How do you plan a beautiful, yet inexpensive wedding?!
How do you plan a beautiful, yet inexpensive wedding?
I'm a senior year in college with limited money. The wedding will be in the Boise, ID area and I'd like to keep the budget as low as humanly possible.
Answers:
1. Prioritize the three most important elements of your wedding so that you know where you want to put your money. Obviously, the cheapest thing you can do is have a pot luck or just go to city hall, but it sounds like you want to do something on a somewhat larger/grander scale.
2. All of the wedding books and planners agree that the easiest way to save money on a wedding is DON'T have it on a Saturday night. The cheapest option is a dessert and punch reception. The next best is a Sunday breakfast or brunch. Don't have your wedding in the late spring or summer. The book "Bridal Bargains" (featured on Oprah) has a list of most-popular wedding months by region. Off-season means savings.
3. Yes, guest count can be important, but not as important as some people think. Things like photography, venue rental, dj etc. are base costs that stay the same no matter how many people you invite. Guest count becomes most important when you're dealing with the cost of food, alcohol, and service.
4. When considering your venue, consider the kind of event you want and your guest count. Catering and lighting large events at sites without facilities (private homes, barns, etc.) can get really expensive, really fast. No bathrooms. No generator. So much to worry about. BUT if this is a smaller affair, you can have it pretty much anywhere.
5. Don't bother with favors. They're a total scam by the bridal industry.
6. Don't do it all yourself. Unless this is the kind of thing you thrive on, don't get wrapped up in prepping food and the like. You will be so stressed on the big day and it just isn't worth it.
7. The exception: Alcohol! This is a HUGE expense. And do not inflict a cash bar on your guests. Either do a morning or afternoon event and don't serve alcohol, or deal with the alcohol yourself. The cheapest way is to buy wine and beer in bulk from Costco. You don't need a membership to buy alcohol there. There are also some liquor stores that will let you return any unopened cases.
8. Buy your dress off the rack. Screw David's Bridal and the other big "discounters." Shop the big department stores' web sites. Do searches for dresses in white and cream. I got a GORGEOUS, floor-length Laundry by Shelly Segal dress for only $300. Best of all, if you buy from Nordstrom, you're free to return it. Another possibility is renting a dress, but I'm not sure if there's a good place in Boise.
And finally, don't freak out. Take the time to really think about what is important to you. People here have suggested scrimping on photography. Photography was important to us so we didn't mind spending on it. Think about how you want to feel, how you want your husband to feel, how you want your guests to feel. A small intimate dinner? A big party with dancing til dawn? Approach it as if you were approaching planning any other event. The wedding industry tries to make planning a wedding totally overwhelming and it's easy to get sucked in. Don't. If you keep your head, it's totally manageable.
Two last things:
Be careful about planning near certain holidays if you're planning on lots of flowers: prices spike around Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, and Christmas. Catering and venue costs go up and availability goes down around Christmas and New Year's.
And finally, watch out for sites like theknot.com, modern bride, wedding channel etc. Yes, they're great resources but ALWAYS keep in mind that their money comes from their advertisers and the intent of their content-- even their "cost saving tips"-- is to get you to spend money.
Source(s):
Bridal Bargains is great (the web site is a ghost town, but I recommend the book highly)
There's a book by Kathleen Kennedy called Priceless Weddings for under $5,000. I didn't find it that useful but you may.
I have to admit, I was pretty let down by the Anti-Bride Wedding Planner.
you have to keep it nice and orginized
Go to the justice of the peace. Or maybe while it is still nice out, you can go and ask a friend who has a nice size yard and home and ask them. Good luck!
DON"T hire a wedding coordinator! It's not worth it. Do all the work yourself and have your family help. Make your own invitations and favors. When ordering flowers or anything else related to the wedding - NEVER say it's for your wedding. They will automatically charge you more. Be evasive and if they ask tell them it's for a party you're having for your family. I
Congratulations and good luck!
send out wedding announcements, not invitations.
keep it small & intimate - from # of the wedding party, to the rehersal dinner, to the ceramony.
afterwards - may be a week or two later - have a bbq/ pot luck as a way for you and your new husband to celebrate w/ friends & family.
I don't know what's available in your area, but my husband and I got married in a garden. The flowers were blooming, and that's free decorations right there, couldn't get prettier. My brother's friend played a simple love song on his guitar while we walked down the isle. With the digital cameras people have anymore, you could asign someone you trust to take the pictures of your day. My sister baked all the cookies for our reception, by husbands family cooked the food for the reception also. We had a firehall reception, which is probably the cheapest way to go, but I swear everybody said they had a really really good time. The biggest part to keeping your low budget is shopping around, and getting people in your family to help out with preparations.
The focus of the day is on the ceremony. With that in mind, do a simple ceremony with only the dearest people in the world to the two of you. Serve chilled wine and simple hors doeurves after the ceremony. You can do a toast with a sparkling white wine, have a nice cake (your only serious expense) and simple appetizers that you make yourself.
One idea is to roll out puff pastry and cut into 1-1/2" squares Put them into mini muffin tins so that they become small cups after they bake. Then fill with ham, seafood or chicken salad. A little bit goes a long way. You can also take one nice beef roast, cut it into cubes and sear them on little skewers. Then slide the cubes off the skewers and serve with a couple of simple sauces.
Add in lots of fresh veggies and cubed fruits, maybe a pasta salad and a corn salsa and you'll have more than enough food for 30-40 people.
Another easy idea is to have your bridesmaid(s) just carry a couple of flowers tied together with a simple bow, and you carry a small nosegay. Again, you're saving money without looking skimpy.
It's also easy to make your own veil if you go to a good fabric store. You can pick up an inexpensive but pretty hair comb somewhere, use florist wire to attach illusion veiling to it, and add your own little POOF with some clear thread.
Have your reception someplace outside with a nice view and that's all you need to make it a wonderful day. As long as you're inviting God to the ceremony, the rest is just icing on the cake, so to speak.
If you have the wedding around Christmas, the church will already be decorated with beautiful flowers. Have family onate their special talents: anyone with cake baking/decorating skills, flower arranging, do the invites yourself,. You could also have your ceremony at a park and have a non traditional receptional like a barn dance or old West theme reception. Get married at a chapel on campus and reception at the home of a relative or friend, catered by relatives. Have fun! make it fun and memorable...that's what it's about!
First off, you should probably sit down with your fiance and decide which parts of a wedding are most important to you, and which you could give up.
But why not have a simple evening ceremony? String up tiny white lights for mood, pick up some cheap artifical ivy runs and accent it with your favorite flower, make home-made lanterns together, choose a simple bouquet for yourself, drop the best man and maid of honor thing, have a JP marry you, and after the ceremony serve champagne and light snacks, and have a simple but pretty wedding cake made up. This is great because you can do this outdoors if the weather is cooperative, or decorate indoors. Keep your guest list to those you REALLY want there. Simple, pretty and meaningful - plus easy on your pocketbook!
This way you avoid the massive cost of renting a hall, serving dinner, alcohol all night, hiring a band or DJ, paying for decorations, etc.while still focussing on the most important part of a wedding - your vow exchange!
I know if I could do it all over again, I'd have it simple and small, and take all that $$$ my caterer got and put it towards a downpayment on a house.
I'll speak from experience on this one.
After living with my (now) wife for a year, I popped the question. We got married a week later, with a nice church wedding and a wonderful reception. Now, I'm not advising the same path we took, but I think some of these tips may be helpful:
First: Skip the caterer. My wife and I had a 'potluck' reception; in lieu of gifts, we asked people to bring food. This was a great idea, we ended up with gobs of food that we knew everyone would like, champagne, other drinks, cake, candy, you name it! And it was all free. We still got gifts too! We had the reception in the meeting room of the Comfort Inn Suites that we had everybody staying in, cost all of about $50.
Second: Keep it small. The weeks' time we gave ourselves really cut down on the guest list. Plus, we only wanted immediate family and friends to be there. All in all, we only ended up with about 20 people.
Third: Kill the photographer. Everybody brings a camera anyway, so why not use that? Have everybody that attended send in their favorite photos, and include them all in the wedding album. If they didn't bring a camera, have a sack of disposables available. (great for the kids, they get the best candid shots)
Fourth: Ask around. We actually managed to get a church to let us use their old stone chapel for free! How? We explained our situation, and asked really nicely. In the words of Forrest Gump, you never know what you're gonna get. Of course, we had to put up with the aging hippie turned preacher croon out some lame wedding songs, but that's beside the point...;-)
Lastly, remember what's important. It doesn't matter whether you spend $50 or $50K on a wedding, what matters is the love that is shared on that special day. Haven't you ever noticed that the glamorous, expensive weddings usually end in divorce?
And, in case you're wondering, my wife and I (who just celebrated our 6th anniversary), got out of the whole shebang spending less than $500.
Good luck, and many happy years to come!
MM
I did my whole wedding, which was very nice, for about $5,000 in California. The key is to find a location that will provide the ambience that you like, but doesn't cost a fortune to rent out. We used a country club that a friend of ours was a member of- didn't cost anything for the room, just had to rent the linens and stuff, which saved us a ton.Also, as difficult as it may be, limit the amount of guests that you invite! Reception food adds up quickly.
Or, if you want to do something a little casual- have a big barbeque at a pretty lake or park in your area (not familiar with Idaho, sorry!), hire a DJ and party the afternoon away!
Oh and I agree with the guy above me- forget the photographer!! Find a friend with a camcorder, throw everyone a disposable camera, and let them have at it. I promise, you will get all of the pictures you will ever need.
Try www.theknot.com. It gives brides/grooms/family-of-the-br... party, etc., all of the hookups and tips on how to get the most for your money, no matter what your budget. Just register for their site and the offers will start pouring in.
My daughter got married at a beautiful bed and breakfast inn that was experienced at doing weddings. She had a choice of a sitdown dinner for 20 or stand up appetizers, etc for a bigger crowd. She got her dress at a high end wedding resale shop ($350 and it was gorgeous), the headpiece at Michaels (craft store). Her husband and the best man wore suits not tuxes, her maid of honor a fancy party dress bought off the rack at Nordstroms. A friend took pictures as a wedding gift. She carried a small bouquet, the maid of honor a single rose, the bestman and groom had boutonieres but that was it (no, as mother of the bride I did not have a corsage and it was no big deal). Her simple wedding cake was decorated with fresh flowers that matched her bouquet. You can also order nice artificial flowers off the internet. Total cost of the wedding was under $2000. She and her husband stayed at the Bed and Breakfast their wedding night. It was called Castle Marne in Denver, CO but I think lots of places do similar things.
I think everyone has some wonderful ideas! I'm sure you can come up with something really nice with all those great suggestions.
The only thing that I can suggest differently (and this goes against what most everyone else said, but its just my opinion)...I WOULD go with a professional photographer. Even if its just for the ceremony part. I know someone that did that and it worked out great. That way you'll know you'll get some great shots. Throw-away cameras & digitals are fine for the reception, but nothing is as good as a professional. I'm not a photographer, I'm just thinking this because my brother tried to save money by having the guests take pictures & they really don't have any real nice shots. I think its one place you don't want to scrimp on. Hopefully you'll only be doing this once & you'll want some pretty pictures to show for it.
Good Luck & Congrats!
I know someone who had a Sunday morning wedding with a brunch. This cut cost enormously and she was still able to have her wedding. You might look into something like that.