How do I plan an INEXPENSIVE wedding?

Question

My boyfriend and I have been together 8 years, living together, working children the whole nine we decided to make it official and get married what would be inexpensive and very small ideas for wedding? We live in Florida.

Answer 1

Skip the unnecessary.
Throw a cocktail party reception.
Evening ceremony with lots of twinkle lights, buy them on clearance after christmas.
Try finding a pretty park or a friend with a big backyard that will be free or extremely cheap.
Think outside the proverbial wedding box, try a local rec center or fairgrounds if it is off season.
Have family and freinds help you make yummy finger foods for snacks.
Have the wedding start late in the evening like 7:30pm or 8pm, after dinner.
Get a great cake, ask if it is less expensive to order the cakes seperately decorated and put them on cake stands, this is usually a lot cheaper.
Buy decorating items from bulk party supplies online, avoid any sites that are specifically wedding they will be overpriced.
Get tulle from a place like Walmart for $.77/yard
You can usually get a keg from the local grocery store for under $100.
If you don't serve dinner you don't need as many tables because not everyone will be sitting at once, great way to keep the party from breaking up.
Rent a PA system from a local music equipment or party rental store and hook it up to your MP3 player or laptop for the music.
Buy flowers bulk and make simple bouquets yourself, just wrap the stems with a color coordinated ribbon.
Make your invites yourself using creative paper from a scrapbook store or envelopemall.com

Answer 2

Hi and congratulations!

I just love small weddings...and you have LOTS of options!

Do you want it to be just the two of you? If so, check out a bed and breakfast inn. Many do this, however, sometimes you DO need to book a room for 1 or 2 nights. Here is a link listing ones in Florida that provide this service:
http://www.bbonline.com/weddings.html

Do you want the children involved? Easy! If you are a member of a church, simply speak with your pastor/priest about a wedding.

Not the church type? Easy again! If I lived in Florida (I'm in Michigan....brrr!)....I would want something outside, weather permitting, of course. Why not look at a park? Your home/backyard? A friend's home/backyard? A lovely garden? You could also go to the courthouse. Just remember that you will need 2 adult witnesses.

Wherever the ceremony is....simply have a small reception somewhere....again...your home? a friends? a church hall? a park/garden? a restaurant? A "reception" can be something as simple as cake, punch, coffee. It doesn't need to be over the top. Of course, if it was close to a meal time, then your guests would expect a meal.

~ Get a nice dress for you...there are lots of pretty dresses out there.
~ Get a little bouquet for you and a boutonniere for your groom.
~ Whatever you do....make it a special day. Perhaps get your hair done....have a little cake, etc.

Inexpensive doesn't mean "cheap"....there is a difference! You CAN have an elegant wedding on a budget! Good luck!

Answer 3

Well, I can't say my wedding was exactly inexpensive, but I do think I got a lot of bang for my buck. Three things you can do that will probably make a huge difference in budget:

1) Have your wedding on a Friday, not Saturday. It's much more in vogue now to do this sort of thing, and you'll probably get a good discount on the location if you do.

2) Have your ceremony and reception at the same place if you can. This not only saves on cost, but it also saves precious commuting time for the guests (time is money!).

3) Have a buffet-style dinner instead of a traditional sit-down dinner. The dinner is probably going to cost you more than any other item in your wedding, except perhaps your honeymoon. People don't usually care if it's sit down of buffet -- they just care if the food is good!

No matter how long you've been together, it's going to be an amazing moment for you. Have fun, and enjoy your special day!

Answer 4

Your dress needn't be a traditional wedding gown. I'm sure that a pretty dress, maybe a formal shop in your area, would work just fine.

Do as much of it yourselves as possible. With the kids, maybe they could help make favors, decorations, etc. I had a bunch of my girlfriends over for pizza one night and we made the center pieces and favors a few days ahead of the wedding.

The only thing I would say not to skimp on is photos, since that will be the lasting part of the day. Find a really good photographer and he (or she) will make it very memorable.

Oh, and see if there are any bridal fairs coming up in your area. Come spring and summer, there's usually one very few months here and you can get deals, contacts, ideas, freebies there.

One more thing - you probably won't remember much of the day for a while. Heck, two years later you'll be scratching your head to remember if you thanked so-and-so for their help. Don't sweat it, just enjoy it :)

Answer 5

Your wedding is personal so decide what is the most important thing and concentrate on that. The dress can be gotten fairly cheaply (or you can rent just like tuxedos), flowers can be minimal, small guest list, buffet dinner, inexpensive wedding cake (or no cake, but different kinds of desserts). I can suggest when you price things do not use the "wedding" word, it will jack up the prices.

Answer 6

Make your own invitations and favors. Also, you can do very simple decorations and flowers. Each of my girls are carrying just a single rose with a ribbon tied on it. I'm going to use silk flowers to decorate the church and for my table decorations, I'm going to the dollar store and buying mirrors and what looks like goldfish bowls. I am going to put floating candles in the bowl and a silk flower ring around the outside of the bowl on the bottom and set it all on top of the mirror. A big key to keeping wedding costs down is to limit the # of guests.

Answer 7

My brother got married on a public beach. We set up pop-up gazebos and served deli sandwiches, chips and snacks, and cupcakes. You couldn't have alcohol on the beach so they just had coolers of soda pop and water. She wore a simple lace dress and they played music on a boom box. We all had a great time. The most expensive part of a wedding is usually food/alcohol, so if you can keep that simple, helps a lot. The other stuff you can do inexpensive versions of.

Answer 8

First I want to ask.... what is your budget? Can you do a destination wedding like in the smokey mountains of tennessee? Rent a huge van and take all of the people up there..... and then come home the next day...

why not get married at one of the resorts in florida? Hmmmm.. I wish I could tell you more.

Good Luck.

Answer 9

Try getting your dress at David's Bridal when they have the $99 sale or when they offer $50-$200 off certain dresses. Try asking family members or you and your fiancee cook. Try cheaper favors. This is just some of the things me and my fiancee are doing for our wedding. Try to save as much as possible between now and the wedding. Try to do everything yourselves instead of hiring a planner to plan it just hire a planner for that day. Also with the bridal and bridesmaids dresses try not to go to expensive bridal stores even David's Bridal can be very high at times.
Hope some of this helps.

Answer 10

Go to the justice of the peace or just get married after church service if you attend church,. make sure you dress to feel like a bride, like flowers in your hair. Make sure you have photographer, or a friend to take pictures, If you find a place with decorations already use it for the wedding and the reception. Use Christmas as a theme and use poinsettias for decorations, they do not cost much. Congrats