wedding on a small budget?

Question

of 1,000 any ideas we're thinking of his mother's back yard and a cook out type thing. The date is 6/19/08 any other ideas? we're not going traditional ie" dress tux etc

Answer 1

Congratulations first of all. I just got married in Sept, and while my budget was a bit larger than yours, I found ways to cut costs. I know you're not doing traditional, but here they are:
1) Silk flowers instead of real. Buy them a bit at a time so you don't have that big expense all at once
2) Make your own bouquets, bouts and corsages with a bit of creativity, ribbon, and floral tape.
3) But DIY invitation kits from a craft store or Walmart
4) Look on Craigslist for a photographer...you may be able to find a pro looking to start doing weddings who is willing to shoot yours for free just to build a wedding portfolio.
5) Have friends and family cook the food or just do a cake and punch reception
6) Talk to your baker about doing a mock cake and actually serving sheet cake that is hidden in the kitchen
7) Buy a nice white dress or suit, and put your guy in a shirt and tie
8) Have a backup plan in the event of rain or other bad weather
9) Don't have a flower girl, ring bearer, etc. Let the best man and maid of honor hold the rings
10) Skip anything that you don't absolutely have to have, like aisle runners, centerpieces (unless you can do them very cheaply), personalized items like napkins, don't do favors (these get expensive)
11) Don't invite everyone you ever met, keep the wedding small
12) Use an Ipod or stereo for the reception and ask a guest to play DJ
13) Do your own CD's for the ceremony, and again, ask a guest to handle the sound rather than hiring musicians

You can also go to Brides.com and search the forums...there are a lot of ladies there who can give you some great ideas. Good luck!

Answer 2

Well don't do a dinner, do more of an open house. Since it is in your parents back yard, then you don't have to rent anything. Do the invites yourself. You don't need favors or programs. Have the bridesmaids buy their own dresses (so keep them simple and affordable) - you could even give them a color and style and tell them to pick out their own. Do away with Bridesmaids all together, maybe just a best man and maid/Matron of Honor. Use Silk flowers. Instead of serving only sheet cake, serve the wedding cake (have some sheet cake as a back up though). Just serve light refreshments, like cake punch, nuts and mints- maybe some hors d'ouver's. Don't serve alcohol- people will manage without it and it will cut down the cost. Instead of a DJ- burn a CD with some great love songs to play in the back ground- or put them on your IPOD and play them from that.

Edit**
One last thought. I would spend a little money a a professional photographer, but just for a little bit- don't have him stay the whole time. Just have him get a few pictures of you and your hubby and your parents- that type of thing. Then give some family members your digitial camera's maybe get new memory cards for them and have them capture pictures of the reception. Then you will have some great pictures. You can either buy a picture printer (register for one) the kind that only does pictures they come out really nice. or choose some that you really like and have them printed at your leisure. I'm sure if you let people know that is what you are doing, there will be guests who will take pictures anyway. That is what I am doing. We each have pretty standard camera's and my parents have a digital camera as do other family members. We are giving them to family members and just gonna let them shoot the reception. We will have some professional shots after the ceremony (camera's aren't allowed in our ceremony - church rules) then we will take care of the rest.

BTB 1-25-08

Answer 3

I think the backyard idea is great! Since you are not going traditional then figure out what things you cannot do without and go from there.
Food usually costs the most. Having a potluck is a great way to save money. You could add afew things of your own to barbecue so it's not completely up to the guests.
I planned my own low budget wedding last year. For me the most important things other than the food, was flowers, my dress, and invitations. I wasn't going for the traditional wedding either. I found a dress that was not a wedding dress but was appropriate for our wedding. It cost $100 so compared to a wedding dress it was a bargain. I spent an entire weekend shopping for it and ended up finding it at White House Black Market which is a store that only sells clothes that are black and white.
I bought my flowers in bulk from a florist and ordered them well ahead of time. Because I ordered them that way I got them for super cheap. I had enough to make around 15 large bouquets (they were for table decorations as well as my bouquet) and spent around $50. I just got help putting all of the flower arrangements together.
I made my own invitations using my computer, some pretty paper and ribbon and stuff. I made matching place cards and directions cards too and spent around $40 on that.
If you are creative you will come up with some great money saving alternatives.

Answer 4

Backyard weddings are nice, but it would be wise to rent a big tent (better still if it has sides that attach). June isn't usually a rainy month (I was married on 6/30/07 and the weather was gorgeous), but just to be on the safe side. Just make sure your wedding suits your likes, if you have a cookout and don't enjoy it, that wouldn't be fun. Plus you can still wear a dress to an outside wedding, just something to make you stand out, it doesn't need to have a train...
One other option if the outdoor idea is stress-inducing is to rent a hall from the county. Usually these places (firemans halls etc.) are inexpensive and you can decorate anyway you like. Just keep in mind that for these ideas you need to rent tables, chairs, etc. so look into the prices ahead of time.
Best Wishes!

No matter what, just make sure that you have someone taking pictures. You can buy a few disposable cameras and leave them in a basket with a note to your guests to send you doubles of all the photos. It's best to have a photographer that you like, but if not this is an option.

Answer 5

What you have in mind sounds perfect! I wouldn't have suggested anything different. Not sure how formal/informal you want to go - I personally prefer the less-formal setting, but you can dress it up with some simple decorations (tiki torches and candles in the yard, colored table cloths, flowers, etc). Maybe you can put together a poster collage of your photos - pick the most memorable events/moments - and hang it on the wall somewhere; people can even sign it, and you can frame it later. If there's room to dance, you could hire a DJ, or have a friend DJ for you. It sounds like it's going to be a fun event. Congrats.

Answer 6

Hi and congratulations!

~ YES, your budget is doable! You don't need to go overboard with costs to have a beautiful wedding that will be memorable.

~ You probably know that the biggest portion of any wedding budget goes to the reception. You are smart to have it in someone's backyard! Very nice and you will save tons!

~ You will need to rent tables and chairs though. Do you belong to a church? The reason I ask is because I work at a church and we let our members use the tables and chairs at the church for different parties. Check if out. If not, simply rent them.

~ What about a "plan B" for inclement weather? Will you be renting a tent as well?

~ The food is the other big cost...but you seem to know what you what. A cookout sounds great! I would steer away from a "potluck" if you can. If it's only family and others want to help, then fine. But if you can do it yourself...even better!

~ Of course, going along with the above, another big way to save is to have a very small (or relatively small) guest list. Limit it to about 50-75 people tops!

~ You can also save by having only 2 attendants (a maid of honor & a best man). That's it! Maybe a flower girl if you want.

~ Attire: It seems that you have that under control as you say you are not going with the traditional. If you DO want a wedding dress....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! Some are only $20! JCPenney.com is another source as well as Target.com

~ Invites: Save by printing them yourself. Go to Target, Michael's, Walmart, Hobby Lobby, Office Max or Staples. You can get a box of 50 for about $25. If you live by a Target, they have a bridal aisle now, with many, many nice invitations to choose from. Or....if you are crafty...you can make them yourself!

~ Photography: I would pay the money to hire a photographer...even if it's just for a few hours! You do want to capture the day. Or...get a friend. Or, if you live by a college...most colleges have students that are going into photography that are looking for extra money!

~ Cake: A regular bakery will be the most expensive. If you live by a Costco, Walmart, or Publix....they have nice cakes and they are good! mmmm....

~ Do you want some flowers? Again, if you live by a Walmart or Costco you are in luck. A dozen roses at Walmart are only $10. You can have 6 for your bouquet; 3 for your maid of honor; 1 for your groom's boutonniere and 1 for the best man's boutonniere. Look up online how to do this. It's really easy. Basically, just cut the thorns off, cut to size, wrap the stems with green floral tape (from Walmart or Michael's). Then, for your bouquet, wrap it with beautiful satin ribbon. Again, there are insructions online.

~ Table centerpieces. Do something really inexpensive. Here is a cute idea I have given to others. It's using recycled baby food jars, wrapped in paper, then tied with raffia. Then you put a small tealight candle in it! Pretty! Here is the link:
http://www.craftideas.info/html/glass_jar.html

~ 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! You CAN have an elegant wedding on a budget!

My suggestion would be to make out a spreadsheet of everything you want....rentals, food, beverages, table decorations, gifts for attendants, attire, minister's fee, etc. Write it all out and write in prices that you know of...or can estimate. That will be the best way to stay within your buget!

Don't go to Vegas...it's not cheap! Good luck!

Answer 7

the courthouse, ur church the preachers/rev's will ask for about $50 or less. I like what u've mentioned above depends on if and where ur taking ur honeymoon.... If this is ur overall budget then I'd opt for something that's more ur thing and save the $$ for the trip and splurg there instead.
Make it ur own the pics/video of the wedding/reception will last a lifetime... make some wonderful memories no matter the style/budget...

Congrats and Good Luck!

Answer 8

If you want to get married in a church insted look into some churches that have a small chapel. Pastor's don't charge much to do a wedding and I would go with more of a cold sandwich thing myself because you can buy some ham and turkey's and freeze them. We got two pounds of vergina ham at the store and cut it into fours. go to a bulk food store and check their prices on food cause a cook out might cost alot more then you are thinking.

Answer 9

omg that is me too im just getting married on dec 29 check out oriental trading, wrap with us ,and im not sure ur size but fashion bug has pretty wedding dresses online only and davids bridal has an online collection that are inexpensive and pretty also check out ebay and if u did want to go traditional u can rent tuxes at goody's if there is one in ur area for like 40 bucks and if u have a super walmart in ur area they make wedding cakes for 138.oo for 3 tier and 2 tier for 68.00 that will feed 67 people i believe or if u didnt want to get a tiered wedding cake go for a sheet cake u can get a full sheet cake at wal mart for like 41 dollars i think also tell ask his family and ur family to help make decorations and stuff

Answer 10

in a backyard! very romantic!!
Decorate the yard with white streamers and big bows--you can find most of the stuff at craft stores. Get your guests to bring there own lawn chairs and of course their favorite dishes for enough to feed however many ppl you expect to attend. As for apparel try wearing a nice white summer slip dress and fix your hair yourself--a nice way (depending on if you have long hair) would be to set it in lose waves and make a crown of daisies (inexpensive). your finance could wear a white button-down shirt and a nice pair of khakis.
Good luck I'm sure whatever it is you do it will be memorable.
Congrats!