Missouri-St Louis

Already Overwhelmed!

Hello, Everyone!
The boyfriend threw me for a loop by proposing, and now I have no idea where to start. This place has already proved more than beneficial, but here are some basics that I was wondering about:

Where can I find a VERY inexpensive plus-size gown?

I have a budget of $5000 and we're looking at about 100 guests. Is that doable without being cheap-looking?

Where are some places in the St. Charles area that have receptions that would be able to accomodate me without breaking the bank?

Re: Already Overwhelmed!

  • edited December 2011

    Hello & Welcome!  Feeling in over your head at first is natural!  I felt that way for the first couple of weeks when everyone kept asking me what the date was going to be & where it would be held... after we found the location we set the date based on their availability, after that things got a lot less stressful!

    I too am a budget bride, but I have a few more guests on my list and a few more dollars.... Here are some recommendations that I have so far:

    Flowers: Chic Events by Angie, she is by far the cheapest that I have found and there are a lot of good reviews about her.

    Dress: LaMerite Dress shop in St. Ann (on Lindbergh) - While I did not buy my dress here, they had a lot of plus size dress options and a large clearance selection.  Plus you are getting into the time of year where selections are changing so you may be in luck!  The people in the shop were very nice, I just stopped in without an appointment on a Saturday and they didn't mind at all!

    Reception Location: This is where I didn't skimp too much & probably will be paying the most $$.  We are working with Debonaire Banquet Center and so far they have been very nice.  We are getting the Friday price on a Saturday because our wedding is in the off season... They are not in St. Charles, but are only a few minutes away from there.  You could also look into renting a space in a local community center and getting your own caterer.  Either that or using space in a church basement are the absolute cheapest ways to go without having it at your home.

    Photographer: Enchanted Memories for You, April is very sweet and I can not wait to work with her.  Her prices are by far the lowest in the business and her work is just as good!  She has done a couple weddings for my friends and their photos look great.  Plus she gives you all day coverage instead of limiting your time.


    ** Some other tips to keep costs down are to have a small wedding party, DIY as much decorations and details as possible, and don't be afraid to ask for a lower price on things.  We went to a bridal show and got a huge discount on tuxes, which also resulted in 50% off our invites (and we are going with the cheapest we can find to save money).  I also printed "free" STDs on vistaprint.com to save money and still have the feel of a nice wedding.


    Good luck with the planning... it becomes fun after the initial stress goes away!

  • edited December 2011

    Welcome!!
    As jeslyn97 said, there are lots of ways to keep everything in your budget. I agree with her suggestions. There is a bridal show coming up on January 3 out in St. Charles. Defiantly check that out, you can find great ideas and do major price comparing. Also, for anything DIY, check out that board, they are extremely helpful. I also spend a lot on time on the June2010 board, so when you figure out your date, check out your board.


    This place if full of great ideas, take advantage of them!

    "I heard Jesus he drank wine, I'd bet we'd get along just fine. He can calm the storm and heal the blind and I bet he'd understand a heart like mine" ~Miranda Lambert
    We ride, never worry 'bout the fall.....I guess thats just the cowbow in us all ~Tim McGraw
  • edited December 2011
    Have you looked into doing a Friday or Sunday wedding? Most vendors offer discounts for these days. My photographer is very reasonable in comparison to most. I am using Sutterer Bay Photography (www.stl-photographer.com) Other than that I am not from the St. Charles area, so I don't know of any places, florist, ect. in your area.

    Good Luck with everything! 
  • shawna77inilshawna77inil member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Three words for you.  Ebay, Ebay and Ebay.  LoL  I found SOOO many wonderful deals on there!  A suggestion for a dress might be to go and try a few things on, get ideas of your size on different designers and then buy a used dress.  There are tons of dresses on Ebay.  Mine will be going there shortly, as a matter of fact.  :-)  I don't have the room to store it and would really love for someone else to get the extreme enjoyment out of it that I did, so I am having it cleaned and the few loose beads fixed and then I'm selling it for less than half of what I paid for it originally.  I got some favors on there as well.  Also, if you have some time before your wedding, think about your colors and what seasons they might coordinate with.  For example, we did red and white.  We had just over a year to plan our wedding, and that year fell across Christmas and Valentine's Day.  We got ALL of our candles and candy for 50-75% off by shopping after the two holidays.  My then fiance thought that I was nuts for the mad dash we made right after Valentine's to get candy, but we sealed everything in air tight bags and it was all still perfect.  (my lesson taken from that was don't doubt the shelf life on chocolate.... the use by date on the bag was a full year from the date we bought it... I was shocked!)  We also got adorable frames for two bucks apiece to use on our signing table at the reception, most of which we lost because people snagged them.  LoL  We had our reception at a Knights of Columbus for $10.50 a person, and the food was better than the reception we went to a month later at Royale Orleans.  Our guests (many were the same at both receptions) continue to rave about how much better our food was, actually, and the per head rate at Royale Orleans was right at $40 a head.  Take a deep breath and just think for a minute and it will all come to you.  If you are having a budget wedding you are probably already a conscientious shopper.  Use it to your advantage.  :-)  As previously stated, this site is an invaluable tool.  I found every vendor we used here and we were thrilled with them all.  Good luck in your planning! 
  • edited December 2011
    Check out davids bridal for a dress, i know they are a big chain but they have very good priced dresses, i got mine for only $300 brand spanking new. plus they have a huge variety of different sizes shapes and designs. as for flowers, go for silk ones! they are much more inexpensive and you can keep them forever if you want or make a pretty wreath with them after the wedding. i am using Mirage Photography for photos, they are really inexpensive and if you need Samantha will let you maek payments on the deposit and the whole package! no better deal than that if you ask me. you can also get invitations from walmart, or pretty much any craft store adn have them printed off at kinkos, we got 150 invites adn rsvp cards, for $90 and that included having them printed. they have lots of different designs to pick from from really simple to more formal. Also it sounds kinda weird but hit the dollar store, they have lots of stuff for favors adn decorations and they are only a $1. Just make sure you that you pick a budget and figure out how many people you are going to invite, also see about a hall that will include food, drinks, music, adn some have their own center pieces that you can use free of charge, you can always add your own thing to them or leave them alone. friday evening weddings and sundays are ususally cheaper too! good luck and have fun!
This discussion has been closed.
Choose Another Board
Search Boards