N E ideas 4 a cheap wedding?

[gubmintcheeze]

Inexpensive I mean! I have a whole year (well my lil' online-no-help-planner says like 342 days:) ). All these places are saying that the average cost of a typical wedding is like 19,000...Sheeeyat!!!! I'm thinkin I guess I'm a little not so typical maybe below average money wise. Who's coming up with these figures?! There'll be about 80 invites, 4 maids, 4 groomsmen...Any ideas that would help make it original (even tho they're not my ideas :)) and anyone who wants to come play music would help..lol. He only wants to spend 2000 but I'm thinking more along the lines of 5000.( Marital problems about money already aye?! ) Ok...so ideas. What did you do or can be done to cut cost and still make it purty??

[1fromozette]

vegas or reno

[little wolf]

:dontknow: Justice of the peace?? No? okay how bout in the wedding chapel somewhere?.. Well it all depends on where u live.. I know there r some cheap ways to get married somewhere...mmm...Do u live in or close to Tennesse?.. They have some kind of packages there to get married cheap.. someone waz talking about it at work one day..

[Plenty Fox]

Inexpensive I mean! I have a whole year (well my lil' online-no-help-planner says like 342 days:) ). All these places are saying that the average cost of a typical wedding is like 19,000...Sheeeyat!!!! I'm thinkin I guess I'm a little not so typical maybe below average money wise. Who's coming up with these figures?! There'll be about 80 invites, 4 maids, 4 groomsmen...Any ideas that would help make it original (even tho they're not my ideas :)) and anyone who wants to come play music would help..lol. He only wants to spend 2000 but I'm thinking more along the lines of 5000.( Marital problems about money already aye?! ) Ok...so ideas. What did you do or can be done to cut cost and still make it purty??

food and beverage is where it's gonna stick you. even with 80 invites. and, for such a small wedding, why 4 maids and 4 groomsmen? if you have friend you want to include there are many ways they can help without going through the cost of clothes, feeling you AND they have to come up with special gifts for each other... I've been married twice--no more, thank you--married too many Kool Breeze's (sorry KB, I guess in the past I was drawn to bad boyz) and each time I had about 40-50 invites, a maid of honor and a best man. Then, friends helped out as ushers and guest book attendants.One co-worker sang with her church and while she didn't sing at the ceremony, she got a young man that played the piano to do the honors for me (we gave him $100 as a stipend; likewise the minister). Shoot for something about 2pm--after lunch and before dinner--so folks won't expect to be fed--and you'll still be relatively stress free (you haven't had all day to wig out which evening weddings tend to do) AND you'll still feel like you have time to meet and greet afterwards, have your reception and then take off with your groom while it is still daylight to get wherever you are going for your wedding night. So, a nicer cake, coffee/tea, champagne if you feel rich but sparkling apple cider works great and the kiddees can drink it, too. Flowers become the next big expense. Keep it simple. Your bouquet will be the most expensive. Boutonieres for the groom, best man, FOB, FOG, grampas, if you have them, ushers. Corsages for the Maid of honor, MOB, MOG and grannies, if you have them and your guest book attendee. Maybe one large 'table' arrangement for in front of an altar--if you are in a Church. Invites--you can even do those yourself if you have a printer. You can buy the card stock blank and run them through the printer saving on printing expenses.

then again, save your dough for post-wedding stuff like setting up house or a honeymoon; go to Vegas where you can have your service shown live on the internet and all your family and friends can watch from ALL over!

[gubmintcheeze]

Well the vegas/reno/justice of the peace thing is out but we did talk about it. It's just that most people that I have talked to who have done that have said that they wished they would have went ahead and had a regular wedding. Of course most of them are the women and don't get me wrong there's nuttin wrong w the other options. Those are goot ideas tho Washakie. I guess I just thought that my bestfriends just HAD to be maids...could just stick w/my sis huh?

[badmaninc]

Send me five grand and tell each other you will play nice to each other. Drive through McDonald's with everybody at the same time make everybody pay for their own meals and go eat at the local rez hang out.

Seriously when I got married I got the deer meat, crabs, clams, salmon. If you are able to provide most of the food yourself then it gets a lot cheaper. I don't know if you drink or not but if you do provide a no host bar. Some of people at my rez do fund raising in the community prior to the wedding and that usually helps out.

[curiousity]

I had my wedding 4 yrs ago after 4 yrs of dating. I went to the church that I was baptised at when I was 14 yrs old. I went to the pastor of that church because someone who went to church there still told me that they would give it to me for a good price. Well, when I spoke w/the pastor he gave me the church and the hall for free. I made all the finger sandwiches and brought in the drinks myself. I also had some help from above. My friend made my bouquet(it would have cost me about 150.00) and she made the boutineers(2 which would have cost me about 25.00) she and I got together the day before the wedding and made all the birdseed bags to throw(we didn't throw rice because when the birds eat it and then drink water they bloat up and die) that cost me 1 bag of birdseed and then the net material (30.00 for all of it). So far I was only out 30.00. Then I got the pastor from a neighboring church since the pastor from that church was booked and the pastor(is paid what you think the ceremony is worth) the normal amount is usually 25-50.00 depending on the size of the wedding,location of the church and how long he has to drive. We had a small gathering of 10 people. The church hall(community hall) was going to cost me but since I was a member of that church from a long time ago they gave it to me for free. All the ones where I live now were going to cost 500-1000 for just the church and the hall. My wedding cost me about 200.00. If you do these few things then you can save a lot of money. These are only tips. I didn't want a big wedding and neither did the groom. We didn't have any bridesmaids or groomsmen. We did have one unique wedding though. rofl just thinking about it. We drove 48 miles one way to the church in the middle of BFE at 7 pm. There was a wedding right before us and that couple gave us there decorations and when we arrived at the hall next door they had left food and drinks wrapped and in the frig for us to have. I don't know who they were but God Bless Them. It was the night that I had been waiting for. I thought it was never going to happen. I only had 2 wks to throw my wedding together and since you have a year then you will be able to make it on a grander scale. Hope these help. I forgot to mention that my cousin had all the bridemaids and groomsmen in her wedding to pay for there own clothing and my husband taped the whole thing for free because the camera guy didn't show up. Congratulations!!!

[Plenty Fox]

Well the vegas/reno/justice of the peace thing is out but we did talk about it. It's just that most people that I have talked to who have done that have said that they wished they would have went ahead and had a regular wedding. Of course most of them are the women and don't get me wrong there's nuttin wrong w the other options. Those are goot ideas tho Washakie. I guess I just thought that my bestfriends just HAD to be maids...could just stick w/my sis huh?

Of course it is up to you, but you shouldn't feel obligated to include anyone. And, if you limit it to your sis there's no way your gal pals can claim you played favorites. Like I said before, you can entrust your gal pals with particular areas where their help would REALLY be useful, such as the guest book, receiving gifts, etc. You're supposed to enjoy your day, and if you have to spend it worrying about whether the logistics and stuff are being taken care of then that takes away from the fun. Let the people who care about you help out.

[ac_miss]

Get your families to help out as much as they can. I saved a bundle on food because we opted for a covered dish and each brought their favorites. Also, you can save money on invitations by printing them out from your own personal computer. That goes for wedding programs, too. We didn't order enough invitations, so we had to do that, but it was nice anyway.

[Singing Eagle]

Avoid a big hotel package type wedding thingy - you can get a nice hall and a quality caterer to come into that hall for way less. Decorations can be mostly do it yourself with your wedding party, family and friends as the set-up crew. Don't bother with a wedding planner - maybe one of your aunts or a cousin is a great organizer - she could give you a hand.

You have lots of time to shop around for your dress - that will help you save money - there'll be numerous sales and mark downs. Printing invites at home might be the way to go - you can find stationary packages at office supply stores - I noticed they get marked down after about 3 months - so watch for sales. We did invites for a party, 4 to a page on card stock in color ink, designed them ourselves, cut them by hand and used envelopes bought at office depot in the size closest to what we needed - they looked great and didn't cost as much as a commercial printer.

If you want something really informal - you could have a BBQ in someone's back yard - and make it potluck!

[BurBz]

Have a blanket dance at the next pw!!!!

JK :Chatter

ummm have family help out! :D... cut down on the bridesmaids/groomsmen or have them pay for their own stuff :p...or you could just go to the JP ...geezz goodluck!

[Plenty Fox]

The DRESS!!!

Avoid a big hotel package type wedding thingy - you can get a nice hall and a quality caterer to come into that hall for way less. Decorations can be mostly do it yourself with your wedding party, family and friends as the set-up crew. Don't bother with a wedding planner - maybe one of your aunts or a cousin is a great organizer - she could give you a hand.

You have lots of time to shop around for your dress - that will help you save money - there'll be numerous sales and mark downs. Printing invites at home might be the way to go - you can find stationary packages at office supply stores - I noticed they get marked down after about 3 months - so watch for sales. We did invites for a party, 4 to a page on card stock in color ink, designed them ourselves, cut them by hand and used envelopes bought at office depot in the size closest to what we needed - they looked great and didn't cost as much as a commercial printer.

If you want something really informal - you could have a BBQ in someone's back yard - and make it potluck!

I don't know if you are in the City or out of town, but most cities have stores that specialize in second hand wedding dresses. That isn't as bad as it sounds! You're only going to wear it once, why pay a grand for a new dress? Look, too, for 'consignment' type ladies stores. I buy alot of my things off EBAY or from a local 'consignment' shop where other gals have brought in the clothes they don't want anymore. Consignment shops usually have pretty good standards and won't take anything ratty. I used to have alot of career stuff; suits, dresses, skirts, etc., from Talbots. I took them in and sold them at this place--got 40% of what they sold them for. One beautiful wool skirt I'd gotten at Talbots they wouldn't take. She showed me this microscopic moth hole that I couldn't even see! But she saw it! That's how picky some of these folks are. The one I go to has wedding dresses, too. They are beautiful, in style, but discounted because they were pre-owned. Think about it!

[**jdazmum**]

Make it a private immediate family only wedding.

My sister is planning her wedding too, it's going to take two years of saving and planning to have the dream wedding she wants. I got married the traditional way and it was cheap compared to chapel weddings. The best way to afford it is pay for your dress at a outlet wedding store. Most places like that have nice dresses too and you can add stuff to it. Have the bridesmaid pay for their own dresses. It would be nice to have someone in the family know how to sew dresses and you can pick your own material. Oh, call TLC and have them wedding planners help you budget a nice wedding. I've seen them shows, couples will have like 5,000 and they will budget every cent into a fantastic dream wedding for cheap. it's hard especially when the whole tribe wants to witness your matrimony. Instead of a chapel wedding, have it in your back yard or a nice setting, like the beach or a garden. it's a big headache, I wish you best of luck and love.

[Singing Eagle]

My sister is planning her wedding too, it's going to take two years of saving and planning to have the dream wedding she wants. I got married the traditional way and it was cheap compared to chapel weddings. The best way to afford it is pay for your dress at a outlet wedding store. Most places like that have nice dresses too and you can add stuff to it. Have the bridesmaid pay for their own dresses. It would be nice to have someone in the family know how to sew dresses and you can pick your own material. Oh, call TLC and have them wedding planners help you budget a nice wedding. I've seen them shows, couples will have like 5,000 and they will budget every cent into a fantastic dream wedding for cheap. it's hard especially when the whole tribe wants to witness your matrimony. Instead of a chapel wedding, have it in your back yard or a nice setting, like the beach or a garden. it's a big headache, I wish you best of luck and love.

Hey E4T - nice to see you on the board!

I agree that having a traditional wedding is an excellent option. I went that way too and we had a beautiful day!

[**jdazmum**]

It only cost us the decorations and food for the guests. It was nice. We already had several white canopies and we pitched them up for the guest. We put balloons, streamers, flowers and rugs out. We decorated each chair, which was borrowed with white cloths. The reception was immediately after the wedding. Oh we paid for the wedding cake too. all the decorations were made by my sisters, we all pitched in. But a church wedding would be costly. Renting the church, paying for the rings, flowers, catering(optional), a band, dresses for the bride and bridesmaid, oh my god!!!! Including getting yourself and your bridesmaids facial and nails done. Being cheap is having the family involved, like making your own decorations. You can also buy programs where you can design your own announcements and make table cards. it's simple if you put your mind to it. Design your own table arrangements and buy the rest of the additions. If you want a photographer, you could do it yourself too, just trust someone who'll take good pictures. Most computers come with photoprints now too, I do it, I don't have to go to a film processor anymore. We do it at home. Geez, there's alot of planning, just make sure you take time for yourself throughout all this, it can be heartwrenching. Oh!! don't let people get too drunk before the wedding, there's always someone who comes drunk and makes an a** out of themselves. Afterward is fine.