small budget

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This is a thread that was started in our old BlissWeddings.com forums by twinkletoe66 on 6/01/05. Feel free to add your comments by pressing Post Reply.

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posted by twinkletoe66

my fh and i havent really set a date or time or where and when. but i do know that our budget will be VERY small. we do not want to go over $2000. we are simple people but do like to have nice things. does anyone have any suggestions for me? if so i would greatly appriciate it.

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posted by wynelle

Twinkle-toes, you will find the people on the forum to be very, very crafty and very imaginative. Among the ways to cuts costs are making your invitations and programs yourself, using in-season local flowers, including places like Sam's Club or Costco; finding bridesmaids dresses in the sale area of local department stores (anything labeled 'bridal' is automatically more expensive); having an afternoon wedding with a light reception; no alcohol or a champagne toast only. I'm sure others will be more than willing to share ideas..

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posted by syringa

You might consider a late morning wedding followed by a brunch or luncheoon reception. Restaurants that are open only for dinner often rent their facility at no charge other than the cost of the food. In my area there is one such restaurant that allows a ceremony to be held behind the restaurant along the river for $100 extra. Another one doesn't charge at all for a ceremony on their patio and indoor-outdoor reception if you purchase $1,200 in food. In both cases you have to be finished by 4 p.m., but you have the opportunity to have the wedding at an upscale location at a minimal cost. You might look for such places in your area. One thing to remember is that a backyard wedding is not inexpensive if you have to rent tables, chairs, and linens, so do your homework before settling for a wedding at a home.

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posted by TheaterDiva1

DIY projects will save money - we made our own favors, programs, place cards, centerpieces and bouquets.

Enlist a student photographer (check his/her work first!) who will work for portfolio experience more than money. You may have to pay for film/developing, but that's it.

Instead of hiring a DJ, burn a CD and enlist a friend to emcee - just a few announcements here and there, but he/she wouldn't be "working" the whole time.

Check E-Bay - you can get a lot of great deals there!

Instead of spending $1,000 on a wedding gown, consider either renting, or buying a different type of dress, such as a white BM dress or prom gown. In fact, now that prom season's winding down, you'll probably be able to get a bargain!

There's a show on TLC, "For Better or For Worse" where a team of a couple's family/friends plan the wedding within a week for $5,000 (they have a professional planner helping them). Watch that show for inspiration. TLC also has non-wedding shows, such as "Trading Spaces" and "While You Were Out" (home decorating) that stress creativity over money (the work has to be done in two days with a strict budget) - you may get ideas from that. In fact, we got our favors idea from a WYWO episode.

Also, since you don't have a date set, considered getting married during an off-time. A Friday night or Sunday afternoon is way less expensive than a Saturday night. Weekdays are even cheaper. Also, April-October is wedding season, and therefore more expensive (May/June being the peak) - go for late fall or winter.

-Maggie

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posted by SuzyBride

Shop at dollar stores!! You would be suprised at some of the nice things you can find!

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posted by twinkletoe66

thank you all for your ideas and suggestions. we actually set a date last night for april 22nd. YEAH! a few of my friends are in a band so im thinking we might have them play at the reception and my fh's brother is gonna play the guitar while i walk down the isle. as for decorations....i have no clue but do thank you for your suggestions.

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posted by TheaterDiva1

thank you all for your ideas and suggestions. we actually set a date last night for april 22nd. YEAH! a few of my friends are in a band so im thinking we might have them play at the reception and my fh's brother is gonna play the guitar while i walk down the isle. as for decorations....i have no clue but do thank you for your suggestions.

Congratulations on setting the date! Doesn't it feel great to finally say "I'm getting married April 22!"?

Decorations - try and find a location that looks nice on it's own. I didn't really want decorations (it wasn't just budget - I just didn't want flowers all over the place). We found a place with a deck that overlooked the Great South Bay. The room was already very pretty, with a nice fireplace where we exchanged our vows. They provided votive candles; we brought in large seashells ($20) to dress up the mantel - that's all we needed. The bay view spoke for itself!

-Maggie

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posted by Marge129

Shop at dollar stores!! You would be suprised at some of the nice things you can find!

Yep! That's where we got all our centerpieces!!!!

~Margie

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posted by grace652

Congratlations on April 22! I am getting married April 29th. For decorations and other items such as bubbles etc., I have
been watching the sales flyers for our craft stores ie: Michaels, AC Moore. They run 40% off of one regular price item often. Grab a friend and buy a couple items each week! Good Luck!

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posted by twinkletoe66

grace....do you already know of a place to get married? im wondering how long you have to look...decide...book....
does anyone know of this?

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posted by krazikrys

I think you should start looking into places the sooner the better. That way you get what you want on the date that you want. Around my area, places seem to go fast. I booked my reception around November and we are getting married September 10th. I do know that a lot of places where already booked up when we started looking.

~ Krys

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posted by TheaterDiva1

Congratlations on April 22! I am getting married April 29th. For decorations and other items such as bubbles etc., I have
been watching the sales flyers for our craft stores ie: Michaels, AC Moore. They run 40% off of one regular price item often. Grab a friend and buy a couple items each week! Good Luck!

That's exactly what we did - now I can't drive by a Michael's without thinking of something I need for the wedding - which was 8 months ago!

Also, check out Oriental Trader (that's where we got bowls for the centerpieces)

-Maggie

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posted by labeadel

Also, for any of you that do still get the bridal magazines, there was just a really great coupon in one of mine for Michaels. I want to say it was like 30-40% off entire order and it was good for a few months. Actually, I will have to take a look at it, b/c I think it expires the end of June. I better snap to it!

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posted by cru5h

From one small-budget girl to another - don't hang on to the ideas you see in magazines and every single tradition known to American weddings. Pick out the ones important to you and your FH and stick with those. I am not interested in cake cutters, heavy florals, reception halls, toasting flutes, engraved invitations, fancy guestbooks, etc. I am the non-conformity type though.

Important to me: our location be on the beach, luckily where I live this is free - the comfort of our guests (chairs), having fun (silly favors), and just being together with close family and friends, so our guest list is no more than 30 people long.

Don't let go of everything to have a cheap wedding, but think unconventionally. Choosing an "off" date at an "off" time. We've decided on doing a morning ceremony and a brunch instead of a "real" reception. Our largest expense will be our honeymoon, which was most important to us of all


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posted by MiRose

Ohh! I can understand that. I am in the first stages now and i can go up to $2500 and I have 50 guests. Can't really cut any due to the groom side. BUT we are doing a lot of do it yourself. we are doing a ren peasant wedding. So we are making the cake, dress, most of the food, decorations and such. will give more info later if you want

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posted by 080605bride

My wedding is August 6. We have stayed under the 2000.00 limit. For inexpensive favors, go to the Dollar stores, they have the same white boxes that are on wedding websites for about .33 each for 1.00 for 12 boxes! We put five jordan almonds (tradition) in the boxes with a tube of birdseed (ebay user name califf)that was 15 dollars for 50 tubes decorated in your colors. We are getting married ina courtyard at 1pm (www.spartanmanor.com) and having a sit down luncheon at a local hotel. Both sites include all decorations and music at the ceremony. I made my own bouquets from Wal-Mart. My invitations, programs, thank-you's, and save the dates are from Wal-Mart, I printed them out but you can't tell the difference. I got my dress at David's Bridal for $500 plus alterations. We are getting the cake done at a local baker (189.00 for 75 guests). What area do you live in? My aunt is a wedding planner) Maybe she can suggest some inexpensive locations!

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posted by baconsmom

If you want your hair and makeup done, try a beauty school.

There's one in my area that does hairstyling for $5 and makeup application for $5. I think colour is $10 and manicures are $10.

Just make sure you go beforehand to make sure they can do what you want. For five bucks, it's not that bad a deal to do a trial run!

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posted by feb-bride

And make sure you have a LOT of time if you go to a beauty school for your hair and make-up. My cousin went to a beauty school to get her hair done for my wedding. Her appointment was at 9:00 a.m.; they didn't finish her hair until NOON. It was a classic updo, which takes most hairdressers between an hour and 90 minutes to complete. My cousin was almost late getting to the chapel for the pictures.

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posted by e-star

If you are doing an evening event, get lots and lots of candles! They create real ambiance and I know a bag of 100 votive candles cost $5 at Pier 1 imports. It means you only have to get a few flowers here and there as accents. And speaking of flowers, get them from a wholesale flower market - you'll save tons of money - and enlist some of your artistic friends to make the floral pieces the night before.

If you have lots of creative/talented friends (play music, sing, good at arts and crafts) ask if they can help and if they do, you could always tell them you consider their help as their wedding gift to you and your FH.

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posted by 555Ann555

tip for the tables is to scatter rose petals along with the tea lights, or use floating candles in big glass bowls with petals in the water, that way you only need 1 or 2 rose heads per table & they needn't be the freshest flowers coz you'll be removing the heads anyway!


Ann & Moreno

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posted by xprettylushxgj@yahoo.com

be cheap!
that sounds bad, and if i offend anyone i apologize... If you do the bowl with the fowers and candle thing (great idea BTW) buy the bowls just a few days before and make sure they say safe and then RETURN THEM AFTER THE WEDDING! lol, i know it sounds bad, but if you have 10 tables (5 ppl ea) and you buy 10+ bowls at $10 or so dollars each thats $100 bucks! one a $2000 budget thats an extra $100 to go into MANY other things. and its not like underware or anything, and all your putting is water and petals in them... so its not THAT bad.

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posted by 555Ann555

Twinkle, one other point is to decide where you think the money will show, what'll be remembered & what you love most..

Our example..

I am obsessed with photography (thinking of going back to school to study it after I'm married). So for me that was where the money had to go.

We will both always remember our honeymoon so that was another area to splurge.

We had to cut back the funding for all the rest..

What I always remember at weddings are the little touches; the favours, place cards, invitations & table settings. So we're making most of those ourselves, that way you can ensure an original without having to pay hand crafted prices!

My mum is paying for our reception but we chose a reasonable priced hotel where the food is fabulous because it runs a catering school during the day!The hotel provides all the flowers for the reception so it's one less thing to pay for.

My dress is actually a beautiful BM's dress in ivory, I wanted something quite simple because I'm only 5 foot 1 and didn't want to be drowned by my dress! but it cost a lot less than a B's dress!

My shoes were a bargin (£12), little sparkly ivory ballet pumps! You'll not see them under my dress & I'd rather be short than have sore feet!

My mum is also making the flowergirl's dresses so they'll cost about £25 each instead of £60!

My BM'll be wearing black, so we're waiting till christmas, till there are loads in the department stores & getting one then..

(this sounds morbid) We're hiring our cars from a funeral company which'll save us about £150 and the cars are lovely, very clean & very well maintained!

My FH knows someone who makes stunning wedding cakes from home, we've seen them & you really can't tell them apart from the specialist ones. So that'll also save about £150, (the cheapest w.cake I've found localy is £300!!)

If you've got time to do your research & the energy to shop around you can really make a big impact on a small buget.

Good luck & happy bargin hunting

Ann & Moreno

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posted by Marrying the Good Husband

Ann, not sure about the pounds to American dollars conversion (I think now it's about $2 per 1 pound..) But sounds like great ideas!!

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posted by 555Ann555

We didn't have a final budget sorted before we started paying for stuff, now it's starting to run away a bit!

Counted it up the other day & even tho it's a small wedding the price is obscene

Ann & Moreno

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posted by e-star

Lots and lots of candles! When they are all lit up , the look gorgeous and are much cheaper than candles. For centerpieces which follows on the candle theme - just buy 3 different height pillar candles - for each table. Place them all on 1 plain plate (either glass or cream). It will look beautiful lit up and you don't need to worry about flowers or getting bowls. Lots of tea lights everywhere will work too. At pier 1 imports, you can get a bag of 50 tea lights for less then 5 bucks! Plus they sell the samll glass holders for like $1 each!

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posted by 555Ann555

Do you have Ikea over there?
They have little tea light holders and they're only 25p. That must be about 40 or 50 cents.. They're round & quite chunky...
If you got one for each place setting it wouldn't cost a fortune. Before I got my favours I was thinking of getting those & the little candles for them & wrapping them in net & ribbon for the favours..

Ann & Moreno