Wedding Budgets?

Question

I have been trying to plan my wedding and it is driving me crazy! I am just wondering what budgets other people have had with their wedding. I really have no idea what I am doing, so I want to have a little idea of what to expect. I am having a very small informal wedding, so if anybody has had a wedding like that, I would greatly appreciate the advice.

Answer 1

I realize expenses differ from one part of the country to another. Also people have a different idea of what is excessive, or what is a budget wedding. To me, 5K for a wedding with less than 100 people is too much to be called a budget wedding. Also small for one person may be under 150 people, and for another maybe 20 guests.

Certainly you should be able to spend less than 10,000! Or even 5K! Or if you are really small and informal, I would say no more than $2000. Of course, if you've always wanted the fairy tale princess type of wedding, you will spend more than a backyard affair with a cook out following the ceremony. And there's nothing wrong with either scenario, it boils down to your taste and what you can afford.

Last summer I coordinated a wedding for my best friend's daughter. Six weeks notice and no money to speak of. We had a backyard service with the reception at our neighborhood community club. She got her dress from eBay
We used things we had, dollar and thrift store finds, borrowed things (linens, serving pieces, potted plants and ferns etc etc) I did her photography and prints as a gift. A friend baked her cake at cost. We gathered wild flowers and supplemented with supermarket flowers. We did out own bouquets and boutonnieres. Fed the 75 guests with frozen goodies from Sam's Club and other goodies we made ourselves, some which were donated by family members and friends. Her uncle's band played the reception. A friend donated the use of an antique limo. We spent a little under $800 not counting their rings. So it can be done.

You will have to decide what is important and what you can DIY, scale down, or eliminate completely.

Don't let the big white wedding industry talk you into things you don't want or need. Hope your wedding is great!

Answer 2

Hi Sweetie You can stay in your budget by cutting numbers in the guest list and like a previous comment their there to celebrate your wedding not to eat up your food. Stick to finger food like meatballs , wing dings, salad, bread, store potatoe salad and others so you can place money in other areas now if food is what you want the most than go with that and cut other area like print your own invitation buy your gown off last year clearance at david's or Demetrio's make your flowers from the craft store or use 1 rose for your bridemaids. Lunch time is the best even better during the week at night. Picture can be cut by having a photographer there for the wedding only and have someone take pictures at the recession. Just have a nice digital camara on hand and the best thing is to get help from your family people you can count let their wedding gift be something they can help you with in the wedding . Good Luck and may God Bless the days of your Marriage

Answer 3

Our wedding was small and informal - so informal, in fact, that there was no budget to speak of. Our biggest expense was buying the wedding bands at $300 a piece. We got married at an outdoor event, and our "reception" consisted of deli trays from a nearby grocery store - yes, it was THAT informal. :) I guess it really depends on what you're having at the wedding; if you're getting it catered, the price is usually per person, so this will eat up a chunk of your total budget - just figure out how many people you're feeding. Do you have a wedding party? Are you paying for their attire? Are you hiring a professional photographer/videographer? Are you going to have flowers? Are you getting a DJ? Hosted or a no-host bar? When we were checking out the options to have a "real" wedding, we were looking to shell out about $5,000-$8,000 for a middle-of-the-road wedding at an average venue for about 50 people. But we opted to have a nice honeymoon trip instead.

Answer 4

I am planning a wedding right now as a favor for a friend and she has a budget of $2000 with a guest list of 250 people and 4 attendants...it is all about how you can make your dollar stretch and how much you are willing to do yourself...just be careful not to take too much on yourself and turn into a bridezilla...elegant weddings don't have to be expensive and the expensive weddings are not always the most elegant

Answer 5

Hi there, I was thinking about 5-6k, no more than that. I do have already the dress (I'm borrowing a beautiful dress from my best friend's sister) and we did buy the rings last year. My guest list is about 32 so far and I'm not expecting more than 40 people. I hope this helps. I'm going crazy too, I don't know how to start. Just bit by bit and ask another brides for help. Congrats on your wedding.

Answer 6

My budget is 5k for no more than 75 guests. Of course I got lucky and don't have to pay for a lot of things (my MoH's mom is doing all my flowers [real, not fake], the chapel is free, my sister is doing all my favors and center pieces) So far the most expensive thing on our budget is our rings (OK, we went a little over board here and spent $1300!) But other than that our buffet isn't costing too much and neither is the reception site ($100 for the entire weekend). It all depends on what you can be happy with.

Answer 7

You and your guy just have to figure out how much the two of you have in savings, and how much you can still save before the wedding. That way you have a starting point, and can plan the style of wedding and number of guests you can afford to host.

Answer 8

It really depends on what you can personally afford. I have seen budgets anywhere from 10k to over 100k. It is all about your personal style and personal resources. You could easily do a small (50-60 guests) wedding for under 20k.

Answer 9

I am expecting 5k for less than 80 to 90 guests. the following were cut from the budget:

store bought cake (baking it ourselves)
pro photographer (we will have several amateurs who volunteered to take plenty of shots)
dj (plugging ipod in to speakers
caterer (back yard bbq, are looking to hire local fo a couple hours to flip some burgers)
floral arrangements (garden wedding=less flowers bought, bouquets from garden = co-ordinated decor)


what we will not scrimp on are the rings, we will have to wear then forever!
the major expenses are a tent (a small fortune), drinks, which we will provide and food.

Answer 10

go to www.theknot.com...it has a great budget tool that does the work for you. Personally- I am doing our wedding on a 5K budget for 125 people- and it hasn't been impossible!

Enjoy the process- try not to let the money run things...know what you can do and stick with it

Good luck!