How to do a wedding for 5K in Austin, but still be awesome

broseph11 · March 2010

We want to get married next spring and don't want to spend (and can't!) more than 5K. So far, we love Zilker Club House (we've been to a few weddings there), and possibly Fiesta Gardens. Both are right around 1K for rental. We want to do ceremony and reception in the same place.

I'm pretty confident about everything other than food. We would probably have 75-100 people, and we don't want to do BBQ or Mexican. Any other ideas on doing a nice, fun wedding (beer/wine only) on a budget in Austin?

SarahPLiz · March 2010

Use Specs for Beer and wine

Check into Carinos or Olive Garden for pasta buffet catering. They are often the least expensive catering options for a meal, along with mexican and BBQ

Consider a morning wedding with a lunch reception. This will also help save on food and drink, as people tend not to drink quite as much at lunch as they do at dinner.

DIY lots of stuff, like tissue paper flowers.

CHeck out Mayfield Park as well, just a suggestion

Shop Dollar Tree and Michaels sales (sign up online for coupons)

Get a friend to get ordained in the Universal Life Church so they can marry you.. save the officiant fee.

I can't think of anything else right now.

SarahPLiz · March 2010

Oh, and check these board before you buy or rent anything like linens, place settings, shoes, etc. There may be someone selling somehting for cheaper than you can rent it.

dapo2004 · March 2010

I second SarahPLiz's recommendation on Carino's. Their catering is really reasonably priced.

You may want to look into doing a desserts only reception. They can look REALLY classy if it is done well. Plus, you can splurge on great desserts and save A LOT of money overall by not going to traditional meal route.

There's a lot of good information regarding desserts only receptions in these two threads:

http://boards.weddingbee.com/topic/dessert-only-reception

http://community.southernliving.com/showthread.php?t=16883

Also, I really think surprise weddings are cute and can definitely help with budgeting. Here's one I found on a random blog:

http://austindara.com/blog/weddings/randy-whitney-granada-theater-surprise-santa-barbara-wedding.html

You can definitely do surprise weddings on a budget because you can throw out some of the formalities like expensive invitations, floral centerpieces, bridesmaids bouquets, aisle runners, tuxes, etc. They are more about the actual marriage ceremony than anything else. Plus, these kind of weddings tend to make some unforgettable memories.

I hope all of this information helps and good luck with your wedding planning!

sheaday · March 2010

One thing to keep in mind, the city of Austin does a lottery system for the venues you're interested in (you can only reserve the venue 7 months before your date if you win the lottery). Since you want to get married in the spring, your date may be a popular one. I really love the Zilker Clubhouse as well but I couldn't risk the chance of not getting the venue and being in a rush to find a backup.

When it comes to food, I would say just call some catering companies and tell them your budget and see what they can work with. You may be able to come up with a one entree, 2 sides type of meal within your budget.

kelseymw · March 2010

A friend of mine got married recently and the couple paid for the wedding themselves on teacher salaries so the budget was small. They got married at 1:30pm, and had their reception 2-5pm with appetizer type foods and cocktails. It was nicely done and a good idea to save a TON of money. Then they went out to bars with friends later that night for more of a "party".

Also Chapel Dulcinea is a free venue. http://www.chapeldulcinea.org/

Ditto what the others said about DIY and scouring these boards for sales (or other Knotties selling stuff).

broseph11 · March 2010

These are all great ideas! I'm starting to really like the idea of a Sunday brunch wedding as an idea. Also love the dessert only idea! Thanks!

decjunkie · March 2010

Liz from Exquisite Cuisine is doing my wedding for $30.00 per person and it looks like that would fit right into your budget. I think she is pretty flexible with pricing and menus. Her food is awesome.

karenchris2009 · March 2010

We are getting married on a Friday to lower the budget a little. Most of the venues we looked at have a cheaper rate for Fridays than Sundays.

We are using Dagar's for our catering. They are absolutely yummy and they are really reasonably priced. We also didn't want BBQ (even though they have the BEST brisket in the world!), and they have a ton of variety in their menu. Plus, they have an open house every month so you can go eat as much as you want! :-)

I second Specs. You can get a keg of Ziegenbock for $80. Awesome.

I've been doing a lot of shopping around for the best price (we are paying for the wedding on our own), and I have been making a lot of things. Hobby Lobby has great sales (and you get coupons in your email) and Dollar Tree has a lot of bulk things for cheap (you can get them shipped to the closest store to avoid shipping costs).

If you have patience to keep looking for good deals, it's pretty easy to maintain a low budget (we have a 10K budget with around 200 guests). Good luck!!

MnMShaw · March 2010

You can check out Reunion Ranch in Georgetown if you are up for going a little more north. You can do reception and ceremony both there and I think you can do that amount of people for less than $5000 (that includes rental, food, beer and wine, decorations, and in house music)

lgurnie · March 2010

I got married on a Sunday and was able to bargain with my vendors. It really helped bring costs down.

How to do a wedding for 5K in Austin, but still be awesome

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