wedding budget? where to cut the line.?

Question

ok i have like $2000 we'll spend about $500 on the honeymoon, so for the rest of the wedding stuff like food, drinks and clothing, wedding favors, the chuppa and of course the legal fees so ill have like $1,500 for this, is this going to be possable for a wedding of about 50 to 80 poeple. we dont have to worry about the place we haveing it at my parents house so that will be free, but with all the other stuff is it going to be possable to do all this other for $1,500????

the chuppa is a have to have! it the jewish canapy to get married under, we are doing our owner catering cuz my mom and i love to cook the few flowers we are gunna have will be put together by me ive very picky so ill be doing alot of my own stuff, there wont be any jewlery othe than a tira for me and some kinda crown for him the wedding will be in may so being out side there will be plenty of beauty.

just to let every one know there will be NO drinking at the wedding when it comes to the toasting me and my fiance and my parents and his mom are the only one who will get wine every one else will get something else

Answer 1

Hi and congratulations!

I just love small weddings and trying to help people plan with a limited budget!! Yours is, I think, doable! It just really depends on what you are willing to cut!

Here is what you absolutely need (or say that you want):
~ Dress, shoes, tiara
~ Suit or tux for the groom
~ Invitations and stamps
~ Chuppah
~ Flowers
~ Food and beverages
~ Cake

Now...what about these:
~ Linens? ~ Table and chair rental? ~ Plates/silverware?

~ OK, your dress....REALLY look around. There is one on the JCPenney webiste for only $69. Also look at Target. Do NOT buy something over $100. Then buy your shoes and a tiara (TOTAL COST = $150...or less?) Look on Ebay for a tiara.

~ Groom - $100

~ Invitations. Please go to Target, Michael's, Walmart, Hobby Lobby, Office Max. They have boxed sets of 50 for about $25. (Invitations 50 + Stamps = $50 total) Save yourself an extra stamp and DO NOT do RSVP's unless you really think it's necessary.

~ Chuppah -- now this could be your big expense. I see they can be anywhere from $175-$1,000! It depends on the "canopy" you select. I don't know if these can be rented, or if you have to buy them.....check it out!

~ Flowers: Go to Walmart or Costco. You can even put in a special order at Walmart. I buy roses from there all the time. They are nice and they are only $10/dozen. Cut the thorns off, wrap them in floral tape, then wrap again in some nice satin ribbon and you have a bouquet! A florist in a grocery store is another cheap alternative.

~ Cake...Again, go to Walmart, Costco or Publix

~ Rental of chairs, tables, linens?

Please rent linens if you can. It will look so much nicer than a plastic or paper tablecloth! If you happen to have a Family Dollar store in your area, go there! I purchased some nice linen tablecloths for my son's rehearsal dinner and they were only $5 each!

The rest will be your food and beverages. Also, what about plates and silverware? Again, if you are serving a nice dinner, try to rent some or ask all your friends and relatives!

Sit down with a list of what you ABSOLUTELY have to have and what you can cut. Possibly cut your guest list down to 60 max!

Don't forget the cost of the marriage license and the cost of your minister/officiant. Check with him/her as to their fee.

Good luck!

Answer 2

Dress: Ebay, David's Bridal, Goodwill $100
Cake: Walmart $150
Invites: Walmart or Hobby Lobby $ 50
Flowers: DYI Walmart: $100

That leaves $1100 for food and drinks. That's about $14 per person if youhave 75 guests. With that kind a money, self catering will be your only option. A bbq or an appetizer reception are the only choices. Other options are a dessert reception or a brunch reception.

Skip the liquor, you cannot afford it. Maybe you budget will allow some spakling cider or sparkling wine for a toast. Borrow as much stuff as you can.

Good luck

Answer 3

I think you may be cutting it close but you can make it happen. You can go to davids bridal when they have the $99 gown sale. Buy your food and cook it, make a list of things you want to serve at the wedding. You can go to some of the sites they have on the internet and get .99 cent favors. I don't know what a chuppa is so I can't speak on that. But we plan to do the same thing but ours will be under $6000 hopefully under that but we don't want to spend a lot of money. Hope this helps. Good Luck and Congrats.

Answer 4

hereis really good site for wedding dresses the pre alter so you don't have to spend the extra money them and have a great reputation and they are cheap.

http://www.weddingo.net most of the dresses are 139.00

flowers / centerpices /decoration .
instead of flowers ,hit the dollar store you can find many things there
possibilities are mirrors with candles and flower petals
groups of tea lights
make little baskets filled with wedding favors
get a tall vase buy some gold fish in it fill it up and place a floating candle on top make sure the fish has pleanty of water.
if it is in the back yard and since and xmas is around the corner so the after x-mas sale is soon to come ..
to decorate
the yard use white x-mas lights like crazy to eluminate the yard just run with it ... and maybe white candles ... that would be very pretty .

food
chicken is cheap , get all your bridesmaids and family to pitch in with their favorite dishes ( potluck) you will be suprised how much people like to cook when it comes to stuff like this , plus they feel included when they help.

make a fake wedding cake
make a real looking wedding cake but only the bottom layer will be real for cutting purposes
then make sheet cake to pass around for the guest.

wedding favors :
hearsy kisses wraped in tool , mints, colored almonds , these are the cheapest ideas.

print your own invitations
, go to hobbly lobby , or micheals they have do i yourself invitations that are Beautiful , plus there wedding stuff there is about half the price then what you will find in typical bridal store or wedding geared venues. I got my guest book and pen for 15 dollars I later saw one that was similar for 40 for the book and 20 for the pen. ( i was very happy that day)

Music can be stuff you download fromthe internet and some speakers just make a playlist .

Answer 5

It is possible but you are going to have to recruit help.
If you want a sit down dinner or full buffet you are going to struggle with that many people. Perhaps have a cocktail receptions and if you can get family members to help prepare the food even better.
Decorations will have to be kept for a minimum, just go for some key pieces 4 - 6 of them.
Buy your dress second hand.
Don't worry about favours or paid transport.
Your wedding won't be lavish, but you can do it for that much.

Answer 6

You can totally do this if you cut corners.
Make your own wedding invitations (check out your local craft store for wedding invite kits).
Have a friend bake your cake.
Find an inexpensive dress.
Go on craigslist.org to find a cheap photographer/videographer/dj.
Serve finger foods instead of a full course meal and have a champagne toast.
Get fake flowers from the craft store or dollar store.
Remember, it doesn't have to be extravagant.

Answer 7

you can do lots of things with $1500.

make your own center pieces,corsages,boutineers,and bouquets possible cost:$150.00

go to the $99.00 bridal sale at davids bridal. use a second hand gown, go with a prom dress, cocktail dress

make your own invitations- i found what i wanted on the internet, played with the text, and the color. Then i went to kinkos, bought some pretty paper and envelopes. Cost:$15.00

time: get married in between meals,and serve finger foods
don't serve alcohol it's a big expense. serve sparkling apple juice (Martinelli's) for a toast. Possible cost: $250-300

get married in a small place.. such as a nice back yard ,rose garden, possible cost: Free.

i hope this helps get you started. Good luck.

Answer 8

If you have to cut corners as you go along, the favors should be the first to go. Many people don't care about those.

I don't know what a "chuppa" is so I have no idea if you need it.

And what "legal fees" are you talking about? If it's the licence and officiant, that is usually not too pricey. If you are being sold additional "insurance" that I have seen elsewhere, you don't need it.

Answer 9

You can totally do it! I'm doing it for that. I was going to get just a nice dress, but I found a dress for at the "Running of the Brides" for $250. That is our biggest splurge. I'm doing my flowers and ordering them from the local grocery store. My mom is making my cake, but if she was unable to do so I was going to go to the local college that does catering. The college has really reasonable prices on cakes and does beautiful decorating. I'm making homemade creamcheese mints (bag of powdered sugar, block of cream cheese,and mint flavoring mixed and then pressed into candy molds). My fiance is going to wear a nice suit he owns. We're doing rice at our wedding (believe it or not it's an urban legand that it kills birds) -- I'm making it from a 69 cent bag of rice, tulle and ribbon from micheal's crafts. We're bringing in a minister at $200. Our favors are red ribbons with our names and date of the wedding because is work is in HIV/AIDS research and we thought that one of the best presents would be looking out to a crowd of people supporting a cause we both feel passionate about. We are attaching a note telling them that a donation is being made to Habitat for Humanity (my passion and the place we met). We are getting 14K gold bands and both are running about $100 each. I'm having a friend do my hair and makeup. I'm wearing shoes I already own.

You can do it! I think weddings on a budget are the ones that have the love inside.

Answer 10

Its possible.
I would definitely rule out having liquor (that could kill your whole budget!)
Look into the food costs. Try to keep it to 1 or 2 options and make alot of it. Try going to Costco or BJs and buying stuff in bulk. That could save you on alot of the food-stuff.