BIG wedding on a LITTLE budget....?

Question

We've both got large families that we would like to include in our wedding...about 220 people including our CLOSEST friends. We just can't imagine cutting anyone out, so please don't suggest that we make our guest list smaller...we're very close to them.

How can we do a *nice* wedding for 220 guests on $10,000.00 or less?!?! I'm stressing out here! HELP!

:)

ZCT- We aren't "poor" and we aren't trying to throw a "lavish" wedding. We have a budget of what we can afford, and we want to stick to it. That's it. I don't appreciate your sarcastic answer.

Answer 1

Hi and congratulations! Don't stress. This is "doable". The one thing I wish when people ask these kinds of questions is.....we need MORE INFO! You don't say where you are (city or rural area), you don't say if you want a church ceremony or not. These are 2 HUGE things when giving someone advice on wedding budgets.

Well, I don't want to write a novel....but here are some ideas. Everything is dependent on location, location, location! If you are in a city.....your budget is still doable, but it will most likely have to be a very small reception - like cake, punch, coffee. I live in a rural area, so $10,000 would buy a lot!

Here is the same advice that I gave to someone else:
There are so many ways to save -- you just need to decide what is important and what you can cut. Everything from your gown to the photographer can come in cheaper if you look around and go "outside the box."

The biggest portion of a wedding budget is the reception so that is the biggest area where savings can add up! Cost compare everything!

Ways to save on your reception would be to NOT have it at an expensive banquet hall or hotel. Do something in the church hall; someone's backyard; your local park; your local VFW hall.....whatever!

Sit down with your fiance and add up the cost of a hall rental, buffet dinner, etc. and compare that to a church hall reception, backyard reception, etc. Sometimes the "outside" thing isn't feasible (especially with your large crowd), because you need to rent chairs, tables, tents, bring in plates, cups, silverware, etc. Again, compare. It may be cheaper for you to go to a hall.

~ Your wedding party - keep it small.
~ Invitations: I was just at Target today and they have a whole "wedding aisle." I noticed a box of wedding invitations for $25 and there were 50 in a box. They were beautiful and there were numerous ones to pick from. My advice....get to Target!
~ Flowers - don't have a huge bouquet. Simplicity is elegant. A few well chosen flowers tied with a silk ribbon are beautiful!
**I noticed someone gave you a breakdown of "costs", but again, this depends on where you live! The person that gave you the breakdown had $500 listed for flowers (faux). I spent $600 for my son's wedding and they were real rosesl! Again, you need to cost compare everything. Don't go to a regular florist. If you have a grocery store that has a floral department (most large grocery stores do), then go there. They will be cheaper than a florist, and they are trained designers!
~ Centerpieces - make your own! Get some bowls, fill them with colored "gem" stones or marbles and float some candles. Or....make a bed of rose petals and put some votives on top - simple, elegant and cheap! Are you crafty? Go on the Michael's website and also Martha Stewart Weddings to get more ideas of low cost centerpieces.
~ Cake - a waste!!!! Have a small cake for you and your hubby to cut and then have someone make cupcakes! This can be a substantial cost savings! This is also getting to be quite chic! OR.....have a small cake on every table and it doubles as a centerpiece!
~ Photographer: This is one area where I would not scrimp or try to save money on. If you really can't afford the photographer you want, and if you live near a campus, sometimes you can get photography students that are looking to make extra money. Just make sure you see some of their "work" before you go with them!
~ Favors - I urge every bride to NOT do favors. No one notices or cares. This is a HUGE waste. If you really think you need something....go with a few Hershey Kisses in a mesh bag.
~ Don't waste money on "table cameras" either! These are usually not used very much, and if they are, people only take silly pictures.

There are endless ways to save. Go on other websites to see what other brides have done! Here is a good site:
www.frugalbride.com

Answer 2

You can probably do this for 5-6k, but you need a reality check on some of these expenses. The one thing that will look bad is if you purchase all the frou frou and then can't feed your guests appropriately. You say weddings have never been about the food for you, but when you're considered the hostess of a reception (and the reception is to thank your guests for attending the wedding) it's just not polite to lowball it. There are still options, however. If you want a bare-bones midafternoon event that ends by 5 or so, you can get away with cake, punch and appetizers. But if the ceremony or reception covers dinner hour, you need to serve something more substantial. Check with the catering at places like barbeque houses, etc. You could probably put together a reception for around $15 per person and maybe even get family members to make some extra sides, like deviled eggs or baked beans. There will be other expenses, especially ice, plastic glasses, etc. but when you invite 100 people to a wedding, you don't want 95 of them leaving early and hungry. Also, just get an officiant off craigslist or yellow pages and have the officiant perform the ceremony wherever you have the reception. That way, everyone gets to see the ceremony.

Answer 3

I believe that you shouldn;t stress out. I am just recently engaged and planning a wedding for 300 people on a $10,000 budget. The main thing you do is cut corners. This is a guide I found. It's not very accurate at all but it shows where you can cut corners and add to. It shows you all the things you have to think about. I would also recommend joining www.theknot.com. It is EXTREMELY helpful. I don't think I could try to plan my wedding without it. I also recommend www.decidio.com. Within days I had a plethura of offers in my price range in my area asking for my business.

Here is a high-level look at expenses for a $10,000 wedding. This is just a guide. You may wish that flowers are highly important for your event and spend twice as much than what is presented below.


Reception (food, drink, site) and wedding planner $4,200
Photography/Videography $900
Entertainment (DeeJay) $900
Bride’s Gown, accessories $800
Flowers $600
Transportation $600
Gifts for attendants, parents $500
Favors, decorations $400
Wedding Cake $400
Invitations, Thank you cards $300
Officiant service $300
Groom’s tuxedo, accessories $100

right now I"m looking at a dress at $800 and the reception hall and cake in a package deal thru the hall for $5085 before tax. I will NOT be having a wedding planner. You can do it by yourself with help and advice of parents and friends. A videographer is not important to me either. I felt it would be more intimate with a family member or close friend videotaping it. Flowers aren't hugely important to me and neither is terribly nice transportation to the reception or wedding. My parents also have a Ridgeline that I'd love to ride in to my wedding. I'm sure my dress will fit in there. And my dress is not from ebay or any crap like that and my reception hall is very nice. It's no hotel but they do all set up with color coordinated napkins and everything. Also to mimic someone else I would not cut corners on my photographer. You want great pictures! If I were you I would not worry and not let anyone make you feel like this is impossible or you can't have a wonderful wedding on that budget. Just take it one step at a time and determine what is most important to you and your hubby and you both along with ALL your 220 guests can have a great memorable experience. Good luck and congratualtions on your engagement!

Answer 4

Definitely check out www.theknot.com for budgeting. Budgeting is the first step in wedding planning (and for many the most difficult to stick to!). Certain days of the week are less expensive than others. One hotel I looked at had a $3000 difference between Thursday and Friday. If a weekday is not an option, consider having a day reception. Lunch is much less expensive than dinner.

Here are some ideas: for centerpieces, rather than flowers, put your engagement photo (or another nice photo of you two). Scatter rose petals around the pictures and accent the table with tealight candles. Below is a link to a possible picture frame you might want to consider. On one side you could put a picture and on the other put a poem.
http://www.intacr.com/7012%20series.htm

Perhaps you could choose a botanical garden for your ceremony and reception. The natural beauty of the garden will be enough so that you don't have to spend a lot of money on the ceremony/reception decor.
http://www1.istockphoto.com/file_thumbview_approve/1512641/2/istockphoto_1512641_wedding_in_the_rose_gardens.jpg

Have a daytime wedding, at some gorgeous natural location and have a reception with elegant picnic tables dressed up in gingham linens. You could use a potted flower for centerpieces. For lunch, serve baked potatoes, corn on the cob, assorted summer salads and even serve gourmet sandwiches. For favors, you could give jars of homemade treats wrapped with a beautiful ribbon.

Even if you have a small budget, you can make the wedding beautiful and elegant -- it just takes a little imagination. Hope this helps!

Answer 5

Make your own decorations and invitations. You could have someone in the family be the cook. Have a BBQ reception! Find a good photographer and/or videographer in the family to take pics and make a video.

Look around for deals and order them in advance. With favors, go for candy or nothing. IMO non edible favors will be just another thing for guests to throw out or collect dust when they get home.

Rent a dress! Find one on ebay! OR go to David's Bridal and get the $99 dollar deals! You can have a beautiful dress that doesn't cost $1000+!

Don't rent a hall, use the front/backyard of your home (or parents, etc). Or go to a nice park.

Don't have an open bar. Alcohol can cost $$$$$$.

Just remember that not all 220 invitees will say yes.

Answer 6

If you are a member of a church, you can usually use their facilities for free. However, most churches will rent their facilities at a reasonable fee. Check around.

Do any of your family members have a nice, large yard you could use for a wedding and reception? If so, that might be an option to consider.

Since you have such large families to accommodate, the "cake and punch" reception makes sense. If you have a 2 or 3 p.m. wedding, no one will be expecting a meal, anyway. The small decorated cake with sheet cakes for serving is a great idea, too.

Lots of young ladies in the family? Ask them to serve! Three tables is really all you need for a nice reception: a bride's table, groom's table and punch table. If any relatives have antique tableclothes they're willing to lend, use those. Fancy centerpieces are not necessary. Anyone have an ivy trellis? It's great for table decorations and for candleabra.

Plastic serving ware is perfectly acceptable. Saves on dishwashing, too.

Don't try to seat people at individual tables. Set folding chairs up and allow people to seat themselves. I suggest serving water and a non-alcoholic punch. You will not believe the money you will save on beverages. Plus, no one will have to deal with Uncle Frank if he gets tight and starts blurting out family secrets. Have mints and nuts, cheese straws or maybe small finger sandwiches. Again, at an afternoon wedding, people don't expect a full meal.

Having a band or DJ isn't necessary. If you need music, appoint a male cousin to man the 6-CD disc changer. Don't worry about toasts and individual dances. My hubby and I didn't do all that and we're about to celebrate our 11th anniversary. Our bill came in at well under $2,000 and people said it was the prettiest wedding they'd ever been to.

Having an afternoon wedding has several advantages, not the least of which is getting away sooner to your hotel. If you're staying overnight, waiting to catch a plane the next day, you might actually get some rest if you're not checking in, bleary-eyed and cranky, at 1 a.m. If you're driving (as we did), you won't get to your hotel so late.

Also, coming in under the $10,000 mark means you can reserve a nicer room for your honeymoon, or have a really great dinner out.

Since you have a large, close family, they will probably be glad to help, and they won't care if you don't have a huge blowout. Good luck!

Answer 7

We did it on much less (about half) than you are budgeting for! Ok _I_ did it. lol
Our guest list was 200, we had 175 RSVP and 250 showed up! The key to not spending tons on food was finding a local 4-H group cater our event. They made BBQ pork and beef sandwhiches, and all the fixin's. It was wonderful! And we actually helped them do an interstate exchange trip.
I also borrowed some decorations from a friend who also got married the same year with the same theme and colors. We bought them together to save $$ for both of us. We scoured the sales the year before to save even more. I even got my dresses on sale! lol We rented vests for the guys and nothing more.
We had friends help with lots of stuff: buying the beer and alcohol, also the DJ was a friend and they gave us the services as our gift. The photographer was not even as expensive as some others in the area. My cake was made by a family memeber and "gifted" to us, no expense there either. Flowers we got at Kroger, they were beautiful and much cheaper than the florist.
The venue was our biggest expense, it was about $600, a community building and we got full reign of the place, in doors and out. I also made all the favors, hershey kiss roses with name and date tags. I hand made my invitations and RSVP cards, paper from an office supply, rubber stamps and embossing powder, and printed on my home printer.
It is good to budget and better to bargain shop. No need to buy used, just make sure it is on sale! Shoping the year before makes for lots of storage but it pays off in the long run.
I'm sure I forgot something, but for the most part we either had stuff donated or bought it on sale. It made for a wonderful day and we've had a beautiful marriage to follow!

Answer 8

Well me personally I do not plan to spend over $6000 for my wedding. So far we have shopped around and check all kinds of ways to cut corners.

We went to the craft stores such as Michaels and AC Moore and checked out the silk (fake) flowers, invitations, place cards, ring bearer pillow, flower girl basket, cake and knife cutter, thank you cards, etc, etc, etc. All that stuff is way way reasonable. We also saw some at Walmart even cheaper. I checked out other smaller bridal stores as well as online brides dresses websites because you go to "David's Bridal" or the local more expensively well known bridal store in your town and you will pay a fortune.

Try not to have alcohol or go for a cash bar but you can buy a few bottles of champagne and wine and beer to take to the venue if they will allow it. Go with a cheaper buffet meal for your reception, nothing fancy like steak, shrimps, lobsters, etc.

There are many ways of cutting down that society budget of $40-$50,000 for a wedding. That is too much to be spending on a wedding for one day when you still have to live the next day and the day after.

We are having our cake made at a local bakery we go to all the time for about $300 for about 200 people. We are also cooking our own food and bringing our own alcohol which we are stocking up on as we speak. Go to Party City and get your plates, forks, table cloths and any other decorations.

Hope some of this stuff helps.

Answer 9

This can easily be done (at least in Northern Kentucky). Just make a list of what is important to you and start making phone calls. I did my wedding of about 200 guests for under $6000. I wanted an outdoor causual wedding though, if you want something more formal you just need to be wise in your choices.

Pick a lower cost food option, we did a cookout with chicken breast, hotdogs, hamburgers, brats and metts, but there are many other lower cost options -- you'll probably need to accept that you won't be having steak and lobster. When it comes to the cake -- I read a tip that said, "Do not get enough cake for everyone." I had a hard time with it, but the reasoning is not everyone will eat it and it can give you significant savings. Another option is to have a small "wedding cake" and then also sheet cakes in the same flavor to serve from. Also you might consider no alcohol or a cash bar. If you choose a cash bar be sure guests are made aware ahead of time.

Do as much as you possibly can yourself. Make your own decorations (think dollar store). If you or someone you know is good with flowers you could even make your own boquets. Otherwise when picking flowers choose flowers that are in season, they will be less costly.

When it comes to music -- maybe you'd be happy renting the equiptment and having "Uncle Bill" keep the music going? Or maybe your cousin Joe is in a band and would love to perform as a gift to you (or for a very reasonable price). If you hire someone, typically a DJ is less expensive then a band.

The only thing I would recommend NOT cutting corners on is your photographer -- those pictures will last you forever. It's not neccessary to get the $3000 photographer . . .but make sure you see his or her work before booking. The photographer I went with was very reasonable and I was happy with his work. He didn't do any of the super cool effects . . . such as black and whites with just one or two objects in color, but for the price I was happy with what he did offer.

Answer 10

For your budget and the amount of people, a BBQ in a local park, a few kegs and plastic ware is what you could be able to afford at this point.

Dress (of the rack, ebay): $300
Tuxedo rental: $150
Hair, nails, accesories, shoes: $150
Invitations, TY cards and postage (DYI): $350
Officiant, church, license fees: $250
Cake for 250 in Walmart: $700
State park fees/permits: $ 150

Flowers (faux, DYI) . $500
Decorations from oriental trading: $500
Chair and table rental for 220 : $2000
Plastic ware, paper ware: $350
Wedding party and parent gifts from Dollar general: $200

That leaves you with $4600 to feed 220 people. That's $20 dollars per person and that's not including drinks and service. See if a local BBQ joint would cater or DYI, but at this point white glove catering it's impossible.

You will have to leave out photography, DJ, favors and centerpieces. See if you can borrow cake cutters, ring bearer pillow, guest book and pen, white cristmas lights. No bar, no save the dates, no programs.

Offer soft drinks only, and a toast with sparkling wine or cider.

I suggest you reconsider and be realistic, unless you want a dry pot luck reception.

Good luck