I need advice on how to begin planning a low-budget wedding?
March 7th, 2010 | 
Author: I’m getting married next may. All I’ve got so far is my dress. Can anyone tell me when is the right time to send "save a date", put an engagement announcement in the paper, and anything else I need to do right away. I’ve got about 100 people so far on the guest list. Good advice will be appreciated.
getting your dress is a good start. why do you need the expense of magnets?? really, your friends should save the date if you send your invites out in time for a good response. why do you have to have the expense of announcements in the paper? weddings on a budget do not need added expense. prioritize the guest list. {1} next pick a date on friday or sunday [2] recep
-tion halls and restaurants have cheaper rates on those dates
[3] get prices on flowers now. pick in season blooms. nothing exotic [4] and remember – sometimes less is more. sometimes the money saved by going to city hall would be a good down payment on a house. remember prioritize. this is only the beginning of learning how to budget. and remember,
always pay yourself first. and enjoy your day, big or small.
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My friend made her own save the date magnets and mailed them out. I can’t tell you exactly when you should mail them though. But I know she made her design using photoshop or another similar program. She then printed them out at the Walgreens by work and bought sheets of magnets at a hobby shop. It ended coming out really good and a lot cheaper then if she had ordered them.
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I’m getting married in June! Congrats to you and my you have a prosperous marriage.
You normally send out save-the-date cards and post the engagement in the paper 4-6 months before the wedding, especially if some of your guest are far away.
What you can do is go to this website, TheKnot. Its a wedding website and it has the timelines in which you should get things done. I’m on it. You can make your wedding webpage for free and send it to your guest emails as save the date if you don’t want to make the save the date cards.
I hope this helps.
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http://www.theknot.com
do not get married
do something else
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Congrats! I think as soon as you know the date you should send the Save the Dates. People are so busy these days, the sooner they have an idea of your wedding the easier it will be to plan. The engagement announcement can go in the paper now too though some people wait until right before the wedding.
The stuff that I would suggest you do now is to first determine the budget and the location. Knowing where you will have the wedding will help plan both the logistics and the budget (as many people spend a bulk of the money on location). Also knowing the location will help figure some stuff out – like if you will have to rent stuff, if the reception can be held there, etc. So get the location and you will be on a roll!
Good luck and most importanly – HAVE FUN!
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first thing, i recomend registering and using http://www.theknot.com it saved my sanity when i planned my wedding.
save the dates can be sent out as early 6 months before the wedding, especially to your out-of-town guests. the invitations to the wedding will go out 8-6 weeks before the wedding. put your engagement in the paper as soon as you like, usually before you sedn out save the date cards.
i was able to do a 75 guest wedding on $5000 pretty easily. keep track of your budget carefully, look for small ways to save big, especially if there’s something you’re not picky about (silk flowers instead of real, print your own invitations instead of getting them professionaly done, choose a less expensive meal, etc)
congratulations and good luck!
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Honestly, if you want a very low-budget wedding you need to invite very little people. Paying for everyone to eat can only be so cheap. I am saving as much money as I can, but I have a little over 125 people and It will probably come to a grand total of 10K. I didn’t even spend that much on my dress, cake, etc.
The main chunk of money is feeding everyone and the hall rental to fit everyone inside. I hope everything works out for the best (and least expensive!)
Good luck!
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getting your dress is a good start. why do you need the expense of magnets?? really, your friends should save the date if you send your invites out in time for a good response. why do you have to have the expense of announcements in the paper? weddings on a budget do not need added expense. prioritize the guest list. {1} next pick a date on friday or sunday [2] recep
-tion halls and restaurants have cheaper rates on those dates
[3] get prices on flowers now. pick in season blooms. nothing exotic [4] and remember – sometimes less is more. sometimes the money saved by going to city hall would be a good down payment on a house. remember prioritize. this is only the beginning of learning how to budget. and remember,
always pay yourself first. and enjoy your day, big or small.
References :
Start by getting to know Miss Manners. Her books are the best ever learning resourse on acheiving more elegance for less money. Plus they will make you laugh out loud.
For instance, Mis Manners would have advised to skip the trouble and expense of "save the date" items. Just send short (2-3 sentences) personal notes saying "the wedding will be in May, expect your invitations in March." Either E-mail or T-mail is fine.
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Go to theknot.com and start checking out the brides’ individual bios.
Look for one called Sophi.the.bride.
Look at her pics. She has lots of budget info immediately after the photos. She has also included links to the bios of other budget brides. I think you will find her bio most helpful.
I agree with "kill_yr_television." If planning a low-budget wedding, avoid save the dates. They only need to be sent to out-of-town guests anyway. Next time you speak to an out-of-town guest just mention the wedding . . . when it will be, and when to expect an invitation. Or if you celebrate Christmas, write a brief note in your Christmas cards. Don’t go to the expense of save-the-date cards or magnets.
The best way to save money is keep your guest list as short as possible. Good luck to you.
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