cake for you that will save a bunch.
Also, a buffet style meal will save money on catering. Or if your on a really tight budget have a pot-luck with your closest family and friends.
Try to think simply or you'll get overwhelmed. Make a list of things you need, clothes, food, flowers, guests, location. Then just work on things one at a time and everything will get done.

Answer 10

You have plenty of options. Just make everything simple. I have seen a very classy wedding, done on my friend's lawn under a quickly assembled archway decorated with wildflowers. There was one maid of honor and one best man. Only closest friends and family were invited and all stood for the ceremony. Afterward the wedding party and guests went to a local restauant that offered to cater the reception, simply with a cake, plates of munchies, and a cash bar for around $500. They hired a DJ for $300 and they danced the night away. Friends took photos. It was all very simple and cost <$1000.