HI! New here, and have a question!

Amee8605

Ok ladies, first off, My name is Amee.
    I am getting married on September 25th, of this year(YIKES!!) and was just proposed to On July 4th. So I am a nervous wreck!!!
       We are doing our Ceremony outside a church at Squirrell Hollow in Jefferson. And the reception will most likely be at the fairgrounds in Jefferson.
    I am really just wanting to know if it is anywhere NEAR reasonable of me to expect to be able to pull this off for $4,000 or less?
   Here is what we have so far:

         *FI's Uncle is a pro. photographer. So he will most likely agree to do pics(Just thought of it, so I still have to ask him. But he will) That will probably cost us about $2-300.
         * My mom does invites professionally, so we just have to buy card stock, envelopes and stamps....and ribbon or something.
         * Music- we have a friend's dad who throws awesome parties, and has his own sound set up, including karaoke. Haven't asked yet, but I am hoping he is a possiblity. He is SO much fun, and probably cheaper! 
           Otherwise, We know a DJ who said he would come do it for $500, but if that isn't in our budget, he will work with us. So most likely $400.
         * Food- catering maybe from Jefferson. Just homestyle food. Something that will fill everyone up, be yummy, and not too fancy schmancy.
         * Alcohol at reception, 1-2 kegs, and not sure about the rest yet. (plan on ducking out before its too late, and hitting up a local bar that we used to go to a lot. I just really wanna go to a bar in my dress, with my man and let all his exes know he is mine!!! Lol. Kinda joking!)
         * We will rent as much as possible. White chairs for ceremony for sure.
         * BFF got married last summer and has all the glass centerpiece pieces, that we could accent with our colors.
         *Flowers- only want real flowers for the wedding party.

                            And my dress. The ones I like range from $300-$700. Mom and dad will also be paying for some(not sure how much yet) of the wedding expenses.
                      Oh, and if needed to cut costs, we would consider using FI's paren'ts farm for the reception. Not too keen on the idea, but I want a real wedding, and that means right now, it has to be as cheap as it can be!

Sorry this got waaaay long. If you hung in there, do you think I am way out of line hoping to do this for $4,000 or less?! Thanks for any input.

Oh, also, DF is a veteran. I saw some of you talking about discounts from vendors. Do you know if Vets get a discount? Or just active?    Thanks again!!!!!!!!

mishy112

Hi, and welcome! Congrats on your engagement! I'm curious as to why you are planning the wedding so soon? Not that there's anything wrong with that, just wondering.

How many guests are you planning to invite? That will make a big difference in how far the budget will stretch.

As far as your fi's uncle being the photographer, that would be nice, but I wonder if it would take away his enjoyment as a guest at his nephew's wedding. Another inexpensive option is to find someone just starting out or someone who does photography on the side. I am using someone who takes excellent photos, but isn't professionally established yet, so she is very affordable!

Other ideas are to check out Craigslist and the Wedding Classifieds board here on the Knot to look for secondhand items - decorations, leftover invitation materials, or even your dress (though if you're like me, you want a dress that is brand new!). Also, check out the DIY & budget weddings board.

Good luck!

jlmeier5

it is reasonable to expect that buget to work however you have to be prepared to do a little more work for it.....i have my uncle who a photographer to use for free and a free dj(friend of my mom's) and your lucky cuz i did my invites myself! you can also get etching kick for your wine glasses and you can rent lighting and isel runners if you want that is a very inexspensive way to go.... what colors/ theme are you using i might beable to throw out some other ideas for you

medusia00

Welcome!! Sounds like you will have a lot of help! I think you can pull it off!!!

Also if you check out the DIY board here on TK, you can get a lot of good ideas!! Start clipping coupons now for like Hobby Lobby and those stores, I have a 50% off I got for being on their email list today that I am going to use.

Let us know how it goes, and everyone on here is very helpful!
HTH

Amee8605

Thanks guys! I THINK our colors will be a chocolate brown and a deep pink. Not positive yet, and FI is NOT keen on pink! Lol. We are planning it so soon, because first of all, we have been together for five years and a child already. Second, FI is NOT one to do the whole marriage/wedding thing. SO since he agreed, I have to move as fast as possible to make sure I get a WEDDING, and not a trip to the Justice of the Peace. Lol. He said he has no problem with the wedding, until I start talking about money. Then, he said we need to just do the JOP. NO! Scuse me, but my daddy is walking me down the aisle!! Lol. So we really do need to keep this low budget, but Looking at the DIY board, I am AMAZED at what dollartree.com has, so I know we can decorate the whole thing ourselves too.I'm excited. Mom and I work way better under pressure, and we are crafty, so hopefully this comes easily!

RochelleAnn2302

I would just say if you look at hobby lobby website they have the 50% off coupon about every other week on there but it is for one item only. But floral stems go 40% off about every 3-4 weeks so watch for that. I think they are 40% off this week so it might be a few weeks before you see it again. Never buy anything full price @ HL. It's my favorite store but they have sales all the time and it's not worth spending extra when you can wait 2-3 weeks! They also have bouquets that are pre-made. Also, their seasonal stuff goes up to 70% off once the season is over (and is usually 50% during the end of the season) so if you wanted to look through that stuff you should be able to get it pretty cheap as well. I would really recommend trying to find a used or clearanced dress at David's or something because @ $700 that's nearly 20% of your budget not including shoes, undergarments, alterations, etc. Just to give you an idea, most budgeters recommend spending about 10% on wedding atire including grooms tux. Just something to think about. I love this site and have used it to tweek my budget here and there.

 http://www.outoftheordinary.com/weddingbudgetcalc.php

HTH!

Amee8605

Thanks! Well, I set my budget at $4,000, without consulting my parents or FI. I Was just price checking, and trying to go as cheap as possible. Had a breakdown yesterday, and my parents eased my fears, and said they will cover me. I am their only daughter, and its a one time thing. So i feel SO much better! Still doing it on the cheap, but now I think my budget can go higher! I was so shocked when my mom told me the dresses I showed her were NOWHERE NEAR what she thought I would want....ie: She thought she would be paying $2,000 for a DRESS! No thanks!I like Other things being paid off! The ones I love are like $400 ish. I am just breathing aHUGE sigh of relief right now!

jlmeier5

you could do a pinwheele with your flowers for a centerpiece...and instead of butineirs (i'm not great at spelling) you can make them out of zippers to make it less girly for the fi and there is always things like candles and confetti joann's website has tons of DIY ideas and projects check it out sometime and see what you can do and let us know