Low Budget/ Rustic Wedding

bfries06

When my Fiance and I originally started talking about our wedding plans he mentioned he wanted the budget to be no more then $5000! Well after attempting some planning he has realized that that number is just not possible for the wedding we want. We have been engaged for over a year now with nothing planed for the wedding and its all coming back to the budget. It is crazy to think of spending so much money on a wedding when the responsible thing would be to put it towards a house, honeymoon, car or savings. I have tried all different avenues to cut the cost but I can't seem to get the wedding budget down. I want the the wedding budget to encompass everything from the venue, dress, music, flowers, food, and drinks. 

We recently moved from San Antonio, TX but i would still love the wedding to be there, so i will be planning it long distance. My Fiance has been in the military since we started dating and we have had to sacrifice so much (even being long distance our whole relationship) not having a wedding is really something I can't give up.

I need help with options and ideas. We are expecting about 150 ppl and want a rustic/ country wedding. We are fine with barbecue and just a simple ambience. Does anyone know of any ideas in venues, photography, food, etc that could meet a budget under 12,000?

lovedryn

FI and I had looked into venues around San Antonio / Austin area before we moved. We really liked Heirloom Blooms. They were very affordable and included ceremony and reception venue, set up / break down, linens, tables, chairs, and dining ware. Plus with the package we had looked at it included a honeymoon cottage with champagne and chocolates. All that was $1000 for the whole day. Definitely an amazing price! Plus I liked that they were a very eco friendly venue. They were in San Marcos TX. Not sure if its close enough to where you are looking...

doeydo

You could have a wedding at a non-meal time (ie. 2:00-4:30 ish p.m. or 8:00-12:00 midnight) and just have cake and punch, appetizers, and/or desserts.  

LittlePeachBlossom

Try posting to the local board.

CMGragain

Rustic does not necessarily mean budget.  There are four levels of weddings, and it depends on the time of day.

Level one:  bride, groom, officiant, license witnesses.  Reception is optional.

Level two:  add guests, invitations, and reception.  Reception may be cake and punch.  The best time for this is between 2:00 and 4:00PM, or after 7:30PM.  Options include wedding party, bridal gown, music, flowers, hors d'oeuvres. This is probably how your grandmother was married.  It is very traditional.

Level three; brunch or luncheon reception (half the cost of dinner).  May be buffet or plated.  Dancing is an option with IPOD or DJ.  Morning ceremony is best time.  This is a very old traditional wedding style, the most popular in Great Britain.

Level four:  This is the most expensive wedding, and should be avoided if budget is a consideration.  It will cost twice what a luncheon reception will cost.  Tuxedos are permissible.  Evening weddings are only about 60 years old - a relatively new trend, which the wedding industry loves!

"Rustic" does not make any of these options less expensive.  You can have "elegant" for the same price.  Alcohol is always optional, especially in the daytime when most people do not drink as much.  The only requirements for a reception are that the hosts and the newlyweds greet every one of their guests personally (They "receive" their guests.)  and offer them food and drink (cake and punch/coffee.)  Time of day indicates what is appropriate.

beachyone15

I went to a wedding recently at Bella Springs (in Boerne, TX) which was lovely. Not sure what all they include but it's such a pretty place, you may not need much decor. Plus, it would go with your "rustic" theme.

I also agree with having your wedding at a non-meal time. You will get much more bang for your buck! Good luck!

Tiffany101015

I am having a wedding with 200 people, in Michigan, on a Saturday night for under 8k. My honeymoon will be an additional 1500...so my total budget is 9.5k. Look on wedding and local swap groups of brides on facebook. They might have an idea of the best pricing on stuff.

Venue-$600. A local boat club...Includes the ceremony pavilion outside and an indoor building for the reception. They allow me to bring in my own caterer and alcohol.Saves a ton!
Catering- $2,300. I found a local meat market that caters for 10.95pp
Photographer,DJ,Photobooth-$1,500-Package deal if you sign with the one company
Alcohol-$1500-buying from multiple places on sale
Dress-$400-Davids Bridal
Flowers-$100-Sams Club-arranging myself the day before the wedding.
Invites-$40-Print at home kits from walmart

arosboro

@ bfries06  - check out Zedler Mill in Luling.  Yes a bit outside of SAT, but is beautiful.. especially for that rustic feel.  

Venue is open to whatever vendors you want - table/chairs available and included in rental.  Rental $1000.00.  

Good Luck  

bekt14

My budget is about $7500-8000. We originally wanted to keep it under $7000 but I have a very large family and they all RSVP-ed "Yes". We originally planned to have 80 guests, but now it's at 110.  The cost to feed them is pushing our budget up much higher. I've definitely learned that the best way to keep the costs down is to keep the guest list small. Each additional guest is costing us about $30. So I would recommend going over your guest list again and cutting it down as much as possible. 

I'm doing a morning brunch buffet, which is the cheapest meal option. 

[Deleted User]

I'm jealous I LOVE SAN ANTONIO!! Good luck whatever you pick It'll be beauitful

sandrafunk88

 Hi, I can totally understand your situation as you are on budget, what I would personally suggest you is that you need to come up with an proper estimated budget planning which will help you in chopping out the unnecessary cost ,also what you need to do is try reducing your guest list because inviting 150 people is quite too much as reducing the list will help you saving a lot in food and catering services, As when it comes to decoration you can purchase it someone that gives you all the décor products at really affordable price I opted for sculptwareonline.com they provide services at really affordable rates. also try opting for a venue that does not exceeds beyond your budget.

Denise40

A lot of places offer discounts for military people. Maybe you can look for places that offer that??

Knottie56437995

How is your wedding planning going? I was about to suggest what Denise said. Look for venues that give a discount for those in the military. There is a military academy here in PA that does weddings but they are expensive. There is also a military oriented non-profit organization here that we are looking at that has a nice banquet hall and beautiful grounds. They are just getting into weddings and are very reasonable. They have their own caterer but have not balked at our $8k budget and have been so nice to us, though we are not in the military. 

Think outside of the box. Look at places that do not advertise themselves as a wedding venue, like a camp ground or a University. We found a campground that has one log cabin and we would have the entire grounds for the whole week for around $1,000! We might not go with it because of the location). 

We are looking for outdoor venues which can be expensive with tents and portable restrooms. However, I believe some tent rentals will let you reserve a tent "just in case" it rains and you can cancel a certain period of time prior to the event. The quote I got for a basic tent, table chairs, and dance floor for 100 people was around $2,000 but I haven't heard yet if that includes set up. 

With you fiance in the military, I would really look to non-profit organizations.  

We're finding that picnic and BBQ themed food is way cheaper than other options and we think that would be relaxed and fun for our guests. 

Good luck! 

prettypixelz

Honey, I feel your pain. I was surprisingly hard-pressed to find a gorgeous rustic venue in our $10,000 budget, around the Houston area...But after looking at EVERY listing on EVERY website under the sun, I'll be damned if I didn't find it! Try http://thespringsevents.com/. They have locations set up all over Texas (including San Antonio), and they all look pretty much exactly the same. We're getting married at Ambre Springs Events in Montgomery.

I found that these venues were just as gorgeous (if not more so) than any of the others out there, but at a MUCH better value. For instance, while most places charge $5,000 to $8,000 for just 4 hours of rental time, Springs Events charges you around $3,000 and it's yours all. darn. day. 8am to midnight. There are no hidden taxes or fees. They don't force you to use their vendors. Just a flat price for the whole venue. It left me a LOT of wiggle room to really pick and choose my caterers, hairstylist, florists and such to make sure that everything fit into the budget just right.

As for your vendors, my best advice to you from what I've found so far is to look for vendors who provide a lot of extra things in their price. For instance, if you have a caterer on your left hand who charges about $15 a plate, and you have a caterer on your right hand who charges about $20 a plate BUT provides plates, napkins, silverware, glassware and the like...that extra $5 a person is 100% worth it because otherwise you'd be paying a LOT more to buy your own dinnerware. GOOD LUCK!