I'm getting married next spring and am looking for tips on how to have a small, elegant and inexpensive wedding. We will probably marry at my old college…the setting is exquisite. We might skip the cake and my dress is going to be a bridesmaid dress instead of a big cupcake of a wedding dress. Any other suggestions? Thanks!!
It sounds like you're on the right track so far. I just got married this past June and we spent $6,500 with 110 guests. Don't skip the cake, though, that is such a great tradition. You can get a cake from Publix, or any grocery store, for a reasonable price. Mine was $220 (including the delivery fee) and it fed 100 people. And you have the right idea about your wedding dress, I got mine from Dillards. Some other tips are: get family and friends to help you with everything. You can make a lot of things that will save you money. Don't go overboard on flowers, find them cheap at a flea market or do something different for centerpieces (like floating candles). And you could even put together your own bouquets for cheaper. For pictures, a good idea that I've seen on here is to take the bridal party to Glamour Shots before the ceremony, it's a lot cheaper. And then just have someone take pics of the ceremony and the reception with a good digital camera. You could also get a friend to videotape it and make that their gift to you. Are you having the reception at the college, too? If not, you could rent a hall for it or just have it at a park or someone's house to save money. For food, go with a buffet. This will be your most costly thing. Get some quotes from caterers, tell them your budget and they'll tell you what foods they can serve for that price. If it's still out of your price change, get party platters from restaurants. You could do stuff like wings, eggrolls, chicken fingers, ribs, mashed potatoes, salad, Italian, just about anything. They'll supply you with huge servings of whatever food you want. You would still want to hire some servers to clean up and set up the food. You don't want to worry about that on the big day. And if you're serving alcohol, get a bartender. Letting guests serve themselves can cause a big mess. Buy your alcohol and sodas when they're on sale. You could even serve only beer and wine to save more money. For wedding favors, shop around on the internet, then check out Ebay for the same items and compare prices. I found the same exact stuff on there for cheaper than other websites. They also sell wedding invitations which is how I found mine. Good luck and remember this is yours and your fiance's day, nobody elses!
24 Responses to “An elegant wedding for less than $5K?”
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August 2nd, 2006 at 9:17 am
It most certenly can be done.
Just keep your guest list low
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August 2nd, 2006 at 9:17 am
wow that would be weird… weddins are always expensive, dunno maybe u can spend a little mre or get a smaller weddin
this is ANOTHER stupid answer by:
Saint Jimmy
P.s.: Bush is a terrorist
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August 2nd, 2006 at 9:17 am
YOUR WEDDING DAY IS FUN BUT SMALL IN THE SCHEME OF THINGS ————–HAVE A GREAT MARRIAGE
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August 2nd, 2006 at 9:18 am
Make your own flowers using silk and dried flowers and make your own party favors.
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August 2nd, 2006 at 9:18 am
Well, we had alot of people who helped out during our wedding. We had someone give us our wedding cake as a wedding gift, and also, my mom's friend did ALL of my flowers for hardly nothing. Just shop around. It will be perfect. Congrats…
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August 2nd, 2006 at 9:18 am
My husband and I got married in a wedding chapel in Gatlinburg, TN. It was quick and inexpensive. I had a wedding dress but I only spent about $200 on it. It was gorgeous. The chapel was only about $600 and it included pictures, flowers, small wedding cake, video of the wedding. It was the best deal. I would do it all over again. The chapel was really nice too. It was Chapel in the Glen.
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August 2nd, 2006 at 9:18 am
you want something cheap and good… marry in Las Vegas… who needs something elegant? you will have something memorable there, something fun, and after all the important thing is that you are marrying the one you love, not the kind of wedding it is
Or marry at the beach
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August 2nd, 2006 at 9:20 am
What I've seen becoming more and more popular are destination weddings. This is where you, and both parents from each of you, and any relatively close friends might gather together at a vacation destination… In another state, maybe in the caribbean even, or perhaps aboard a cruise ship? This can minimize expenses on the wedding, while certainly no less elegant. Now, the other side of things is that some people are also choosing to have a reception which is typically much larger, when they return from their destination wedding. The reception itself is what can be terribly expensive if you're not careful. Good luck to both of you!
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August 2nd, 2006 at 9:20 am
If you are planning to have music at the reception, you can get student musicians or just one person playing a harp is very lovely. You can get a plain cake and just decorate it with fresh flowers. If you have a friend with a garden, ask them to bring flowers to decorate the chapel. You can use cherry blossoms or tulips and daffodils. You can even use baskets of silk flowers. From a distance, no one will know that they aren't real.
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August 2nd, 2006 at 9:20 am
You can get really pretty dresses for a decent price at David's Bridal, but a bridesmaid's dress would be a lot cheaper anyway. And the cake, you can get it made at like Walmart or some grocery store bakery (if you might want one). And instead of getting the food catered, you might want to try asking a few family members make the food (of course you'd probably have to buy it, but that should save you a lot of money alone compared to having it catered anyway), use plastic plates & utensils… it can still be very elegant, but not over the top expensive.
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August 2nd, 2006 at 9:26 am
You can have a GREAT wedding on that.
Depending on how crafty you are…..you could recruit help from talented family & friends. There's no reason to skip a cake should you want one.
Send me an email should you want to discuss this further.
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August 2nd, 2006 at 9:27 am
look for a reception hall that offers buffet dinners or a mom and pop type of place that serves " family style" dinners they are usually cheaper get a DJ instead of a band, carry fake flowers instead of real ( much cheaper and you can even make your own bouquets) invitations can be bought in packets at any store instead of ordering professional ones,go to a dollar store to get guest gifts,get a good friend to video tape everything, don't skip the cake..you'll regret it..but it doesn't have to be a tiered cake ( expensive) it can be a huge sheet cake ( much cheaper)or even a couple of them if one is not enough.. or a very small tiered cake ( for show) but have a sheet cake in the kitchen to be cut up for your guests…don't have an unlimited bar, have just beer , wine and soda…and no matter what remember its your special day, the guests are there to share in your joy not to be treated like royalty! congrats+ best wishes for a life of love and happiness!!!!!!!!
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August 2nd, 2006 at 9:28 am
Sometimes certain places have wedding packages that fit all your wedding needs at one estimated price. I live near the gulf coast and would like to have a yacht wedding through this service that offers wedding packages from $4,000 and up. A yacht wedding is something I consider elegant yet not pricey. Plus it's a fun atmosphere!
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August 2nd, 2006 at 9:29 am
my friend had a really cute wedding recently and also was trying to save… she had a candy bar, w/ all her favorite types of candy and bags (kinda like sweet factory), and people could take them home. she had brownies & ice cream instead of a cake, but it was on a stacked platter, at the top were hand made clay figurines (i made them! ;D)…. she bought square mirrors and martini glasses and those little beads from michael's and decorated the tablesettings herself for the reception. the centerpiece was a square mirror, 2 or 3 diff sized martini glasses w/ colored beads, and water in the glasses w/ a floating candle on top. it looked really nice. good luck!
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August 2nd, 2006 at 9:30 am
Your wedding sounds pretty. I enjoy simple weddings better than the big fussy ones.
You can't skip your cake. It is a special part that you may regret not doing. Do you know of anyone who makes cakes that could do a smaller one? Or you could do a sheet cake. Here is a recipe for wedding mints. They are super easy to make.
Wedding Mints
• 12 oz. cream cheese
• 3 pounds powdered sugar
• 6 drops peppermint flavoring, or as desired
• food coloring
Put all ingredients except food coloring into a bowl and cut with pastry blender until ingredients are incorporated in pieces the size of small peas. Add food coloring or, for varied colors, spoon equal amounts of mixture into several small bowls and add 1 drop of food color into each. Stir and knead the dough in each bowl separately until creamy and smooth and of even color. You may want to do this on a table rather than in the bowls. Roll the dough into tiny balls, then dust with fine granulated sugar or powdered sugar. If desired, press into rubber or plastic molds; immediately remove and let dry overnight. These mints will remain soft.
You could ask someone you know to take the photos instead of hiring a photographer.
Best of luck with your wedding!
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August 2nd, 2006 at 9:31 am
I really feel my wedding was elegant and we did the whole thing for right around 2K - that included my wedding dress, the bridesmaid dresses for 5 kids (ours), cake, reception, and honeymoon cruise for 4 days. My dress I purchased at an outlet for right around $500, the bridesmaid dresses (2) were $100 ea, the flower girl dress was $50, and the tuxedo rentals (2) were $75 ea, the cake was $150, and the rest went to food and the cruise, etc. We did get the church rental for nothing because it was our home church. The biggest cost was the cruise and we made payments on that for 6 months before the wedding, so I know you can do it. Instead of fresh flowers a friend made silk flowers (I helped) for everyone including my bouquet (beautiful). For things like alterations I had a friend who is very skilled help me with. So, it is all in your friends and contacts, I would say. If you were in California I might have contacts for you, but I know you can do it…it is all in the planning too, I even had a runner on the floor to walk on, the seating rows were decorated, and we had candleabras with 12 candles (2), of which I rented. I could think of more, but no time, sorry. I just really spent time searching out the best deals I guess. It really helps to shop frugally…Our invitations were under $100 even, and we sent out at least 250 of them. I got them from a party store and they were on clearance and best yet, they were my colors and I liked them. So, there ya go! Best wishes and congratulations, my prayers are with you =)
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August 2nd, 2006 at 9:53 am
That can be done. First make your on invitations. (I did and they turned out great! $19 for 50 invitations,reception card, envelopes etc..) Go to Michaels.com (it's an art & craft store). I also bought beautiful vases from there (2 for $3), if you go to their website it will give you alot of favor ideas that you can do yourself. Also David's Bridal sometimes has $99 dress sales (my sister bought a beautiful dress from there) My mother bought her dress from there for the wedding and she only paid $60 for it and it was beautiful. The best thing to do is to try and do as much as you can yourself; that's a good way to cut cost.
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August 2nd, 2006 at 10:01 am
This all depends on where your having it, but like some others have suggested you can find sites that include your preacher, florist, photographer, cake, food, etc…in one for one low price.
We did this just a couple of weeks ago at a log cabin resort, it was beautiful. We saved by only having immediate family and close friends = 20 guests. We only had a maid of honor and best man, and we did not spend money on things that for us would be meaningless after the wedding, i.e. cake servers, unity candles and holders, expensive centerpieces, and a bunch of extra flowers etc. We also did our own food, well my parents helped. We ordered a "office pack" from a local restaraunt to feed up to thirty and then had my parents and grandmother make a few extra sides. We were able to do all of this plus we had two nights in a cabin for under 4K. So you can def do it, just look around for these type of options in your area.
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August 2nd, 2006 at 10:11 am
Just have appetizers. I tell every one to go to costco if you know anyone who belongs. I wish I had done that. You can get beautiful roses there for a small price, also premade food. Nobody will ever know you got it all there. You could afford a nice cake. Mine was only 400$ but I am sure that you can find a cheaper baker to make yours. You should have a cake! How are you going to smash the food in your husbands face!
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August 2nd, 2006 at 10:15 am
Always remember quality over quantity. Treating 20 guests exquisitely is better than treating 50 guests mediocrely (is that a word? lol). Good luck to you! : )
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August 2nd, 2006 at 11:46 am
It sounds like you're on the right track so far. I just got married this past June and we spent $6,500 with 110 guests. Don't skip the cake, though, that is such a great tradition. You can get a cake from Publix, or any grocery store, for a reasonable price. Mine was $220 (including the delivery fee) and it fed 100 people. And you have the right idea about your wedding dress, I got mine from Dillards. Some other tips are: get family and friends to help you with everything. You can make a lot of things that will save you money. Don't go overboard on flowers, find them cheap at a flea market or do something different for centerpieces (like floating candles). And you could even put together your own bouquets for cheaper. For pictures, a good idea that I've seen on here is to take the bridal party to Glamour Shots before the ceremony, it's a lot cheaper. And then just have someone take pics of the ceremony and the reception with a good digital camera. You could also get a friend to videotape it and make that their gift to you. Are you having the reception at the college, too? If not, you could rent a hall for it or just have it at a park or someone's house to save money. For food, go with a buffet. This will be your most costly thing. Get some quotes from caterers, tell them your budget and they'll tell you what foods they can serve for that price. If it's still out of your price change, get party platters from restaurants. You could do stuff like wings, eggrolls, chicken fingers, ribs, mashed potatoes, salad, Italian, just about anything. They'll supply you with huge servings of whatever food you want. You would still want to hire some servers to clean up and set up the food. You don't want to worry about that on the big day. And if you're serving alcohol, get a bartender. Letting guests serve themselves can cause a big mess. Buy your alcohol and sodas when they're on sale. You could even serve only beer and wine to save more money. For wedding favors, shop around on the internet, then check out Ebay for the same items and compare prices. I found the same exact stuff on there for cheaper than other websites. They also sell wedding invitations which is how I found mine. Good luck and remember this is yours and your fiance's day, nobody elses!
References :
August 2nd, 2006 at 12:10 pm
Buy your flowers from Sam's club or costco. You can order them and they will deliver them to your house. You'd have to make bunches yourself but it saves a TON of $$$$$!!
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August 2nd, 2006 at 12:42 pm
Check with your County Courthouse regarding a civil ceremony.
Call local VFW halls for your reception. An alternative would be if you know anyone that has a large enough house/yard to hold all of your guests. You could also make the food yourself or ask friends and family members to help (ie: potluck). http://allrecipes.com/
Check out Dreams by Renee. They have some absolutely gorgeous dresses PLUS they can do custom work based on a drawing/picture at extremely reasonable prices. http://dreamsbyreneebridal.com
Are you (or do you know someone willing to help that is) crafty? Check out Michaels for decorations, floral, favors, etc. It will help with your budget if you can do as much as possible yourself. I used to be an Instructor/Event Coordinator for them and we had alot of classes for wedding related items. Plus at this time of year, they are discounting the spring and summer florals to get ready for the fall and winter florals! http://www.michaels.com
As for invitations, I'm a rep for Regency Thermographics. Let me know if there's anything I can do to help. http://aphroditescreations.regency.ac
Good luck!
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http://www.aphrodites-creations.com
August 3rd, 2006 at 6:04 pm
My suggestion:
2 Tickets to The Bahamas*,
1 Week all inclusive stay at the flagship Sandals resort*.
Your wedding, on a golden beach with a turquoise ocean backdrop will be free of charge and arranged by them for your personally.
Wedding Attire: White linen for your man, simple shift for yourself. Both barefoot, of course!
Then spend the remainder on a party for family and friends when you return.
You get a truly unforgettable intimate wedding in paradise, a dream honeymoon and your family and friends forgive you with the party/reception when you return!
* Or try the Dominican Republic, where the beaches are just as stunning, the resorts equally as elegant, and weddings can still be had for free!)
References :
Bahamas Wedding: http://www.islandbrides.com/view-article/A+Bahamas+Wedding/33/
Dominican Republic Wedding: http://www.islandbrides.com/view-article/A+Free+DR+Wedding/43/