Cheap Wedding Ideas??

a3bQueen

a3bQueen

Cherish Every Day
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I'm starting from scratch.. Starting to save up just food alone is close to a few thousand.. Anyone have any tips ?? :worry:
 
Congrats on getting married soon. :) IMHO, we spend way too much on weddings in this country. Save some for after you get married. You will need it.

One way to save some money is to not go out or cater the rehearsal dinner. Make it yourself or do a covered dish type of thing, or enlist the help of family. For the reception, have place cards, and have the favors be per couple and one each for any singles that come. I will try to think of some more.
 
When I got married 5 years ago, we planned a beautiful wedding in 6 weeks for under $1000. My then-fiance, now-husband is from Ecuador and we were planning to wait several months, but his employer decided not to apply to extend his work visa at the last minute so we had to hurry. Anyway, friends provided food for the reception and one friend let me borrow a bunch of silver platters and servingware she had recently inherited from her mother. We did most of the decorating ourselves. Friends sang and played the piano for the ceremony. We got to choose whatever songs we wanted. My mom made my dress and all the bridesmaids' dresses. She also made the wedding cake. She is a teacher and this was during the summer, so she had time--I guess not everyone has that luxury. She has also made wedding cakes to earn extra cash for years so she's good at that. I guess not everybody has a mom who can do that. For flowers, I called a florist and said I wanted pink flowers for my bridesmaids and myself and told her how much I could spend. She created beautiful bouquets and it was a neat surprise to see what kind of flowers I would have on the day of the wedding. For the usher's and groomsmens boutonnières we went to a couple of grocery stores and bought pink roses and made them ourselves. We had a friend do the photography. He wasn't a professional but we took lots of shots and we have the negatives so we can print as many as we want. We also had a friend video the ceremony. Later he gave us the raw tapes and a really nice edited version. Instead of a rehearsal dinner, we had a rehearsal ice cream social.

We did several special things that didn't cost much. We had a friend perform the ceremony who spoke Spanish and English so the whole thing was bilingual. The flowergirl (whose parents provided her dress-- I told her mom to buy something she could get some use out of later in either white or pale green) tossed dried rose petals from flowers my husband bought me while we were dating.

Placecards just keep people from sitting where they want to and with the people they want, and favors become clutter that is likely to be thrown away within a few weeks.

"A few thousand" could cover groceries for the first year of your marriage.

The wedding is one day. It is meant to be a special day, but it certainly doesn't have to cost a fortune to be special. Think about what makes your relationship special and see if you can work that into the ceremony--you may be surprised that the most special things cost nothing extra. For us, it was the blending of 2 cultures in addition to 2 lives, so we chose to have a bilingual ceremony.
 
I'll second Faerie's rehearsal dinner idea.
We did a potluck/cookout for hers and it was great. We had plenty of food in a great relaxed atmosphere (much needed the night before a wedding).

Our wedding was outside - simple and beautiful. We borrowed an archway that we covered in balloons and greenery and the chairs lined to make an aisle.
 
First off congratulations and best wishes! Secondly, simple and elegant are rarely expensive. Devise a budget, and, STICK TO IT! :) Here is a fun site that may be useful to you! Rags

http://www.cheap-chic-weddings.com/

Of course, the old ladder and elopment works wonders on the checkbook! :)
 
I thought about planning a big wedding. But after looking at the dress, the rehersal dinner, the reception.... blah blah blah... I was gettig really stressed.
We went to Key West on vacation and saw some great wedding packages. We decided to take off to the keys and get married. Just me, my fiance, my son from my first marrage and our parents. It was beautiful and stress free. We had a sunset wedding on the beach. http://keywest.com/weddings/keywest/
 
Preco has a big backyard.

And would be perfect for an outdoor wedding. if it rains you can simply move everything into her living room.

I also know she loves to cook and would love to host the whole affair.

Send her a PM - ;)
 
My best suggestion is to not get married. Doesnt get any cheaper than that. Or you could do the drive through in Vegas. But I still think the first option is your best bet.
 
LiveSquid said:
My best suggestion is to not get married. Doesnt get any cheaper than that. Or you could do the drive through in Vegas. But I still think the first option is your best bet.
Click to expand...

I concur.......if it doesn't work out in the long haul, you dont have to spend thousands of dollars to get a divorce!:verysad:
 
LiveSquid said:
My best suggestion is to not get married. Doesnt get any cheaper than that. Or you could do the drive through in Vegas. But I still think the first option is your best bet.
Click to expand...

You would skip a NY backyard wedding for Vegas?
 
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