Budget ceremony- no home church, live out of state

katiebo1013

Im having the hardest time finding an affordable ceremony location. I cant afford to spend $1000 on a ceremony and since most officiants are around $200, that doesnt leave much room. I'm hoping to find a church/venue for a few hundred? is that crazy? We dont have a home church, which makes it difficult (my fiance and i were raised catholic, but neither are religious) and we live in TX so we cant go to any of the churches marriage classes in MI. Neither of our families belong to one either. My preference would be an outdoor space, since we will prob get married in May or Sep. I will need to accomodate 100 people at most, more like 75. We are looking at a banquet hall down river so I would like a place with in 30 min or Riverview.

katiebo1013

oh and ps, our vendo offered to let us do the ceremony in the reception room, i know beggers cant be choosers but i reallly dont want to do that. to use a different room it was $800

Sue-n-Kevin

Welcome to the Detroit board!

There are yellow push pins at the top of this board that have details on the vendors that the local brides used, or are using.

My venue, Greenmead Village in Livonia, has an adorable, historic chapel that is non-denominational. You'd have to bring in your own officiant. I believe the cost to rent is around $300-$400 for non-Livonia residents. If you go to my bio link below, then the photo gallery link, there is a link to the pictures by our photographer. One of the best parts of using the chapel is that the grounds are simply FABULOUS. We got married in August and the pictures are great. They keep the gardens looking great with a mix of annual flowers, they have urns, etc.

There is another link on my webpage for "vendors", which will give you the contact information.

Our officiant was our DJ.................I wouldn't recommend him, but he came cheaply because he was already our DJ. Vendor link for him as well.

FWIW: I don't think there is anything wrong with having the ceremony in the room you are using for your reception. I've seen it done in many bride's photo albums, and can be easy and cheap, especially if they have room to set up an arch or something. Plus, no one has to drive anywhere afterward.

Good luck.

carpediem27

I'm pretty sure you can get married in Elizabeth Park in Trenton.. I believe they have a gazebo or something similar...(734) 675-8051 is a phone number I found by a quick google search, tho the website listed is down.It might be worth a try!

kristiemk

Crystal Gardens in Southgate has a Chapel, A Gazebo, and they run the Taylor Conservatory which would suit your needs and is really lovely. You can also look into the Trenton Church of Christ (or god?) which is located on Grange off of West rd. I believe a ceremony there is only $450 or so. Orlando Familia Banquet hall also has a chapel, but I think its pretty small. You could also Check out BASF park in Wyandotte, I attended a wedding at the gazebo there and it was lovely. Good Luck!