Planning a small wedding

zpaz

My fiancee and I are planning on getting married on October 20th of this year. We don't have a lot of preferences which is what makes all this so difficult - we really just want to get over this day and enjoy the marriage.

Here's what we have so far:

Venues: We went to look around Winfrey Point and Big Thicket today. Wasn't such a fan of Big Thicket but Winfrey Point got my attention. Has anyone done wedding AND reception there? I understand the minumum hours is 4hrs. I've started calling restaurants to see what the price range is, waiting to hear back from there. I've emailed the DFW Botanic Gardens but no respond. Will call them soon.

Guest list: Not very big at all! Just 14-15 people, including myself and my fiancee.

Budget: Again, not very big. We have about $1000-$1500 to spend. I fooled myself into thinking that I could do it into that small a budget and while I've heard its doable, with the date so close, I am getting stressed.

Cake/Photography: I know they say that you should always have a professional do this, but my fiancee's sister wants to give this to us a wedding gift. Her husband is a wonderful photographer and she's an excellent baker. So these two are covered.

Dress: covered.

Minister/Officiant: I think this was the biggest shock to us. We both we they wouldn't be cheap but I don't think either one of us thought $300 was the starting price. DFWGetMarried has responded that they have someone available for our day.

If anyone has any ideas/suggestions, I'd love to hear them. With family and friends so far away from me, it's hard planning this by myself.

Cheers!

professorscience

I was in a wedding/reception at WP.  It is a great venue.  Is it available Oct. 20 on such short notice?  You are a lucky girl, if that's the case!

Black Eyed Pea has pretty inexpensive catering a deeeelicious food.

For officiants, LoveNotes is really popular if you don't already have someone in mind.

ETA: I feel like Winfrey Point is way too big for your guest list.  Have you thought about checking out restaurants for ceremony/reception?  One girl here got married on the rooftop at El Fenix, another had her reception at Maggiano's.  I feel like if you could get a party room somewhere it would be much more intimate.

ktwed1

My officient is Tina Long with Weddings by Tina. We are paying $200 for ceremony and rehearsal. If you don't need the rehearsal i think she may only charge $125-150 for ceremony only.
http://www.weddingsbytinadfw.com/

fallbride1109

I think a restaurant is a great idea.  WP is 100% DIY and you'll have to do everything yourself while a restaurant will do everything for you.  Talk about stress free.

Are you talking about the Arboretum?  They have a ceremony only option for 25 people but it's $650 and I seriously doubt you could get them on such short notice (but maybe only because your guest list is so small).  They get a lot of inquiries--no one even got back to me when I contacted them so I suggest calling.

Jen6862

Does anybody you know have a pretty backyard? I've seen some beautiful backyard weddings and that would save you on cost and allow you to afford chair/table rentals + catering. You could also look at having the ceremony in a park and the reception at a restaurant.

winechic25

For something this small, you could also look at The Gazebo on Main Street in Grapevine, they rent that out, or the Botancial Gardens in Grapevine.  But, not sure you want to come this far west.  

zpaz

Update: Called the DFW Botanic Gardens and they are full up except for one garden that fits 100 people and the hours are from 6-8pm. Fiancee like the idea of getting married at dusk but I'm not so sure. With the lighting for pictures and the lighting outside in general, I'm just uneasy. 

Thank you so much, ktwed1! I emailed Tina and am waiting to hear back from her. 

I love the outdoor park wedding idea. I've heard that you require permits though, and I'm going to call Dallas Parks to see if that's true. I'm intrigued by this Gazebo! I love them, think they're very romantic.

Thank you so much everyone. These ideas are great. If you have any more suggestions/ideas, I'd appreacite them. You're all great. (:

EDIT: We called Dallas Parks & Rec. They do outdoor weddings where you basically pick a spot and you can get married there. $25/hr with a minimum of 3hrs. I kind of like that!

fallbride1109

I've posted this before, it's a link with all the parks at White Rock.

http://www.watermelon-kid.com/places/wrl/tour/tour_index.htm

If you're open to restaurants, we've had Knotties get married at both El Fenix and Ferrari's Italian Villa and I think Maggiano's has a ceremony option also.

cwaggoner07

I am so totally obsessed with White Rock, and there are SO many great places around the lake.

errantjenna

Check out The Handley Heights Place off Lancaster in FTW. They have an outdoor area and an indoor area. Starting around $600. Also Northeast Wedding Chapel in Hurst is having $1,000 off special for the month of October right now. I'm still hunting a venue myself. Good luck!!