Cheap Weddings done right?
March 10th, 2010 | 
Author: What do you think is the most important stuff to focus your money on when planning on a tight budget? I’ve been to weddings that were on a budget and thought they spent the money in the wrong places. For instance one I went to spent all the money on the food and didn’t have any decorations at all. Another was all decorations and little food. I’d like to have a happy middle. I found a place that I can get a nice cake at and I figure to save money we can have the cake be nice but a little smaller and use sheet cakes which are cheaper for the rest. We also plan on inviting just a few friends and mostly family. I’ve also seen people on a budget make the mistake of inviting everyone they have ever met and when all the people decided to come they were screwed because they really couldn’t afford that many but had to feed and find a place big enough for all of them. If you had a cheap wedding where you did most of the stuff yourself or found ways to cut corners but still had a wedding that looked like a million bucks let me know what you did. Also if you have pictures that would be great. Thanks.
I want the type of wedding where people go wow this must have cost a ton how did they afford it all and then when they find out the price are like wow there is no way you could have done all this for that cheap. I’m pretty much like that with everything. I’m a cheap shopper and love to find deals.
The one I’m referring to about the all food no decorations deal the meal was over $16 a person (they told us that) so I figured they could have cut down to say $12 a person and had a few candles or flowers or something. The place wasn’t really pretty so it was kind of blah otherwise. Plus they way over guessed on the people and had enough leftovers for about a week for themselves and sent stuff home with all of us too (we had at least three days). The bottom layer of the cake wasn’t even touched. If they would have planned better they wouldn’t have wasted money on all the extra food and cake and could have had a few decorations.
In all honesty, most people do not go "wow – this must have cost a ton" at a wedding. I’ve attended three weddings in the last 6 months, all were conservative, yet beautiful. If you have 10 guests, you will have 10 ideas of what is a great wedding. If you have 100 guests, you will have 100 opinions of what makes a great wedding.
Do what makes you happy. In my opinion, the MOST important part is to make your guests feel welcome and to sincerely let them know you are glad they were able to attend. That requires taking the time to speak with your guests individually. A wedding in a barn or the porch of an old shack could be wonderful if everyone is happy and hospitable.
Posted in weddings on a budget | 
Tags: Blah, Bottom Layer, Candles, cheap wedding, cheap weddings, Flowers, Least Three Days, Leftovers, Little Food, Love, Million Bucks, Mistake, Money, Sheet Cakes, Tight Budget
9 Responses to “Cheap Weddings done right?”
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if you want to email me i have some ideas, like my flower girls dress and ring bearers tux $20 each! im growing plants for center pieces etc.
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This is my idea if you guys arent necessarily set on a church wedding:
Know anyone with a spacious backyard with a beautiful view? Have in the back yard, for free. Rent chairs. Another option is to rent a hall, maybe a clubhouse, Set thing up like a reception hall similar to this:
http://www.thriftyfun.com/images/feedback_image.lasso?id=37532219 ( you get the gist of setup)
That way everything is in one place. People all already seated. Just Bring the food and the cake out after the wedding. A friend of mine rented a hall fro 750 and did this with it. Also for favors serving trays utensils, ballons, flowers, etc. go to http://www.dollartreedirect.com/ or http://www.orientaltrading.com/ui/shared...
For your invites-http://www.formal-invitations.com/ or Target- have kinkos print them for you after you make a template. Should run about 15.00 you can also so that with the programs.
For food- 2 options ask friends or family to cook- lasagne or spaghetti will give you more bang for your buck, a nice salad and french or garlic bread.
Party punch- 1/2 gallon fruit punch, 1 pint raspberry sherbert, 1/2 liter lemon lime pop ( 7up Sprite or an off Brand) Also since there arent that many people catering for them might not be that expensive.
For a cake Costco or Sams club: They both make something similar to this, with out all of the frilly stuff at 12.00 a cake so about 36 and the stand is about 15. You can use some flowers to decorate it and cover the stand any way you want.
http://www.londoncake.com/images/W000668%203%20Tier%20wedding%20Cake%20with%20Handmade%20Sugar%20Flowers%20on%20Set%20Back%20Stand.jpg Another option is order a smaller cake for you 2 to cut, mount it on a nice stand
http://www.cakeabakin.com/images/special/2%20tier%20shower%20cake.jpg
and serve from a larger sheet cake.
Don’t be afraid to do the wedding bouquets yourself, theyre easy once you get a book from like hobby lobby and alot of the tools can be found at your local dollar store.
Do all of this and I swear you will come in at your goal amount or less. You just gotta be willing to put in a little leg work.
Also with makeing favors and bouquets- ask your mother and bridal party to come over and help make a girls night of it. Maybe cook a meal for them, nothing to fancy or order some pizza.
Ipod for reception music
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Dollar Store Queen
I think the venue should be important. That’s probably the most striking difference between the cheap weddings I’ve been to. I’ve been to some cheap weddings where they either spent a little more on the venue or managed to find a place that was both beautiful and really cheap. Even without much decoration, the place looked nice. Then I’ve even been to other cheap weddings where they did a marvelous job on decorating, but the room looked so bad that it spoiled the effect of everything else.
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The most expensive thing in a wedding, in my opinion, is the reception. And as to your comment about your friend spending more money on food and didn’t have any table decorations, is not a big deal. I would much rather go to a wedding and enjoy people’s company and the food rather than spend the evening staring across a table over flowers in a vase.
The most important things to me are:
1) My dress (not buying an expensive one for a few hours of wear)
2) Food (we are having buffet instead of a sit down catered meal)
3) Bar (having beer and wine only)
4) Music (Having a friend who is a DJ do our reception)
So as to your happy medium question… I would keep the centerpieces to a low by not having big expensive extravagant centerpieces. Instead have a small one with some candles around it. Have a buffet meal instead of a catered 5 course meal. This alone will save you major money. Only serve certain drinks, if you are serving alcohol. Don’t have a full open bar for 4 hours with all top shelf liquors.
Just some of the things I have researched and am using for my own wedding. Plus see if you have a family member or friend who works for or owns, venue, florist, DJ, band, caterer, etc. They will usually sut you a deal. This will save you big money if you can do this.
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In all honesty, most people do not go "wow – this must have cost a ton" at a wedding. I’ve attended three weddings in the last 6 months, all were conservative, yet beautiful. If you have 10 guests, you will have 10 ideas of what is a great wedding. If you have 100 guests, you will have 100 opinions of what makes a great wedding.
Do what makes you happy. In my opinion, the MOST important part is to make your guests feel welcome and to sincerely let them know you are glad they were able to attend. That requires taking the time to speak with your guests individually. A wedding in a barn or the porch of an old shack could be wonderful if everyone is happy and hospitable.
References :
Ways we plan on having a budget wedding that still looks elegant
-Our ceremony is family only, and the reception is a limited guest list. We want to be able to talk to everyone and celebrate with those closest to us
-We are having our reception at an ‘off hour’ its mid afternoon and having a beverage and wedding cake, along with a few platters for guests to munch on, still much cheaper then any plate setting. We already own a tiered platter and will purchase basic round cakes with white frosting and decorate it ourselves with the flowers we are purchasing and ribbon to make it more ornate.
Also some places have rent a cakes, where the cake is really a decoration and then you just take it back to the kitchen and bring out regular cake from a bakery noone has to know the difference
-We found a beautiful venue, the studio where I take my dance classes that is allowing us to rent out the ballroom, its very elegant as is so I don’t have to go all out with decor, its merely by hour so will be cheaper than anywhere else I looked at
-For seating I am using chair covers that I am borrowing from friends all in white she used them for her wedding and kept them for hosting dinner parties, and I bought yards of organza to make my own sashes
http://www.rainbowfloristsupplies.co.uk/acatalog/zeh-chair_sash_black.jpg
-It was cheaper to order in flowers at my grocers than a florist, we are using white cala lilies and red orchids bought in bulk then arranging the centerpieces and boquets
http://www.westcreations.com/customdesignedflowers2.html its the first picture that I am using as inspiration
We are also using truffles for a cause, favors that are edible but also so much will go to a charity that means a lot to us as a happy medium between just a donation and no favor to take home.
http://www.trufflesforacause.com/products.htm
To be honest though I rarely wonder what weddings cost when I attend, and weddings with big budgets are often not greater or prettier then more simplified budget weddings. I am going with the motto less is more for ours
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I love your question! Its so refreshing! Usually, they ask "Wedding on a budget?" and try to find out how to feed 200 people with 500 dollars.
I always advise people that less done right is always more. I think the most important things are:
1. Food and drink. Impress your guests with a few special foods, it will go a long way. Food presentation is important too.
2. Location. I really think that if you spend a little more on a beautiful location, you will more than make up for it what you save on flowers and needless decorations. A good location doesnt need anything else.
3. Photography.
4. Music or DJ.
Everything else is likely to not be noticed by your guests.
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Concentrate in the important things: Bride, grrom, cake, food, liquor, entretainment. Everything else can be done without.
Find a place that is already beautiful and you won’t have to decorate it. A park, the beach a garden are location that nature have already decorated for you. Save.
Use yoru venue’s stuff. Yes, they have bulk centerpieces that are basic and beautiful. Most venues won’t charge you for this.
I had no cenetrpieces (used the venue’s) and I put the money where it counted. We had a small group and by having less people we were able to have better stuff. We served lobster for our meal and had a full open bar… for 38 people. Much better than to have cold pasta and hardly anything else to eat and a tacky cash bar for 200 people.
Everyone commented that our wedding was the best wedding that they’ve ever attended and that’s how weddings should be done: FUN, abundant and thoughful
Good luc k
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I rented a crappy looking reception room at an agricultural center for i think 200-250, cant remember, but i turned it into a beautiful reception. I heard people comment on it how nice it was even many months after the wedding. What i did was bring things in like fake trees( i borrowed them from a friend) , twinkle lights which i made an X from one end of the room to the other and put a really pretty ball of roses hanging from the ceiling in the middle of the X (they were fake but beautiful), i borrowed a decorated wall for a backdrop for the gift table, I rented really nice tablecloths, punch fountain and really fancy chafing dishes (things are a little cheaper in my area), spent 300 dollars on a beautiful cake with a lighted fountain underneath it, made in my hometown, I did all the centerpieces myself which was pillar candles from every dollar store i could find to get enough. Each centerpeice had 3 different size candles , also i found silver charger plates at big lots (who could tell they were charger plates, no one) to put the candles on and i tucked really pretty fake roses in between each candle laying on the bottom of the plate, had to round up tons of those roses leftover from valentines day from every walmart i could find. When the candles were lit and the mood lighting was low, the place looked amazing!! It was my dream wedding.
Oh and i did have real flowers for all the bouquets bought locally, and they were really nice and they doubled as decor for the bridal party table during the reception. I just had them slipped into vases. Oh and as far as the food, i think i budgeted 700-800 on food and i did it buffet style but with a certain menu and had good friends make the food for me and serve it.
All in all, we spent somewhere between 3-4 thousand for our wedding.
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