Wedding Budget!

NaomiLyn15

Ours was about 7K. We cut costs by making our own invites, making our favors, not doing a traditional wedding cake (we did boston cream pies we ordered from Safeway), and found a location for the wedding and the reception where we could get a deal. We spent most of our money on the food (about 4K). Used a friend for photography (he is a professional photographer), he gave us a fantastic deal; 700 for 13 hours and two photographers. See what your friends can help with (like photography, etc), find a venue that you can get a deal on, keep your guest list to a minimum (we still had 200 people), and see what you can make yourself.

You can do it on a budget, you just have to be ingenuitive. Friend me, I would love to help you out!

Qarol

We spent just over $5K...on everything. Honeymoon included.

Yea, we sort of eloped.

I agree...do not skimp on photography.

NKF92879

dont skimp on photography. The photos are what you will have years to come, not the cake and the venue!

I spent less than $100 on photos. It doesn't need to be "professional," just someone who can take good pictures.

anberlingasm

I got married in August on a budget of around £4,000. My wife baked our two-tier wedding cake and our dresses (two brides means two dress expenses, unfortunately!) were only around £100 each. We chose a small venue to keep the whole thing small (25 guests) and the owner of the venue did our flowers for £250.

We did most things ourselves (decor of the evening venue was a converted barn so we made bunting, for example) and this keeps your costs down quite a lot. Our theme was a sort of vintage/country feel so it was really easy to either make things ourselves or salvage them from somewhere. A galvanised tin bath from an alleyway only needed some sealant on the inside to become our drinks container for our reception! A salvaged window frame and chicken wire made our table plan and my wife painted some scrap wood to make signposts. We supplied all the drink and food for our evening reception, brides dresses, bridesmaid outfit, all venue costs and registration fees within our budget. It looked amazing, I wouldn't have done anything differently. Other than the venue, I think the photographer was the biggest cost we had (£500) but we didn't have any albums made up, just all the photos on a disc.

I paid for most of it myself (my wife only works part-time) but my dad helped with around a quarter of it. I just paid for it as we went along so it wasn't such a huge expense in one go. That, and no luxuries for a while! And afterwards, selling most of what we wouldn't use again on eBay has helped go towards the honeymoon!

Getting married midweek is a GREAT way to save money if you can do it. Most photographers will drop their prices because they consider it 'off-peak', and venues are usually cheaper. Our wedding was on a Wednesday.

mamashatzie

Spent about $3000, invited about 120 people--not including rings & honeymoon. My parents paid about $1000 and my inlaws paid about $400.

We did everything possible DIY. Invitations, silk flowers (which were gorgeous btw), decorations, my veil (which was fantastic: 2 layers, cathedral length, with crystals scattered). Our photog was a friend who's trying to break into the wedding photography business, she charged $200 and we got all the rights to the pictures--which turned out amazing. I only splurged on a couple things--my dress (about $500) and our toasting glasses (about $50). The wedding was at our church, reception in the church hall. Dinner was bbq, catered by a friend of my MIL's.

I planned the whole thing over the course of a year and bought everything bit by bit which made it easier to afford.

LA723

dont skimp on photography. The photos are what you will have years to come, not the cake and the venue!

I agree with this. I'd say don't skimp on photography, dress (I did & regret it), entertainment or food. All of the other things (invites, location, centerpieces, etc) can be skimped on. You will have the photos for years, this is the only time you will wear a beautiful, ultraformal gown and be the center of attention and you want your guests to have fun and eat well.

kerriBB37

We have intentionally had a very long engagement (will have been over 1.5 years once the wedding finally gets here) but that is what we had to do in order to save the amount of $ we need to do what WE want! Neither of our parents are chipping in a dime so right now our budget is $25,000 for 200 people. We opened up a savings account at a new bank and I transfer over money after I pay our bills. We've both made some cutbacks but nothing that has made us miserable lol
So far we've put down a deposit on the reception site ($1500), ceremony site ($500,) photographer ($400) and DJ ($100)
Throughout the past year I've bought little things like the cake topper, cutter, flutes, jersey for people to sign instead of the book, vases and balls (we're doing an elegant baseball theme!.) We are making our own centerpieces and just ordering flowers from a place right next to the ceremony site so that we don't have to pay a delivery fee. His sister is making cupcakes and other treats instead of a cake which is saving tons! the DJ we found from a local bar, he's awesome and way cheaper than a "wedding" DJ! We aren't doing a limo in between the two events but I was thinking about looking into a schoolbus for an hour or two! Anything different and outside the box is awesome to me. We are having our reception at a MLB stadium and so that price is what it is. Lots of little details can't be avoided like price per person for buffet and drinks but she is cutting us deals for little things like linens and stuff. Suck up to the event planner is a tip I have
I found my dress at the mall (Group USA) and it's WAY cheaper than any boutique I went to. they also have "girls nights" every few months so I'm waiting for the one in February so I can buy the dress 30% off! My best friend is a graphic designer and has offered to make our STD magnets and invites. You could check with a local school or friend to help with that. I hear they are easy to do if you know what you're doing!

Good luck!

81Kyra

I got married at the county clerk $200. Oh and Feb. 18th will be our 8th anniversary

MaximalLife

Her folks spent about $11,000, but that was in 1983
My folks spent $3000 or so for the rehearsal dinner, then forked over the costs of the honeymoon.
It was a huge deal.
Total: $17,000 - 1983
Probably close to $50,000 in today's dollars.

I would rather have just eloped and kept all that money.
We have 5 kids - all boys!
NO WEDDINGS TO PAY FOR - ahhhahahahahahaha

kristilovescake

I think we spent around $5000, for around 70-ish people, including the week-long Alaskan cruise honeymoon (I never did crunch the final numbers because when I was done, I was DONE!) but I saved as much money as possible:

-DIY decorations - origami cranes, origami lilies placed in FREE wine/liquor bottles spray painted our wedding colors
-DIY food - we did an outdoor BBQ with chicken, burgers, and hotdogs, my dad's cousin loves running the grill and we asked him if he would do it instead of getting us a wedding gift. I bought most of the condiments, chips, etc. with coupons a couple months before for cheap
-DIY desserts - I made cake pops the week before, they were easy and a total hit - also did a dessert spread where I asked close friends and family to bring desserts
-My dress was around $500 at David's Bridal. It was perfect! I recommend maybe looking at David's Bridal to get an idea of what you want, then looking online for a used dress (you'll probably save 50% at least)
-Start shopping NOW! I purchased a lot of my candy buffet candy and everything else when it was on sale and used coupons for everything I could
-Check out and join the wedding forums so you can get stuff for cheap off other brides after their weddings - some brides will even group buy stuff to share
-My cousin was my photographer and did it for FREE! I also asked guests to bring their cameras and we got a lot of fun candid shots from our guests
-My bouquet was origami lilies I made myself (same with bridesmaids flowers) - we didn't have any real flowers
-We got married in an old renovated theater - was only a few hundred dollars and beautiful
-We had an outdoor reception at a state park that was cheap cheap - and included the grill on site so we could BBQ
-DIYed my own invites, Save the Dates, and Programs

Step 1 is to see what's the most important to you and what you won't skimp on, then try to save money on everything else.

I was a super happy bride and look back on my wedding with only happy thoughts. DIYing everything with my family and friends help made us all come together closer and it was fun!

sambo155

I just don't understand the whole *expensive wedding* thing. Seems to me that the wedding money could be better spent on a down payment for a house, put into retirement or kid's college fund, or just save it. Why go into debt for a wedding? Or, if you're not going into debt, that's still ALOT of money that I think could be put towards something more practical.

-Signed Debbie Downer :indifferent:

OKmac3

We are getting married on March 31 (three years from the day we met) and it is looking to cost us about $900....we are wearing what we normally wear and have a wedding planner that is covering almost every thing and she is charging us $400...the rest is on food, cake, pastor, license, tip for limo driver

DawnOf1969

My daughter is getting married in May. We are paying for her wedding and it looks like it will come in around $10-12K. Ways we saved money:
-Wedding is on a Friday night
-Cake, Caterer, DJ were all found on Craigslist. We did tastings with the cake and caterer to ensure quality of product. These small businesses really want to get your business so they are willing to compete for it. DJ was required to provide a set list and a pre-ceremony meeting to ensure knowledge of services.
-Photographer is a family friend (who is a professional photographer by trade)
-Florist is a family friend of the groom (who is a florist by trade)
-purchased many recycled items off Ebay (decorations, etc) as well as www.recycledbride.com/
-hair and make up being done by family friend (who is a beautician by trade)
-save the date cards and invitations designed by groom (graphic artist by trade) and printed by vistaprint who was offering the first "X" number for free to new clients

infamousmk

I'm getting married in four months!! Our guest list is approximately 60ppl, and the total budget is just under $4,000.

We're hosting the entire ceremony and reception in our gorgeous back yard (so, zero site fees!)
we've hired a student photographer (I'm not photo-obsessed .. if you love having good photos, splurge here)
I've hired a friend's daughter who is trying to break in to the catering business at a much lower cost than an established caterer
I will have no cut flowers as centerpieces or otherwise (we're doing clear glass candle holders and ivory candles instead)...
we're not giving out favors, and we don't have a huge wedding party that we would have to foot the bill on some things for (such as bridal party gifts).
Instead of a large wedding cake, we're going to serve different flavored round layer cakes, that I am buying at Target (their bakery cakes are freaking good!)
I've spent the last year and a half scouring coupon ads and the thrift store for items such as candle holders, cloth napkins (got those at Big Lots!), cake stands, fabric to decorate the ceremony arch and canopy ... so that I don't have to pay the rental markup on these things.
I'm serving homebrew and the best value wine I know of, and we're not doing any signature drinks or standard open bar. Most of our guests are beer drinkers, and won't care that there isn't hard alcohol.

Most of the budget is being spent on the food and decor (oh, and my dress) -- those are the two things that are most important .. I want the food to be delicious, and I want the photos we do get to show a beautiful setting. Plus, you only get to wear a wedding dress once, so I decided to buy a really fabulous one and go all-out. (and honestly, it still isn't expensive).

MrsCon40

I had a church wedding with four attendants a piece and a sit-down 5 course meal for 98 people in San Francisco (IN SF, not in the 'burbs); and 11 days in Honduras where we both got our scuba certifications - for $13,000. That includes my dress, tuxedos, and airfare and rooms for 3 neices and nephews who are in college and wouldn't have been able to come otherwise.

We saved money by having a VERY talented pair of friends take pictures (for $1,250 for two days plus post production). My aunt made our amazing wedding cake. Our church offers the chapel for free to members (but we still donated $250). We had conservatory students who are members of our church play music (string quartet playing The Beatles FTW!!) for $250. Our friend who is a cab driver and owns a very cool old Thunderbird was our chaffeur ($0). My mom made my veil for about $5 and I spent $65 on accessories for me and my 'maids (thank you SoGood!) And we didn't get caught up in all the crap that no one remebers (matchbooks, napkins, sparkly hearts on the tables, etc.)

We picked the 3 things that were most important to us and that's all we cared about (excellent meal, church, kick *kitten* honeymoon). Seven of our gests acutally wrote us thank you cards - thanking us for inviting them and telling us that it was the best wedding they'd ever been to

ETA: when only a few things are important to you it also makes planning and execution A LOT easier. The reception venue took care of EVERYTHING at the reception so we didn't need a planner and I probably only spent 40 hours planning the whole thing.

We got married July 2nd, 2011.

christibear

dont skimp on photography. The photos are what you will have years to come, not the cake and the venue!

I agree with this. I'd say don't skimp on photography, dress (I did & regret it), entertainment or food. All of the other things (invites, location, centerpieces, etc) can be skimped on. You will have the photos for years, this is the only time you will wear a beautiful, ultraformal gown and be the center of attention and you want your guests to have fun and eat well.

I think you can get an amazing dress without skimping or getting something of lesser quality, but you also don't need to spend $3000 dollars, you an save a lot on a dress by checking around and not being afraid of tailoring.

infamousmk

I just don't understand the whole *expensive wedding* thing. Seems to me that the wedding money could be better spent on a down payment for a house, put into retirement or kid's college fund, or just save it. Why go into debt for a wedding? Or, if you're not going into debt, that's still ALOT of money that I think could be put towards something more practical.

-Signed Debbie Downer :indifferent:

I love throwing parties!!!!! A wedding is just one big 'ultimate' party in my world. (and I'm still not spending a lot or going broke)

anberlingasm

I just don't understand the whole *expensive wedding* thing. Seems to me that the wedding money could be better spent on a down payment for a house, put into retirement or kid's college fund, or just save it. Why go into debt for a wedding? Or, if you're not going into debt, that's still ALOT of money that I think could be put towards something more practical.

-Signed Debbie Downer :indifferent:

This is what I thought, too; we had an amazing home-made wedding that didn't cost the earth and left us in no debt so we'll be able to pay for IVF so we can have a baby this year.

_SusieQ_

dont skimp on photography. The photos are what you will have years to come, not the cake and the venue!

I spent less than $100 on photos. It doesn't need to be "professional," just someone who can take good pictures.

I had my aunt take ours. She is a great photographer, but not a professional. Because of that the pictures she did take were great, but we missed so many opportunities b/c I was too busy to think of them, and she wasn't a professional so neither did she. We have tons of our families, but literally 2 of just the two of us, the bride and groom.

If you don't opt for a professional at least make a list before hand of all the photo settings you want. Personally I wish I had splurged on this one.

JenSmith1104

We spent almost nothing. We got married at the county courthouse in dress clothes we already owned. We had a pitch-in for a reception at our apartment's clubhouse. We had a professional photographer that was a friend take the pics. We got a cake from a local bakery for about $40. I do agree that some of the wedding/reception is for the people getting married...but most of it is for others and to me, feels like you are showing off for them. We didn't want to start our marriage in a huge debt.