New and need help...

Courtneyluff

This is my first post as a knottie! It is probably going to be the first of many.
My name is Courtney, and my wedding is October 3rd. I am 18 (will be 19 by then), and my fiance is 22. We are on a very tight budget (about $3000-$3500). I don't know what to do. I tried on dresses today and found one I loved, but I cannot seem to find a nice venue I love (that I can afford). Maybe someone local will know of a lovely place I haven't found? I've looked at over a hundred places and really want to pull my hair out.

Anyway, long intro post, but I'm glad I found this community! 

mandasue178

Welcome to the board! How many guests are you inviting? That makes a big difference on which venues will work for you.

bridgetlb

what area is the wedding? how many people?

prlmrg08

My wedding was right at $3500. (Not including my dress).

My venue was my church, which saved us a ton of money, and we did a 7:30pm wedding on a Friday evening. We served heavy appitizers and cake with no alcohol.

For flowers, I used Tarah with TLC Flowers and did very simply flowers,

I made my own center pieces with candles and floating flowers and had some 18x18 inch squares in the center of the table that I bought the fabric and had a neighbor sew.

I rented linens from www.simplyelegantwed.com

A good caterer to look at is Sissy's Catering. Her full dinners start at only $10/pp

My cake was $2.50 a slice and I used Swanky Cakes but also LOVE Lisa's Creative Cakes (who is also $2.50/slice I think)

As far as affordable venues it depends on the area you are looking at in DFW

Jeff and Deepthi

The girls are right the guest list is going to be a big part of venue.

You want to find something that includes as much as you can for the smallest price. There are articles in the knot that will give you budget friendly advice. Having it on a day other then Saturday saves quite a bit and don't serve a full meal just do cocktails or something like that.

I found some bakery's in Arlington that do cakes for $2 a slice which is the best price I've found and they are yummy!

DIY will also help with a lot too. Good luck and happy planning!

bsn1752

I just found this place driving through Colleyville this past weekend... and thought it was such a cool idea!!  It's literally all-inclusive, but for guest lists of 50 people or less... but, still, it's pretty cool.

http://www.weddingsincolleyville.com/

danielle16_17

check out 1899 farmhouse- they having big deals because they just opened. Also check out the Carpentar house, There also is a place called hte loft in plano. Another way to cut down cost is to have the cermony at like a park with a gazbo like at Haggard Park and then have your reception at a restaraunt - if you do an afternoon wedding then you can eat off the lunch menu and choose meals that are 10 pp

lesalyric

No venue recs, but I can tell you to check out Market Street. They gave me such an excellent deal on both flowers and cake, I just couldn't pass them up.

Yay for October weddings! Congratualtions and good luck planning!

Courtneyluff

Oh wow ladies! You're wonderful. We have a large guest list. About 50ish. My fiance's cousin got married about two months ago and had a limited seating wedding. The family was hurt and really want to be a part of our wedding. Just our family (we both have large, close families), and close friends is a lot.

I'm saving money in a lot of places, like the food, flowers, and music, thanks to having two friends who are chefs, friends who are musicians, and friends who own/work for flower shops, but the venue is hard. I will look at the recommended places though! I'm excited about my wedding. We're going to share our anniversary with his parents.

Courtneyluff

Oh! And the area is South DFW (we live in Burleson), but for a good deal, we'd be willing to maek the drive. We have family all over DFW, so no matter where we have it, someone is going to have to drive.

Audrey&Austin

I can't think of any recs, but I just wanted to say god luck! I did want to say that the ladies on this board are always really helpful. You might want to check out the wedding month boards, as well. Congratulations and good luck!!

shauna378

Not sure about venues, but I am using Cuca Lu for my cake and not only is it the best cake I've ever had it's $2 slice and they will work with your budget.  The top tier is complimentary too.   Good luck to you!

Jay+Marissa

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_texas-dallas-ft-worth_new-need?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:102Discussion:5cf3c52c-b2bf-4d54-8984-6882c91c6b57Post:56af64e7-71d6-4e24-9851-f64bb22a7c73">Re: New and need help...</a>:
[QUOTE]A good caterer to look at is Sissy's Catering. Her full dinners start at only $10/pp
Posted by prlmrg08[/QUOTE]


Ditto--she is ours and we have been happy so far.

Do your own flowers--order them through farmstogo.com or Costco. I took a class at the Fort Worth Flower Connection for $40--worth it

Check out this place for a venue--I don't know the price, but I've been there and it is cute and seems affordable

<a href="http://www.crosstimberswinery.com/Index.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.crosstimberswinery.com/Index.html</a>

Also, we are using Tabitha Ballard for our cake--she charges only $1.50/slice and it tastes awesome.

Her contact info:
tabithaballardcc@gmail.com
<a href="http://www.myspace.com/tabithascakes" rel="nofollow">http://www.myspace.com/tabithascakes</a>

Good luck!

lesalyric

It isn't super glamourous, but check out the VFW hall there in Burleson.

My FI's cousin was running for Johnson Co. sherriff and had a fundraising dinner there. It holds quite a few people and they provide the tables and chairs, have a full kitchen and let you bring in your own food/alcohol. They also had a great dance floor...large and broken in by all of the boots over the years...haha!

bdettecrow

We got married at Winfrey Point in Dallas off White Rock Lake. It's pretty cheap, in my opinion. You can look at pictures in my bio.

www.11282009.weebly.com