Intro!

PBorgstede91

Blah! So my long time fiance and I finally picked a date(nov 14, 2015). However we don't have a big budget AT ALL. we already live together and have a two year old. i feel stressed out that I have so little time and such a little budget. i dont want my wedding to look crappy but i dont have much to spend.

tips?

KatWAG

PBorgstede91 said:

Blah! So my long time fiance and I finally picked a date(nov 14, 2015). However we don't have a big budget AT ALL. we already live together and have a two year old. i feel stressed out that I have so little time and such a little budget. i dont want my wedding to look crappy but i dont have much to spend.

tips?

Take some time to read past threads on this very topic. There are plenty of good ideas out there.

onefootinthebayou

Yup - I didn't attend it but the only wedding I hear my Fi talk about repeatedly is the wedding of one of his friends (actually one of our GM) that had an extremely limited budget. They did everything themselves & managed to host a really nice event!

It is worthwhile to force yourself through the budgeting process so you at least have a starting point.

Good luck. There is a lot of good advice here!

CMGragain

1.  Set your budget and stick to it.  Until you do this, you cannot make any firm plans.

2.  Draw up a guest list of all the people that you want to invite.

3.  Think about options for your wedding.  Here are the types of weddings:

  a.  Courthouse ceremony with no guests.  Cheap and easy.  Yes, this is a REAL wedding!

  b.  Afternoon ceremony with cake and punch receptions for your guests.  You can do this at home, in a church, in a park.  Very traditional.  You will need invitations, enough chairs for everyone to sit down while watching your ceremony and eating the cake.

  c. Brunch reception.  Now we are getting more expensive.  You have a morning ceremony, followed by a brunch.  It can be very formal, or casual, at the park.

  d.  Dinner reception.  This is the most expensive kind of wedding which has become popular in the past 50 years.  Think very carefully before choosing this.  You can get a brunch reception for half the cost of a dinner reception.

The most important things to consider are your BUDGET and your GUEST LIST.
OK, now you can shop for venues.  City parks are good for budget conscious people.

Things that are not necessary, but you might want; a big, pouffy white wedding gown and veil,  professional photography (Very expensive!), alcohol, bridesmaids, florist services (Buy some cheap flowers at a grocery store.), tuxedos (Only appropriate after 6:00 PM anyway), DJs (Use an IPOD), fancy bakery cake (Sheet cake is fine).

Things that you absolutely MUST have:  a marriage license, a licensed officiant, witnesses, a seat for every behind, refreshments for your guests, a rain plan for outdoor weddings.

I advise you to stay away from wedding porn TV.  Those shows (and Bridal magazines) are designed to make you think that you need to spend MORE MONEY to get married.  Don't fall for their game.

[Deleted User]

What CMGR said.  Budget and guest list first.  Then officiant and license.  Then seats, food, drinks, and shelter.  Everything else is gravy.

[Deleted User]

One thing I definitely recommend is drawing up a budget immediately. I thought I did this already, but in reality my budget was vague and I was adding up prices from vendors in my head without actually doing service charges, sales taxes, additional costs for tables and chairs, etc. That all adds up FAST, and I wish I had kept better track of everything from day 1. (Luckily I am still in the planning phase...) Write up your max budget for EVERYTHING, and start adding in prices from vendors as you get them to see how it matches up. 

klk111415

Yay, same wedding date as me!  

My recommendation, figure out your budget and when you are speaking with vendors, be upfront about your budget.  We were able to talk multiple DJs down in price and most were willing to work with our budget.  We ended up going with a wedding venue instead of the DIY option because we were able to find a venue that had amazing reviews and extremely discounted rates for the month of November, which in NY is the low season. 

Figure out what is most important to you and prioritize those items.  

TrixieJess

My biggest expenses are food, officient, license and venue. The rest we can work with on the cheaper end of things. You need to figure out how many people you want to invite and stick to that. Try and find a venue that allows for smaller parties but still provides things like chairs, tables, linens, etc.

PBorgstede91

Thank you all so much for the tips! It is extremely helpful

DarthV8r

CMGragain said:

1.  Set your budget and stick to it.  Until you do this, you cannot make any firm plans.

2.  Draw up a guest list of all the people that you want to invite.

3.  Think about options for your wedding.  Here are the types of weddings:

  a.  Courthouse ceremony with no guests.  Cheap and easy.  Yes, this is a REAL wedding!

  b.  Afternoon ceremony with cake and punch receptions for your guests.  You can do this at home, in a church, in a park.  Very traditional.  You will need invitations, enough chairs for everyone to sit down while watching your ceremony and eating the cake.

  c. Brunch reception.  Now we are getting more expensive.  You have a morning ceremony, followed by a brunch.  It can be very formal, or casual, at the park.

  d.  Dinner reception.  This is the most expensive kind of wedding which has become popular in the past 50 years.  Think very carefully before choosing this.  You can get a brunch reception for half the cost of a dinner reception.

The most important things to consider are your BUDGET and your GUEST LIST.
OK, now you can shop for venues.  City parks are good for budget conscious people.

Things that are not necessary, but you might want; a big, pouffy white wedding gown and veil,  professional photography (Very expensive!), alcohol, bridesmaids, florist services (Buy some cheap flowers at a grocery store.), tuxedos (Only appropriate after 6:00 PM anyway), DJs (Use an IPOD), fancy bakery cake (Sheet cake is fine).

Things that you absolutely MUST have:  a marriage license, a licensed officiant, witnesses, a seat for every behind, refreshments for your guests, a rain plan for outdoor weddings.

I advise you to stay away from wedding porn TV.  Those shows (and Bridal magazines) are designed to make you think that you need to spend MORE MONEY to get married.  Don't fall for their game.

I don't like that you always say dinner is more expensive than brunch. There are all sorts of ways to do things. A dinner reception can be cheap if you have it in a backyard and get a taco truck. There are all sorts of way to budget and hosts properly, no matter the time of day.

leroweb

We are doing pizza for our reception. Not crappy pizza but but gourmet pizza from the place we had our first date. It also happens to be so much cheaper than the caters options and we will get a huge variety.