Hey everyone. My fiance and I are getting married in July and are on a very TIGHT budget. Although many bride and grooms get a lot of financial support from their families to pay for their weddings, we are NOT. Our families would love to help us pay for our wedding, they just do not have the means to do so. That being said.. All expenses fall on us.
As it stands now we are having a buffet reception including the following:
**Dinner Menu**
Build Your Own Garden Salad
Rolls and Butter
Pasta Bar: Garlic Bread, Penne Pasta, Marinara Sauce, Alfredo Sauce, Bolognaise Sauce, Hot Marinated Grilled Vegetables, Grilled Chicken
London Broil Carving Station
Potato Bar: Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Parslied Potatoes, Victorian Potatoes
Beverages: Water, Iced Tea, Soda, Coffee, Hot Tea
**Cake** White Wedding Amaretto Cake
Buttercream Frosting
Bottom Tier- Buttercream Filling
Top Tiers- Chocolate Mousse FillingWe are finding that with all the expenses we have in regards to our wedding (Ceremony and Reception Site, Officiant, DJ, Cake, Food, Non-Alcoholic Beverages, Invitiations, Decorations, Miscellaneous things, etc), we need to cut some costs. We have already done that in many areas by using a lot of DIY things. For example, we will be doing all our florals on our own..
It seems that at this point, the only additional place we can cut cost is in regards to alcohol. In an ideal world, we would have the money to do an open bar.. Well this isn't an ideal world! It looks like right now, the best scenario for us and our budget would be to serve a signature cocktail (so that we can provide at least something alcoholic to our guests in addition to the non-alcoholic beverages being served) and open up the bar that is on site as a cash bar so that people at least have the option to buy other alcoholic beverages if they would like. I really don't like this idea myself, but I can't simply pull money out of the air and don't feel like I have any other options. Any thoughts?