Wedding for less than $10,000? Calling all budget brides!

JillianNH

I am just starting out with planning and am wondering if there are any other budget brides here who have gotten married or plan to for under 10k. This isn't counting honeymoon or rings. I know it's going to be tough, and I need all the ideas I can get!

FireDancer04

Thats is what we have set for a budget, it can be done. But we also have a guest list of under 100 people. Have you set a date yet? As long as you plan early and keep on top of your budget you can do it.

dls.1215

It can definitely be done! I am trying very to keep my wedding lower than that mark! I would say if you enjoy crafts you can DIY some things, that can save you. Also not sure if you booked your venue or anything yet but definitely look around and compare. For example our ceremony is in Manchester and I assumed we would have our reception there until we found a venue about a 20 minute drive that was over $10/pp cheaper than any venue I found closer to the city.

dls.1215

Also I've heard if your date is flexible, Friday and Sunday weddings tend to be much cheaper than the traditional Sat. night.

candi516

WINTER WEDDING!!! this will save you TONS!

FireDancer04

As use a budget tracker. The one for the knot is a little odd and skewed but bride.com and martha is better.

EDK2010

As Candi mentioned an out of season wedding will save you lots! We are getting married in March and I have received a discount on almost all of our major vendors without even asking! My Videographer knocked off $75 just because we are getting married before April. Our venue is $11pp less than their price for April-December.Also, try the Budget board you will get a lot of ideas on how to do things for less there!

jthennigar

I'm going to second NOT having your wedding on a Sat evening if you want to save $. We did ours on a Friday in April and got discounts for a non-Saturday or out-of-season wedding (though April is on the bubble of what some people consider "off season") from nearly every vendor we worked with. Keep your guest list small, consider cakes by supermarket bakeries (I've heard good things about them, to be honest), maybe silk flowers instead of real flowers, buffet dinners instead of plated dinners, DJ vs. a band, etc. Also look for a venue where you can buy/bring in your own alcohol. We saved a TON of $ doing this.

cg-pm52111

I hear ya!  We're trying to stay around the same number.  One of the greatest things we've been able to do is pull on the talents of our friends and families.  My godmother is JPing the ceremony and my uncle is doing our flowers for us as a gift.  This also makes the day even more special.While we plan to have a nice day, remember it is only one day.  While chair covers would have been nice, for example, I knew they weren't necessary.  I also am DIYing a bunch of things.Good luck!  You can do it!  Just do your homework and get crafty!

litskispecialty

We are doing a wedding in Sept and trying to stay under 15,000 for everything so you can def do 10 in an off season.  Our venue gives us cake, dj, limo, tux rental and toast for one price.  Shop around and find all inclusive deals.  We're going to get a small store bought cake if we don't get enough on the deal.  You can save too by limiting the hours of the photographer and videographer (although that's something I won't cut).  Keep the guest list small and try to cut down a lot of other expenses.  We're not doing flowers for center pieces of the groomsmen and my BM's will have tiny bouquets (I have this weird idea that I can get my flowers down to $500 but I think that's just a dream).  Make sure you ask about vendors and venues on here too, the ladies have been great helping me find better deals to save!

Mysticstarz33

My budget is 5000 and its not easy but doable. We rented out a venue with a full bar and restaurant kitchen for us to use. Its costing 500. Has dishes and white linens, tables chairs etc. My cake was well under 400 and we have a family friend who is going to cater. Its more work using a hall instead of the more popular options but its turning out to be a huge savings for us. They are going to let us in the night before to do any decorating and prep work. The only huge expense where I went over budget was my dress but my Mom surprised me and paid for all but 400 of it which kept me on track. I am also DIYing a lot of things. My wedding is in August so there are not many discounts but by doing things early I have been able to lock in 2009 prices on a lot of things

chayer227

I just did it last month for $10K, including our rings.  My budget included EVERYTHING except the rehearsal dinner and our future honeymoon.  We went without a limo (I drove myself to the church and drove us to the reception) and no videographer.  I don't regret either decision.  Not having a limo actually allowed us to send the bridal party off to the reception while we had some great pics alone with the photographer.  I had silk flowers, and candle centerpieces.  A friend of DH's family made our cake.I did a Sunday wedding, in October, but got NO discounts for that at all.  My discounts all came from booking vendors so early.  I had all my vendors booked more than a year out, and locked in 2008 prices as a result.  (My photographer now charges double what I paid!)I shopped a lot of sales, bought red and silver things after Xmas and Valentine's day, and did tons of research along the way.  I bought table runners from a former bride on the Trash to Treasure board, and a lot of extras from the girls on this board.  Ask here for advice at every step.  The NH knotties are geniuses when it comes to sticking to a budget! 

Shandie_725

I did our wedding for about $5000 - not including the rings or anything extra that his parents paid for (limo). We didn't do hor d'ouvres (but cheese and crackers were included). We booked our vendors early and cut stuff out that we didn't want/need. Made our own invites, bought everything we wanted on sale or with coupons, used our friends to help us put stuff together, etc. HTH!

JillianNH

Thanks for the advice everyone!I think that an off-season wedding is a great idea. However, I'm a teacher so it's kind of crazy to not get married in the summer. I am so stressed the rest of the year I can't imagine trying to fit in a wedding then!We don't have a date yet but I want to aim for sometime in the middle of summer 2011 so I have time off before and after. I will be spoiled! I am definitely willing to see if a Friday or Sunday would be cheaper.Our guest list isn't finalized, since we're just getting starting with planning. I think it will end up around 100 though.I liked a lot of your suggestions, such as no limo. We'll probably look for a venue where we can have the ceremony and reception in one place since we're not interested in a church wedding.I hope that by starting early we can save a lot like some of you did!I've been reading a lot of really great budget bride blogs, so I've gotten a lot of good ideas from there as well. I'm sure I will be back with more questions about great bargains in NH, so thanks for all you've said so far and thanks for my future questions in advance!

FireDancer04

the only problem I found with having the ceremony at the same place as the reception is that it was going tp be almost 400 dollars more than having them at separate places.