Frugal Ideas for a Beautiful but Inexpensive Wedding!

by StAnn 46 Replies latest jw friends

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  StAnn

  As I've proclaimed so loudly, my oldest son is getting married next year. We have a small budget (about $5K) and they want a wedding with three bridesmaids, three groomsmen, and a catered reception.

  Thus far, my son is going to load his iPod with music. Just needs someone to monitor it to make sure the right music is playing at the right time. He has a friend who is making the wedding cake just for the cost of the ingredients. I'm making the grooms cake.

  Need good suggestions for all of the other 1,000 little wedding details.

  Help!

  StAnn
• 

  beksbks

  http://www.amazon.com/New-Complete-Single-Breasted-Tuxedo/dp/B001OMRDHG/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&s=apparel&qlEnable=1&qid=1276576613&sr=1-11

  Gartner Studios invitations and thank you notes. You print them yourself. Turned out great.
• 

  yknot

  What type of wedding are we talking about....(theme)

  Mines was 'Sunday Best'.....

  Pretty simple in a very old and small church.

  I did my own alter set decorations using fresh ivy from my aunt's.

  Candles are cheap! (granted I had an afternoon wedding so candles weren't appropriate)

  I made all the boutineers and corsages.

  My aunt did other flowers and my bouquet.

  Invitations were also handmade

  My dress was made .....if it could be sewn cheaper than bought it was!

  Don't discount things like craiglist or wedding planners willing to re-sell.

  Reception goodies can be made via craft store.

  Beyond that..... I suggest googling 'Frugal ideas for wedding' .....

  Try making it a family affair....... people like to help, people like to be thanked at the reception publically too.
• 

  jwfacts

  If you tell a restaurant it is a wedding they will automatically charge more. For my wedding and a couple of times for friends, I organised to have a wedding on a Sunday afternoon when restaurants are not as busy as Saturday. I found a restaurant with a separate function room and asked to book it out, but did not say it was a wedding. They were happy to have a guaranteed turnover for the evening. I then negotiated on a set cost for a menu which they were happy with as they only have to provide a couple of options for each course. I requested to bring in some additional decorations. They also let me supply wine bottles for the tables but they supplied the beer and spirits. Overall, this was probably about 1/3 of the cost as if I had gone to a wedding function centre.
• 

  Lozhasleft

  We had someone take photographs but then loaded them onto Snapfish and designed a Photobook with our favourites. A professional was hoping to charge us around £300 for one of these but it actually cost us only £25 and its beautiful. We also did a lot of bartering and got prices reduced fairly easily.

  Loz x
• 

  Aussie Oz

  we got married for under $1000 last year inc ALL costs.

  I wore clothes i already had, she a polkadot dress made by a friend that she wears on other occasions as well.

  Had my 2 kids as 'bridemaid and groom' in their favorite good clothes.

  The hearse was broken down so we used her old 60s holden for a wedding car.

  Used a celebrant at an old ruin and people picked wild flowers on the way for bouquets.

  reception at her sisters house with about 25 closest friends and family. Sister in law sourced and prepared all the food.

  Cake made by friends wife.

  honeymoon night was a wedding gift.

  everybody took photo's and emailed them too us, and MIL husband made us a cool dvd of the event.

  plastic costume ring for her and a pewter cheapy for me...

  perfect day!

  oz
• 

  Jim_TX

  My wife and I got married in Vegas several years ago. We shopped the thrift stores where she found her wedding dress, and shoes. I don't think that she spent more than $20.00 for them - total.

  I found a nice tux for about the same price.

  Don't overlook going to places like Goodwill or Salvation Army for nice clothes at a reasonable price. Some days they have sales, too.

  Regards,

  Jim TX
• 

  Caedes

  Mrs Caedes and I organised our wedding at very short notice for less than £300, my sistervery kindly had the reception in her back garden and friends helped bring food and drink. We did pretty much everything ourselves. Keeping the numbers down meant that everyone who was there was close friends and family and didn't mind if things didn't run exactly as planned.

  We hardly spent anything but had a wonderful day. Very relaxed atmosphere and everyone had fun.
• 

  Lady Lee

  There are some great websites that help plan your budget. I've deleted mine links so don't have them but Google it.

  I made:

  • my dress
  • the invitations
  • the table centerpieces
  • all the flowers, corsages and boutonniers
  • the invitations
  • the thank you gifts
  • my veil and head piece (2 veils actually - one long for the ceremony which was removed and replaced with a short one ofr the reception)

  Basically if it was something I could make, I did.

  We did buy the cake and his suit (not a tux)
• 

  Quandry

  StAnn,

  I thought the bride's family was supposed to pay for the wedding, and the groom's family paid for the rehearsal dinner? (and the groom foots the bill for the honeymoon, of course.)