My fiance and I are trying to plan a low budget wedding and need help. We're having everything outside in a friends backyard. How else can we save money? I think we'll have friends/family help with food and flowers. Who will marry us the cheapest, justice of the peace?? Any advice is appreciated.
Thanks
Just do yourself a favor and hire professional photographer so that you have beautiful memories to remember this day with forever!
January 20th, 2009 at 1:39 pm
I had a low budget wedding. Ask friends to help with food in lieu of a gift. Make favors yourself. Fresh flowers picked from friends gardens. We asked a minister that we knew. Congrats and Good Luck!!
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January 20th, 2009 at 1:48 pm
Quit bein poor
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January 20th, 2009 at 2:30 pm
Just do yourself a favor and hire professional photographer so that you have beautiful memories to remember this day with forever!
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Photographer in Ohio
January 20th, 2009 at 3:15 pm
I don't know about the person to marry you the cheapest, however I do have some tips for doing the rest of it cheaply.
1- pick the bridesmaid dresses from a retail store as opposed to a wedding dress store
2- go light on the flowers and use candles as the main decoration
3-Decorate everything yourself
4-Make your own invitations, I just printed mine at Kinkos and glued ribbon and scrap book embelishments on them
5-buy your dress at a used wedding store
6-Make beaded jewelery for yourself with pearls, and crystals, make a super long necolace, and wrap it three times around your neck, or wrap it a bunch of times on your wrist
7- have the guys wear pants and dress shirt instead of full suit
8- make jewelery for your bridesmaid gifts
9-have a friend do your hair and makeup
10-Buy a signature cocktail to serve
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January 20th, 2009 at 4:02 pm
My husband and I of 7 years had our wedding in the front yard of a friends house whose mom happened to be a minister. We made the cake ourselves, did silk flowers from Michael's, made a CD of our own to play for the wedding song and the reception, and had our friends and family bring the food, but you can always have subway or kfc cater. If you know anyone who is a minister they can do it for relatively cheap, and you and your fiance go to church then you can ask for a favor from your minister- they're usually pretty good about helping out. Good luck.
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January 20th, 2009 at 4:50 pm
The best way to save money is to be a DIY bride. You can make up favors and stuff yourself. You can have a good friend or friend of the family get ordained online and marry you. It's really easy, and legal. I'm a DIY bride and I know it can be tough when your on a budget.
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Bride to Be 6/28/09
January 20th, 2009 at 5:36 pm
Sit down with your fiance and make a list of things that are important to you and what isn't. Nix anything that isn't important to you.
Hire Boston Market or have your favorite restaurant cater. Speaking from experience at past weddings of relatives, even with the simplest of dessert receptions, whoever is stuck with kitchen duty doesn't get to enjoy the wedding like the rest of the guests do. If you serve a full meal, they certainly won't be able to. If alcohol is not important to you, you can easily cut costs since that automatically raises the price. Get your wedding cake from a local grocery store bakery.
Avoid anything marketed as "wedding" since you can find the same items elsewhere in the store that are higher quality at a lower price.
Fresh flowers are actually cheaper than silks, unless you want exotics. Go to a wholesaler and arrange the flowers yourself. Use candles for centerpieces instead of flowers.
Favors you can easily skip and no one will miss them.
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January 20th, 2009 at 5:46 pm
U could go tCraft store Michaels' or Hobbie Hobbys & get alot of ideas there they have a section for weddings & good sale items U can get ribbon etc & if U have a 2nd hand store or a consignment store near U U can get great buys there too U'd be surprised even the dollar store U can get plastic table cloths any color & put bows around the corners using scotch tape simple but pretty U can also get small baskets & buy potpourri & put it inside the baskets with a small candle Good Luck to U
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love crafts
January 20th, 2009 at 6:32 pm
Maybe you have a family member that makes a hobby of arranging flowers? If so, they may make your floral arrangements for you, and there is a great possibility that they will do this for the bragging rights alone. Family members are honored to be included in the preparation for your wedding.This can work for saving money with many other areas too. You can employ this method with your decorations, wedding cake, entertainment, catering and photography. Remember, if you have some talented people in your family ask them to volunteer, or offer them small compensation for their time and effort.
For your invitations, you can make them yourself on coarse paper, in a fancy font, just make sure you have plenty of ink.
Also, candles are a great decoration for a cheap wedding, you can usually find a box of a dozen tea lights for about a dollar, and with low lighting they can make a room look magical! Or, if you are worried about fires, Christmas lights have the same effect.
The best way to save money in this category is by wearing a hand-me-down gown from your mother or grandmother (bringing a tear to their eyes, by the way). If that’s not an option, consider going to a department store and buying a fancy white cocktail dress that is about $100 or less.
Another option is creating a fun theme for a wedding. If a couple loves the outdoors, why not have a casual wedding at a mountain getaway where the couple does not have to wear expensive clothing. Or if the wedding is held on the beach, forget about tuxedos and wear Hawaiian shirts and shorts.
That’s not being tacky, that’s being creative.
Having the reception in a large restaurant’s banquet area is the best idea for a small-budget wedding. The couple must pay a moderate fee to secure the room, but at least the food does not have to be catered. You don’t have to hire people to feed your guests. The restaurant workers will do that. If your guests want alcohol, they can order on their own straight from the restaurant’s bar.
If you want more of a private reception, try to book a local club’s lounge. Have a buffet-style dinner with food made by family members, or catered from an inexpensive restaurant. Many of these lounges also offer a bar with a bartender and the prices are not extravagant.
Another smart and fun idea is to leave inexpensive disposable cameras at each table for the guests to take photos. They simply return the cameras to the couple, who print them later and enjoy parts of their wedding they did not experience on their special night.
I hope you have a long and happy marriage!
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January 20th, 2009 at 6:41 pm
KFC, for the catering, just make sure you have clipped those coupons, doll.
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January 20th, 2009 at 7:23 pm
Don't worry about small things like favors - your guests can do with out them. Use simple things such as candles for centerpieces. A lot of cost will be in flowers, so the further you can stay from using a whole lot of them, the better. For decorations, I find pictures of beautiful decorations that I want, and instead of just renting them, I figure out a way to make them. Be creative! Your friends and family will want to be there for you anyway, and everything else won't matter so much. =)
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January 20th, 2009 at 7:49 pm
Anyone you want can marry the two of you with a quick online application. My fiances brother will be marrying us. I told my fiance I was not willing to dump more than $5,000.00 into a one day party, so she has really put in the research to get what she wants with what she has to work with. I believe Costco had the best deal on bulk flowers you can put together your self, center pieces don't have to be flowers, she incorporated the center pieces with the favors buy purchasing crystal garnish platters and filling them with jellybeans that match her colors centered with candles. Our DJ is an Ipod set up in order with the time schedule. Keep in mind someone always knows someone else as far as DJ, photographer, videographer, florists, something.
Good Luck and Congratulations
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January 20th, 2009 at 8:17 pm
Hi. You can have a low budget wedding and still have it be very nice. It's simply a matter of making good choices.
You are already off to a good start with your venue….free, I'm assuming.
Yes, it's a great idea to have friends help with the food. If you want them to help with the flowers too, that is a great idea! Do you have a Walmart near where you live? You can special order flowers at Walmart (Costco too) and make your own bouquets and boutonnieres. It takes a little work, but it can be done!
My best advice for a budget friendly wedding:
~ Keep things as simple as you can. Simple IS elegant as far as I am concerned.
~ Don't worry about things that you absolutely do NOT need, such as a unity candle, wedding favors, a guest book, a videographer (unless a family member is willing to do this), an aisle runner, engraved champagne flutes, etc.
~ Keep any decorations to a minimum. A small bowl with a few floating candles is elegant and simple for centerpieces. You can also do a bowl with 1 flower in it and then a few floating candles. Look at these pictures:
http://image.orientaltrading.com/otcimg/25_5359.jpg
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/114/290892542_b53cb7e5b3.jpg?v=0
http://i.ivillage.com/HH/slideshows/SpringCrafts/HF_CandleCtrpce_325.jpg
http://www.bittersweetweddingdesigns.com/022.jpg
Other low budget ideas:
~ look at a large grocery store that has a bakery for your wedding cake. They will be much cheaper than a regular bakery.
~ IF someone offers to help…..let them! If someone offers to arrange flowers….let them. If someone offers to make the cake….let them!
YES, a judge or justice of the peace will probably be the best bet for price. BUT, there may also be some non-denominational pastors that would be willing to come to your location. It just depends on when you are getting married and how far someone will have to travel to your location. Call a few people and ask them what their fee would be.
Good luck!
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January 20th, 2009 at 8:38 pm
The easiest way to have a low-budget wedding is to have a small guest list. Ask friends and family to help with the food (my mom's book club catered my wedding and it was fabulous!), and for my sister's first wedding she and my mom asked all of our family friends and relatives to grow flowers in their gardens. It was a wonderful way to get people involved and also save money.
One thing, don't skimp on the photographer. Thanks to digital photography some photographers have "do it yourself" packages that don't cost an arm and a leg and give you a lot of time with your photographer on the day of.
The fee for our officiant was $200, which is standard where I live.
I had a whole bunch of friends over one Saturday morning and we made my wedding favors, it was great fun. We had snacks and mimosas…perfect!
Anyway, hope that gives you some ideas. Good luck and have fun!
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January 20th, 2009 at 9:13 pm
Low budget. Punch, homemade cake, don't need party favors, get some ribbon, tulle, and flowers to make it pretty-make the wedding party help (that's their job, actually)
Have FUN most of all
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January 20th, 2009 at 9:48 pm
Keep the guest list under control. Of course you must invited couples as couples, but singles should come as singles and not bring a casual date to treat to a champagne luncheon at your expense.
Remember that is it just a party. If you manage to have a birthday party without getting special cake plates and cake cutters, you can have a wedding party without a lot of special "bridal" gadgets. You also manage to have birthday parties without programs, response cards, favors, guest books, save the dates, and lots and lots of other optional stuff that The Wedding Industry insists are needed. If you can do without it, then do without it.
Buy or borrow a Miss Manners guide to weddings and she will save you a ton with her down to earth advice. For example did you know that handwritten invitations on plain stationery are even more correct that printed ones? Miss Manners rules.
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January 20th, 2009 at 10:08 pm
1) if you personally know a priest, they may do it for free
2) have a friend/family member that's good at taking photos? ask them to shoot your wedding as your wedding gift.
3) ask the wedding party to each bring a dish as your wedding gift.
4) there are usually videographers that are just starting out that will shoot your wedding for free if you allow the to use your video in their portfolio and they just want experience.
5) i made my invitations out of cardstock (50 for $18). email me if you want me to tell you how to make them. they're really cute, and can't tell they're home-made.
6) do without the favors. no one ever remembers them.
7) download a free music program (such as limewire) and make a playlist of all the music you want to play. when there are times when you need to speak (toasts, intro of bride/groom), appoint a groomsman to pause the music.
9) get your cake from a local grocery store deli. publix makes beautiful cakes for really cheap. or if you or a friend is good at baking, make it yourselves.
congrats and good luck!
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