Budget Conscious!

[tracetra21]

[COLOR=Indigo]I am in the beginning stages of planning my wedding. I'm not overly cheap, but due to past money issues... I have no choice but to be cheap. I have been laughed at when I said I wanted my wedding under 3000 dollars, under 2000 if possible really. I know deep down this can be done. I need help figuring out ways to do so though. Any suggestions would be appreciated. (i.e. flowers, cakes, dresses, dj's, photographers, videographers, reception places, etc) thanks a million, Tracy (Jacksonville, FL)

[mermaid]

Read all of the Budget Bride & DIY threads on this site. You will find a wealth of information to help you.
There is one great thread on cheap invites.

For your dress check out eBay & Yesteryear Bridals. I'm sure some of the other brides will have some good suggestions as well.

EBay is also a great resource for your wedding accessories. When shopping on eBay, be sure to check the shipping costs before placing bids.

Many of the brides are finding that silk flowers are more economical than fresh. Michaels has beautiful silk flowers.

Halls that belong to the church, Elks, etc can sometimes be a good deal. Watch for any hidden costs they may have.

Getting family and griends to help out will keep things within budget as well. Do any of your family or friend or family have any talents or know any professionals that might give you a price break?

Having you wedding during the week can save lots of money as well. Often wedding professionals and reception locations will charge less for weekday events since Saturday events are the most popular.

The time of day can also influence the type of reception you have. Certain times of day suggest that your guests will be fed. Food will be one of the more costly parts of the wedding. You can have a cake & punch reception, but not at dinner time. If you are planning on a dinner time reception, a selection of hearty appetizers can easily provide a finning meal.

Lastly, keep things small and simple.

[loveatfirstphp]

You sound exactly like me. I'm trying to plan my wedding for about 3000 or less and so far I have eveything priced at about 2500 total.

My simple advice would be to be artistic.

Don't be afraid to make your table decorations, invitations, your flower arrangements (there are websites that can give you ideas for about any crafts).

Another place to sometimes get beautiful items is the dollar store. With a little creativity you can have something for about 1 or 2 dollars that is better than anything you could buy for about $20 dollars. Plus by being artistic you are putting your creative touch to your wedding, making it more personalized for you and you husband to be.

There are many dress consignment shops where you may be able to find a beautiful dress for a lot less.

Also consider only inviting close friends and family rather than everyone. This will greatly alter the price of your reception. The reception tends to be the highest priced part of the wedding.

You could have a good friend take photo's at your wedding. This would save you about 500+ dollars.

Also if you choose to decorate the church(or place of the ceremony) considering using the same decorations for the recpetion. Just have someone move them over while you are having your pictures taken.

I hope you have a great time planning your wedding and I think you could have a beautiful wedding for 3000 or less.

[mrs_t_tobe]

Look at theknot.com. They've got a lot of great ideas. Check out your local message board. They are an even bigger help, because those girls can direct you to some really great local resources. Also, I know there is one knottie named kertybird who had a really nice wedding for like $5000. You can check out some of her tips. Just use the knottie lookup tool found on some people's bios, or search the message boards for her name. HTH

[pastbride1030]

Hi, I was married in October and by being thrifty and doing alot my self I had the wedding of my dreams for under $1000. My best friend who got married last year had hers for under $1500. We did alot ourselves. We checked out books from the library on bouquets and food. I bought my flowers on sale at Wal-Mart and the filler flowers at the everything for a dollar store. We made flowers for a bridal party of 6, family flowers and my bouquets for under $40. I bought a lot on Ebay. I also checked around the local party supply stores. Good Luck....It's hard work doing it yourself, but the rewards are wonderful because when someone compliments you on how beautiful your wedding is, you have to credit yourself instead of some company.....It's alot of fun.

[girly19]

undefined
my sister is getting married in the spring 05 & to cut cost of the photographer they contacted the local community college & found a student who is in photojournalism program. his portfolio was great & he focus more on the people then the poses. she is getting everything including pictures, negatives & digital disks for $600 about 1/3 of what a real photographer would charge. :)
[COLOR=Indigo]I am in the beginning stages of planning my wedding. I'm not overly cheap, but due to past money issues... I have no choice but to be cheap. I have been laughed at when I said I wanted my wedding under 3000 dollars, under 2000 if possible really. I know deep down this can be done. I need help figuring out ways to do so though. Any suggestions would be appreciated. (i.e. flowers, cakes, dresses, dj's, photographers, videographers, reception places, etc) thanks a million, Tracy (Jacksonville, FL)

[reecey]

[COLOR=Indigo]I am in the beginning stages of planning my wedding. I'm not overly cheap, but due to past money issues... I have no choice but to be cheap. I have been laughed at when I said I wanted my wedding under 3000 dollars, under 2000 if possible really. I know deep down this can be done. I need help figuring out ways to do so though. Any suggestions would be appreciated. (i.e. flowers, cakes, dresses, dj's, photographers, videographers, reception places, etc) thanks a million, Tracy (Jacksonville, FL)


Totally possible! Have a buffet dinner that's very simple or just do hors d'oeuvres. Keep the bar, if any to beer and maybe wine. Flowers - use silk (great bouquets at www.thebridesbouquet.com ) or see if you have a program at your local college that does flowers. Photogs and videographers - get students to do it! It increases their portfolios and you can pay them a little as well! You can check with your local paper for a photog and with local tv stations to see if they have ***eramen that will work on the side pretty cheap. As for the cake - get the exact cake you want! Just get it smaller :) Have sheet cakes in the kitchen to serve to guests - no one cares or even notices - as long as they get cake! People will actually admire you for saving money on something AND probably pass the idea along to others - I've seen it many times! As for a DJ - once again, check to see if you have a broadcasting class at your local college - or even check with the college radio station if you have one. Just be sure to have a strict list of music for them to play and be ready to provide the music, should it be needed. As for reception places, contact your family members - see if your parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc are members of a club- Elks, Masons, Conservators, etc. Usually, members can rent their halls VERY cheap. I'm getting my reception hall for 35 dollars because my brother is a member of the conservation club. The hall normally rents for 750 dollars.
As for your dress - pick out the one you want, try them on at bridal shoppes like you own the places! Get your measurements and then go buy the dress online at a discount bridal shoppe :)

You can make your decorations and favors yourself - just be creative There are many discount craft stores out there that have a lot of neat ideas as well :)

[llc]

I am writing a little booklet on how to have a wedding for under 3000 dollars. I am not getting married and I have been married about 10 years. Actually my husband is a minister. with the cost of weddings so high, we feel it is a ministry to show people how to spend on a practical budget and not go nuts spending gobs of money for a wedding.

But my neice got married this spring of 2004 for under 2,000. She was married in Sherman, Tx. at a little wedding house which may also have been a bed and breakfast. The grounds were so nice. The house was an old time mansion. Everthing was in bloom at well landscaped the grounds.

She got a very nice and fancy bride and groom cake, tasty wedding punch, some wine for the toast, her dress, the brides dresses, all the formalwear for the guys -the invitations and the guest register - all of it -- the whole nine yards -- for about 2000 bucks. She had 4 brides maids and a maid of honor. And it was the most lovely wedding too. She and her friends put the whole thing together and they made all the decorations. It was an outdoor event and it was simple and elegant. They were married in the gazebo. They used CD music on a CD boom box and with a friend of her brother's to control the song selection, instead of live musicians, or costly DJ's. Instead of serving a meal at the rehearsal or the reception, they skipped that -- They served light refreshments of peanuts and candies, and the cake was the main focus. She danced with hernew husband and with father and she sang a song to her dad -- it was lovely.
The whole focus was on family -- Where it should be for a wedding. Weddings are family and friend events. Not big commercial business events.
Keep it simple and small.
And when her and her husband went off for their honeymoon -- the rest of the family headed over to her parents house for a big family feast.
If a meal is wanted, then use the covered dish idea where the guests are asked to bring a covered dish for the reception. Your family will provide the meat and the drinks -- your friends will provide the side dishes. Boom on this idea alone, you just saved $5,000. off the normal cost.
Use a photography student from the college for your wedding pictures. I am sure there is some student there who will like to make $200 or $300 dollars.
Or just have freinds bring their ***era's and digital ***era's and video ***corders. Let them take the photo's & video's and give you the film to be developed or a set of the double prints. Today, pics can be scanned to disk for a perfect copy that does not fade -- pics can be cleaned up and edited with computers so don't have to worry about horrible pictures. Besides, having pictures that your own friends took will make the photo memory book more special too.
have a wedding at home -- the preacher or JOP will charge only about $100 to perform this wedding at your home or other location.
Look for a city park you love, or a state park to have the wedding and reception. See if your church will have it for about $250.00 including the minister, the church, the dinning hall.
American legion or senior center, may rent the hall out for about 100 dollars for a day or 1/2 day.
Some of the money spent at the non-profit places may be considered a donation and will be tax deductable.

Some buffet restaurants will give you a private room FREE for about 4 hours and just have your guests purchase their own buffet meal. They are your friends and they know you aint got alot of money -- they will be happy to buy their own meal. Don't sweat the small stuff.
Or the restaurant may give you a bulk discount on group rates for the buffet. Like it may cost only $4.00 per person instead of 6 dollars per buffet meal, if you go tell them you have 50 to 100 guests that will be eating. (compare this to the standard wedding catering that cost about 15-90 per person, so at 4 or 5 dollars per guest is cheap buffet service. Pancho's Mexican or a chineese buffet like Panda is good place to check, or Ryan's buffet ). Still, to serve all the 100 guests a meal and use their private room for a few hours for the reception site and only pay $500.00 for all 100 guests to eat an all you care to eat delicious meal -- this is getting off cheap cheap compared to standard catering @ about 40 dollars per person. Try to have the reception party at the restaurant during daytime hours because the lunch buffet is cheaper before 4 pm.
I know that we hold our non-profit group annual meeting at the chineese buffet because they give us a big 100 seat conference room free for up to 6 hours use -- we get an all you can eat meal for a dollar off regular price because our group is more than 25 people. They let us decorate the room if we clean up afterwards. NO DEPOSIT is required for us and all we do is book the room.
The restaurant may let some of your parents friends who may volunteer to help -- let them go decorate the room while you are saying your wedding vows at the church or other location. Ot maybe you will have some friends get there early at the conference room -- and decorate it -- Then have the minister meet everyone there and have the whole wedding and the reception in the same room. Even let the minister enjoy a buffet meal and you pay for that. You can eat in your brides dress and the other customers may also clap for you and your sweetie as you get into the buffet line.
The waiters will make a big announcement to all the other customers -- it could be fun.
Look you just have to think about things -- you have to be creative and make a plan -- plan early and get your arrangements in writing.

[melodylynn]

I plan on having more then 300 people at my wedding and reception. I love the idea of small cake and then having sheet cakes to serve the guests. Has any one done this or planning to do this?

We also plan on having home made Greek pastries and cookies. My Greek Grandmother's idea. If she could have it her way I think that there would be a BBQ spit in the front yard too.... :p

[reecey]

I plan on having more then 300 people at my wedding and reception. I love the idea of small cake and then having sheet cakes to serve the guests. Has any one done this or planning to do this?

We also plan on having home made Greek pastries and cookies. My Greek Grandmother's idea. If she could have it her way I think that there would be a BBQ spit in the front yard too.... :p


I have done this at weddings that I have planned - and I will be doing it at my own wedding. It works very well and saves a ton of money.

[nle5]

I have seen a lot of people have a small wedding cake and then have several sheet cakes. I will be having a family member make my wedding cake and since I don't have to go through a bakery then it will be under $100 for a cake to serve around 200 people. If you have someone in the family or a close friend that can do the wedding cake then do it that way you will save a bundle.

My FH's uncle will be making our cake top. He has a business in which he makes blown glass cake tops. So he asked if he could make us a special cake top with our specifications and then gave it to us as an early wedding present. Of course we said that would be wonderful. :)

[www.asyouwishwed.com]

It is a really great idea to have family and friends give you parts of the wedding- cake, flowers, photography etc. It is apparently becoming more and more popular. I was recently at a wedding where almost everything was given. A sister made the cake, she borrowed the dress, her mom made the food, a friend of the family performed the ceremony, I made her veil, my husband did the photos, her new mother-in-law used what she had for the decorations. It was simple, yet very touching.

[MAC2BE]

I am here with you.. I have set my budget for $5,000. If i come below that amount then that will be awesome too. I really want to do alot of things myself and be artistic but I have no talent when it comes to things like this but I am going to try my best to come up with idea's.. It will be alot of work doing stuff by yourself but in the end it will be so worth it and will make the special day even more special and personal.. Good luck to all of us budget brides..lol

[tinab16]

Hi Tracy,
There are tons of ways that you can save and you're getting a lot of great tips and I'm sure you'll get a ton more.

For the dress, I'd try sample sales or knock off stores (I don't mean knock off a store, but stores that sell knock offs) You could go vintage and look too bridal consignment stores. Can you borrow a dress? Check ebay too (but give yourself a lot of time in case you buy a disaster.)
http://www.GuideToWeddingPlanning.com has a directory of all of the above (except people you can borrow from.) I know there are a few cool sites that are like ebay but just for formal gowns. I'll try to recall the URL and repost.

Wedding/Reception.
You can save a lot of money by having it in someone's backyard, beach or park. This is probably where you can save the most money. You can do AMAZING things with a cloth tent, some fold out tables and sheer fabric.

Food
Cook or order from a catering place (but pick up) the main food item, then ask all guests to bring a salad, side or dessert. Or call a local college/cooking school and see if you can't have the students work for class credit.

Cake
Are you willling to make your own? The Food Network and Martha Stewart online have step-by-step instructions.

Sandals Resorts has this thing where they'll pay for the wedding if you have your honeymoon there--cake, reception and all.

What else.....
You can get free cash from http://www.cashforyourwedding.com by signing up for free offers. They say you can earn thousands, but in reality you can expect $600 quick.

Flowers----
Make your own boquets and decorations so you only have to order boutinniers and corsages. Check out farmers markets and ask if they can sell you certain flowers in bulk.

Decorating--
Hit all the craft and party stores for their holiday clearance sales. This is a great way to get supplies and do your own decorating.

Photographer
See if the photography teacher at the local college does wedding on the side. The photographer at the local paper is another person to ask.

Videographers.
If you plan ahead you can set this up yourself to capture the entire ceremony and then you can have family and friends record the reception.

Music--
Local music teacher might have students to recommend. Or buy wedding music CDs.

I hope this helps! Good luck!

Tina






[COLOR=Indigo]I am in the beginning stages of planning my wedding. I'm not overly cheap, but due to past money issues... I have no choice but to be cheap. I have been laughed at when I said I wanted my wedding under 3000 dollars, under 2000 if possible really. I know deep down this can be done. I need help figuring out ways to do so though. Any suggestions would be appreciated. (i.e. flowers, cakes, dresses, dj's, photographers, videographers, reception places, etc) thanks a million, Tracy (Jacksonville, FL)

[Sam&David]

I just wanted to add to the great ideas the other ladies offered that if you know someone who can sew, have them make your wedding dress.

I sew, so I'm making mine. I tried one on at David's Bridal and fell in love with the dress but saw the price tag of $700 :eek: and about dropped right there in the middle of the store of a heart attack. So that put me on a mission to find a pattern similar to that dress and I found it afew weeks later for $0.99! I then went to Wal Mart and got the fabric for $1/yard and the lace for $1/yard as well. For about $25 I have my wedding dress! That includes adding beadwork to it as well for I can do that too.

For my wedding cake, one of my brides maids is a wonderful baker, and she is making it for me. It's just a bunch of small cakes clustered together.....very simple and pretty.

For the invites, I'm making them.

For flowers.........I made flower balls/kissing balls for my girls to carry. I'm using gerbera daisies. I picked out 3 different colors and then picked out a sunflower and made each ball out of one of the flowers. So one will carry a orange ball, a yellow ball, a pink ball and a sunflower ball. My bouquet will be a combo of all the flowers.

For attire for my girls, I want them to wear whatever they like, and makes them feel comfortable. I don't want them to spend a lot when I'm not. Plus I want them to wear something they will wear again.

For my fiance he's going for a rented suit, but for his men, regular dress suits will do just fine.

Our wedding is casual. My budget is under $2000-it can be done too. Our guest list is at about 120 right now.......but I think only about 60-80 will actually show up.

Good luck!

[schefker]

you can save money with online rsvps and online invitations by creating a wedding website with tools like tgwedding.com. Here is their link wedding websites (http://www.tgwedding.com/tgwedding/index.php)

[sarahnray]

[COLOR=Indigo]I am in the beginning stages of planning my wedding. I'm not overly cheap, but due to past money issues... I have no choice but to be cheap. I have been laughed at when I said I wanted my wedding under 3000 dollars, under 2000 if possible really. I know deep down this can be done. I need help figuring out ways to do so though. Any suggestions would be appreciated. (i.e. flowers, cakes, dresses, dj's, photographers, videographers, reception places, etc) thanks a million, Tracy (Jacksonville, FL)

I have found that if you plan the wedding for a Sunday, you can save tons of money on the reception, that is if your guests are able to attend on Sunday. I work in a beautiful restaurant, St. Bart's Island House in Tampa, FL. We have facilities for weddings and receptions on premise and so I am planning my best friend's wedding there. We are actually not being charged for the rooms because we are planning on having the wedding on Sunday. The only costs we are incurring are for food, gratuity, and liquor. Also, always provide your own decorations, cake, chairs, etc. An event planner at an establishment will almost always inflate the charges for these. If you can do it yourself, do. A girlfriend of mine made her own bouquet and arrangements using silk flowers, months in advance, made her own ring bearer pillows, which were beautiful, and even made the jewelry for her bridal party to wear as her gifts to us at the rehearsal dinner.

[cherryicecreamsmile]

I'll tell you how I'm keeping my wedding under or around $3000-
First of all I'm having my wedding dress custom made by a lady I found on e-bay. She had listed a few dress styles but made a note that if you had your heart set on a certain style to email her and she could make it or something similar. Well, I emailed her with a picture of a dress I fell in love with (and my measurements) and said I could afford about $100. Sure enough, she was able to do it, and in the color I wanted (champagne). Total cost with shipping was $145. Let me tell you ladies, it's GORGEOUS!!!!

We had already picked the date, because it is the coolest wedding anniversary date EVER- 05-05-05. It didn't dawn on me til later that it happened to be cinco de mayo and then it hit me- have a fiesta reception!!
My favorite mexican restaurant in town is catering it for $7.95 a person and we get enchiladas, quesadillas, a make your own taco bar, chips, salsa, gua***ole, refried beans and rice all set up buffet style. It's not terribly formal so I'm gonna use paper plates, but a good quality.

Now, for the chapel and hall I spent around $750 (including bartender fee) for both because it has been a dream to get married in this particular chapel, and the site is just beautiful. They said since the wedding was on a Thursday they'd cut me a break on bringing in outside catering, which is something they don't normally allow. They were as excited as I was when I told them about the fiesta :) BTW, I'll be having a cash bar but will comp the soda.

I went to hobby lobby and bought about $60 worth of silk flowers in my colors (cream, champagne and red) and will be making my own bouquet,my daughters' bouquet and the tosser. They also rent candleabras @ $50 for the pair so I'll be getting those there, too.

I won't be having any attendants as I have 3 children from a previous marriage- My oldest (14 yo son) will be walking me down the aisle and serving as 'best man', my 12 yo daughter will be my 'maid of honor' and my youngest son (6) will be the ring bearer. My daughters dress was found at the local flea market for $45!

My girlfriends have agreed to help me with photography, making my cupcake tree and helping with decorations, so I'm saving a TON of money on that.
I also found a local dj who agreed to give me a great deal due to the fact that it's (again) on a Thursday- he'll do my ceremony music as well for only $450. Can't beat that.

In keeping with the whole fiesta theme I went to oriental trading co's website ( http://www.orientaltrading.com/otcweb/application?origin=page.jsp&namespace=main&event=link.home&BP=597 ) and bought 4 dozen 5" wooden maracas for $14 each which I wrapped the obligatory ribbon around for favors. The candle holders that will be displayed on the altar for my ceremony will be transported to the tables as centerpieces for the reception- I'm still debating whether or not to put sombreros in the center of the tables or not :D but if I do I'll go back to the oriental trading co website- they sell them CHEAP!!

Also, check out Anns wedding stationary site ( http://www.annswedding.com/ ) for cheap invites. I chose the seal-n-send type that includes a tear-off reception card. Since I'm having a small reception (no more than 75 people) and alot of people won't need invites (co-workers, family, etc) I only bought 25 invites. You'd be amazed at who really needs invites and who doesn't. That totalled about $87.

Ladies, it can be done inexpensively if you look look LOOK! The internet and ebay are the primary ways I'm getting it done, and if it's not terribly formal you can have alot of fun, too :)

Hope this helps!

[armitage]

Hello to all budget brides !!!!!!

Just wanted to share my good finds. This week I have made some way on the wedding items. The idea of leaving disposable ***eras on the reception tables for candid pictures; well I have purchased 120 non disposable 35mm ***eras and 120 rolls of 35mm film for less then $1.00 per person (this included a ***era to keep as part of the gift, film for me to have more pictures, and shipping and handling) - plus the ***eras are a blue close to my wedding colors. I have purchased 120 shot glasses for about 49 cents a glass including shipping and handling - will use as my candle holders or personalize as part or the wedding favors. For candle holders I was thinking of using old fashion glasses with a shot glass in the center, between the 2 glasses placing flowers in my colors and allowing the tea light in the shot glass to shine through the flowers. I think I have found a gorgeous place for the reception hall for about $9. per person for 5 hours that has these gigantic windows for a night view of the Philadelphia Skyline - something my FH and I stare at quit often. I was thinking about having a late night dessert reception, and am trying to find a pastry school that will let me be a project for a class to earn credit and build their portfolios or a hire a few students cheap to have them build their portfolios.

The web address for my floral votives is at http://www.jonathanfongstyle.com/flowers/floral_votives.html

Well keep me posted with new money saving ideas and I will do the same :D

[msangelwhitfield]

Where was the reception site that you found?

Hello to all budget brides !!!!!!

Just wanted to share my good finds. This week I have made some way on the wedding items. The idea of leaving disposable ***eras on the reception tables for candid pictures; well I have purchased 120 non disposable 35mm ***eras and 120 rolls of 35mm film for less then $1.00 per person (this included a ***era to keep as part of the gift, film for me to have more pictures, and shipping and handling) - plus the ***eras are a blue close to my wedding colors. I have purchased 120 shot glasses for about 49 cents a glass including shipping and handling - will use as my candle holders or personalize as part or the wedding favors. For candle holders I was thinking of using old fashion glasses with a shot glass in the center, between the 2 glasses placing flowers in my colors and allowing the tea light in the shot glass to shine through the flowers. I think I have found a gorgeous place for the reception hall for about $9. per person for 5 hours that has these gigantic windows for a night view of the Philadelphia Skyline - something my FH and I stare at quit often. I was thinking about having a late night dessert reception, and am trying to find a pastry school that will let me be a project for a class to earn credit and build their portfolios or a hire a few students cheap to have them build their portfolios.

The web address for my floral votives is at http://www.jonathanfongstyle.com/flowers/floral_votives.html

Well keep me posted with new money saving ideas and I will do the same :D

[nette]

[COLOR=Indigo]I am in the beginning stages of planning my wedding. I'm not overly cheap, but due to past money issues... I have no choice but to be cheap. I have been laughed at when I said I wanted my wedding under 3000 dollars, under 2000 if possible really. I know deep down this can be done. I need help figuring out ways to do so though. Any suggestions would be appreciated. (i.e. flowers, cakes, dresses, dj's, photographers, videographers, reception places, etc) thanks a million, Tracy (Jacksonville, FL)


I am getting married July 16,2005..& i bought just about everything on sale.. i got my flowers from michaels & spent $25 on them. i'm having 5bm +moh. you can also find people to make things for u. theres a lady my aunt knows that just likes making bouquets, so she making the bouquets, & all the other flowers for the wedding. she told me i could pay her whatever i wanted to. i also went to the dollar tree & got some things. having family & friends help out is a good way to cut the cost. we have a friend thats a dj & is charging $100. my dad is paying for the food & my mom for the cake. all we had to pay for is the church & the dj & photographer & he is charging 500. oh yeah the reception area is 600 & the fh paid for that. i bought the decorations & they were always on sale.

[jannine2sexy]

Hi, I was married in October and by being thrifty and doing alot my self I had the wedding of my dreams for under $1000. My best friend who got married last year had hers for under $1500. We did alot ourselves. We checked out books from the library on bouquets and food. I bought my flowers on sale at Wal-Mart and the filler flowers at the everything for a dollar store. We made flowers for a bridal party of 6, family flowers and my bouquets for under $40. I bought a lot on Ebay. I also checked around the local party supply stores. Good Luck....It's hard work doing it yourself, but the rewards are wonderful because when someone compliments you on how beautiful your wedding is, you have to credit yourself instead of some company.....It's alot of fun.

thats great how many people were on your guest list

[anababy1]

[COLOR=Indigo]I am in the beginning stages of planning my wedding. I'm not overly cheap, but due to past money issues... I have no choice but to be cheap. I have been laughed at when I said I wanted my wedding under 3000 dollars, under 2000 if possible really. I know deep down this can be done. I need help figuring out ways to do so though. Any suggestions would be appreciated. (i.e. flowers, cakes, dresses, dj's, photographers, videographers, reception places, etc) thanks a million, Tracy (Jacksonville, FL)

I am having a summer wedding and being young i am trying to stay out of debt as much as possible.. My wedding reception is at a park inside of the "reception hall" I am paying $500 to rent it for the entire day.. I have also found out that a lost relaitve..lol runs a catering business so she is willing to do it cheep.. The internet is an alright place to get flowere but using a local florist is a better choice. You will be able to know that you will have everything done right.

[Nickel]

[COLOR=Indigo]I am in the beginning stages of planning my wedding. I'm not overly cheap, but due to past money issues... I have no choice but to be cheap. I have been laughed at when I said I wanted my wedding under 3000 dollars, under 2000 if possible really. I know deep down this can be done. I need help figuring out ways to do so though. Any suggestions would be appreciated. (i.e. flowers, cakes, dresses, dj's, photographers, videographers, reception places, etc) thanks a million, Tracy (Jacksonville, FL)

Tracy,
I live in Orlando and I am plannign my wedding for march 2006 on a tight budget, $2500 for EVERYTHING. Here are some wholesale retail that will help you Flowers (www.globalrose.com) 250 roses for about $120. Dresses wholesalers (http://www.bridalsdirect.com/index.html) and (http://bridalmartsuperstore.com/bridal_gowns_wedding_dress.html) average price $200 - $ 600 I ordered my dress from one of the wholesalers and its perfect. Cake: Publix does a great price on cakes and there cheap. If you are getting marrind in Orlando I have a friend thats a great Photographer. The video is crazy, get a tripod and video it yourself.
Penny (Orlando, FL)

[Marsha]

nickel, where is your reception??? im also in the orlando area! and i have a place for video, contact me to get there name

[misslisa]

Hi. I live in Orlando also. I'm looking for a reception site as well. My wedding will be small, only about 50 people. Do you know of anywhere I can have a reception for less than $4000?

[WEDDINGSBYSANDIcccc]

I am a wedding planner and one of the greatest ideas would be getting 2 student photographers or 1-2 friends of guests who will do the photography for $100-200 and do it digitally, so they can give you a couple of discs of pictures, and then you choose the pictures you like and get them developed how you like, instead of paying for every picture in every roll.
Also getting disposable ***eras for the tables (you can find them on ebay for 99 cents each sometimes that are still with valid exp. dates.)

Also - depending on your theme, ask around for items to use at your wedding, ie: the beach theme I am working on right now will depend on a lot of shells and I happen to be going to the Outer Banks and I am bringing the bride back a lot of shells for the wedding and we are going to spray paint some of them with glitter paint and the brides color (periwinkle) as well.
Some of the smaller shells will be the decor for the cake.
In light of cakes, depending on the size of the cake, go for a simple design with some added color/decor and a grooms cake - again, ask a friend/guest/neighbor who does cakes, grooms cakes cheaply!
The one mistake is to NOT ask around - when you ask, you received.
You would be surprise how many people are willing.
Again, at this wedding, I am making cookies and chocolate pops for 75 people and I paid a minimal amount for the supplies.
Any questions, please email me at: weddingsbysandi@charter.net, I will be happy to help !

[calico4sr]

found this. thought everyone could use some help and ideas

[rhiannon]

I think every bride, no matter her budget, wants the most for her dollar! I certainly did! I got married in October of 2002 (a beautiful fall day!). And now my husband and I work in the photography business and cover our share of weddings! You might say we're experts now!!!
I just recently launched a website called, "Rhiannon's Talking About Weddings" and yesterday I wrote an entry on "Money Saving Tips". Check it out: http://www.solorzanophotography.com/weblog/2006/05/22/12/

Let me know what you think and leave a comment with questions and topic ideas! Share this site with your friends too!



PS:
I read someone's post on saving money with a photographer. Be very careful when hiring a non professional for your wedding photographer. I honestly say this (not just because I am a wedding photographer): Once your wedding day has come and gone, your pictures are all you have left to document the day. And a professional knows how to document it right. Sure all photographer have to start somewhere, but be careful when hiring someone who doesn't usually cover weddings or is just getting started in the business. Go over everything you want covered & how before hiring them. Also look at all their sample work and ask yourself if you think they have a good eye. Another suggestion is to call well established photographers who's work you love and tell them your situation ($$) and ask if they can work out something special for you. It doesn't hurt asking and often they will work with you. If they shoot digital, ask if you can purchase a DVD with all your images and just pay them for their time. If they shoot in film offer to buy the film and have it developed, again only paying for their time. Hope this helps! I also have an entry on hiring a photographer: http://www.solorzanophotography.com/weblog/2006/05/09/6/

Take Care,
Rhiannon Solorzano

[Angel1975]

i am doing my wedding for arround 3,000 so here are some of the ideal i am using,

1. we are doing a high tea reception, no full meal
2. getting my dress from e bay new only 269.00 incuding shipping
3. doing all the stationary my self invites, programs, respons cards, places cards ect
4. we are going all our own flowers.
5. we have cut the heck out of our guest list from arround a 150 people to 40 people
6. we will be make all the food and cake
7. we are doing the wedding at someone home
8. making my own vail and make BM Jewerly and gifts.
9. we are not having a tent that saves up to 800.00 right there if we have to go in side we can use the rec room
10 . no DJ no pro photos no Bar
11. we are doing a lot of DIY iteams as well ( card box, guest book, Favors, and a lot more just cant rember them all right now)

[mildest_1001ddfc]

Looks like you'll be needing affordable but perfect bridesmaids gown. You might want to check out http://bridesmaidtailor.com/trends.htm It worked for me!!!

[kats221aead]

A great place to get nice favors cheap is www.orientaltrading.com I have found quite a few really good deals. Hope that helps you

[neh2773ffea]

Not to sound cynical, but it seems to me if you cut too many corners, how is that going to be the wedding of your dreams? I can understand if it is a second marriage or cutting the corners in certain areas on a first marriage, but Angel posted that she cut her list from 150 to 40 and she is going to have it in her rec room with no DJ, photographer, or video. I have been thinking about my day since I was 8 and was a flower girl at my older sister's wedding and that just was not going to cut it for me. I just got married on July 22nd and found a reasonable company in the Philadelphia/New Jersey market that handles DJ, photo, and video. Not sure if I can mention their name you can contact me for it, I can tell you the company was NOT "THE PROS". I can ramble on about how the self-proclaimed "Pros" ruined one of my sister's weddings, but that is a story for another time. The company I used, their video was amazing, their DJ was great, and their photographer was outstanding. They all had very pleasing personalities (which is important) and their work was amazing. I had the disposable ***eras on the tables too, but I was very disappointed when I got them back. The picture quality was horrible and all of the pictures were underexposed! I can't believe in a earlier post that a wedding coordinator suggested those. I had friends taking pictures with digital ***eras, but those weren't any good. I had three of my family members with ***corders (we're big on preserving family history), they were HORRIBLE! Don't let them hear I said that, lol. Ken is the owner of the company and he did my video work. He was amazing! The moral of the story is, you can find reasonable vendors in your area with exellent work. If you cut too many corners you might as well elope.

[neh2773ffea]

Another note: The areas I suggest cutting corners on are flowers, invitations, limo service, food choices, etc. Disc Jockey or Band is of number one importance, everyone remembers the entertainment. I have been to over 30 weddings over the years, with my big family and lots of friends. I only remember the ones where I almost felt compelled to get up dancing and having fun, all because the DJ was so intuned to what everyone wanted to hear. Another place not to cut corners is for the memories. Get a Professional Videographer! It is money well spent. Not just for you to watch again, it will be a legacy you can pass down to your future generations. What if you had the opportunity to see a high quality video of your parents or grandparents wedding? To see all your relatives that may have passed away up dancing and having fun in the prime of their lives. They are timeless memories that cannot be reproduced. It is just not the same having someone videotaping it, that doesn't know what their doing and using inferior equipment.

[PrincessLaura]

I am having a wedding under $2,000. Right now the budget we wrote down is at $1,300. I dont think that you should spend a fortune on your wedding...it is not meant to be a show of money, which is what it has really turned in to. People spending thousands on their cakes, having fireworks...not neccessary. I dont mean to bash those who are doing those things, but seriously, too many people fake having money and spend way too much on their weddings and end up paying it off over 10 years. I am making a CD of songs that my FH and I want to hear at our wedding, and that will do it for the music! I think it will be fantastic! I have bazillions of ideas on how to have a budget wedding, so if anyone needs advice, feel free to ask!

[steelcutter2003eeda]

I am having a wedding under $2,000. Right now the budget we wrote down is at $1,300. I dont think that you should spend a fortune on your wedding...it is not meant to be a show of money, which is what it has really turned in to. People spending thousands on their cakes, having fireworks...not neccessary. I dont mean to bash those who are doing those things, but seriously, too many people fake having money and spend way too much on their weddings and end up paying it off over 10 years. I am making a CD of songs that my FH and I want to hear at our wedding, and that will do it for the music! I think it will be fantastic! I have bazillions of ideas on how to have a budget wedding, so if anyone needs advice, feel free to ask!

I agree with you, our limit is set at $2500, although I would like a dj and professional photographer, The town I'm in is so small they have neither, and I'm getting married at our house with a backyard bbq, just a few family and friends, so not really a reception per say just a good time party. I am also going to make up some cd's to play.

[neh2773ffea]

Orginally Posted by steelcutter2003eeda
"so not really a reception per say just a good time party"

That is my point. If you budget your wedding too small, it just turned into a party with a ceremony. Cutting your guest list from 150 people to 40, you might as well elope. I'm not saying you have to go broke planning the event. But, certain essentail things are needed or you will be disappointed later. I personally think a CD in a cd player is cutting too many corners. You better have a well stocked liquor bar and amble beer on tap, because no one is going to get up to dance to a cd being played in someone's backyard unless they are drunk. Now, if you had a DJ with bass booming speakers, talking on the microphone, flashing DJ lights all over, and really getting people in the mood, that is a much different story. You can hire professional DJs for not that much money. And still keep your budget small. My DJ service was $499 and there were cheaper ones out there. My DJ was a great value for the price though. I've seen some cheap DJs where you might as well of had a cd player. This is not meant to cut up on you Rebecca. You don't live in a large market where there are DJs readily available. But for the people considering cutting out entertainment, you might as well cut out your entire guest list, since no one there is going to have a good time, except you because you just got married. I am from the Philadelphia/New Jersey area, if anyone is interested in who I had as a DJ, Ken's Entertainment Group, I found them on this site. Met with the owner and he helped me plan and guide my wedding masterfully. I actually hired K.E.G. for my Photography, Videography, and DJ. My actual DJ services were discounted to $399 because I booked everything with them. But, I could have just booked their DJ package for $499, not that is a small price to pay to add entertainment to your special day. For me it was anyway. Just my 2 cents. Sorry if I offended anyone.

[sept07bride]

Hey, I can totally understand cutting corners. We just do not have the money. For us, we're just happy to be getting married. And glad that our friends and family will be able to have fun at the reception. I wish I could have more, but it's not possible so I'm happy with what we're doing.
We have a free DJ, so we're lucky there. If anyone is having trouble finding a cheap one, try local bands! Even high schoolers. If you find a band, they have the equipment! So just make some cds up and have them play them through their PA. Chances are they have lights too. I'm sure you could get them to do it for cheap. Maybe offer to hand out some business cards or recommend their band to friends. My FH is in a band so his singer and sound guy are DJing for us as a wedding gift.
We live in very small town so I know how hard it is to find vendors.

[PrincessLaura]

I guess some people just need alcohol to have a good time! Unlike some people out there, we are not in to drinking alcohol, and we seem to have plenty of fun without it!

[sept07bride]

I guess some people just need alcohol to have a good time! Unlike some people out there, we are not in to drinking alcohol, and we seem to have plenty of fun without it!
LOL, I have a huge family and they definately enjoy their beer. Works for me, I don't have to plan anything. Just turn on the music and tap the kegs. :)
It's really interesting reading threads about what everyone does at weddings. It's all so different. I live in a small town and everyone pretty much has the same kind of wedding.

[sept07bride]

You better have a well stocked liquor bar and amble beer on tap, because no one is going to get up to dance to a cd being played in someone's backyard unless they are drunk.
Haha, I guess I have some strange friends because the ones that DON'T drink are the ones most likely to get up and dance....even if there isn't music. :)

[calico4sr]

LOL, I have a huge family and they definately enjoy their beer. Works for me, I don't have to plan anything. Just turn on the music and tap the kegs. :)
It's really interesting reading threads about what everyone does at weddings. It's all so different. I live in a small town and everyone pretty much has the same kind of wedding.

what kind of wedding do the brides in your town have?

ours are kinda boring. basically people just get married some have a simple finger food receptions with the nasty wedding punch :eek: . i want mine to be memorable and very different from the norm around here.

[sept07bride]

what kind of wedding do the brides in your town have?

ours are kinda boring. basically people just get married some have a simple finger food receptions with the nasty wedding punch :eek: . i want mine to be memorable and very different from the norm around here.
Everyone pretty much has a church wedding and then a reception. Most of the time the reception is at the same hall. We're being different (CHEAP!) and having ours at a new hall. We live in a small town (pop. under 2000). Anyhow, the reception is always pretty casual. We eat buffet style- usually chicken, mashed potatoes, and corn. Then cake. Then bar hoping while the dj sets up. Once the DJ sets up, everyone drinks a lot and dances. Seriously, the weddings around here are all exactly the same. Which is okay because they are lots of fun. It probably helps that I have a huge extended family so there is a lot of mingling. Plus they are all rednecks, that helps too. :p
Too keep it fun, just keep the music going. If no one is dancing, go beg a couple people to. Once everyone sees a couple people dancing, they'll dance also. I love to sit back and watch the ones that have had a few too many try to dance. :p

[calico4sr]

that is too funny. wish ours were more entertaining