Planning A Wedding Homepage

Question: How long does it take to plan a wedding? and need some ideas!!?

(Posted by: Peaches on 2009-12-18 11:42:11)

Well my ideal day for my wedding is July 4th because I've always loved the day. The problem is my fiance's children will be coming in July and he claims we can afford their trip here and afford a wedding! So I would like to say I have a budget of 6, 000 at the most! I found a dress at David's Bridal for about $400. Is it not enough time to plan a wedding with such little money to work with? Also i don't know of a spot that would be cheap enough to have it at! My family is religious but his family isn't and he is opposed to having it in a church! I'm a little stressed because I'm going to have to plan all this by myself basically and I don't want to have it outside because my dress is very elegant and sort of "big " lol. Anyway thanks for the answers in advance!

Posted by: casper4 on 2009-12-18, 14:27:09

Actually, planning a wedding in about 6 months can actually work in your favor. The reason being, many vendors offer a good discount if they do not have a date booked within about 10 months out. Since the "average " engagement usually lasts about a year, they figure that they will not have any business on that day ... so it's better to cut their prices and get SOME business, rather than have a budget bride turn down their full price and not get ANY business. Know what I mean? (However, since july 4 is a holiday, you may run into some trouble since this is a holiday date - people might have booked that date already or they may charge more since it's a holiday.) However, it NEVER hurts to ask. So when you're booking vendors, ask if they have July 4 open. If they do, tell them that you're doing a quickly planned wedding and that you have a limited budget, and see if they will work with you. The worst they can say is no, in which case you can just take your business elsewhere if you choose. In regards to David's Bridal, do not get your dress altered there, because it will probably cost you another $400 just for alterations. Go to a good local tailor and have the dress altered there, and you will save a boatload of money.

Posted by: It Is What It Is on 2009-12-18, 11:48:21

Look into restaurants that have a banquet room.... you may be able to set something up to where you can have your wedding there and your dinner. it may be a cheaper idea since you're on a budget. i did my wedding completely broke. i didn't even get a wedding dress, just got a new dress for 200 bucks and we had ours on a riverwalk under a bridge while it was raining. i think it was the most beautiful day of my life but that's just me.

Posted by: h on 2009-12-18, 11:49:39

$6,000.00 is not a small budget first off it's very doable and there's no point in spending your entire savings on 1 DAY. You could get married in a chapel if you're opposed to a church. I would have the reception at a venue where you can bring outside food and drinks because you'll save costs on food.

Posted by: softjade09 on 2009-12-18, 12:17:51

If you needed to pull together a wedding in 2 weeks, you would be able to do it! there are tons of wedding planning calendars out there to tailor to your needs - check out the weddingchannel.com You say you love july 4th, but you cant do it because of conflicts, so why not recreate the day when the kids are in town? The fourth is nostalgic for fire works, days off from work, being around family and friends and grilling outside. I think of a fourth of july wedding at a park (probably get a permit for like $100 to use it for the day), rent a big white tent, tables, chairs, large grill. You could probably find a company that can cater your event to back yard bbq and even provide the serving dishes and linens. for desert, skip out on the expensive cake and buy ice pops, or call your local ice cream man to swing by around a desired time and have him bill you or get a member of the bridal party to even up with him. you could pre make cupcakes for your guests and buy a small cake for you and your FH to enjoy together and save. you could set up horseshoes, volleyball, etc. rather then getting a DJ and when it gets dark, celebrate with sparklers. don't limit yourself because of the dress. have fun!

Posted by: Sue on 2009-12-19, 03:10:34

You can have a beautiful wedding day for little money - I did. There's lots to think about and to get stressed about! There's a really good site with info here weddinginfo.mybestweddingplan.com/ and they sell a great product with ways to save on your wedding for only $30 here mybestweddingplan.com/ It's really worth a look. I hope it all works out perfectly for you.

Posted by: Mida on 2009-12-22, 11:08:37

I don't think there's any problem with having it soon - my family always plans weddings for 400 people or so in about 4 months. The longest we ever took was 6 months. Our smallest wedding - only 60 people, was planned in three weeks, and was held in a restaurant's banquet room. Get a checklist from WeddingChannel.com and make sure you have the budgeter tool to figure out what how to spend the money. Wedding Channel also has listings for venues, too. I think $6000 is more then plenty for a budget ... and keep in mind that DIY (WC has a DIY blog too) is always a good way to go, too.