Budget lake (day long?) wedding help!

tarheelbyproxy

Hi Knotties! I need help brainstorming. I just got engaged last week (!!) and I have an idea of what I want, but I'm not sure how to make it come to fruition. To save tons of money, I'd like to get married at my family's lake house. Every 4th of July, family and friends gather at the lake house and boat, play lawn and board games, eat, drink, and just hang out from about 11 am-9 pm, watch the fireworks on the lake around a bonfire, then hit the hay. This is my FAVORITE day of the year and it is just the perfect day. 

I'd love to get married on the 4th of July at the lake house, and have the day go pretty much the same way it always has. My challenge is that I do want it to seem special. Most of the day, we all hang out in our swim suits and just do whatever we want. I'm not sure how to incorporate a wedding into that- unless I just randomly gather everyone around, say some quickie vows, then go back to the day as usual.

My fiancé and I are pretty low key. We don't want fancy, but we do want special. In addition to that, most years the food is done by potluck and drinks are BYOB. We don't have a lot of money, and I'm not sure how to feed people all day without breaking our (very, very small) budget. We don't want to long ceremony, and we don't want a "traditional" reception- no cake, dancing, bouquet/garter toss. We do want great food, drinks, and music. For cheap

I'm not sure where to go from here. I'm not sure how to make the day seem special, or how to incorporate an informal ceremony into the day. 

tarheelbyproxy

julybride2015 said:

It's hard to help you without knowing exactly what your budget for food is?  Here are a few options. 

Why not have a ceremony at another location in the morning, then have a small simple breakfast at your lake house afterwards.  I'm taking bagels with different types of cream cheese, pastries, coffee/tea/juice and maybe fresh fruit.  This is a cheap option.  Afterwards, you can host your normal July 4th party, but it will not be in anyway connected to your vows.   Think of a simple breakfast as the equivalent to a afternoon cake/punch reception.  Simple, but it does that job. 

If you really want the all day affair, then you can feed people hot dogs, hamburgers and different salads (pasta, potato) for relatively cheap.  Dessert can be fresh fruit salad, cupcakes or even smores.   Keep the drinks simple and get a few kegs of beer and a couple of cases of wine. 

We are hoping to spend no more than $2000 (actually, we are hoping to spend WAY less) for about 50 people.

I like the breakfast idea. The challenge with that is that the lake house is in a pretty "small town" area, and driving in that area in the morning is nearly impossible due to local 4th of July parades.

Thanks for the ideas!

JCbride2015

The breakfast thing is a great idea, because once you've hosted breakfast, the rest of the day can go on as normal.  If everyone driving to the restaurant is challenging, you can look into ordering trays of pastries, bagels, fruit, and various cream cheese and spreads from the deli or grocery store.  Order some cinnamon rolls or cake for "dessert" and see if you can rent or borrow one of those big coffee urns.

tarheelbyproxy

JCbride2015 said:

The breakfast thing is a great idea, because once you've hosted breakfast, the rest of the day can go on as normal.  If everyone driving to the restaurant is challenging, you can look into ordering trays of pastries, bagels, fruit, and various cream cheese and spreads from the deli or grocery store.  Order some cinnamon rolls or cake for "dessert" and see if you can rent or borrow one of those big coffee urns.

That really is a great idea. Very cost efficient, and then we can go about the day as we normally would. I can definitely get some great breakfast/brunch stuff, maybe even a mimosa bar or coffee bar. This could be really great. Thanks, ladies!

lc07

I love JC's idea. Plus your wedding will be special because it's the day you got married, you know? 

STARMOON44

Wait, so you want to take a day that's special to lots of people because they just get to chill at the lake and enjoy their day of bathing suit frolicking , change it to make it more special for you for your special special day, because it's cheap and easy for you?

I'd be so ticked at you taking over my fun day for that. And on a holiday ? Ugh. I'd def float this idea to people involved in a low pressure way and see how they react first.

tarheelbyproxy

STARMOON44 said:

Wait, so you want to take a day that's special to lots of people because they just get to chill at the lake and enjoy their day of bathing suit frolicking , change it to make it more special for you for your special special day, because it's cheap and easy for you? I'd be so ticked at you taking over my fun day for that. And on a holiday ? Ugh. I'd def float this idea to people involved in a low pressure way and see how they react first.

Actually, no. Maybe I miscommunicated my intentions. First, my family suggested this and I originally turned it down because I wasn't sure how I could do that logistically. Second, the 4th is my favorite day of the year because it's the only day of the year that we get together as an entire family. I don't believe it is selfish of me to want to celebrate that (after all, isn't part of the point of a wedding to celebrate two families joining together). Third, people usually don't start arriving until about 1 pm. By taking the suggestions of the nice knotties above, we could do a morning ceremony and brunch, be done well before 1 pm, and I would not be "taking over their fun day." I would have gotten married that morning, yes. But the day wouldn't be about me and my new husband. The day would be, as it always is every year, about being together as a family and being able to enjoy each other's company and be blessed by the beautiful nature. My intention is not to hijack everyone's day. I just want to get married on the 4th (an important day to me) at my favorite place in word, with my favorite people, without taking the rest of the "frolicking" away from them.

Thank you to the knotted who have been supportive helpful. If I have a morning ceremony and have brunch at the lake house, the "reception" could be over before the day the 4th of July fun really begins. 

Still mulling this over, but it is sounding good right now!

tarheelbyproxy

STARMOON44 said:

Wait, so you want to take a day that's special to lots of people because they just get to chill at the lake and enjoy their day of bathing suit frolicking , change it to make it more special for you for your special special day, because it's cheap and easy for you? I'd be so ticked at you taking over my fun day for that. And on a holiday ? Ugh. I'd def float this idea to people involved in a low pressure way and see how they react first.

I re-read my original post, and that is just how I came off- that I want to have it at the lake because it's cheap. The bonus is that  I'd save money on a venue, but the lake is my happy place, my favorite place in the world. I even have a tattoo to symbolize that. So no, I don't mean to hijack anyone's fun because it's cheap and easy for me. It's just a really meaningful time and place for me, and was asking how I could work the logistics of it. Thanks.