Rhode Island

Wedding Challenge

We keep postponing our date because other things come up that require the use of our saved funds.  We really want to commit to a date, so if we can pull all of the essentials off for under $10k, we should be ok.  Has anyone been able to do this?  If so, what did you do to stay within your budget?

Re: Wedding Challenge

  • edited December 2011
    How many people are you looking to invite? What kind of place would you like the wedding to take place (hall, hotel, farm, etc.)? What kind of food would you like to serve (sit-down meal vs. buffet vs. cocktail reception)? That will help to determine how to allocate the funds! =)
    Planning/Project Fit

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    "Sounds of laughter shades of earth are ringing through my open ears inciting and inviting me"
  • edited December 2011
    number of guests could go as low as 80 and as high as 115; we really would like to be by the water, and food could be simple but we would want to have alcohol be allowed
  • RoyalOrientRoyalOrient member
    First Anniversary Combo Breaker First Comment
    edited December 2011
    10 K wedding? You should check out the Budget Savvy Bride website, they have the budget breakdown for weddings in different price brackets including 10k. It definitely helped me keep cost in perspective. 10k is possible if you  have a fairly small wedding and go with a venue that is inclusive of the cost (linens, china, cake, and catering). You can skip flowers for non florals and skip favors altogether. You can also save money booking in the off season or on a Friday or Sunday night to save money. You can choose a cash bar or have a ceiling limit if you want to host a partial open bar. However, you have to decide on the top 3 things most important to you so your wedding is still your own.  


  • edited December 2011
    RoyalOrient gave some great advice. I'd recommend a Friday night/ Sunday morning wedding from the months of November-April to save.
  • KBinRIKBinRI member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    It can definitely be done. For example, you could rent the North Beach Clubhouse in Narragansett, which is $850 for a Friday-Sunday before Memorial Day for a nonresident (even cheaper if you are a resident.) You would be limited to 100 guests, though.

    Based on what we spent for a mixed grill menu and lots of great apps during cocktail hour for 65, including the linens and dishes, I think you could feed 100 pretty well for $3,500. Our caterer cooked on site for us but also offers a drop-off menu at like half the price, so that's an option. You also could do a cocktail-style reception or even a brunch to save money.

    Our open beer/wine/soda/water bar cost about $700. So for the bigger crowd, maybe figure $1K.

    With the remaining approx. $5K, you'd need:
    Photographer 
    DJ (or rent equipment and do an iPod reception) 
    Officiant for the ceremony
    Flowers
    Attire
    Favors (or omit)
    Cake 

    Kristen and Bryan ~ 10-10-10 Image and video hosting by TinyPic
  • KBinRIKBinRI member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Oh, meant to add some places we saved/stayed in our budget:

    Sunday wedding (though the date was one of the most popular in recent history, so that sort of negated any negotiating power we might have had!)

    No videographer. We set up a digital camcorder instead. Haven't even watched it, that's how little we missed having a video.

    Hired a great photog but bought her lowest-priced package that included high-res images on a disk instead of splurging for enticing album packages.

    No wedding party. We didn't do it to save money, but realized we did save anyway on things like flowers, attendant gifts and the rehearsal dinner.

    Flowers: I did my own centerpieces (gorgeous mums in my wedding color from a roadside stand that I repotted into terracotta pots) for $60 for dinner tables and about $35 for cocktail tables inside the dance area (white milk glass vases collected from Salvation Army stores across the state filled with flowers I bought online). Got bouquet, bouts, moms' clutches and grandma's wrist corsage for $100 from Whole Foods floral designers. 

    Cake: I'm severely lactose intolerant, so I had to find a dairy-free cake. We spent less than $200 for a lovely - and yummy - small cutting cake and cupcakes in a variety of flavors from a local bakery.

    Attire: Our budget was $1,000 for my dress, alterations, jewelry, veil, shoes, plus DH's suit, which we purchased instead of renting, shirt, tie, etc. He's worn the suit several times since (can't say the same for my dress!) Heck, he wore his ivory wedding shirt to work today. :-) I just couldn't see spending thousands on that stuff and I loved my dress.

    Paper goods: I found some discontinued high-end pocket-style stationery at TJ Maxx/Homegoods/Marshall's (had to drive around to a few stores to find enough packages) and printed invites myself. Total cost was $24, plus a couple of bucks on a calligraphy pen to address them. I also made my own STDs (made to look like scratch-off lottery tickets) in InDesign and had them printed at Staples then affixed the scratch-off stickers myself instead of hiring someone or finding some on Etsy, etc.

    DIY: I made a lot of my own detail stuff. We picked blueberries and made jam for favors. I created our "guest book" - a fingerprint tree - myself. I wanted to make a chalkboard menu board so I found a painting in a cool, rustic frame at Salvation Army for $2, flipped the painting board over and painted it with chalkboard paint I got at Job Lot for a buck. After being quoted upwards of $150 for a grapevine wreath with some flowers for the wall behind us during the ceremony, I bought my own dried floral stuff and a wreath at Jo-Anns and made it for less than $25. It's hanging on our front door now. Stuff like that. It was (mostly) fun!

    Sorry to have written you a novel. :-/
    Kristen and Bryan ~ 10-10-10 Image and video hosting by TinyPic
  • RoyalOrientRoyalOrient member
    First Anniversary Combo Breaker First Comment
    edited December 2011
    lol I think KB just planned your 10k wedding! That's really good. I can also vouch for her caterer ( B & M Clambake) as I booked them for cocktail hour using their drop off service. They were amazing and best of all affordable.

    I have a few more suggestions to cut cost. Instead of a tier cake, try cupcakes or a dessert bar which is what we did for our 186 guests or a fake cake with a sheet cake in the back to serve guests. We used Tip-C Cupcakes because they were tasty and budget friendly.

    For flowers, I suggest Whole Foods. They don't compromise on quality and the prices are a lot less than the flower shops with the high overcosts and labor charges. I did a half floral and half non-floral to cut cost and used mostly seasonal blooms 

    As for your wedding dress, try looking into sample dresses at bridal boutiques. Party Dress Express in Fall River and Sassy and Classy in East Greenwich have great stock selection of sample dresses. I found my Pronovias wedding gown at $253 at Running of the Brides in Boston - which will take place again this August.

    As for the DJ, you can try this service on weddingwire that allows you to set the price point you want to stay in for vendors. I know R.I doesn't off this yet but MA does so you can still get vendors (and read reviews) that will be match to you. 




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