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Help, budget wedding in DFW for under 5,000 TOTAL PLEASE HELP!!!

libbyswinlibbyswin
in Texas-Dallas and Ft. Worth
Hi, I'm MOB and my daughter will be married in Sept 2012.  I have no money (suprise lol) but can rustle up 5k over the next few months.  That would be tax title and liscense.  I think I have a photographer in mind (have no idea what to do with the video) who will work for mostly peanuts or i can go to a college..

1. Buy the dress used or from some one with a broken engagement.
2. Make the flower boquets (how do you perserve them after they are laced with ribbon tho??) Probably outsource a few of the coarsages/boutineers.
3. Groom has a vintage awsome '39 ford coupe fire red that would be awsome as the wedding car.


Now my biggy is this.  VENUE VENUE VENUE.  I have looked at the Weathorford gardens, but again im on such a budget.  Limit to guests is 100.  I figure atleast 2k for flowers, photos, dress and misc, but I still need food, DJ, drinks (i'm not sure if we can afford champagne!?? Plus groom and bride do not drink at all) the Venue (did i say venue yet?).

We are looking at the Gardens because it seems that they aready have so much natuaral foilage that decorating will be easy, less flowers needed, but its all outdoors, and fearful of downpours.  Please help me, im desperate.

I want to put in a deposit no later than Feb as i'm afraid things will book.  Plus we are not opposed to a FRIDAY EVENING OR SUNDAY EVENING WEDDING..which i know will cut my costs dramatically.  I wasnt as interested in the food they are offering as i wanted to bring my own caterer, a man who does awsome BBQ but most venues do not alow this that are inclusive.

Oh yeah, one more thing... Cheap invitations, best place for tuxes (aka cheap), alterations, and the big one THE WEDDING CAKE!! (forget 4.00 per slice, are they insane!!!!  surely someone here has a fabulous woman in her contact list  that makes cakes at home :)  Looking for standard 3-4 tiered wedding cake, i can do the grooms cake at costco with dipped fruit. 

THANK SOOO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  In my previous life (25 yrs ago) i used to be a florist back when they used the boquet holder and had huge boquets, easy i can do that, but this new fangled wrapped boquets while they look easy, how in the heck can i do this without having to do it the day of the wedding????!!!
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Re: Help, budget wedding in DFW for under 5,000 TOTAL PLEASE HELP!!!

  • Eryn044Eryn044
    First Comment

    You mentioned "Weatherford Gardens" ......I'm assuming you're talking about Clark Gardens?  You may check out Willow Lake Wedding Gardens, which is in Weatherford also.  I'm getting married there on June 2nd, and they were the best priced for me.  They will also be able to steer you towards a lot of other vendors, like cheap photography and DJ's.  www.willowlakeweddinggardens.com

    I'm also DIY my invites.....I was able to make them on my home computer and will send them to the local print shop for pretty cheap.  You can look up wording online and get a good idea.  I'm getting my envelopes from www.Envelopes.com and they are priced well also. 

    Take advantage of David's Bridal's $99 dress sale.....I did!! 

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  • aeliza06aeliza06 member
    First Anniversary First Comment
    edited December 2011
    a wedding under 5k is NOT out of the question. There are many of us brides who are on a budget. 

    Me personally, I am using the El Fenix Downtown Dallas location as my venue. 125 guests and food, alcohol, tables, linens, chairs, venue, etc. is going to be a little under 3500. The great thing about them is that they provide everything versus a diy place I would have to bring everything in. They also have an iPod hookup and microphone plugged into their speakers so I don't have to hire a dj (if I choose).

    We are going to the farmer's market the day of to get flowers. My wedding is in May so luckily there are a lot of pretty blooms that time of year. 
    We are doing non-floral centerpieces to save money. 

    Other venues that are incredibly affordable (click name for links): Heard Museum and Natural Science Center in McKinney, Winfrey Point at White Rock Lake, YWCA in Fort Worth, Myers Park in Collin County, Frisco Heritage Museum 

    Used dresses: Check out our sticky: http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_texas-dallas-ft-worth_selling-buying-wedding-stuff-come-here or craigslist. There is also recycled bride, pre-owned wedding dresses, and a few consignment shops in the area. Also, I just saw that the Limited has their wedding dresses on sale right now for 100$: http://www.thelimited.com/category/whats-new/special-offers/332

    Search this board. There are a lot of budget vendors listed as well as reviews. Check out pinterest for diy non-floral centerpieces, diy ideas (favors, guest book, etc). GL
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  • courtski2004courtski2004 member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    edited December 2011
    Is there a specific area that you would be partial to in the DFW area?
    You may want to look into community centers (I think someone used/mentioned the one in Colleyville? Someone chime in if I'm incorrect).
    You may want to consider a mid-afternoon cake and punch reception (on a Sunday, maybe?) if you are not able to afford catering. If you are dead-set on having a meal, you may need to scale back the guest list.
    DIY Invitations from Michaels or Hobby Lobby would be a good bet (they always have coupons and % off bridal items).
    Cake: depending on your guest count, I would look into The Cake Guys 50 person contract (can feed 100 easily with the bride and grooms cakes) is $450. Other knotties have used Tabitha Ballard, and I think her cakes are fairly reasonable. I'm not 100% sure of the pricing.
    There are brides who have used Fifty Flowers.com, Sam's Club and Costco for flowers that assemble the arrangements themselves. Here is an article I found via google: http://interiordec.about.com/od/weddingflowers/a/doweddingflower.htm
    If you buy the green sponges and keep the flowers hydrated, you could probably assemble them a day prior. Close friends and family may be willing to help out, and your previous experience as a florist will help significantly!
    Champagne is certainly not necessary. My husband and I used our favorite wine to toast with and we served our guests BOX WINE. We're classy.
    Photography: Evan Godwin would probably meet your price point. Videography isn't necessary, but I would suggest Jason from Wylie Video if it is a must have. Many brides do without it.

    I dropped a bunch of names, but definitely check out our vendor sticky at the top of the page. That will give you a lot of suggestions and information as well (and maybe some contact information! These are just names that I recall of the top of my head).
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  • professorscienceprofessorscience member
    First Comment First Anniversary 5 Love Its Name Dropper
    Cut unnecessary things.  Do you NEED flowers?  Can you do evites?
    Anniversary

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  • fallbride1109fallbride1109 member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its Name Dropper First Comment
    I love all of Courski's suggestions and vendors.  I used the Cake Guys and loved my cake.  You might want to consider outsourcing the personal flowers to a place like Market Street to make it easy on yourself.  You don't need bouts--just have the men wear a nice suit with a pocket square.  Do non-floral centerpieces and just have the bouquets and personal flowers. I wouldn't do E-vites--just get one of the boxed kits at Michaels, etc. and print them yourself.   A Knottie from last year got her dress at Anonymously Yours for $300 and I've been jealous of it ever since.  Video is not a neccessity--up the budget a little for a better photographer.   

    Cutting out alcohol is a big money saver--but you would probably want to consider an afternoon wedding in this case.  Do an afternoon cake and punch reception with light apps--that would be lovely and much more affordable.   Realistically, a Saturday night catered reception is probably not doable.  And yes, you will definitely need a rain Plan B so keep that in mind if you go with an outdoor ceremony.  Good luck and remember we have all been there to some extent and are here to help!
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  • Tiffany618Tiffany618
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I am the Knottie with the $300 Maggie Sottero dress. :) 

    For dresses, look at Anonymously Yours in Dallas.  Looks kinda shady on the outside (and part of the inside) but in the very back they have hundreds of dresses.  Most were samples from local salons.  Also, sample sales at any salon can give you some very affordable choices.

    For Invitations - as pp suggested, the kits from Michaels are great!    I got mine there and printed them myself.  (Note:   Michaels has 40% off coupons on their website frequently, so you can get them very cheaply)

    We had candlelight centerpieces provided by our venue.   I doubt if anyone even noticed there were no flowers on the table, because the candlelight ambiance was beautiful.

    I probably can't help with much else.  My food, venue, cake, photog, etc were rather big ticket items.
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  • courtski2004courtski2004 member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_texas-dallas-ft-worth_budget-wedding-dfw-under-5000-total-please?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:102Discussion:6ab63e9e-3c90-44d8-8c9b-3f4c71f142f4Post:8e132a2a-d4fc-42cd-a04e-db09ebab0b04">Re: Help, budget wedding in DFW for under 5,000 TOTAL PLEASE HELP!!!</a>:
    [QUOTE] We had candlelight centerpieces provided by our venue.   I doubt if anyone even noticed there were no flowers on the table, because the candlelight ambiance was beautiful.
    Posted by Tiffany618[/QUOTE]

    I have 75-ish frosted candle votives for sale. There is plenty of wax left in the votive itself, and I would LOVE to unload these items to a good home. Tiffany is right--if you have soft candlelight, you really don't even need flowers. Speaking of for sale, there is also a sticky at the top of the page of things that knotties are trying to get rid of. That might be a good option for your budget.
    Vistaprint may be another great place to look for invitations and any paper items you may need.
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  • lexxxyyylexxxyyy
    First Comment
    We are on a tight budget as well! 
    Invintations- Vistaprint, we kept ours simple by making something in Word and uploading it on there. They often have coupons and discounts!

    Venue-$350 is our wedding at Fort Worth Botanical Gardens. We get 2 hrs for the wedding and a wedding cordinator type person to help with the wedding. You have to pay extra for chairs, not sure on those exact prices though. 

    Reception- We are having our reception at the Gardens restaurant in the FWBG it's $2,000 minimum for a Saturay night and $250 to reserve your date, not sure if it's cheaper Friday or Sunday but i assume it would be.


    Hope this help! Good luck!
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  • lexxxyyylexxxyyy
    First Comment
    Oh and we got my fiance's tux at H&M in Northpark only $130 (he already had shoes)!
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  • mrsross12mrsross12
    First Comment
    I have the exact same budget as you.. Dress: I bought a Maggie sottero dress at a close out sale for $350 Cake: I'm most likely using Mana's cakes. You can find her on Facebook. She charges $2-3 a slice and has beautiful cakes. Venue: this is where we saved the most money. We're getting married at the Golf Club at Fossil Creek BUT we're getting married on a Thursday night. This saved us a ton of money. For the venue, decore, tables, chairs, covers, and a full buffet we're spending $3800. I wanted an outside wedding but also a back up indoor location and this place was perfect. Plus the coordinator is wonderful. Flowers: I'm ordering from Sams. I was going to order bulk and DIY but they have wedding packs with bouquets, corsages, and boutonnières already made for around $300 Invitations: I ordered 50 save the date post cards from 123print.com for $18. I'm going to buy invitations from target and print them myself. Photographer: FI's good friend is an up and coming photographer and is doing our wedding basically for free.
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  • Jay&MarissaJay&Marissa
    Combo Breaker First Comment
    I did my own flowers--I took an incredibly helping wedding floral class for $40 at The Connection Wholesale Florist in Forth Worth. I ordered $300 worth of roses, hydrangea, and carnations from farmstogo.com (loved them) and my sister and I put together 10 centerpieces, 9 bouquets, bouts, corsages, etc. Wasn't too bad.

    I used Tabitha Ballard--her cakes are reasonable ($1.50/slice when I used her a few years ago), but I don't know what she charges now.

    The Colleyville Center upped their prices to $2k for venue only, so that is probably out, although they may be cheaper on Friday
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  • juliebug1997juliebug1997 member
    Combo Breaker First Comment
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_texas-dallas-ft-worth_budget-wedding-dfw-under-5000-total-please?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:102Discussion:6ab63e9e-3c90-44d8-8c9b-3f4c71f142f4Post:b355abde-a7c3-45f4-9774-aefed2d47d94">Re: Help, budget wedding in DFW for under 5,000 TOTAL PLEASE HELP!!!</a>:
    [QUOTE]The Colleyville Center upped their prices to $2k for venue only, so that is probably out, although they may be cheaper on Friday
    Posted by Jay&Marissa[/QUOTE]

    Plus, it used to be a little more for non-residents.  If you could find a little more money, then I can highly recommend it.  They just did a remodel (probably why it's a little more expensive) and it's a beautiful building. 

    Like one of the PP's suggested, I used a restaurant.  While they had a F&B minimum, many restaurants don't.  Consider calling some local non-chains to see what they can do for you.  Blue Mesa caters starting at about $13 a person so that might be a nice place to consider too.
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  • danilarancedanilarance
    First Comment
    Willow Lake Wedding Gardens in Weatherford is an affordable venue that is very pretty and the owners are very easy to work with. I am getting married there September 28th and can't wait. :) it's $1600 or $1800 depending on which area you get. Also, when I was shopping for dresses, I just told the salespeople upfront that I was on a strict budget and they led me to their clearance racks. I found some at ocone's in fort worth for $100. Hope this helps!
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  • Jen6862Jen6862 member
    First Anniversary First Comment
    • Look at getting married in a park or something that is free or close to free. Winfrey Point in Dallas is a great option--but books way in advance, maybe you could get a Thursday night or Sunday in September?
    • Just forget a groom's cake, unless somebody makes it for you for free. With only $5,000 you need to focus on what's really important
    • Invites. Michaels and buy the ink for your printer online!
    • Cake... try whole foods or central market. You can also try these places for flowers.
    • Flowers: Try making bouquets out of 1 flower. Very dramatic and cost saving. Baby breath bridesmaid bouquets or all carnations.
    • Do finger foods instead of a whole dinner. and if you aren't picky BBQ or mexican is cheap. Or you can do a cake and champagne reception instead of other stuff.
    • Do the decorations yourself. Buy ribbon on sale
    • You can also buy, instead of renting linens
    You can have an awesome wedding on $5,000 but you'll need to shop smart and make priority lists. The number one way to cut down on cost is to cut the guest list. I know it's hard, but it really does make a big difference.
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  • prlmrg08prlmrg08 member
    First Anniversary Combo Breaker First Comment
    Spring Creek BBQ was sometihng like $10 a person including drinks and someone to serve. Really reasonable!  


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