Weddings on a Budget

[lizmolik]

I am getting married soon and do not really have alot of money. I just want a simple wedding. What suggestions do you guys have on planning a wedding on a budget?

[Cpogie]

I am getting married soon and do not really have alot of money. I just want a simple wedding. What suggestions do you guys have on planning a wedding on a budget?

E-L-O-P-E
A huge money saver

[mom2fussbudgets]

You could do what I did and go to the Justice of the Peace. :D Laugh, but we've been married for nearly 21 years!

What kind of wedding do you want? There are so many variables. You will probably just have to decide on a budget and take it from there. When my sister got married, we decorated the church minimally, and didn't do much in the way of flowers or other decorations. We also bought her cake at Target (it was delicious!) We also got her veil at a bridal rental place, and her dress on a clearance rack for $100!

[Cpogie]

You could do what I did and go to the Justice of the Peace. :D Laugh, but we've been married for nearly 21 years!

What kind of wedding do you want? There are so many variables. You will probably just have to decide on a budget and take it from there. When my sister got married, we decorated the church minimally, and didn't do much in the way of flowers or other decorations. We also bought her cake at Target (it was delicious!) We also got her veil at a bridal rental place, and her dress on a clearance rack for $100!


That is exactly what we did 35 years ago, we had both been married before, so we went to Las Vegas, paid $15.00 at the court house and got married by the Justice of the Court, came home and had a reception at our house, very simple...now 35 years later I tell people, look what I got for $15.00 (meaning my husband)

[Lily237]

I can't be of any help, I eloped.

CONGRATULATIONS!!

You might try ebay for a lot of wedding stuff. My friend bought all the center-pieces, flowers, candles....She had around 175 guests, and paid $600 for all the extras! Everything looked really nice, and it was super cheap!

[lizmolik]

We were going to elope but I really wanted a traditional wedding, I want my father to walk me down the isle and give me away. I am my fathers only child and it would mean alot to him. Really i just want it to be simple. I want my colors to be baby blue and white with a dash of pastel pink in there somewhere. I just need help on where to get a dress? Ideas on party gifts. Food for reception, cheapest place to get flowers. Ideas on decorating and things like that.

[mom363546]

I guess I'm a little redneck!! We are holding ours at the family reunion. Why make people from out of town make the trip twice.We are keeping it real simple. I hired a local bbq shop to cook the meat. The bulk of the people will bring a dish.My daughter (flower girl & ring boy) and my nephew are wearing a simple sundress and shorts.My other nephew is walking me down the aisle in a simple pair of summer shorts.I am either wearing a simple skort or the pair of blue jeans i've been working on fading.I thought I might cut them off in time to get a good fringe going.

My soon to be hubby is wearing a pair of kahki colored shorts and a nice shirt.It is being held at the park close to a beach so all the kids can go swimming and just have fun.We are trying to keep everything simple The hoopla hoopla is great but in all honesty will it make for a better marriage?

Oh yeah because we both wear hats alot I decided to wear the bridal shower ball cap it has a veil attatched and the grooms looks like a tuxedo.

[mary k]

This what I did for my wedding dress. I went to the bridal shops and asked for discontinued dresses or ones on clearance. I found one that cost $700.00 dollars.For $100.00 extra with the veil included because it was the last one in stock, but remember that was 20 years ago. It doesn't hurt to ask.
Another suggestion is go cosignment shops.
For your flowers ask friends if they have some in their yard that you could get for yor wedding. I would go to a thrift store and buy bud vases and stick your flowers in them for the tables. I used sheets that I dyed for table coverings.
I just saw something instead of cake. Have cupcakes. You could make these yourself.:)

[mom363546]

A friend of mines daughter went to the salvation army.She had to ask because they don't keep them out out in the store. She bought a dress that was beautiful for $60. I'm sure this dress cost $600 new in her case she even got lucky and it was a perfect fit! No altering needed

Right before the wedding started she was touching up her makeup and spilt a bottle of foundation down the side of the dress.Yes it really happened!! We took all the pins out of the corsages, boutineers (sp) bridal bouquets to pin her dress together while another girl went to town with a Tide pen ( no wedding should be with out one) The wedding went off with out a hitch and no one knew. but... the dress was basically ruined.Everyone was glad she only paid $60 for it!!

[rdawnh]

pick a nice park, find a person who can legally marry to got here (they usually cost around$200) check out the clearance racks for a dress. he can wear a suit. dont have any attendents. make your own bouquets (sp), and do a small receoption of only the nearest and dearest at someones house. You can even make it like a potluck or call a local resturant you all like and see how much to have them cater. my first wedding only cost $600 and my second was less than that since we drove to REno. Congrats and good luck!

(please ignore the spelling, grammer and punctuation, baby wont stop whinning lol)

[cath_31]

I didn't want to spend alot on my dress, so I ended up finding a prom dress that was on clearance at JCPenney's. It was absolutely PERFECT for me, the style worked wonderfully for what I wanted. I only spent about $80 on it and the only people that knew were the ones that I told.

I am not really big into flowers, so I didn't have any at the chapel. At the reception, I used the bud vases and flowers that they provided and that looked nice enough. From what I read, people can spend a fortune on flowers- it wasn't worth it to me. I bought my bouquet and my maid-of-honors ready-made from Michael's craft store (using a 40 percent off coupon).

My husband printed the invitations out (I am lucky because he is a printer) and I worked at a party shop at the time and got the invitation kits really cheap. With a computer, you can save alot of money on invitations by doing them yourself.

In another post I talked about my wedding favors (wallet sized picture frames with a thank you message and our engagement picture in them). Again, my husband printed them out and I got a deal on the picture frames, so they were very reasonable.

We didn't have a videographer, just a photographer. They are quite expensive, but that is a personal choice and if you really want one, then you should. For me personally, it wasn't worth the cost. We also only had the photographer at the ceremony and used personal cameras at each table for the reception.

I think you just need to think what is most important to you and the little things that don't matter (but add up) you should just skip. As you can see when you read these other posts, you can do whatever YOU (and your groom) want. Nobody should tell you that you HAVE TO do or have anything that you don't think is necessary. CONGRATULATIONS AND GOOD LUCK!

[Jess1406]

We did our wedding in a friend's backyard. Having an outdoor wedding meant we didnt have to have as many flowers and decorations as we would have in a church. My best friend and I bought flowers from flowerama and another flower shop and made the bouquets ourself. I got my dress from JC Penney and only spent 100 dollars on it. My bridesmaids wore black sundresses that they found for themselves, I just told them what color to get. My hubby and the groomsmen wore dress pants and button up shirts. You could get the guys to wear ties if you wanted it to be a little more formal. I got an invitation kit from walmart and we printed out our own invitations. No one could tell that we had made them and we saved a lot of money. I also found a favor kit at walmart and I made our favors myself...Boxes with our mongrams printed on them and jellybeans inside. We had bbq since it was an afternoon wedding and we are in the south (also my hubbys fav food) and a friend made our cake. We put together mix cds for the reception and had a friend play the part of dj. We didnt spend a lot of money and we managed to have a beautiful day. Walmart and craft stores have all kinds of wedding items that you can use and do a lot of your decorations and such yourself. CONGRATS!!!!!

[mom2fussbudgets]

That is exactly what we did 35 years ago, we had both been married before, so we went to Las Vegas, paid $15.00 at the court house and got married by the Justice of the Court, came home and had a reception at our house, very simple...now 35 years later I tell people, look what I got for $15.00 (meaning my husband)

I think that's about what it cost us! Afterwards, my sister and brother-in-law took us out to eat at Golden Corral, and my sister had bought us a small cake.

When you're lucky enough the get a good man, then $15 is a bargain! :)

Liz, everyone has given you some great ideas! Just do some looking around, and use your imagination (like Debbie!), and you will be fine!

[Cpogie]

I think that's about what it cost us! Afterwards, my sister and brother-in-law took us out to eat at Golden Corral, and my sister had bought us a small cake.

When you're lucky enough the get a good man, then $15 is a bargain! :)

Liz, everyone has given you some great ideas! Just do some looking around, and use your imagination (like Debbie!), and you will be fine!

There are those days when I would pay for someone to take him, lol but then again we all have those moments....

I agree you have alot of different ideas here, but only do what you can afford to do, if that means you do without something then ok, why stress about it? what matters is that you have a great time on your wedding day because it is your day! those are the memories you want, not what more could I of done.....if it means having just cake and drinks, that is fine.

[caryn]

Keep it simple. My niece got married a few years ago. They bride and bridesmaids all were bare footed. They had on these toe/ankle bracelet things that she made with beads from Hobby Lobby. The groom and groomsmen all wore khaki colored shorts, hawaiian shirts and brown flip flops from Wal-Mart. They had subway sandwiches and a cake that was covered in whip cream and strawberries. It was the best wedding I've been to in a long time. I think she wore a white summer dress and all the maids wore sundresses, they didn't even match!

GOOD LUCK!;)

[mom363546]

Keep it simple. My niece got married a few years ago. They bride and bridesmaids all were bare footed. They had on these toe/ankle bracelet things that she made with beads from Hobby Lobby. The groom and groomsmen all wore khaki colored shorts, hawaiian shirts and brown flip flops from Wal-Mart. They had subway sandwiches and a cake that was covered in whip cream and strawberries. It was the best wedding I've been to in a long time. I think she wore a white summer dress and all the maids wore sundresses, they didn't even match!

GOOD LUCK!;)

My kind of Wedding!! keep it simple and have a great time!!

[vealcalf]

I didn't have a big wedding and have never regretted it a day in my life. We got married at the magistrate's office. We still had our best man and maid of honor and some of our friends and family there.

I purchased a dress at a discount store (Gabriels) and it only cost me $10! Oh and BTW we got married on Valentine's Day so it was a red dress (I know VERY untraditional!!!!). My husband got a nice dress shirt, tie, and pants from Walmart. Afterwards my in laws paid for a dinner at a local restarant and also got us a small cake-we only invited 8 friend/family to keep the cost down. We also got our wedding bands at Walmart for $30.00 a piece.

I truly think it's a bit much when people spend thousands of dollars on weddings and insist upon inviting everyone including their long lost relatives. I understand that it's a couples special day but money doesn't make it special, it's the love and thought that goes into it.

Keep this in mind, a dress doesn't have to cost $1000 to look good and besides you are only going to wear it ONCE. No one will remember what the groom wore so why even rent a tux-get a suit he could actually use again. No one says you have to invite EVERYONE you know to the wedding/reciption-keep it SMALL!, No one says you have to have a big fancy reception-if you're really close to friends/family try to organize a potluck type meal making sure the basics are covered, or just invite your ABSOLUTE closests friends for an intimate meal at a nice restaurant in your area (check and they may even give you a group discount!) or don't have a reception at all just you and your honey go together for an intimate meal and splurge on a fancy hotel for a few nights!!!!;)

[mom2fussbudgets]

I think it's wonderful that you got married on Valentine's Day and wore a red dress! I also like the potluck idea. I'm sure everyone would love to pitch in. I know I wouldn't mind it.

Some people spend thousands of dollars on their wedding, when they could have used that money as a down payment on a house!

[vealcalf]

I think it's wonderful that you got married on Valentine's Day and wore a red dress! I also like the potluck idea. I'm sure everyone would love to pitch in. I know I wouldn't mind it.

Some people spend thousands of dollars on their wedding, when they could have used that money as a down payment on a house!

I got married on Valentine's Day as a favor to my hubby-instead of remembering 2 special days I combined them into one--now he doesn't have an excuse for forgetting!!!!!:p

[lizmolik]

Thanks for the posts guys...but just one more question....How do I go about getting a preacher to wed us...do i just call up churches or...?:confused:

[mary k]

What I would do is to ask a good friend or co worker where they attend church.
I would go a couple of Sundays to church just to see how they run there church and if you feel comfortable with them.:)

[mom363546]

What I would do is to ask a good friend or co worker where they attend church.
I would go a couple of Sundays to church just to see how they run there church and if you feel comfortable with them.:)


When I started looking for a preacher to marry me everyone I spoke with wanted anywhere from$200 + .I thought thats crazy!! I went to a small christian church he told me he charges anywhere from $0 -$100 what ever we could afford to give him.He said god doesn't charge why should he he works for the man upstairs. So we both a greed we will give him something but it was nice to hear those words. Also depending on the state I know florida is one you can get married by a notary public.

[lizmolik]

When I started looking for a preacher to marry me everyone I spoke with wanted anywhere from$200 + .I thought thats crazy!! I went to a small christian church he told me he charges anywhere from $0 -$100 what ever we could afford to give him.He said god doesn't charge why should he he works for the man upstairs. So we both a greed we will give him something but it was nice to hear those words. Also depending on the state I know florida is one you can get married by a notary public.

That was a really wonderful preacher you got to marry you. :)

[cath_31]

I had the same problem. My husband was a non-practicing Catholic and I am Protestant and don't currently attend a church. What I ended up doing was use a wedding chapel. They covered the minister and the music, but it did end up costing $725 last year for this service, so I don't know if that is within your budget. To me it was well worth it for not having to worry about how to handle the church situation though. I think you said that you also live in Illinois in another post, so I will tell you that it was the Wayside Chapel in Palos Park, IL. It is a beautiful spot, you can have the ceremony inside or outside and it has a great background for pictures afterwards. My brother and sister-in-law had gotten married there years before and I really liked their ceremony as well. If you are from a different area, you may want to see if there are any wedding chapels around you and how much they might charge.

[lizmolik]

I had the same problem. My husband was a non-practicing Catholic and I am Protestant and don't currently attend a church. What I ended up doing was use a wedding chapel. They covered the minister and the music, but it did end up costing $725 last year for this service, so I don't know if that is within your budget. To me it was well worth it for not having to worry about how to handle the church situation though. I think you said that you also live in Illinois in another post, so I will tell you that it was the Wayside Chapel in Palos Park, IL. It is a beautiful spot, you can have the ceremony inside or outside and it has a great background for pictures afterwards. My brother and sister-in-law had gotten married there years before and I really liked their ceremony as well. If you are from a different area, you may want to see if there are any wedding chapels around you and how much they might charge.

You know...I have lived in Illinois all my life and I have never heard of that place which is really surprising. Where is it located by?

[cath_31]

You know...I have lived in Illinois all my life and I have never heard of that place which is really surprising. Where is it located by?


It is near Orland Park, if you know where that is. The chapel is near LaGrange Rd (Rte 45) and 131st Street. Here is the website for the chapel, it gives better directions than I could (click where it says 'map'): http://thecenterpalos.org/wedding/

[tad1969]

:p This what I did for my wedding dress. I went to the bridal shops and asked for discontinued dresses or ones on clearance. I found one that cost $700.00 dollars.For $100.00 extra with the veil included because it was the last one in stock, but remember that was 20 years ago. It doesn't hurt to ask.
Another suggestion is go cosignment shops.
For your flowers ask friends if they have some in their yard that you could get for yor wedding. I would go to a thrift store and buy bud vases and stick your flowers in them for the tables. I used sheets that I dyed for table coverings.
I just saw something instead of cake. Have cupcakes. You could make these yourself.:)

I saw the most beautiful display of cupcakes set up on a tiered platform to look like a wedding cake! Cute, less expensive, and easy to serve!

[lizmolik]

Okay, now I am having trouble locating the perfect wedding bands...I just want plain silver ones (or white gold), at a cheap price, I cant find them anywhere!

And still dont have a date set...money keeps falling short, I hope I will get to get married someday!

[Cpogie]

Okay, now I am having trouble locating the perfect wedding bands...I just want plain silver ones (or white gold), at a cheap price, I cant find them anywhere!

And still dont have a date set...money keeps falling short, I hope I will get to get married someday!

Look in QVC www.QVC.com

Type in Silver band rings or white gold band rings, they start at about $25.00 and you can look at them from lowest price to the highest price..they have some nice rings! I have alot of rings that I have bought from QVC through the years, great quality! and if you don't like your purchase you have 30 days to return the item..

[MandMnmbr3]

Okay, now I am having trouble locating the perfect wedding bands...I just want plain silver ones (or white gold), at a cheap price, I cant find them anywhere!

Check out some jewelry stores. Tell them you want a simple white gold band, nothing fancy. Sometimes they have discontinued styles in the back room. I used to work at a jewelry store.

[jen2129]

Look in QVC www.QVC.com

Type in Silver band rings or white gold band rings, they start at about $25.00 and you can look at them from lowest price to the highest price..they have some nice rings! I have alot of rings that I have bought from QVC through the years, great quality! and if you don't like your purchase you have 30 days to return the item..

I agree with checking out QVC. If you like platinum, they have an Epiphany platinum clad line ~ super cheap! They have 2ct rings starting at $25.00. My wedding ring cost a small fortune & my husband teases me that if he knew I liked the QVC stuff he would have bought me that instead! I do have several QVC rings & no one knows the difference.


Anything you purchase on QVC right now, you can return until 1-31-08!

[Cpogie]

I agree with checking out QVC. If you like platinum, they have an Epiphany platinum clad line ~ super cheap! They have 2ct rings starting at $25.00. My wedding ring cost a small fortune & my husband teases me that if he knew I liked the QVC stuff he would have bought me that instead! I do have several QVC rings & no one knows the difference.


Anything you purchase on QVC right now, you can return until 1-31-08!

Yes, that Epiphany line is so nice! I have 1 ring from that line...it is beautiful! but, I have more than my share of rings from QVC over the years, I wear a 3 stone ring for my wedding ring, it looks so real, I have had many compliments on it over the years....along with there diamonique earrings...I have alot of those too, they look real and they are set in 14K gold.

Check it out Liz...they have some good things and they are quality...and inexpensive.

[bvanpeltsw]

Look in QVC www.QVC.com

Type in Silver band rings or white gold band rings, they start at about $25.00 and you can look at them from lowest price to the highest price..they have some nice rings! I have alot of rings that I have bought from QVC through the years, great quality! and if you don't like your purchase you have 30 days to return the item..

I will check this out! Thanks Carol! I need to give the BF a push!;)

[Kimberly]

When I got married we just wanted a simple wedding also and we didn't have alot of money to spend on one anyways. We ended up getting married at his mom and dads house just b/c they had a big yard and we wanted an outside wedding. We rented chairs and tables. Family made the meals and i called one of the judges that marry people at the court house and asked if he would come and marry us and he did for free... but not all may want to do it for free. i even at Wal-mart make our wedding cake and it wasn't that bad of a price either. It was a wonderful wedding and didn't cost much at all... Good Luck:)

[gatito]

We Just Went To The Court House With 2 Friends To Be The Witness's And Got Married, After All, I Only Wanted To Marry Him, No Matter If Was With A Big Wedding Or Not, All That Matters Is How Much You Love Each Other, Anyways People Go To Weddings To Critizice Lol !

[lizmolik]

Well, we figure we keep holding off because we cannot afford even a small wedding, so we are going to just go up to the court house and make it legal...Later on, maybe we will be able to afford what we need for a wedding, and my dad can walk me down the isle! We are going to go and get the rings when I get taxes back and go to the court house to get all the paperwork done before we move! :)

[GeorgiaMom]

Just remember that a wedding is about loving each other....not about fancy dresses, flowers , and friends. Your wedding will be a wonderful day for you no matter how it takes place! My wedding was really small....about 15 people at a gazebo in a park in the middle of town. I wore a $50 dress that my husband thought I looked gorgeous in. The only decorations were some pink bows some friends put on the gazebo and some potted plants they brought from home! It was simple and I wouldn't trade it for the world. My husband and I were able to focus on each other instead of on all the prep and stress that goes into a bigger wedding. We were able to really just relax and enjoy our day together! I hope you enjoy your day as much as I enjoyed mine!!! Congratulations!!!!!!

[cath_31]

Bumping for StaceyD.