Wedding Budget! HEEEELP!!!

JulezG85

So orignally we were going to have this HUGE wedding with a budget of around $20,000 but things have changed. Since then we have both decided that we want to have a small/lower budget wedding and use the left over money to buy a house. Which is wonderful but now how the hell do I plan a wedding on that budget and not have in look "cheap"? What do I cut, scale back on, etc.? A lot of people have suggested to get married at a park but we are getting married in October. Also not sure how a DJ/music would work at a park. Anyways... ANY and ALL suggestions would be GREATLY appreciated.

fancynewbecca

Well... here are the ways that we scaled back and slimmed down:

1. We are having our wedding in February, on a Sunday. Having it on a Sunday in the middle of winter really, really, really helped the budget.

2. We cut our guest list by 50%. That was hard, but we knew it was the right choice for us.

3. My friend is our officiant: free. And we kept our WP small.

4. We are DIYed our altar, invites, STDs, thank you cards and are DIYing our centerpieces, favors, flowers. It's amazing who will come out of the woodworks to help you if you just ask.

5. My DOC is a friend of one of my bridesmaids, so she is taking care of day-of stuff for free.

6. We found our photographer on Craigslist. We just looked and looked until we found someone reliable and within our budget.

7. We got a discount on the cake because I'm an active poster on the board and we got a discount on our DJ because a friend referred us to him.

8. I got my dress on clearance at David's Bridal (granted, I've had to buy another but still, it was good at the time)

FWIW, we are not having our wedding at a park. It IS possible to do all of it without having to have it at a park. Although, I would say, there are probably some really lovely indoor park facilities that you could find, especially if you looked outside of the City of Seattle.

Okay, sorry this was kind of long, hope it helped! Good luck!

ckonidak

I think Becca gave you some great advice. I would consider cutting your guest list (which I'm sure will be quite hard). The head count has been the biggest factor in our costs, and it affects everything. So keep the guest list small, and you'll be well on your way (bonus is smaller weddings can feel a lot more intimate, which could be nice). Another major expense for us is the cake/food. There are certainly options that cost less than the one's we've chosen, so I'd keep my mind open to new food choices if you're looking to cut costs. I don't blame you for not wanting to get married in a park outside, the weather here can be so tumultuous. But October isn't too bad, wedding-season wise. Also, having it on a Fri/Sun would definitely help cut costs. Good luck!

JulezG85

Any venue ideas?!?!?! Thanks for the other tips

fancynewbecca

Of course! How many people are you expecting now since you've scaled back your budget. Our venue is Acalia (link in my bio under Vendors), but their inside capacity is 80 people.

JulezG85

Well.... orignally we decided on 100 guest but haven't yet went back and scaled it down. It is going to be HARD. We both have large families and don't want to leave anyone out. His mom is especially picky on who we do/don't invite even if we really don't want to invite them. Hopefully we can talk some sense into her Thanks for the suggestion on the venue, will go look at it right now

fancynewbecca

No problem!

I know it's hard. The biggest thing that we ended up compromising on was kids. We ended up allowing only WP kids and kids from people whop are coming from out of state. So, esstentially we only invted adult relatives and friends. That won't work for every family, but it worked for us.

FWIW, we have a similar budget to yours. Acalia includes all of the following: venue rental for the day, food, food displays, tables, chairs, linens, plates, glasses. We also purchased a beer/wine package. It also includes venue staff, two hours for set up, the venue staff will clean up, cake cutting, and you get to take the leftovers with you )

KatiScarlet

Here's a hard one too.  Are you dead set on an evening wedding?  There are a few other time blocks that would be a little less traditional but way less expensive.  An afternoon wedding means light drinking, light apps, and then everyone leaves before dinner time.  This one is a little more out there - a brunch wedding.  Waaaayyyy less drinking and food is as simple as a beautiful assortment of pastries, fresh fruit, and of course (in my world) a huge platter of bacon. 

kimberliyancey

Our budget is about half that but we are having 70 or so people. Venue is the bath house at golden gardens, Jenny gg is photog, our dj is around 600 bucks for the whole nite, got invites off of easy for 1.25 ea and STD for almost nothing from vista print. DIY flowers from market, and catering from Renton technical college, dress from Alfred Angelo. I think that covers it. We still need a cake and officials though. Ha ha! I think you are so smart for saving the money to buy a house!!