Cheap wedding Ideas for a small budget.?
Saturday, April 28th, 2012 at
9:35 am
One of my friends is getting married, but wants to do it on small budget. What things can i suggest to her to keep the costs down. The only things she has so far is the wedding dress and the bridesmaid dresses. Thanks.
Tagged with: Budget. • cheap • Ideas • Small • Wedding
Filed under: Cheap Wedding Dresses
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Keep the guest list as small as possible, thats the biggest way to save.
Get friends to do things like make placecards and decorations for the table. One of my mates even did all the flowers which saved hundreds. Ask local photography students to take pics, they will be good but cheap/free as they will be glad of the chance to put something on their portfolio. Never tell a supplier anything is for a wedding if you don’t have to as they will increase the price. Eg if you get a cake made, say it’s for a birthday party. Hire decks and get a mate to DJ or just make a great playlist on an ipod and run it through speakers for the evening. have bacon rolls in the evening rather than a fancy buffet. Make your own invites. Get guest to contribute to a honeymoon rather than buy gifts from a list.
skip the party favours, no one keeps them anyway!
Do E-invites instead of spending $500 on invitations spend $3.00 total with Hallmark Smilebox.
There are also lots of items you can get on e-bay
Your linens will run up the budget so shop around a good price is around $3-4.00 per chair cover, just make sure they are cleaned after every use.
The one area i recommend you dont cheap out on is the photographer, These are the memories that need to last so make sure you go for quality over quantity.
* keep the guest list as small as possible
* have a Friday, Sunday or weekday wedding if possible. Consider an afternoon wedding rather than an evening wedding, so that she can serve lunch or snacks or cake & coffee rather than dinner. Alcohol is also generally not expected during early weddings, so if she cuts the alcohol for an early wedding people might not even miss it.
* December-March dates are usually cheaper than other months.
* choose simple, in-season flowers. Use candles instead of flowers for centerpieces.
* favors, aisle runners, pew bows, menus, programs, fancy place cards – these are all unnecessary.
* talk to the caterer about inexpensive meal choices. Vegetables, pasta and starches can be used to bulk up a menu with only one or two meat options. Eliminate any extra courses (you don’t need soup AND salad, for example – just serve cake instead of multiple desserts).
* encourage her to use jewelry and shoes she already owns, and see if someone has a veil they can loan her. Or buy a veil off eBay. Don’t buy veils from salons since they are a rip-off.
* People just throw away invitations and paper products, so don’t go nuts on them. And the lighter an invitation is, the less postage it will require. Steer clear of square invites because these require more postage regardless of weight, because of the shape. Use a free wedding website or e-mail/Facebook to give people extra details, rather than ordering more insert cards.
* DJs are usually cheaper than a live band. Get a simple DJ package and don’t go for extra lighting or props or slideshows.
* Take a short, local honeymoon after the wedding, and save money for a bigger trip a few months later.
* see if a friend can do nice hair and makeup instead of hiring someone. Or look on Craigslist.
have a pot luck for reception you could have him get a super nice suit instead of a tux. just have a small wedding ideals will come to you. have your friends help with decorations and such..
Have a homemade wedding, a pinic buffett and ask all your friends to help, it will be lots of fun and much more personal than a construde wedding.
Search Charity shops and Ebay or Freecycle for all the bits you can’t afford.
Keep the guest list as small as possible. The less people there are, the less food and alcohol, you have to supply.
Milk your friends and family connections for as much as possible.
Have your wedding at a home, or in a park or garden, instead of a church or hall.
Don’t rent limos when you have cars that works just fine.
Do as much as possible yourself. Have a computer and printer? Make your own invitations.
Consider looking for a photographer on Craigslist. Just be sure to look at their portfolio, and make sure you like their work. But you can get this a lot cheaper by hiring someone who doesn’t already do it as their day job.
Consider doing things low key, instead of super fancy… I just bought up decorations for my wedding yesterday. Plastic table clothes, plastic plates and cups, table glitter, and paper balls and bells, some tulle and ribbon, cost me just under $200
I’m considering renting a hotdog vendor to supply all the meats. My cousin’s friend did the same thing and for 80-100 people, it only cost $500. The guy supplies beef, chicken and veggie burgers and dogs. I’ll supply some pastas and salads, and the alcohol. It’s fun and low key, but definitely not suitable for a high class wedding.
Buffet style dinner. at a home rather than a Banquet hall.
My first marriage cost 600.00 and there was 50 people there. in 1978 Buffet style
We were married in my mothers living room in front of fireplace
My second marriage cost 775.00 and there was 6 people there in 1993
We were married in OUR HOUSE living room in front of fireplace
after we went out for a great meal at a 5 star restaurant
I did one time participate in an elopement.
cost was $ 125.00
She can have it at her house (or someone else’s) and she will save TONS on ceremony/reception site. Target has a great variety on invitations and they are very elegant and beautiful, (and cheap). The dollar tree stores have a section on weddings, and you might think, “eww, that stuff is cheap” but they actually have super nice stuff and nobody would think they only cost $.99! I saw that section after my wedding, and felt kinda bad because I spent so much on things that they have there, like decorations, favors, etc. She can also have someone cater the food (friend or family) and that will be very cost efficient. Her favors can be chocolates, or mints that are very inexpensive. If you live in the LA area, downtown LA has a great variety of flowers and it will definitely be cheaper than having a florist make all the arrangements. Hope this helps!
Ideas to save money as you start your married life as often simple and obvious. If you have already considered the following ideas then you are well on your way to saving money. One of the highest reasons for marriage breakdown is dept. So I have set out a number of money saving ideas for your wedding, drawn from personal experience.
There are however a number of things that we should remember, the dress should be wonderful, the reception the best it can be, and of course the wedding photographs should be the best they can be at the best price.
■One of the most expensive parts of the wedding can be the reception. Although a buffet can often be cheaper than a sit down, you may prefer a sit down meal – A simple idea is to cut down on the guest list if you are trying to save the money, and invite others to a reception party after the main reception.
■Serve Cava in place of champagne to greet your guests and for the toast – no one will mind or notice!
■Get married later in the day – it saves having to feed your guests twice
■Serve your cake as dessert – choose a chocolate or lemon cake in place of the traditional fruit cake and ask your caterers to serve with fresh cream and berries.
■Get married on a week day – many venues are much cheaper then at weekends
■Choose flowers in season – they cost more if they have to be flown in
■Avoid Christmas and Valentine’s Day – although popular, the costs will go up – flowers in particular are more expensive at this time of year
■Ask friends and family to help – when my wife and I married, my Father made the cake, my Mother decorated it, we used a friend’s cream Mercedes as the wedding car and another made my wife’s wedding dress.
■Make your own stationery – that way you save money and have something very personal to treasure – the Confetti website offers a free print download service
■Oxfam now has a fabulous service of second hand and unworn dresses, but if your heart is set on a new dress, consider having your dress made by a local dressmaker – or as one of my clients has done have your dress made in china! Her dress was made to measure in pure silk, and cost just £80 from an e-bay advert.
■Do take out wedding insurance as this can give you peace of mind should anything go wrong
■Make your own favours – favour boxes filled with sweets look lovely and don’t take long to do, or make cookies and initial them with your names and the date of the wedding
■Don’t scrimp on the photographer (“you would say that,” I hear you cry) – But those images will live with you forever – Ask if you have will be given the right to copy the photos, and if you will be given a CD that is of High Resolution of your pictures for you to print as you wish.
■Also check the photographer is a member of a professional body and remember to ask for to see their membership card, no one who is a member of a professional body would ever object to that, if they do, don’t use them.
Useful book Big Wedding on A Small Budget Plann http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0898795303?ie=UTF8&tag=httpwwwhomega-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=19450&creativeASIN=0898795303
As someone else said….
~ Keep the guest list small. The best way to save.
~ Avoid all the “you have to have this” and you “have to have that” perpetrated by the bridal industry. You do NOT need: favors; limos; spa day; videographer, just to name a few.
~ Do everything you can yourself. If she knows of someone who makes cakes….let them make the cake as their gift. Likewise, if she knows someone that is good arranging flowers….ask them!
~ Get family/friends to use their digital cameras to take pictures. Professional photographers are expensive.
~ Flowers and invites: get these from Walmart and do them yourself.
There are many, many ways to save. She needs to use the internet and look around at what is available for FREE: parks, gardens, etc.