How to Plan a Winter Wedding on a Budget in Portland, OR?

Question

I'm getting married in November of 2008! Unfortunately, I have to do everything by myself because my fiance is in the military and will be overseas until August. We have a budget of $5,000 which has to cover EVERYTHING from the dress to the cake and everything in between. We would like to get married in a church; and we like the idea of spending the night before and having the reception in a nice hotel. We do not want anything having to do with the outdoors. I have checked the knot and some other resources, but everything seems a little out of my price range and is outside. Please offer any suggestions you can think of! Help! Thanks!

Answer 1

Oooh.....congrats on your winter wedding! They are LOTS of fun to plan, trust me (I'm having one this year)! It's always a bit tougher to do *anything* on a tight budget, but it can be done.

It might be a little tough to pull off a nice hotel reception in a good size city on your budget though. The key is to keep your wedding small (i.e. 75 people or less). I will have about 150 people and will be paying $6000 for the food alone at my hotel reception in a smaller Canadian city. And this is a good deal for what we are getting (we are serving our wedding cake as dessert instead of a dessert table). At most hotels, $30-$35 plate is standard. The prices average from $27-$50 a plate depending on what you want.

I'm not trying to freak you out, so don't worry! But I AM trying to prepare you for the cost of weddings nowadays if you choose to go the formal hotel ballroom route.You will have to keep your wedding small, and cut costs elsewhere in order to feed your guests and get the venue of your dreams.

First:
-Book your wedding on a weekday (i.e. Friday) or a Sunday to save. Avoid Christmas and New Year's Eve, where you will pay a lot more. The bonus for a winter wedding in December is that the hotel will already be decorated, and you won't have to spend money on deorations. Yay!

You will have to determine your church. Some will not marry you if you are not members, look around. I will be paying $300 for my church fee (members for less than 3 years), plus $100 for the officiant. This does not include musicians. Try to find a church with small fees, and have friends sing or play an instrument for the service.Music cost to you: zero.

Invites:
-Make your own winter invites using a kit from Michaels. A white, sliver, and black theme works well for a winter wedding (our colors are white, black, silver, and baby pink).You can add snowflake confetti, mini candycanes, whatever you wish to the envelope. Your invites if self made will be very cheap, and you can personalize them nicely for a winter wedding! You can even make invites in the shape of a snowflake or snowman (the latter for a casual wedding).

Cake:
-Get a nice white sheet cake from the local grocery store, and decorate it with winter themed decorations like snowflakes. If you have a friend who is a great baker, have them make a cake that looks like stacked presents (this is what we are doing).

Centrepieces:
-Christmas oranges tied with a ribbon, arranged in a pile on the tables. These can serve as favors for guests to take home at the end of the night.

Dress:
-Get out there and browse the bridal shops for rack and sample sales. Secondhand shops, consignment shops, and eBay are other options.There are also online bridal salons that sell for much less, if you want a new dress. Search the web. You can also place a want ad in the paper, I bet lots of brides are hoping to sell their dresses and just don't know who would take them!

Music: Shop around for a DJ in your price range. You can save money by having him for only the later part of the evening. You won't need a DJ for the first half of the wedding, when speeches and toasts are being done. Have a friend MC. The hotel should be able to lend you a basic microphone. You will only need the DJ to kick off the first dance and from there on. If you're brave or you must, a friend with an iPod can play DJ for the night (I do NOT suggest this, but some here have done it).

Cheap ways to make a winter wedding stand out:

-Serve candycanes and hot chocolate with your cake.
-Make paper ornaments that hang from a tree and double as escort/place cards.
-Have friends sing carols to welcome guests as they enter the reception area (we are doing something similar to this, except with a choir).
-Have your friends toss artificial snow instead of confetti.
-Have people write a "New Year's Resolution for the couple" and put it in a basket for you to read later.

P.S. I agree that www.frugalbride.com is a GREAT site for anyone!
Have fun and enjoy your winter wedding! Mine is coming up, and I am both excited and scared!

Answer 2

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Answer 3

Hi and congratulations!

Well, this is a hard one.....BUT....you have a whole year to plan!

I will give you my money saving ideas later...but first, there are a few problems. I totally think your budget is "doable", however, you may have to rethink things. The biggest problem I see with your budget is when you say you want the reception at a nice hotel.

You live in a city...and a nice hotel? That is going to cost. Are you wanting dancing too? Again, that will cost.

Now...that is not to say it can't be done. You know Portland, I don't. But I do know that there are "medium" range hotels that also offer banquet services, such as Holiday Inns and Embassy Suites....hotels like that. I'm sure if you have read up on weddings, you know that the biggest portion of the budget goes to the reception!

A couple of ideas:
1. I don't know what church you plan to marry at, but you could also think of having your reception in the church hall after. That is one possibility.

2. You can still have a hotel reception, but.....do you want a dinner? What about a late morning wedding and a LUNCH reception? A lunch or brunch will be much cheaper.

3. One type of reception that is getting popular where I live (due to costs) is to have a late reception....say starting at 7:30 p.m. and only serve hors d'ouevres (sp?), drinks, and have dancing. This substantially saves money. You can set up little "stations" and people kind of walk around and get food and mingle and dance. Of course, serving alcohol is going to cost also! But if its for a short time? Again.....think about it.

4. Again, with the church idea....you can simply serve a "dessert" reception following an afternoon wedding. This could be a variety of desserts, a fruit tray, punch and coffee.

What you will need to do is to call around to places and get quotes. Make out a spreadsheet and decide what exactly you HAVE to have and what you can cut.

My ideas on saving money include:
~ Have a small bridal party (saves on gifts for attendants and rehearsal dinner costs);
~ Have a small guest list....keep it to 50-75 guests
~ Buy "boxed" sets of invitations from stores like Michael's, Hobby Lobby, Target, Walmart. A box of 50 goes for $25. Simply print them yourself on the computer.
~ Look around for a bridal gown. Many stores have clearance gowns. Go to David's Bridal...sometimes they have a $99 sale. Ebay is an option as is JCPenney and Target.
~ Cake....go to a bakery in a grocery store. If you have a Walmart, Costco, or Publix by you....go there! Their cakes are good and cheap! Yum...
~ Photographer....this will be another big expense. If you live in a college town sometimes you can find a college student who is majoring in photography that is looking for work.
~ DJ??? - could be pricey.
~ Flowers....again, go to a florist in a grocery store! They are trained floral designers.

Everything can come in way under the "normal" budget if you are willing to look around and go outside the box for things.

Again, my first recommendaiton would be to get some quotes on hotel receptions. If you figure out it "can't be done"...then go on from there. There are many options...a church hall....a small inn or bed and breakfast inn? Many, many options for a reception to keep within your budget.

Good luck!

Answer 4

my budget is around 3k. for a spring wedding
i am getting organza favor bags from ebay, ideabus is the seller, 200 for $20 from china. they have tons of colors avail.
my invites are $92 for 100 (found on ebay)~ invites, envelopes, rsvp postcards, thank you scrolls, address labels, reception cards and registy card inserts. made to my specifications.
my cake is from shop rite, serves 50 and is tiered/layered $75. the other guests will get sheet cake $15 per 1/2 sheet from bjs wholesale.
oh the candy to fill my favor bags will be purchased after vday and after easter when it's 50+% off.
my flowers will be purchased from acmoore or online. yes i will use silks. i want the momento. not just dried crumbly flowers that i paid too much for lol
i am getting my dress from a 2nd hand store, you only wear it once, and paying full price just isn't part of my cheap skate nature lol
the guys are wearing white shirts and tan pants.
oh his family is doing all our food.
we are getting our reception site at a discount bcse he's a vol fire fighter and they don't charge full price to members.
i am having an outdoor wedding - $5 for the site, outdoors in a park over looking the river. yeah $5 omg $5!!
we are getting a judge to marry us, they by law aren't allowed to accept money for their service, so we are giving him a thank you present.

eff theknot.com, they really cater to ppl with a lot of money for their wedding.

most churches around here state you have to be a member to be married there. make sure you can book a church that will let a non member marry there.
really shop ebay for things. you will be amazed what you can find.
oh and look on ebay. and join your yahoo group of freecycle for your area. post what you need or are looking for... someone might be getting married soon and might give you say the bowls they used for centerpieces or left over decorations....
as far as a dj goes... if you can't afford a dj... use an ipod with your play list piped thru the speaker system of your reception area.
don't have an open bar. they are sooo expensive.
try to find a fire hall, vfw, moose lodge, elk lodge etc for a reception location. many are super pretty inside or just need a lil touching up.
i used to work in a few hotels that had banquet halls and i have seen my share of receptions. 5k won't put a dent the cost of a hotel location. unless you can find a holiday inn type to hold it in. sorry

Answer 5

Having a wedding and reception in a church is one of the least expensive options. If it is to be a small wedding a Bed & Breakfast would be lovely. Winerys and Vinyards are also wonderful. As for gowns, Ebay is a wonderful and inexpensive place to find gowns. Make your own flowers using silks and you can save a fortune. Where will you be getting married city/state?

If you can be more specific I will be glad to give you any advise just email me.

Answer 6

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Answer 7

my budget is about the same. i'm researching like crazy

www.frugalbride.com
www.weddingapproved.com

i found more helpful info yesterday

email me if u dont mind me cutting and pasting.
are u using a caterer or supplying your own food? i am undecided at this point.

i found a lot of suggestions in "resolved" questions in the wedding section

Answer 8

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