First post! Budget wedding in San Antonio / Boerne?

FutureMrsVogt2011

Hi All!My fiance and I are both from Boerne, and are trying to plan a budget (under 10,000 for everything but the honeymoon.) wedding in the area. Catch is, we actually live in Houston, which makes it a little difficult at times. Any suggestions??thanks muchos!!

MBLove

How many people were you planning on inviting? That was my budget at first and then I realized we were inviting way too many people to make that budget realistic. My advice is to find as many DIY projects as possible (check the DIY message board for suggestions). Try and find a venue that lets you bring your own alcohol if you're planning on having alcohol because bar costs are ridiculously expensive. Basically the best thing I think you can do is shop around. If a vendor seems too expensive, keep looking at other options and if you have specifice questions, just ask around on the message boards! Good Luck and congratulations on your engagement! Welcome to the SA board:)

rmfriedman

Hi there! I also live in Houston and am planning a San Antonio wedding. It can be annoying to have to travel there for planning purposes...but it's not terrible. I always end up having marathon weekends where I see multiple vendors each trip. There are plenty of ladies planning weddings in your budget range so I wouldn't worry too much. My suggestion would be to make a spreadsheet that lists all wedding expenses and figure out how much you want to spend for each category. Keep track of everything and if you splurge in one area you have to spend less in another. Welcome to the SA board and happy planning!!

Jolililas

That budget is totally doable for a very nice wedding.Here's my advice:Venue- Try to have a place that does ceremony and reception so you don't have to pay another couple of hundred to use a church for your ceremony.Catering- Look for places where you can bring in your own catering/alcohol, or a venue with a variety of preferred vendors. Some of the venue's menus charge an arm and leg with their own catering.Invites/STD/Programs- DIY and order in bulk from online.Dress/Veil- Buy a bridesmaid dress in white (super budget); or find a dress you like at a boutique and try to find a discount online store that sells that same brand, like netbride.com. I used them and highly recommend them. Saved half on my dress. Also please don't buy a veil from David's Bridal for like $200. You can find almost the exact same thing online or ebay for $20.Photography- Try to find a photographer without the "package deal" like "includes prints, a photobook, whatever." You can make your own photobook and print out your own photos. All that you really need is a CD of all the edited photos.Hope this helps.

becky5858

I just had a very nice (in my opinion anyway) wedding in SA for under 10K.  It can definitely be done.  The biggest thing to remember is that EVERYTHING is negotiable.  I negotiated with every single vendor and saved a ton that way.  The one thing I wish I would have done differently is had my wedding in the afternoon so people would not expect a full meal.  Paying for only appetizers would have been much cheaper.Good luck!