To the already married ladies or soon to be, budget question

[vicky_vicky]

I started doing a first plan on the money we will need and I freaked. I dont know about some of the prices and its just so soon to start asking flower shops bakeries and such.
We have a limited budget but we dont want to go on cheap either. We also have a lot of relatives and friends we are going to invite. I guess 200 guests.
So please give me a hand here.
How much was the total cost of your wedding? (Not exactly, more or less)
What was the price of the florist?
Any help will be highly appreciated.
What I could do to really decrease the total cost?

Thanks

[WebLady]

The best overall money saving tip I could give you is to cut back on the guest list. The more people you invite the bigger place you will need; a bigger place needs more decors and that = more money, more people= more food, etc, etc ...

Other than that I would try to DIY as much as possible and look for deals on the things you can't. Maybe hire a photographer for just the wedding and not the reception, or hire a student.

There is a money saving tips thread around here somewhere, I will try to find it for you.

Good luck!

[WebLady]

I couldn't find the specific thread I was looking for, but here is what I wanted to share ...

1. Consider a fall or winter wedding. Spring and summer are “prime time” in the wedding industry. Getting married in the off season could save you big bucks ... having the wedding on a Friday or Sunday evening could be another way to save.

2. Get married where you live. Out of town weddings often mean extra expense for everyone involved.

3. Find a location that can host your ceremony and reception all in one. This can sometimes save money and headache. Try a banquet hall or hotel … some churches have banquet halls too, however many churches do not allow music or alcohol so keep this in mind if that is something you want at your wedding. Public parks, gardens, community buildings and historical buildings
are often great spots for weddings too and you can usually get great deals on them!

4. Cut back on the number of attendants. You don’t need to have 7 bridesmaids/groomsmen! There is nothing wrong with having 1 or 2. More than 4 is a little much. The fewer attendants you have, the less you have to spend on flowers and on gifts!

5. Cut down on the guest list. Do you really need to invite your 3rd grade teacher, some stranger your mother works with that you have never met, your second cousin that you haven’t seen or heard from in years, and the neighbor you barely speak to? Think about it Plus, the fewer the guests, the less you have to spend on food and if you cut back enough, you might even be able to rent a smaller facility and that can usually save you money too!

6. Shop for your dress in the fall/winter and/or shop last year’s styles. Again, with spring and summer being “prime time” you might be able to find better deals in the off season. You might even ask about gown that may have been ordered and never picked up. Look for off the rack specials and check consignment shops and eBay.

7. Go for cheaper flowers. Not only should you look for flowers that are in season at the time of your wedding; you might also consider a cheaper flower altogether. Example: Roses are a popular wedding flower but carnations are often cheaper and just as beautiful. Also, consider using loosely cut flowers in vases rather than structured centerpieces.

8. Go for a buffet service at the reception. Compare seated service at close to $50 or more per person (adding in the service staff) to less than $20 per person for a buffet. Multiply that times the average 100 guests! You might even consider a “mini reception” with just cake and punch, and then have a party at someone’s house later or even after the honeymoon.

9. Hire a photographer just for the formal shots. You can save big bucks on photography but cutting back on the time the photographer is there. Consider hiring the photographer for only a few hours rather than the whole day. Have all the formal portraits done before the wedding, and have someone else get the ceremony and the candid shots. Don’t want to see the groom before the wedding … and want professional ceremony shots? Then do most of the formals before the wedding, have the photographer shoot the ceremony and then finish the formals afterwards. Have disposable cameras at the reception and/or have a friend get the important reception shots.

10. Shop early and shop around. We have said this before, and we will say it again. Give yourself time to find the best products and services at the price that is right for you. When you are pressed for time, you leave yourself with fewer options and that leaves you open to be taken advantage of.
Again, DIY stuff can help save money too but be careful, you don't want to overwhelm yourself, planning a wedding is stressing enough ;)

[vicky_vicky]

Thanks a lot!! its pretty usefull stuff!

[SerendipityCrafts]

I DIY'd our flowers and saved a bundle. DH picked up two dozen roses and a bunch of mixed flowers from Costco the morning of the wedding (less than $60). I already had green floral tape, the ribbon & corsage pins (less than $5)

I made my bouquet, two BM bouquets, 2 corsages & 3 boutonnieres.

http://www.serendipity-crafts.com/images/Wedding8.jpg

[Nikita706]

Our budget right now is between $7,000 and $9,000 for 100 guests. We've done a lot to cut down the budget. The best thing you can do, as mentioned earlier, is cut down the guest list. The next thing we did is figured out things that weren't outrageously important to us. For instance, we probably saved $1,000 on a photographer by asking a friend of ours (who is a University photography student) to do the pictures for $500 and give us the cd w/the pictures and we'd do the prints afterward. We also saved a few hundred by opting to do cds and use the sound system our venue offered. We were also lucky in that my bridesmaid (and best friend) owns a bakery, so our cake will be free. However, we got an estimate for our flowers (which was between $700 and $900 for roses and stephanotis bouquets w/asiatic lilies as centerpieces). The other HUGE factor is catering. When we first began looking, most places estimated a basic chicken dinner for 100 people at $3,500. We've looked around and found better deals, but we finally opted to do an hors devours menu instead of a full buffet menu. We're hoping that will save us some money as well. Definitely post on individual ideas and concerns you have and hopefully we can give you some ideas on money-saving tips and creative options to consider.

Best of luck!

[FirechickBride]

cut back on the guests. The more you invite the more you spend. Its not just one favor a couple either and those add up quickly. Another thing is try silk flowers and your flowers for you and your party try maybe real ones to save on the money as well.. walmart does cakes also so try saving that way. I would check the internet for prices and compare but some places such as the tax is different. For my wedding im averaging about 5,000 dollars for 100 people for every detail. O dont go with a photographer. Do your own pictures with a nice camera besides everyone there will be taking photos

[KMS]

Our wedding ended up costing ~$13,000 for 150 guests. We didn't really DIY anything though. We fell in love with our venue which was one of those complete package deals. I don't even know the cost breakdown of anything because of that. You can cut down a ton if you cut down on the reception costs though. Our wedding would have easily cost double if it wouldn't have been an afternoon hors douevre wedding. The full dinner packages there...wow...pricey! I did have more wedding party than the flower package covered so we did baby's breath bouquets which was a big money saver. They looked lovely too!

[EightEightEight]

Great question. Can't wait to hear more thoughts on this one.

I think that location can be a huge factor here. We were first looking at a location in which we could do all of our own decorating and catering, but as we started adding the misc. items needed it didn't seem to be the best financial choice. A better option has become a location that is exclusive for weddings. A great plus is that the background for any picture will be wedding-esque. The big money saver in the location department was deciding to use the afternoon instead of evening...Food items are cheaper, people drink less alcohol during the afternoon.

[vicky_vicky]

I am thinking that I can do the cooking and save big money on this one, plus the food will be exactly like I want it. If I program it well I can cope and I am sure my mom and a couple of aunts will help with preparing some dishes.
Did I tell you I am an excellent cook? :happy:

[FirechickBride]

I am thinking that I can do the cooking and save big money on this one, plus the food will be exactly like I want it. If I program it well I can cope and I am sure my mom and a couple of aunts will help with preparing some dishes.
Did I tell you I am an excellent cook? :happy:


I thought about that too but when will you have the time? You wont have time the day of the wedding nor the family and probably will not have time night before...i think you make me hungry saying about food....awwww...mouth waters

[sarahb0485]

I am planning a 2010 (memorial day weekend) wedding in Cleveland, OH (our home town)

Right now we are looking at about 200 guests for a more formal wedding. My FH and I have personally set aside just shy of $30,000 for the wedding. Our parents have both offered to pay for things so we are thinking we will probably end up about closer to $50,000.

Wedding budgets have a wide range. You should first think about what you can personally spend and then plan accordingly. Although I've heard the average is about $28,000.

[Nikita706]

I am planning a 2010 (memorial day weekend) wedding in Cleveland, OH (our home town)

Right now we are looking at about 200 guests for a more formal wedding. My FH and I have personally set aside just shy of $30,000 for the wedding. Our parents have both offered to pay for things so we are thinking we will probably end up about closer to $50,000.

Wedding budgets have a wide range. You should first think about what you can personally spend and then plan accordingly. Although I've heard the average is about $28,000.

I've heard the $28,000 figure as well.

[Blusher]

oh lord! Mines not going to be any where near 28Gs! but I guess the fact that we don't have to rent a venue or church helps, plus we've got all the meat we need to eat on the farm......
I say casual weddings are the way to go if you're looking to save a lil moolah

[Jacklynn]

We spent just over $5000 for:

The church ($250)
The reception place ($350)
The Photographer ($650)
The Dress ($600)
Food - My dad did this we had various cooked veggies and shredded pork- We also had a dessert bar
The Cake ($350)
The DJ ($650)
The decorations
The favors
We hired two girls to serve the food
Table coverings ect.

And the other misc. stuff

You can do it cheap if you are wise with how you spend it. Part of it is location as well, obviously I couldn't have did it for that amount downtown Chicago or anything.

[Danielle9608]

My budget is 25,000 for about 120 guests. I am DIY most of things (the decor and stationary), however flowers is not one of them. I am ordering my flowers from and online florist http://www.proflowersweddings.com

I am paying 650 for Light pink roses:
1 bridal bouquet
5 bridesmaids bouquets
2 petite hand tied bouquets
3 wrist corsages
9 Boutonnieres

[FirechickBride]

wow you guys got some pricy weddings going...i am a diy but not on everything. I have some things in my package from caters like food, decor, table covers... and my price of alcohol is cheap! $800 for hall rent, unlimited use, full kitchen, and lots of drinks...

[thetsakid]

so my wedding is about 200 guest attending and we are spending about 2,000 but we are having alot of people do stuff for us instead of paying someone to do them....and our florist is about $450 and i'm barely having any flowers but i have a 5 bridemaids and 5 groomsmen and 4 flower girls 1 ring bearer...so yeah our photographer is my neighbor and i only pay her for the hours she works and she is putting all the pictures on a cd for me to print and i can pick which ones i want different fun things done to them but that is a separate cost...and my FH and i go to church so we don't have to pay to use the chapel or the gym so yea.....hope that helped

[vicky_vicky]

28,000? I cant afford this amount. I ve heard that the average cost here is about 25,000 euros. But I dont need all thats included. I definately want flowers and a nice reception. but I dont care about limo, expensive photographer etc. As for the photographer I will do great research before I book with someone. I think its important but I dont want fancy things.

My family will videotape it.

[Scrwballsgrl]

OMG! I must be living in the Sticks:0) 28,000 for a wedding! if I told my parents I wanted to spend that not only would they tell me I was on my own but would probably knock me in the head for thinking about it:)j/k (kinda) Right now we're not really sure about our budget;but are figuring on no more than $5000

[Jacobs_Girl]

I'm not sure of our budget because everyone in my family is chipping in a covering some part of the wedding. but right now heres the list:

Ceremony Location: $1,500
Chair Rentals: $250.00
Decorations: By me so far = $100.00
BM Bouquets: $20 silks
MOB and MOG Bouquets: $20 Silks

Wedding dress = $850.00
Wedding accessories = $500.00

Reception: $5,000 includes open bar and food for 150 guest
Wedding cake: $500 = 5 tiers

We also have a DJ, photographer and Videographer my uncle is paying for.

Flight for honey moon to Hawaii: $1,200

Thats all I have so far

[dhigs4506]

Danielle9608 - where are you having your wedding? You are my fellow MA/Boston bride!
your budget sounds more realistic for me!!!

[Danielle9608]

Danielle9608 - where are you having your wedding? You are my fellow MA/Boston bride!
your budget sounds more realistic for me!!!

Well at a not budget conscious venue The Red Jacket resort in South Yarmouth. Its almost 75% of my budget.

[rockchalkchick]

Alright, I'll chip in our numbers. Our total budget is running around $10K, but we're hoping to come in under that. The tricky part was that every "budget" guide has that first recommendation of "cut the guest list" - what if you can't? Our guest list is going to come in between 175 and 200 - MY immediate family alone (aunts/uncles/cousins) comes to 109 (my dad comes from a family of 10, mom from a family of 4, and every last one of them WILL show up!)

So, for a nice wedding for ~200 people, we're working with $10K. My parents chipped in $5K, plus the cost of my dress, which my mother and I are making. The tricky part is that I've been to low-budget weddings that looked amazing, and low-budget weddings that looked CHEAP. (Can you guess which one I want to throw?)

Our details:
Park lodge rental: $1200 (for outdoor ceremony and reception, 3 days' rental - Fri-Sun to allow for setup and teardown).
Table Rentals: $450 (20 6-foot round tables at $7/table/day)
Linen Rentals: $450 (white rounds for above tables)
Officiant: $0 (friend who is a minister)
Photographer: $0 (won a prize at a bridal fair!)
Food: $2000 (estimated - we're cooking our own but hiring servers)
Servers: $250 (friends of college-age brother)
Cake: Gift of family friend
Alcohol: $150 - my brother is brewing 5 types of microbrew beer and 2 5-gallon batches of wine for the price of ingredients.
Soft Drinks: $500 (tea, lemonade, soda)
Flowers: $500 - doing all daffodils, ordering online and DIYing bouquets and bouts (more expensive than it has to be, since I'm ordering from 2 separate sources to make sure I have a backup if something goes wrong)
Dress: $200 plus time (a LOT of time!)
Shoes, etc: $200
Tux rental: $50
Invitations: $32 (clearance rack print-your-owns)
Decorations: $500 (a lot of DIY)
Sound system rental: $500 ("Ipod" music DJ'd by friends)
Rehearsal Dinner (paid by his parents): approx $1000
Gifts for Attendants/Parents: $1000 (4 BM/4GM/officiant, parents, etc)
Sparklers for favors/goodbye: $100


Total: approx $8K so far. I round it up to $10K because there are a lot of minor costs I probably haven't considered. Of the actual expenses, about $1500 are coming from his parents, $5000+ are coming from my parents (the plus because they keep insisting on upgrades that I wouldn't choose), and about $2000 are coming from our pockets.

Obviously there are some expenses that don't need to be that high - the lodge provides 8-foot banquet tables for 250, but I prefer the look of rounds, etc. (Given the location, a park lodge with long parallel tables is just too "Boy Scout Banquet" for me!) I'm splurging/focusing on the things that matter to me (the dress, quality flowers, gifts for the people close to us, good food) and keeping the rest very simple-yet-refined.

At the end of the day, we're having an outdoor ceremony followed by cocktail hour with passed hors do'erves and "microbrew" beer/wine (no hard liquor allowed in park), a buffet dinner of roast pork, chicken breast, and 4 sides, multiple desserts, cake and a moscata d'asti (my favorite sparkling white wine - homebrewed), followed by all the traditional dancing and a finale of a sparkler send-off to our borrowed antique convertible! I'm going to have all the details and fluff that I want, none that I don't, and without going into an absurd amount of debt.

Good luck - you can do a tight budget, if you're willing to adjust from all the traditional "must-have" expenses.

[saltyveruca]

Photographer: $0 (won a prize at a bridal fair!)
Alcohol: $150 - my brother is brewing 5 types of microbrew beer and 2

Awesome, and awesomer. DH and I like to homebrew, too. (He brews it, I drink it. :winktongue:) What a wonderful idea!

[rockchalkchick]

Yeah, I'm pretty excited about the homebrew stuff - my father's been in a keg system for a while, and my brother just switched over. We'll have 2 adapted-freezer keg systems with 3 taps each - a 5-gallon keg each of an amber ale, an IPA, a red ale, an Anchor Steam knockoff, and either a brown or a stout. Tap #6 will be the sparkling moscata wine. We should have 2 or 3 kegs of each - hopefully that'll keep things rolling!

If you're into the homebrew thing, you can either serve your own beer/wine at the reception, or, for a smaller scale, provide bottles of homebrew as your favors or groomsmen gifts (my brother did that for his groomsmen).

[Danielle9608]

Alright, I'll chip in our numbers. Our total budget is running around $10K, but we're hoping to come in under that. The tricky part was that every "budget" guide has that first recommendation of "cut the guest list" - what if you can't? Our guest list is going to come in between 175 and 200 - MY immediate family alone (aunts/uncles/cousins) comes to 109 (my dad comes from a family of 10, mom from a family of 4, and every last one of them WILL show up!)

So, for a nice wedding for ~200 people, we're working with $10K. My parents chipped in $5K, plus the cost of my dress, which my mother and I are making. The tricky part is that I've been to low-budget weddings that looked amazing, and low-budget weddings that looked CHEAP. (Can you guess which one I want to throw?)

Our details:
Park lodge rental: $1200 (for outdoor ceremony and reception, 3 days' rental - Fri-Sun to allow for setup and teardown).
Table Rentals: $450 (20 6-foot round tables at $7/table/day)
Linen Rentals: $450 (white rounds for above tables)
Officiant: $0 (friend who is a minister)
Photographer: $0 (won a prize at a bridal fair!)
Food: $2000 (estimated - we're cooking our own but hiring servers)
Servers: $250 (friends of college-age brother)
Cake: Gift of family friend
Alcohol: $150 - my brother is brewing 5 types of microbrew beer and 2 5-gallon batches of wine for the price of ingredients.
Soft Drinks: $500 (tea, lemonade, soda)
Flowers: $500 - doing all daffodils, ordering online and DIYing bouquets and bouts (more expensive than it has to be, since I'm ordering from 2 separate sources to make sure I have a backup if something goes wrong)
Dress: $200 plus time (a LOT of time!)
Shoes, etc: $200
Tux rental: $50
Invitations: $32 (clearance rack print-your-owns)
Decorations: $500 (a lot of DIY)
Sound system rental: $500 ("Ipod" music DJ'd by friends)
Rehearsal Dinner (paid by his parents): approx $1000
Gifts for Attendants/Parents: $1000 (4 BM/4GM/officiant, parents, etc)
Sparklers for favors/goodbye: $100


Total: approx $8K so far. I round it up to $10K because there are a lot of minor costs I probably haven't considered. Of the actual expenses, about $1500 are coming from his parents, $5000+ are coming from my parents (the plus because they keep insisting on upgrades that I wouldn't choose), and about $2000 are coming from our pockets.

Obviously there are some expenses that don't need to be that high - the lodge provides 8-foot banquet tables for 250, but I prefer the look of rounds, etc. (Given the location, a park lodge with long parallel tables is just too "Boy Scout Banquet" for me!) I'm splurging/focusing on the things that matter to me (the dress, quality flowers, gifts for the people close to us, good food) and keeping the rest very simple-yet-refined.

At the end of the day, we're having an outdoor ceremony followed by cocktail hour with passed hors do'erves and "microbrew" beer/wine (no hard liquor allowed in park), a buffet dinner of roast pork, chicken breast, and 4 sides, multiple desserts, cake and a moscata d'asti (my favorite sparkling white wine - homebrewed), followed by all the traditional dancing and a finale of a sparkler send-off to our borrowed antique convertible! I'm going to have all the details and fluff that I want, none that I don't, and without going into an absurd amount of debt.

Good luck - you can do a tight budget, if you're willing to adjust from all the traditional "must-have" expenses.


I just wanted to say how extremely impressed I am! Looks like you have a really good organized plan. Good luck can't wait to see how it come out :)

[rainbowtreat]

We didn't have a budget all set. We did things week by week. As we got paid and bills and such were paid we used the extra for wedding stuff.

My hall was only $100 as my sister and her dad are members of the place.

My pictures were paid for by a friend as a wedding gift.

The food was a buffet style done by my brother-in-law and his mother as a gift to us.

The flowers, my moms husband paid for mine and my daughters bouqets and the guys bouts. I got my mom and his mom coursages. The morning of the wedding my mom and I went to the grocery store and bought flowers and took them back to my girls and they made their bouquets.

My dress I got off the sales rack. Along with my daughters dress. I bought my neice's dress who was the flower girl at Easter time from Walmart. I got my sons and my nephews tuxes on sale at some place like Sears or JCpenny's.

I used fake flowers for my center pieces and got them at the Dollar Store. Along with stones and a few other things. Made out like a bandit there. I also got a few things like that at Walmart.

The glasses were a DIY projest. I made the tags on my computer and glued on the flowers and added the ribbon. The glasses I got on sale. 12 for like $8 I think at Target.

The cake I had heart shaped cupcakes with the small round cake on the top for the cake topper to sit on. I was going to make the cupcakes until a friend offerend to do. Another weddiing gift.

I made out invitations on my computer and foudn a stamp to use and bought the kind of paper I wanted. I opted out of the return card to have a number of people coming. There was not a big list so I had them call or e-mail me. I didn't have to double up on the stamps that way.

The DJ was a guy I knew growing up. And I had the wedding back in my home town so it was cheaper all around. It is more expensive where I live now. I think we paid like $350 for the DJ for about 6 hours.

I shopped around knowing what I was looking for and only bought what was on sale or that was not too expensive.

I think the pictures cost more then my whole wedding. Thank God I didn't have to pay for them lol.

I think shopping week to week or every couple of weeks helped me alot. I would look around in Walmart when ever I was there for something else and if I saw something I could use or liked I got it. As I did where ever I was. I also did alot of shopping around on line. Again if I found something I wanted I would keep looking and compare prices then would go with the cheapest.

Good luck with your wedding planning. It is a fun time if you make it that way.

[saltyveruca]

Yeah, I'm pretty excited about the homebrew stuff - my father's been in a keg system for a while, and my brother just switched over. We'll have 2 adapted-freezer keg systems with 3 taps each - a 5-gallon keg each of an amber ale, an IPA, a red ale, an Anchor Steam knockoff, and either a brown or a stout. Tap #6 will be the sparkling moscata wine. We should have 2 or 3 kegs of each - hopefully that'll keep things rolling!

If you're into the homebrew thing, you can either serve your own beer/wine at the reception, or, for a smaller scale, provide bottles of homebrew as your favors or groomsmen gifts (my brother did that for his groomsmen).

Color me totally impressed. That's a lot of homebrew! Also, I just noticed you're getting married a day before my 1 year anniversary! We're beer loving date twins.

We already got married, so it's too late to homebrew for our own wedding, but we did have our reception at St. Arnold's, a craft brewery here in Houston. All of our beer was "free" with their reasonable rental rates. It was a big hit.

[tawni8806]

Our wedding won't be near all the amounts I hear on here.

We are having a very nice and elegant wedding at a Private Country Club here in Oregon, near our home. We have 100 guests. I guess you just have to look around. Here is a broad budget list:

Reception/Wedding/Food: $5,000.
This is at the club, they are doing a buffet. Our wedding is at 6, Reception at 7 in the same building. We are doing both inside with A/C and the doors are nearby so people can hang out outside.
Photographer: $850
I found him via Craigslist.com, and he is working to build his portfolio. He is also bringing someone to train to work for him. I get two photogs for the price of one. $200 print credit is included, ad well as a release to get my own prints.
Florist: $600
I went on the lower end for flowers, because I didn't think they were too big. I am getting an arch flower display. Toss bouquet, 3 bouquets, 12 bouttenears for moms/grandmas/grandpas/dads.
Cake: $300
Albertsons. WITH Delivery. Square tiered.
Dress, and accessories: $750
Dress was $600, and I looked for veils at Jo-Anns, and jewelry at Claires.
Tux Rental: $100
This is per person, we are just getting our own.
Invitations: $200
Davids Bridal, very nice, and RSVP cards included.
Decorations: $100
We used Oriental Trading for most. The Club has almost everything, including centerpieces, so we just got a couple extras.
Party Favors: $100
Cute Pink/Silver Boxes with hershey kisses inside.
Bridal Party/Parents Gifts: $250
Still looking around, but thats my budget.
Officiant: $150
That includes his $100 fee, plus 50 for a tip.
Coordinator: $100
I am paying the lady that works at the country club, a $100 tip.

There are a few smaller items, I probably havent counted, and ou honeymoon cost is about $2500.

I guess it reallt does add up.

Hope this helps.

[Whitewater]

Our wedding is going to be $3000-$3500 for 125-150 people. Yeah, it's a small budget, and no, we can't cut the guest list. Our ceremony venue wants us to have 'no more than 75 people' . . . . but it's on 14 acres!!!! They're crazy. We'll just sneak in our folks and the venue will never know. It's an outdoor formal garden and nobody official will be there from the city, so if we do a few extra chairs, we'll be safe.

Anyway.

Rental of the ceremony location: $50.

Rental of the (probable) reception location: $104. We got charged an extra $55 for a 'clean-up fee' because we're having over 100 people. Oh well! But this place (another city park, but a different city) doesn't allow alcohol so that's a big savings for us. They also have free parking, bathrooms (real ones, not port-a-johns), and electricity . . . . and a bonfire pit. All for free!!! It's not a 'pretty' location, but it will do.

Reception decor: $100. Maybe $200. Between the fake flowers and the candles and the ivy/tulle and the Christmas lights to go up the pavilion pillars. . . . well, we'll see. We won't have to buy Christmas lights, because we have plenty and we can borrow from friends.

Rental of reception tables/chairs: About $500. That's one of the biggies. We can re-use the chairs (just haul them all over from the ceremony site to the reception site) but we will also need to rent tables. And buy decent-quality plates, napkins, and silverware. It's going to be plastic, but heck, this is NOT a formal reception, so I'm not fussed.

Cake: We budgeted $500 but I suspect that we will actually pay about $300. Maybe $350. We found somebody through Craigslist who's just starting out. Here's hoping her cakes taste as good as they look!!!

Dress: So far, I've spent about $150 on about 35 yards of first quality imported shantung silk. I bought it at a fabric warehouse near me, and yes, it was on sale. Originally it was about $20/yard and I got it for $6 or thereabouts. They only have this sale once a year, and I had to buy it LAST FALL. Oh well. Better to have silk lying around the house for a while than miss out. We bought all the cream silk they had. I *hope* that my dress will clock in at less than $900. The bulk of the money will go to my seamstress, though I can help cut costs by doing the beading and hand-work myself. A corset will be about $200.

Bridal Party Attire: They're purchasing it themselves.

Wedding Day Transportation: Our own cars

Wedding Day Hotel: Nice, but probably not going to happen. We only live about a half hour from the ceremony site.

Favors: Nope! Nobody uses them anyway, and the only thing I could think of was chocolates, and that's too expensive.

D.J. -- Again, not with our budget. We're going to borrow speakers from somebody and do the whole speakers+Ipod thing. Not only will it save us money, but I am in my mid-30's, Fiance is in his mid 40's, we're too old for the whole typical DJ patter crud. We'll get one of my friends to wrangle people for the bouquet toss and let them know it's dinner time and so on. A microphone is $25 the entire day.

Speaking of food: We're having a potluck reception. So, no cost to us, and only a few bucks for each of our guests. Please, no comments on how rude a potluck is. Around here, it's de rigueur and people are expecting (and indeed, looking forward to) it. We would have our friends mad at us for the rest of our lives if we had our reception catered.

Flowers: Buying them from a wholesale place online (hopefully somewhere that has stephanotis) and making them ourselves. I would love Asiatic Lilies and Roses (and fake orchids for the tables at the reception) but I fear that late June will be too early for the lilies. Our budget is $500 -- but hopefully we can get away with less than that. We have about 18 people that need butionners, or however you spell it.

Out of town guests will be paying for their own accomodations, though I'm hopeful that I can get our preferred hotel (less than a mile from the ceremony site!) to give us the same rate of $104/night as they do for the sci-fi convention that I'm involved with, because I've been with the convention for so long. And I hope that they won't make me pay for the reserved rooms that don't get taken.

Officiant: Friend of ours, who also happens to be a minister in his church. No fee, he will do this for us because he believes in our relationship. We'll probably still pay him something, though, in addition to including him in the rehearsal dinner and reception, because he's a friend too, even if he's the celebrant.

Invitations: We're printing them ourselves, and we found some quite lovely embossed ones at Office Max, of all places, for $32.00/50 -- that includes the invitation, the envelope, and RSVP cards and *their* envelopes. They won't be engraved or anything, but then, I'm not having a super-ultra formal affair, so they don't NEED to be engraved. That price is less than I found at the cheapest discount invite place online. There's not much to them, but they look nice and frankly, 100% of the information is or will be online, so we don't need envelopes that can fit the Queen Mary. I am irritated that they're 5x7 so we're going to be charged extra for postage, but on the other hand, we can give out about a third to a half of them in person (I know, I know, don't say it -- we're budget conscious and our friends/family don't stand on ceremony).

Rings: I found a lovely ring for myself and a nice one for him that he likes on a jewelry website that used to be advertised here (I think it's e-weddingband.com or something like that -- there's a thread about it, just search under my name) for a total of around $200. Mine is $140, his is $50. He will probably never wear his ring, but he needs one for the ceremony vows.

By ignoring outmoded etiquette and taking advantage of modern technology, we're saving a LOT of money. We're also not having our shindig in a fancy hotel or country club, nor are we paying for alcohol and chateau briand for 250 people. We're also not paying $50 each for fancy centerpieces nor am I getting a designer dress that costs $3000.

Even if I *did* get a windfall (like winning the lottery or something) I don't think I would go that fancy anyway. The first time I got married, my parents spent about the national avarage in order to prove their social standing in the community. It wasn't about celebrating our love. It was about social class. This time around, we might not have hired a $1500 photographer or spent $250 on limos or had an open bar reception the entire evening at my parent's country club, but the love we have for each other and the reason why we're here -- to celebrate our marriage and relationship -- will far outshine anything I might see on Platinum Brides. Our celebration of our marriage will really *be* a celebration, and the focus won't be on worldly things (not that I mind being worldly, I just don't have the money!) -- and I'm ok with that.

Whitewater (Still trying to find dancers/entertainment that will work for food!)

[LynnW]

As most people have mentioned, the best way to cut costs is to keep the guest list small. You can also minimize cost by spending less on your wedding favors. There are some great wedding favors you can purchase for under $2 online. They are still very nice just not as pricey.

www.elegantweddingimpressions.com

[Whitewater]

As most people have mentioned, the best way to cut costs is to keep the guest list small. You can also minimize cost by spending less on your wedding favors. There are some great wedding favors you can purchase for under $2 online. They are still very nice just not as pricey.

www.elegantweddingimpressions.com (http://www.elegantweddingimpressions.com)


Yes, but no matter how inexpensive, favors just aren't, well . . . .in favor. Forgive the pun! It just seems like people -- guest-type people -- either don't know about favors or don't want to take things home with them. Every wedding I've ever been to, there have been favors provided and they wind up being left behind. The only thing that works is food favors, and those are expensive. (Yes, even a gauzy bag filled with jelly bellies in my colors is too expensive for me.)

Personally, I've always thought it was kind of an odd idea anyway. I've invited people to a party that I'm hosting, that I've spent a ton of money on (the definition of a 'ton' will, of course, vary), I'm feeding my guests a nice dinner, and then I have to give them a gift? Why? I've already spent lots of money on a fancy party and I'm feeding them . . . giving them a gift seems like unnecessary spending.

Or maybe that's the whole point? Conspicuous consumption? 'See how wealthy we are, not only did we spend a ton of money on this party and fed our guests a decent meal -- and cake -- but we ALSO have enough to spend that WE are giving THEM a gift.'?

I'm not buying it. And I'm not buying favors. It'll be money uselessly spent, in my case.


Whitewater

[L.J.Aguirre]

the flowers came with the package.... i just had to pay $20 more because i wanted orange dangit and they didn't have orange so they had to do some special order thing... whatever.... i just told them "make sure my boquet is ORANGE... not coral!" if you're on a budget why don't think about perhaps going somewhere where they do a package thing which includes everything except for the minister fee?

[Whitewater]

Well, we can't do the package thing because for us, there are very few places that do a whole package, and the ones that do, well . . . . they start at $5000.

Not affordable! There comes a point when it's more affordable to do it yourselves piecemeal, regardless of how easy or 'affordable' (maybe it is, when you're looking at spending $12 or $20 grand) it is.

In theory we could go without decorations at all and make the cake ourselves and so on and save EVEN MORE MONEY but there *also* comes a point when you have to spend the money to get something that doesn't look half-baked.


Whitewater (trying to stay between 'My two-year-old could have done better than that' and 'That will be $75/plate, please')

[garnet]

I formerly worked for Davids Bridal and for abanquet facility that specialized in weddings. Here's what I know.

The "real" cheap time for dresses is actually may, June, July, August. Most people get engaged at Thanskgiving, Chrsitmas, New Years, or Valentines Day. That is the most expensive time to shop because everyone is buying. The dress sets the tone for the wedding. (Its also the time when Davids Bridal runs the $99 gown sale to get people in the door.)

Busy wedding times are April, May, June, July and August. Also Valentines Day is busy.

Less people equals less money. Simple as that.

Get married in a "off' time like fall, or on a off day....not Saturday or Sunday.
Or on a little celebrated holiday, like Columbus day.

Cutr out the bar. If you must have alcohol, have wine with your meal and a couple kegs of beer.

skip champagne toasts. Wine works just as well. So does sparkling cider.

Floral bills can get out of control. If you must have fresh flowers, keep it simple. A single bloom in a vase, every so many feet along the table. Or small fat vases or low boxes, or bowls packed with beautiful but inexpensive carnmations. Or large vases in the center of each table filled with ferns, babys breath, "filler" flowers that look just as elegant packed together.

For food options, go for choices that can be customized to peoples preference....like a small salad bar is still cheap, and yet everyonme can find something they like. Same with baked potatoes. Oh, buffets are usually cheaper. Fewer people to staff a buffet. Or you could do a hor deouvers reception. Just little snacks and drinks. Or a dessert reception.

Shoes. Under your dress, no one will see them. Get a comfy inexpensive pair.

wedding invites can be printed yourself, the paper can be bought at micheals, jeffrey alans, walmart and the template can be downloaded from wiltons.com So can programs.

Favors. Keep it simple and cheap. Most dollar stores have packs of candles, and ribbon. Some even have the little bublbles.

do your own hair and makeuip. or have a friend do it.

make your own veil. wilton has kits in white and ivory. its as simple as a few yarrds of tulle and a plastic comb to hold it in place.

[Whitewater]

Oh, yeah, I forgot about our other big cost-cutter. Our reception venue doesn't allow alcohol! So we don't have to worry about open bar, cash bar, home-brewed, or anything else. And because it's the venue, I can shove it all off on that, and not take the heat. 'Sorry', I can say, 'I'd love for you to have alcohol, but it's not allowed!' which makes me feel a whole lot better.

I have issues with alcohol, more specifically I think that drunks are disgusting, but unfortunately I know my friends and I know there'd be a couple who would get pretty plowed . . . .I was racking my brain trying to solve this issue (No drunks at my reception!) but the venue's rules take it all out of my hands. Not to mention the recovering alcoholics among my friends and family, so needless to say it's not just the money we're saving that I'm relieved about, but yeah.

So, we're saving a LOT by not having alcohol even possible. We're also not getting all those little things that the wedding business says you *have* to have, heirloom hankerchiefs, monogrammed napkins, a $200 veil, etc. I'm buying a lovely top hat with two ribbons down the back, and I'm covering it with the same silk as my dress (because we're going to have tons of silk left over!) and the hat is only $35. And believe it or not, I found a nice-looking cake cutter set at Target, of all places, for $25. You can even send it in to be engraved with your personal information! If you're only going to use it once, $25 is still expensive but won't break the bank.

I'd already decided to go with garnet's suggestion of a single flower decoration for centerpieces. I know they can be done to look elegant and pretty.

I would add, reuse things! Take the flowers from the church and set them up at the reception somewhere. Etc.


Whitewater

[luckythirteen05]

so far one way i'm saving is by using a historical area, so it's non-profit. i'm paying about 1500 instead of 3000 for the location.