Planning A Wedding Homepage

Question: Planning a wedding on a budget?

(Posted by: Christina on 2010-01-18 20:51:48)

My fiance and I have been together for five years. We dated for 2.5 when he asked me to marry him and now we have been living together for almost 2.5. We have set, I honestly don't know how many dates. But it seems like every time we do, our finances get in the way. I am always the one to cancel because I want my dream wedding. And my dream wedding is NOT a lot. I just want a simple, small outdoor wedding for 90 people. So now he is beginning to think I don't want to marry him. I do...I REALLY do, but it is so difficult to plan, even the smallest wedding when you are living paycheck to paycheck...when their is never any extra money to save. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to plan my wedding? I prefer NOT to just go get married and then have the wedding later. I have been married but have never had a wedding. Plus, I have seen many people do that, and the wedding never comes around.

Posted by: lisaclara on 2010-01-18, 21:17:14

Life will get in the way more once you are married - especially if you toss a baby in the mix! What you need to do is get a second job for 6 months or so and put that money aside just for the wedding. If you work as a waitress or bartender and get tips - or even work as a waitress in a banquet hall - then you'd be suprised at what you can earn in a short time. You should set a specific date no later than 1 year from now. Then, get a second job and start saving up, he can chip in too. You just don't want to go into debt before getting married or you could end up over your heads. If it's a church wedding and you have the reception in a tent on their grounds - it saves alot of money that way. There are many beautifully landscaped churches around where people do this kind of thing often. If you have a buffet - friends and family can help prepare items and you can have a friend or family member set up and decorate a table with nice chafing dishes and renting the table skirts or using paper. Most churches do have tables and chairs you can use on the cheap too. I did mine on about $3K and there were 180 people. It's okay to let go of some of the "dream " stuff of the wedding day because the dream come true is in making it last - not that one day!

Posted by: Rajah on 2010-01-18, 21:20:18

You can get good things here inexpensive, orientaltrading.com/ ui/ browse/ processRequest.do?Ipp= 16 &No= 16 &sp= true &Ntk= all &Ntx= mode%2bmatchallpartial &N= 388560+ 1504 &tabId= 1 &requestURI= viewEndecaCategory look at grocery store backery for a cake they do just as good of a job and are around $700-$1000 cheaper in price [I got mine there and I wasn't really even on a budget], I had a outside ceremony too, mine was at a actual venue but maybe if someone has nice flat land that you know you can save by having it there, if not try a park, I don't think you even really get charger for that. Or try a church, some churches have a nice spot of land without gravestones and have a nice sized room inside for reception and I don't think they charge at all, and if so it isn't going to be nearly as much as a venue. These ways also you could do food yourself if you'd like because you have no rule that you can't bring in outside food. I recommend getting a caterer if you save on not spending a lot on a place to have the wedding. Have a friend or family member take pictures for you, eah they won't be as good as a photographer but have them practice and practice and that will save a lot of money, they will be better than no pictures or being broke, my brother in laws wife took mine and they were really good, I didn't ask her but she wanted to and they were nice and I saved a couple thousand dollars. You can find a inexpensive Dj, you are just going to have to call everyone in the phone book near you and near where the wedding is going to be and choose that way. You can get a goo Dj for around $700, that includes playing the ceremony music too. Hope I thought of everything. I have a question can you answer mine?

Posted by: Ladybug on 2010-01-18, 21:21:15

My Idea is just tell him we can't afford it right now and I don't want to be set back on paying bills I want everything just right. And I don't want to loose our home/ Apartment. he should understand that at least. Just keep doing what your doing and buy little things for the wedding as you go. and keep trying to plane it. But don't give up it will happen.

Posted by: Cranberry on 2010-01-18, 21:28:58

Yeah, planning a wedding is really challenging...also on the finances. The secret probably to making it work is good management. Organize your plans to the minute detail, so that you will know what things to do to make it happen. I just wanna share some links to articles which I think would be very helpful to you. They're advices from a real bride-to-be.

Posted by: Amy on 2010-01-18, 21:30:32

You are right about getting married and planning a nicer wedding later never working. I don't know one couple that's ever done that and actually followed thru with the wedding later on. It doesn't sound like you want a huge wedding so you should be able to find ways to cut costs enough to do it. I have some suggestions. Find a free location, a park, public garden, beach or mountain meadow. Even at someones home - as long as it's free. Find someone to marry you for free. Not all religions charge to officiate a wedding or you could have a friend/ relative go online and get certified to marry people. Flowers and Cake - Find the least expensive alternative that you can. If you must have expensive flowers just get a few or go with less costly flowers and get a few more. Cakes don't have to be expensive either. Consider something that you or a friend could make. For example hoosonf.freeserve.co.uk/ main%20images/ New_Folder/ alby.htm This could be made easily and topped with less expensive flowers than lilies and amaryllis. Don't serve dinner to everyone at the reception. This can be a huge expense but it doesn't have to be. If you have the reception before or after dinner time you can serve a few hor de'ourves with a cash bar instead. Get family and friends to make these hor d'ourves and you can come in low budget. One of my favorite receptions was after dinner and they had a dessert table with 4-5 options. This could easily be done by friends and family. If you've set all these dates I'm assuming you probably already have a dress but if not consider finding a place that will rent you a dress. Everyone wants to buy a dress but why? You wear it one day and then it hangs in your closet for the rest of your life. To me it's crazy to spend hundreds of dollars on it. Photos are the one thing that I recommend getting a professional to do. I've never known anyone who had a friend or family member do their wedding photos who ended up with good pictures. This is the one thing that will last, the thing that you'll be looking at 40-50 years from now so it's the thing you really want to get right.

Posted by: Research Girl! on 2010-01-18, 22:13:10

There is no such thing as perfect. REMEMBER THAT. Now that I've said that I want you and he to go to your local parks and rec department and let them know you want to look at local parks to hold your wedding. After you find a space and a person to officiate, you go out and print some invitations. Once you see it and put it in the mail, it will seem a bit different to you. Prioritize what you want for your wedding and then you have every family member and trusted friend help you scour for the best deals. Most of the time if you ask for help people won't turn you down. I warn you that a lot of brides who chose to do DIY parts of their wedding tend to get overwhelmed so make sure that you plan plenty of time to get these things done and ask for plenty of help to do so also. Also you need to let your fiance help. This is his wedding too and the more active he is in helping and seeing you working on getting this together, those doubts of you not wanting to get married will be a thing of the past. Don't let what you think you want keep you from a happy day that you deserve.

Posted by: :) on 2010-01-18, 23:26:28

First, are you planning on a outdoor TENTED wedding? Believe it or not, it costs more than having it inside. You can always go to a restaurant that has a private room to accommodate that amount or even a lower priced small hotel. If you are close to a big city, the farther you move from the city, the cheaper prices will be. Some ways to cut costs: - Have the ceremony and reception in the same place. - Skip the dinner and just dohoarderss, drinks, and dessert. - Have it in someones backyard. Have a family member cook the food or order a cheap caterer. - Have a simple cake. Using real flowers is cheaper than sugar ones. Looks better too. - No DJ. Make a playlist on your ipod and hook it up to speakers. - Take advantage of off-season pricing. Usually around Dec-April. Hope this helped!