Cheap Wedding and Reception (no, I mean REAL cheap)?

Question

My friend is devistated. THeir wedding is in December. Long story short, it was a nice, quiet wedding, reception/brunch, now it's ALL OFF. Something horrible happened and they're broke. They'll have about 3 grand and that's it. They'd still like a ceremony and reception. Any party planning people out there who have some suggestions for her?

Answer 1

Hi. Tell your friend that this is doable!

She doesn't need to go overboard with costs to have a beautiful wedding that will be memorable.

~ The biggest way to save is to have a very small (or relatively small) guest list. Limit it to about 50-75 people tops!
~ Another way to save: only have 2 attendants (a maid of honor & a best man). That's it! Maybe a flower girl if she wants.

~ She is having a December wedding? Perfect! If she belongs to a church, something around Christmas time would be nice. The church is already decorated beautifully, so nothing more is needed as far as decorating.

~ For the reception....again, if she is a member of a church, most churches have fellowship halls that you can use for free if you are a member. She could have a simple ceremony and then have a small reception following with "finger foods" or just have cake, punch and coffee. I think it would be so pretty to have a night time candlelight wedding. I went to one last December and it was the most beautiful wedding I ever attended! Very small and intimate with candles in the windows and everyone held a candle! After, there was a small dessert reception with a variety of desserts, champagne, punch, and coffee. Beautiful, beautiful!

~ Not the "church type?" Still doable. If she lives in a location that weather is not a problem, she could have something outside? Again...cheap! Look at parks, lakes, etc. Just call the city or county where the park or lake is to inquire about fees and policies. Get a justice of the peace to perform the ceremony.

~ Yet another option......go to the justice of the peace with 2 witnesses (and maybe the parents) and then have a reception following. Again, it can be "finger foods" or cake, punch and coffee.

~ Dress: Have her look at consignment shops, second hand stores, or, even buy one off the rack. Most bridal stores have "clearance dresses" - go to that rack! Ebay is another option with beautiful "vintage" dresses -- i just love those ones!

Invites: Save by printing them yourself. Go to Michael's or Walmart. You can get a box of 50 for about $30 - maybe even cheaper. I've even seen some at Dollar stores!! Yes, dollar stores!

Photography: get a friend. Or, if she lives by a college...most colleges have students that are going into photography that are looking for extra money!

Cake: Get a sheet cake from your local grocery store - NOT a bakery. Again, if she lives by a Walmart - they have nice ones!
And they are good!!! Yum...

~ Say NO to favors -- a waste!
~ Say NO to table cameras -- another waste. People just take goofy pictures with those.

There are soooo many ways to save. Look on other sites for low cost wedding ideas. And remember, a "budget" wedding is NOT a "cheap" wedding. There is a difference! Your friend CAN have an elegant wedding on a budget!

Answer 2

The ceremony is not that costly, it's the reception that will break you.
The nice part about having a December wedding is that you have X-Mas decorations everywhere, so costs in that department will be pretty low. I would keep the guest list small 50 people, if there is a somewhat nice restaraunt in your area, I would invite each guest for dinner. Most restaraunts have a buffet. If thay can't get married in a church, they could go the courthouse or have it at someone's house. The things she should be putting on the top of her list are
1. attire
2.calling ceremony site
3, Pianoist
3.Restaraunt (call for reserved seating and prices) no alcohol will cut costs.
4.Post card Invites (they are more economical)
5. If they can't afford a photogrpher ( get some disposable cameras)
6. Bouquet and Boutineer
7. Cake ( you can make it yourself) Shouldn't cost more than $15.00 buy the decorations for the top of it.
If they do this nice and simple, it will not be tacky, if nobody feels confident enough to make the cake, skip it. Make sure the restaraunt has enough seating, and it's not Joe's Rib Shack or something corny like that. They could even do a dessert and coffee reception if she can't find the right restaraunt. tell her not to get a big huge Puffy dress, that will make it look tacky, also. I know she can have her wedding with $3,000. It wont be as formal as they would have liked, but it can be done tastefully.

Answer 3

I've been checking out for a wedding on about this budget too - definately doable!

One I am looking at is a venue that charges $500 for a day wedding (ceremony only, booking for 2 hours), and for $15 a head will supply champagne, strawberries & cream for an hour - a lovely touch to the ceremony, and occupies your guests while you wander off for photos (find a talented friend for that - you'll be surprised how many natural photographers there are out there!).

Then have the reception at a friend/family/your own back yard. Cheap decorating ideas can be found via quick net searches.

Afternoons are good for budget-wary weddings, as you don't need to supply a meal. My brother had a gorgeous afternoon wedding in late December in his garden (it doesn't need to be a big garden, people will be sitting close to chat anyway). We bought all the alcohol in boxes by the dozen from Dan Murphys Liquor store, did a range of home- (& friend-) made nibblies, and grabbed 2 people I worked with at a restaurant to work cash in hand for a couple of hours passing round food & drinks. Lots of cheap flowers around that time of year too - for confetti & decorations you can pull off all the petals (so no worry if the flowers are a tad droopy cos they are cheap, you won't be able to tell!), and strew them around the tables etc.

Borrow chairs & picnic blankets from friends.

$3,000 is a decent amount to have a lovely wedding, both ceremony & reception.

Answer 4

I had a wedding that we put together in 2 months since I was pregnant. I went down to the park and recreation center for the city I was to get married in and filled out a paper stating that we were getting married at a certain park that we chose. We set the date and it was completly free. We were to have the reception at an old hall, it wasn't great but it would do, only 700$.

The day of my wedding it rain cats and dogs so we just pushed the reception tables to the side of the room and used the chairs for the ceremony. It was beautiful and nobody had to drive from the ceremony to the reception.

Ask friends to borrow wedding stuff from them

shop the sales at craft stores. For my center pieces I got round vases at the dollar store, then got cheap ribbon tied it around and put in a floating candle with water.

Tulle is cheap, us that to decorate

I got my cake at Bel Air or Reileys, only 160 bucks and it feed 50 people I got it completly plain and use the left over flowers from the bouquets and put it on my cake. It was beautifull. you can use the foliage like the fern for under your cake fanned out then place it on top to make it stand out.

Crazy enough I found white pumps at Ross for only 2 Dollars!!! I was so blessed!! My dress was from a sale at davids bridal for 300$ since it was a sample.

Also disposable cameras instead of photographer. The only thing is, make sure there is adeqate lighting even with the flash. At my wedding the lighting was low and the pictures turned out grey and very very dark even when my guests used teh flash so be aware

Go with in season flowers so they are cheap and I also heard crysanthimums are very cheap.

Good Luck!

I also was studying to be a wedding planner and they have a lot of ideas if you type out wedding planner also goto theknot.com they have ideas there

Answer 5

Don't cater a meal. Have an afternoon wedding and serve cake , punch and nuts and mints only. use paper table cloths (there are some really elegant ones that appear to be cloth.) and put inexpensive votive candles on the table. Since it is December, Instead of expensive floral arrangments on the tables, go around to the places selling Christmas trees and pick up the dropped branches...lay these along the center of the tables and use tiny christmas balls in your wedding color. (I would use only one single color to keep this from looking "dr. Seuss"-ish)
Have a couple of cd's with your favorite music to play instead of a band...Find two or three friends with good digital cameras to take pictures instead of a pro photographer...ask around around about who might do wedding cakes from their home, often this can save you money and increase the quality of the product you receive.
People want to come and share your special day and they do not care how much is spent on the reception as long as the bride and groom are glowing and having a good time.
You can buy cheap white sheets at a discount store and hang them on the wall of any room and you have a weddding atmosphere. Tulle rolls can be bought at the dollar store for a buck and made into bows for pews and reception. For party favors, just print out a nice poem or verse on business cards and put your names and date on it. Some people like these better than frames and candles even because they are easier to "scrapbook" and take up less space as a keepsake.

Answer 6

We paid a grand total of $400 for everything. Have friends make the food. If she's a member of a church, many times they'll do the ceremony for free, especially small churches. I wrote out my own invitations. Got a bunch for maybe a buck or two a pack from Wally World. I couldn't see the point of spending money on invitations that would eventually go in the trash, anyway. We paid maybe $200 for our wedding bands from Wally World. Have her have the reception at a park, rent a volunteer fire dept hall, etc. We did the fire dept hall for $20. I borrowed a white dress. It wasn't a wedding dress, but it was suitable. My husband wore a suit. So did his groomsmen. My bridesmaids wore dresses from fabric I picked at Wally World. I told them they could have it made to fit comfortably. They didn't have to be uniform. We bought blank birthday cakes from a local grocery store. No one cared that it wasn't an actual wedding cake. There was icing around the edges that didn't match our colors, but no one cared. We used fake flowers, which are actually better, since you can keep them for years and years. I still have my bridal bouquet after 5 years.

Answer 7

You can do like a backyard wedding... and just have someone in the family that cooks really good to cater the wedding.... Like simple but cheap food... Like Cesar Salad... Bread Sticks.... Maybe Grilled Chicken... and Like Rice Pilaf or something like that... And the reception could still be held at the house the wedding was at... It's not tacky and it's not unheard of... People do it all of the time... You just gotta make sure the weather will be okay for the day to have a outside backyard wedding...

Answer 8

This really depends on your location. If you are in Southern California, then have the ceremony at the beach or a park and the reception at someone's house. I could help you more if you were a bit more precise.

Answer 9

Our budget when we married was less than $2,000 and we had a lovely church wedding and small reception on that amount. I done as much DIY as I could do. No fancy dress, I purchased one I could wear to church again. We used silk flowers instead of real. I made the invitations, rsvp cards and all the wedding stationery myself. It can be done. Just research and find ways of doing it. If she is crafty or knows someone who is you can very easily do a wedding cheaply without it looking cheap.

Answer 10

how about a local vfw post? american legion and moose also offer rooms for this. some even cater the event as well. you could even use a backyard.if it's a small party, her family and close friends can all chip in and do the cooking and decorating for her to save a bit of cash too. to save on the church, ask the minister or j.p. to do it wherever the reception is to be. just make sure to ask them to stay for dinner.