Budget Venue in North Dallas

georgialass

Hi, everyone. I'm recently engaged. My fiance and I were planning on having a two year engagement. As recent college graduates, we wanted to get our bills paid off and have a reasonable amount of money set aside for the wedding, as we are paying for it ourselves. However, my father was recently diagnosed with stage IV colon cancer, so we have decided, in the interest of time, to have the wedding next year.

Our budget is 5K-10K, though as close to 5K as possible. Our guest list is a minimum of 150, with a B-List of up to 250, but we can adjust as necessary. We originally wanted a DIY wedding, which was the reason for the long engagement, but, due to time constraints, we are willing to make adjsutments that are more time and cost effective.

The biggest issue is finding a venue. We wanted an outdoor wedding and indoor reception, but again, will compromise for cost. We wanted to be in the Dallas area, preferably North Dallas (Addison, Plano, etc.) but are pretty flexible about location.

Venue (and any other cost cutting suggestions) would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks and God bless.

cwaggoner07

Winfrey Point is a popular budget spot, but it fills up fast. Also, you will have a much MUCH easier time with your budget if you do a Friday or Sunday wedding. It will also be easier to book a budget-friendly venue.

fallbride1109

I am so sorry to hear about your father.

Your biggest cost cutting move is to keep the guest list as small as possible.  The difference between 250 and 150 is huge.  Venue and food and beverage are your biggest costs.  Obviously a full meal on a Saturday night with alcohol is going to be much more expensive than a late afternoon wedding with just appetizers, cake and champagne. 

It might mean that you don't get to invite every third cousin or everyone your parents have ever known but keeping the guest list down helps tremendously.  DIYing your invitations is a good way to save a little.  Using minimal floral in your decor can keep those costs down.  I wish I could help more with your venue but once you get that nailed down, there are lots of ways to save in the other areas.

courtski2004

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_texas-dallas-ft-worth_budget-venue-in-north-dallas?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:102Discussion:7abaf312-3f16-4810-a816-ee3d6aef4a56Post:3409c3de-f5ba-440e-b3ac-0a173b2e1ce7">Budget Venue in North Dallas</a>:
[QUOTE]Hi, everyone. I'm recently engaged. My fiance and I were planning on having a two year engagement. As recent college graduates, we wanted to get our bills paid off and have a reasonable amount of money set aside for the wedding, as we are paying for it ourselves. However, my father was recently diagnosed with stage IV colon cancer, so we have decided, in the interest of time, to have the wedding next year. Our budget is 5K-10K, though as close to 5K as possible. <strong>Our guest list is a minimum of 150, with a B-List of up to 250, but we can adjust as necessary.</strong> We originally wanted a DIY wedding, which was the reason for the long engagement, but, due to time constraints, we are willing to make adjsutments that are more time and cost effective. The biggest issue is finding a venue. We wanted an outdoor wedding and indoor reception, but again, will compromise for cost. We wanted to be in the Dallas area, preferably North Dallas (Addison, Plano, etc.) but are pretty flexible about location. Venue (and any other cost cutting suggestions) would be greatly appreciated! Thanks and God bless.
Posted by georgialass[/QUOTE]

First off, welcome and congratulations! I'm sorry to hear of your father's illness.

Would you mind elaborating on what you mean by 'b-list? Are you referring to a tiered reception or is that just the maximum number of people that you are thinking of inviting?

My first recommendation to cut costs is to cut the guest list since catering costs can climb significantly as you add more and more people. Another way to cut corners is to plan a weeknight or Sunday wedding since rental costs can skyrocket for Saturday events.

roseofdeborah

Welcome first of all! And I'll share my tidbits of how to save money that I used. I printed my own invitations that I bought at Hobby Lobby. They were origionally $20 but every other week the employees told me they have wedding stuff 50% off, so I went on those weeks and got them for $10. Then printing at home was so easy and looked completely professional.

Another thing we skipped on was flowers, mostly. My bouquet was $130 bridesmaids was $50 each, $9 for boutineers, and that was it for our flowers. There are a lot of budget friendly photographers as well. Ours is $1400 for 8 hours of shooting time day of with 2 photographers and all photos are our property in the end. We are DIY the decorations. For the ceremony we are only doing pew markers that we are making with a doiley taped together like a cone hanging by ribbon from the pew with babys breath sticking from it. For table centerpieces we got free wine bottles from a knottie and painted them white with baby's breath sticking out with 3 candles in votives per table, which we also got at hobby lobby for %50 off which was .50 cents each.

Our food is the only big cost item so I can't help with that. And I found a budget cake person from these boards and its a brides and grooms cake with tax and delivery coming to $400. Another cheap outdoor ceremony and indoor reception place is Texas Discovery Gardens. Gorgeous location.