Say "I do" to a recession-proof wedding

From the Community…

• 
  Posted by Catherine H Wed Jul 1, 2009 5:28am PDT

  ebay. I have found so much for so cheap on ebay for my wedding decorations. also using wholesale sites like haloheaven and oriental trading for more decorations. I also watch for sales. Hobby lobby always has 50% off sales and I bought a lot of my reception flowers there on sale. I am probably not even going to hit $5000 for my wedding total. I visited a bridal fair and seno's set me up with a deal on the tuxes. You just have to keep your eyes open and keep price checking and your wedding can be beautiful and inexpensive

  Report Abuse
• 
  Posted by Ahleah G Wed Jul 1, 2009 6:01am PDT

  It is tacky to have a cash bar at a wedding. If you cannot afford a full bar it is better to just serve wine with dinner or have no alcohol at all. Or consider having just hors d'ourves and beer/wine instead of open bar and full meal. My friend hired caterers for the hors d'ourves and they provided bartenders, but she purchased the wine and beer herself which saved a lot of money compared to having the caterers provide it all too. As mentioned, the time of day you have your wedding will affect how well you can pull this option off. But I think it is a classier way to go, and you can easily list it in the invitation (hors d'ourves reception to follow, etc.)

  Report Abuse
• 
  Posted by Mysterious Gryphon Wed Jul 1, 2009 6:48am PDT

  Go the Miss Manners route and have a morning wedding with champagne and cake afterwards. BIG money saver!!!

  Report Abuse
• 
  Posted by Tigris Wed Jul 1, 2009 8:24am PDT

  I saved a bunch at my wedding. I went to TheKnot.com and put in my guest count and how many attendents and they gave me a $15,000 budget. I scaled it down to $5,000. I stayed under my budget. I did my invitations, decorations, and the ceremony music myself. I even put together the vows myself. The place where I got my cake not only had a quality cake for an inexpensive price but we got our 1st year's anniversery cake "the topper" for free. The church where we had the wedding was where I was a member so I got that for free. At the time we didn't have a pastor so I used my cousin's husband who is a lawyer and has done weddings before was also free. My husband's uncle has a band and they were the only really expensive part which was only $800 compared to $1,500 or more if we hired another band. My pictures were only around $425 and I get to make any copies myself. The place where we had the reception at provided table linens, flatware, silverware, glassware, and wine (the wine was a little extra). They had a full bar so if my guests wanted something a little stronger, they had to pay for it themselves. Since I am daddy's little girl, he paid for my dress, the alterations, the limo, and the wine. BTW, my dress was around only $500 which compared to the other prices I've seen on wedding dresses was a steal. For those of you planning your wedding, don't think you have to spend gobs amount of money to have a beautiful wedding.

  Report Abuse
• 
  Posted by SometimesHappy Wed Jul 1, 2009 8:35am PDT

  I just got married and spent aroung $3,000 for almost 200 guests. We had alot of help from family and friends, but here are some of my favorite websites that I came across:

  save-on-crafts.com (flowers, containers, aisle runners, etc.)

  orientaltrading.com (decorations, candy, cake cutter and flutes)

  ann's bridal bargain

  papermart.com (tulle, orgainza, ribbon, boxes)

  vistaprint.com (save the date post cards, thanks yous)

  We did have a family member cater and make the cake, so that was a huge discount. We found our photographer on craigslists and we used our home surround sound as our dj. It was a lunch reception at a local state park, so it was very low key, but still elegant. I called it an elegant picnic, lol.

  Hope this helps someone!

  Report Abuse
• 
  Posted by SometimesHappy Wed Jul 1, 2009 8:38am PDT

  Oh, and our favors we're from discountmugs.com. We signed up for their email newsletter and waited for sales. We did the same with oriental trading. Once you sign up for the newsletter, wait til they send you email about free shipping and money off! One deal was spend $75 get $20 off and free shipping, it was great.

  Report Abuse
• 
  Posted by Jo Wed Jul 1, 2009 9:42am PDT

  Or brides should think about going back to the types of weddings their mothers & grandmothers had. I was married in the early afternoon & served substantial appetizers, wedding cake & champagne. My bridesmaids carried nosegays which were placed around the cake at the reception (ever noticed the bridesmaids NEVER carry their bouquets around after the ceremony is over). Nobody rented expensive limos back then. My dad drove me to the church in our (unwashed) station wagon. God bless his heart--clean cars were never the priority for him that they are for my husband. But the only person in the front of the church when we arrived was my MIL and she didn't notice the car was dirty. And this happened in the mid-70's in San Francisco. Not so long ago really, and it was very similar to what most of my friends did.

  Report Abuse
• 
  Posted by uvkitty Wed Jul 1, 2009 9:57am PDT

  I am a wedding decorator and planner with my own company. The comments here suggest to make the decorations yourself, but in the end that can cause an enormous amount of stress and require the help of a lot of friends and family. Be smart when deciding what to scale back on and what vendors you use.

  I run a successful business but my charges are not over-the-top expensive. I can always promise my clients that they can get it from me cheaper than what it would cost to make it themselves. Don't just rush to do it yourself because you think it will be cheaper. Do a real cost estimate and don't forget to add the little things like floral tape, wire, how much gas you use driving to every craft store in the region, etc. These things add up a lot quicker than you would realize, can throw the cost up to be higher than expected, and are all things that I already have on hand. If I have used the vases before and know I can use them again, I'm not going to charge you full retail price on your centerpieces. So, again, be smart with your vendors, don't be afraid to try and negotiate a little, (especially in this market) and you will find some great deals.

  Report Abuse
• 
  Posted by JoKTM Wed Jul 1, 2009 1:33pm PDT

  First of all if you live in TX the popular wedding months are Aptil-October.

  My wedding was in August and under $5,000. The most expensive was my ceremony site wich was $2,000 I had it all day.My wedding was outside and the reception was inside. The rach was beautiful with white horses and a private lake and the inside was set up for us with beautiful linen. My cakes were purchasesd at a g0od Vietnemese bakery for cheap, and my aunt prepared the desserts for my dessert only reception.

  Report Abuse
• 
  Posted by sita Thu Jul 2, 2009 7:10am PDT

  Just had my wedding and it was under $4,000. Now granted we had a small wedding (small guest list) which can really make a difference in price, but one of our biggest money savers was the reception locale. We had it at the most expensive restaurant in town, they have a gorgeous meeting room that seats about 100, but we only got charged for the meals and NOT the room. Because of that we paid half of what we would've in any other place that was charging for both meal and room use. It was awesome!!!

  We also didn't have many decorations or centerpieces, except for the small flowers/vases the restaurant provided which actually worked out great because they matched my bouquet and bridesmaids bouquet too. I used some decorations I got from Hobby Lobby that I personalized with our colors and set them on the guest signing table. Another thing I did was grab all the bridesmaid bouquets and arranged them in a huge vase as another decoration. It provided a great arrangement and my friends didn't have to worry about what to do with them afterwards.

  Reception was also during lunch time which turned out much cheaper. Had it been an evening event I would've had to meet a much more expensive minimum charge to even have it there. Had a friend be my photographer (charged me half price) and other friends sing at the ceremony (that was their wedding present to us)

  One last thing, I would have to agree with the wedding favors. They're your friends and family just give them enough time to take pictures with you, spend time with you, and talk to you and I'm sure that's much better than anything else you'd give them.

  Hope this helps other brides to be out there!!! ^_^

  Report Abuse