Help! 2015 budget wedding of the year

Re: Help! 2015 budget wedding of the year

• CMGragain member

  

  December 2014 edited December 2014

  You should probably have posted this on the Budget Bride's board, and x-post on your local board.
  
  It is possible to have a perfectly lovely wedding for $2000.  Food is more important than decor or your colors.  There must be a chair for every person.
  
  The most inexpensive weddings have a mid-afternoon ceremony followed by a cake and punch reception.  Trays of tea sandwiches are a nice touch. (Costco, Sam's Club)  Venues can include parks, men's clubs like VFW, Elks, etc., firehouses.  You can get creative here with crepe paper and twinkle lights. If you are a church member, this can be a great option and you use the fellowship hall for your reception.  Men wear suits.  Cake can be a decorated sheet cake from the grocery store.  $25 serves 50 people.  Those fancy tiered cakes cost hundreds, and many don't taste that good!  Get your flowers from a grocery store.  Red and white carnations are budget friendly.
  
  The next most budget friendly wedding is a morning ceremony followed by a brunch reception.  You can serve a full meal for half the cost of a dinner.  Try some local restaurants that have private party rooms.  Again, men wear suits.
  
  My sister had an afternoon ceremony in a city park shelter, and served picnic food (pig roast).  Best food ever!
  
  Dinner receptions are the most expensive, and you should not try this on your budget.
  

  

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• fwtx5815 member

  

  December 2014

  CMG has given good advice. The best way to stretch your wedding budget is to do a cake and punch reception in the afternoon. There are likely many places in your area that you could use for a small fee. While a backyard wedding might be your first choice, if you or someone close to you doesn't have the space to offer up, you'll have to look for something else.
  
  Also going to reiterate that the food and properly hosting your guests is WAY more important than the decor. Make sure there is a chair for every butt at all times, people aren't forced to be outside in bad weather/uncomfortable temps, etc.

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   fka dallasbetch 

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

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• Esther Morales member

  

  January 2015

  check out the site below.  You may need very little or no decor (perhaps just an altar, table with LED candles, a tall vase of fresh wild flowers) and an aisle runner.  have no idea on pricing, but hope this resource helps.  good luck.

  
  

  http://www.palmbeachfl.com/weddings/venues/gardens-parks/
  

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• CJandRyan member

  

  January 2015

  Have you looked on Pinterest for DIY decor ideas? That's where I got most of the inspiration for mine.

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• esstee33 member

  

  January 2015

  morgans2015 said:

  I'm trying to plan a wedding for $2000 (not including the wedding dress). I'm in WPB, Florida but am looking at nearby towns too. Its going to be small 50 people. I'm going to try to do my own decorations and flowers. I'm just running into an issue finding a reception Venue. I don't know anyone with a back yard to do it in. Also need cheap DYI decorating ideas my colors are red, black, and white.

  I would definitely XP this to the budget board, because not all DIY is budget-friendly. Pinterest is a wealth of info for DIY wedding projects. If you have the time, you could make paper or coffee filter flowers as decor. One of my good friends is doing the coffee filter ones, and it's very, very time-consuming, but not very expensive and they look really nice. 

  
  

  Something to keep in mind also is that even if you find someone willing to host this in their backyard, it's not necessarily going to be all that cheap. You may need a tent and chair rental service in addition to potentially renting bathrooms if their home can't handle 50 people using the bathroom. Park shelters are often very, very inexpensive. Just make sure if you have it outside, whether in a backyard or a park, you have a Plan B in case of bad weather -- which makes a covered park shelter already a better idea. 

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• kellyem2 member

  

  January 2015

  Public parks will often let people use their venues for little or no cost. Just make sure that the park doesn't lock you into using a designated caterer that could blow your budget. I also second what a lot of people said and make sure that you pick a location that will still work if the weather isn't so great. You also need to make sure you'll have things like chairs and bathrooms that are essential to taking care of your guests.
  
  Or you could consider going completely off the wall. Do you or your groom have any hobbies? Consider hosting your wedding someplace that ties into your interests. It could be really fun to book someplace like a mini golf course, bowling alley or something like that as long as they let you bring in your own food. Places that don't normally accommodate weddings are usually a lot more reasonable about pricing. If anything they'll love the publicity something like that will bring.
  
  I don't know your style, but an easy way to make beautiful wedding details is to add a little bling. Dollar store accessories suddenly look like something out of a magazine if you add just a little bit of glitter or metallic paint. I'd nail down a venue first, make a list of all the elements at the venue that you already love (architecture, plants, open space, cool industrial details, fun art, etc.) and focus on decorations that will accent those things. Not only does that cut down on what you need to do, it will start to give your wedding a theme which will look really cool.
  

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• happyhalfling member

  

  January 2015

  I know I'm posting a little late, but if you're decorating, consider hitting the after valentines day sales. It should be easy to get red and white. You could then fill in the gaps with black accents.

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