HELP!!!

YukaJuka

Alrighty, so here's the sitch.

Our plan is to get married now at Toronto's city hall and have an all-out Catholic wedding after graduation and we're no longer starving students. I did the initial calculations of the marriage license and ceremony/officiant/music fee which is kind of the whole central thing. I'm buying a short white prom dress for a couple hundred dollars and my future mother-in-law used to do hair for high-end fashion shows so I don't have to spend a ton at a salon. We have photographer friends so they can do our pictures for free.

But what I wanna know is about after the ceremony. We can't afford an entire reception so what are some low budget ideas that we can use where we can have some fun and just enjoy being with our friends and family. We're thinking 15 people and like I said, we're starving students so it has to be relatively easy on the wallet. Thank you!

gammaykella

Do appetizer and drinks. For 15 people a couple of hundred dollars should be able to get you some platters (try the grocery store, their catering options are very affordable!!) and buy a some bottles of wine and a few cases of beer. Maybe your parents could lend you their house or backyard?

JennLax

Do you have an idea about the season?  If you're thinking summer, then I'd suggest a nice BBQ either in someone's backyard or at a lovely park/beach where you can rent a grill

Throw on some hot dogs and hamburgers, buy condiments and some pop/juice/lemonade and voila!   I think it would be a fun and relaxing environment for a small group.  

souptin

for that small number of people you could easily just go to  a restaurant and do something there for well under $1000 (sorry not sure what your budget is) but, if 15 people all have food valued at $25 that = $375 if each guest has 2 drinks at $5.25 thats an extra $175.50 for a total of $532.50 and you have no clean up

Jewel224

Out of curiosity, why not wait til you're no longer starving students to get married?

YukaJuka

Ooh these are all wonderful ideas. I'd do the backyard thing but I live on my own and my parents live 2 and five hours away respectively and I have no family with houses in the area. 

We're doing it in August so finding a nice park and having a picnic thing there would be perfect, and even the Sheraton could work!

YukaJuka

And to answer your question, Jewel224, it's because I'm an impatient young woman and my fiance is up for whatever I want.  lol But we're saving the BIG stuff for later. Our honeymoon is gonna be a month travelling around Italy. 

dokchampa

There's a fabulous Italian restaurant within walking distance of City Hall. It's called Osteria Ciceri e Tria and they serve it tapas style. It's small and intimate. Would be perfect for 15 people. Here's a link: http://www.torontolife.com/features/osteria-ciceri-e-tria/

I went to a wedding rehearsal dinner there and it was great!