I feel compelled to ask a tactless question. How much did your wedding cost? My fiancee and I are targeting for a low cost (and low attendance!) wedding. We're probably not going to have a caterer or DJ, for example. Nevertheless, things add up quick. The photographer, equipment rentals, etc. Do any of you have inventive ways to cut costs?
For you married folks
- Thread starter MindDetective
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$3200 food
$1200 wedding dress
$500 hall rental
$900 alcohol
$400 tux rentals
$500 DJ
$600 photographer
We did all of the decorating ourselves and saved a fair bit of money there.
600 bucks for the photographer seems like a good deal. I'm finding them to be considerably more expensive in a lot of cases. :-\
Cut the alcohol, saves almost a grand, eh?
I'm also taking advice, so Mind isn't the only one benefiting here
.
I'm also taking advice, so Mind isn't the only one benefiting here
.
W
Wasabi Poptart
We did a destination wedding with only family - about 15 people including us. We didn't have a DJ. We didn't have a traditional reception, but did have food and cake in a suite at our hotel afterward. We also had a champagne brunch with everyone the next morning.
Everything together (rings, tux rentals for my husband and my brother-in-law, my gown, my sister-in-law's gown, flights, honeymoon, hotel, ceremony, license and copies of the marriage certificate, announcements, photography, limo, flowers, brunch and other party foods) ended up costing us about 8-10k.
---------- Post added at 09:03 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:00 AM ----------
If you're looking to cut costs, one of the best things you can do is decide what the most important element of the ceremony/reception is (flowers, entertainment, photos, etc.) and concentrate your money on that.
Everything together (rings, tux rentals for my husband and my brother-in-law, my gown, my sister-in-law's gown, flights, honeymoon, hotel, ceremony, license and copies of the marriage certificate, announcements, photography, limo, flowers, brunch and other party foods) ended up costing us about 8-10k.
---------- Post added at 09:03 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:00 AM ----------
If you're looking to cut costs, one of the best things you can do is decide what the most important element of the ceremony/reception is (flowers, entertainment, photos, etc.) and concentrate your money on that.
We're doing a kind of destination thing too. We're going to rent a house and have the ceremony there followed by a brunch reception. It will be relatively informal and since we'll have the house for a week, family and friends can come out early and help put things together. Yet it will still be kind of small (about twice the size of yours). The problem seems to be making sure we've got a house big enough inside in case it rains and making sure a photographer and officiant can get there since it may be a bit secluded. I like the advice of focusing funds on one thing. I think it will probably be the photos.
$1200, 350 people. We had friends and family do the catering, and a friend dj'd. Father in law did pictures an later we did a studio sitting.
Have to have a lot of friends that do this sort of thing professioanlly though, who are willing to do it for the cost of material's, food, etc.
-Adam
Have to have a lot of friends that do this sort of thing professioanlly though, who are willing to do it for the cost of material's, food, etc.
-Adam
I think our wedding cost about 5000 bucks.
We got the cheapest photography package which was about 375.00. Then we got a officiant which cost us another 300.00. We had the wedding in my parents back yard and did most of the decorating ourselves, like, the centerpieces were things that I made from stuff at the dollar store and other decorative items were found at thrift stores and refurbed to make them look pretty.
We renteed a tent for the back yard with a dance floor, that was 900.00.
We had a h'orderves(sp.?) and server, that was another 500.00.
We rented port-a-potties, 100.00 per potty.
Hm...what else. I'm obviously missing stuff....
OH! Note on the the photographer and the caterer: we went to local schools and asked who was the best in their class and sought them out. The phtographer was just out of school and caterer was recommended to us by the local cooking program.
Also, if your friends or family have connections try to have them help you out. My dad knew people from the party rental place so we got tables and chairs very, very cheap.
We got the cheapest photography package which was about 375.00. Then we got a officiant which cost us another 300.00. We had the wedding in my parents back yard and did most of the decorating ourselves, like, the centerpieces were things that I made from stuff at the dollar store and other decorative items were found at thrift stores and refurbed to make them look pretty.
We renteed a tent for the back yard with a dance floor, that was 900.00.
We had a h'orderves(sp.?) and server, that was another 500.00.
We rented port-a-potties, 100.00 per potty.
Hm...what else. I'm obviously missing stuff....
OH! Note on the the photographer and the caterer: we went to local schools and asked who was the best in their class and sought them out. The phtographer was just out of school and caterer was recommended to us by the local cooking program.
Also, if your friends or family have connections try to have them help you out. My dad knew people from the party rental place so we got tables and chairs very, very cheap.
about 200 bucks with 10-15 people
Ours was about $5,000 altogether. We had 100 guests, got married at the hall by a public officiant, had catering, cake, made our own music discs, made our own flower arrangements (Go Hobby Lobby!), and even made our own invitations and thank you notes. My wife's dress was her mothers dress, slightly altered, and I bought a suit for the wedding.
Honeymoon we paid for separately, which came to about $700.
Honeymoon we paid for separately, which came to about $700.
I think ours cost about 2000 or 2500.
- My ex sister-in-law (she got a divorce) did the photography
- We used an iPod plugged into a small, portable PA for the music and set up a specific playlist
- A long time friend of mine got ordained through the Universal Life Church. Because he knew me, and us to a certain extent, so well, he was better able to personalize his speech for us.
- I proposed at a Macaroni Grill using hangman, so we set up the decorations to go with that theme. We used long rolls of paper and put crayons around in little baskets so that people could draw, write messages, play hangman, etc.
- The catering and the hall we rented was the most expensive part.
It definitely had a small feel to it, but we fed about 50 people and kept it more intimate. Close friends and family without too much fanfare.
- My ex sister-in-law (she got a divorce) did the photography
- We used an iPod plugged into a small, portable PA for the music and set up a specific playlist
- A long time friend of mine got ordained through the Universal Life Church. Because he knew me, and us to a certain extent, so well, he was better able to personalize his speech for us.
- I proposed at a Macaroni Grill using hangman, so we set up the decorations to go with that theme. We used long rolls of paper and put crayons around in little baskets so that people could draw, write messages, play hangman, etc.
- The catering and the hall we rented was the most expensive part.
It definitely had a small feel to it, but we fed about 50 people and kept it more intimate. Close friends and family without too much fanfare.
The cheapest photorapher we found was $850. And that was for the cut-rate package. Most packages were in the $2500 range.
That said, we got a photography student that Callistarya knows. We've both seen her work, and like it, and she really wants a wedding in her portfolio, so she agreed to do it for $75/hour ($225) and give us the photos on digital media. We'll be responsible for most post processing and turning photos into prints. Seems like a pretty good deal.
We found a venue that's nice. The Carpenter House is a Victorian home in Plano Texas, perfectly sized for our 35-ish wedding guests. I think we're paying about $1400 there including the mini-reception in the same location.
Wedding dress was $400, though it was originally priced at twice the price. We just happened to get lucky that the style we really liked was discontinued, so we were able to pick it up from existing stock at a discount.
Tux will be about $300.
No DJ....the Carpenter House has a 6 disc changer and is wired through sound throughout the entire grounds, and the staff will play your special songs (dances, etc) when you want. So, no cost there.
We want a limo. We'll probably pay $300 for that.
The officiant is $325. We could probably have gotten one for free if we went with one of my Universal Life Church friends, but we really wanted a pro.
Wedding favors, wine, etc, will probably run $800 by the time all is said and done.
I'm sure I'm forgetting something, but I think we've budgeted about $3500 for the wedding, and it's been a real challenge to stay within it. It seems like if you put the word "wedding" on anything, it immediately jacks the price up tenfold. For instance, a "wedding" guest book was $50.00 at the last place we looked. And it was just lined note paper in a hardback book..you could buy a 'journal' that was the same size and shape and composition at a bookstore for about $2.50. Heh.
We have another $3500 budgeted for a week in ireland for a honeymoon.
T
Twitch
I'm a ULC friend but I do this stuff, my father was a full time Reverend for some years so I'm familiar with the sermons. Don't rule out ULC just because it's ULC. Tin of course probably knows whether or not his friends are experienced at all.
Yeah, I wasn't putting down the ULC..in fact, I've performed two weddings myself as a minister of the ULC.
We just wanted someone with more experience than my friends had, was what I was saying.
Depends. I have friends who held their reception at a local hotel. There was a cost associated with having a 'dry' wedding. Logic was that was how the hotel made it's money. Remove alcohol, and you remove most of the hotel's revenue. Hence, an extra cost.Cut the alcohol, saves almost a grand, eh?
I'm also taking advice, so Mind isn't the only one benefiting here
M
meyoumeyou
Skip the wedding alltogether, massive savings $$$$
Depends. I have friends who held their reception at a local hotel. There was a cost associated with having a 'dry' wedding. Logic was that was how the hotel made it's money. Remove alcohol, and you remove most of the hotel's revenue. Hence, an extra cost.[/QUOTE]Cut the alcohol, saves almost a grand, eh?
I'm also taking advice, so Mind isn't the only one benefiting here
I wouldn't recommend having a cash bar, if there's any way you could avoid it. It's tacky and low-class to invite someone to a wedding and then ask that they pay for their own drinks.
Depends. I have friends who held their reception at a local hotel. There was a cost associated with having a 'dry' wedding. Logic was that was how the hotel made it's money. Remove alcohol, and you remove most of the hotel's revenue. Hence, an extra cost.[/QUOTE]Cut the alcohol, saves almost a grand, eh?
I'm also taking advice, so Mind isn't the only one benefiting here
I wouldn't recommend having a cash bar, if there's any way you could avoid it. It's tacky and low-class to invite someone to a wedding and then ask that they pay for their own drinks.[/QUOTE]
Personally, I think a marriage shouldn't be legally valid unless there is an open bar. A wedding is about two families coming together, and we all know that isn't happening without a good amount of alcoholic lubrication.
W
Wasabi Poptart
Depends. I have friends who held their reception at a local hotel. There was a cost associated with having a 'dry' wedding. Logic was that was how the hotel made it's money. Remove alcohol, and you remove most of the hotel's revenue. Hence, an extra cost.[/QUOTE]Cut the alcohol, saves almost a grand, eh?
I'm also taking advice, so Mind isn't the only one benefiting here
I wouldn't recommend having a cash bar, if there's any way you could avoid it. It's tacky and low-class to invite someone to a wedding and then ask that they pay for their own drinks.[/QUOTE]
An open cocktail hour would work, I think. Then have wine, beer, and non-alcoholic beverages for the reception dinner.
*snort*
No, no it is not "tacky and low-class" for people to pay their own drinks. They're getting a free meal out of the deal - the least they could do is pay a dollar or toonie bar to help recover some of the costs. Plus when you consider 20% of the people drink 80% of the alcohol, maybe Great Auntie Fern shouldn't be subsidizing crazy uncle Peter's alcoholism.
Alcohol can easily be the highest cost to a wedding if it's a completely open bar. Thus far, I've only been to one wedding out of 10 that has been an open bar - and that was my own wedding - at which I didn't drink.
If you are insistent on an open bar, buy beer, wine and coolers. That's it. Makes it 'cheaper'. You can't sell back opened rum, but you can sell back half-flats of beer.
And then there's that side of it too. Not to mention the liquor license you need to buy, the bartenders time you need to pay for and the local bylaws around selling/giving away liquor.
Plus party crashers popping in for some free booze.
I've never been to a wedding (even very inexpensive ones) that didn't have an open bar. I also think it is tacky to have people pay for a drinks at a wedding. Ways to limit booze costs include making it a wine and beer bar only, or for more fun you can have one or two "special" cocktails -- ones you choose or even invent yourself -- as an option. "Open bar" doesn't have to mean a full-on deal with all premium booze by any means, but I have to agree with HowDroll here.
While you probably don't want to pay for a wedding planner, see if you can find a friend (or a bridesmaid, but only if she really wants to do it) to be the "day of" coordinator. Someone who handles all the little details so that you and your bride don't have to worry about them on that day.
While you probably don't want to pay for a wedding planner, see if you can find a friend (or a bridesmaid, but only if she really wants to do it) to be the "day of" coordinator. Someone who handles all the little details so that you and your bride don't have to worry about them on that day.
*snort*
No, no it is not "tacky and low-class" for people to pay their own drinks. They're getting a free meal out of the deal - the least they could do is pay a dollar or toonie bar to help recover some of the costs. Plus when you consider 20% of the people drink 80% of the alcohol, maybe Great Auntie Fern shouldn't be subsidizing crazy uncle Peter's alcoholism.
Alcohol can easily be the highest cost to a wedding if it's a completely open bar. Thus far, I've only been to one wedding out of 10 that has been an open bar - and that was my own wedding - at which I didn't drink.
If you are insistent on an open bar, buy beer, wine and coolers. That's it. Makes it 'cheaper'. You can't sell back opened rum, but you can sell back half-flats of beer.[/QUOTE]
Out of the "deal"? Please. They're giving up their time and often spending a great deal of money to be there for someone's nupitals--when you count travel expenses and presents, they're coming out way behind for a "free meal," and that's completely ignoring guests who incur common expenses such as hotels/clothing/babysitters/etc. For a free meal? I think they're getting the short end of the stick, if you look at it that way.
*snort*
No, no it is not "tacky and low-class" for people to pay their own drinks. They're getting a free meal out of the deal - the least they could do is pay a dollar or toonie bar to help recover some of the costs. Plus when you consider 20% of the people drink 80% of the alcohol, maybe Great Auntie Fern shouldn't be subsidizing crazy uncle Peter's alcoholism.
Alcohol can easily be the highest cost to a wedding if it's a completely open bar. Thus far, I've only been to one wedding out of 10 that has been an open bar - and that was my own wedding - at which I didn't drink.
If you are insistent on an open bar, buy beer, wine and coolers. That's it. Makes it 'cheaper'. You can't sell back opened rum, but you can sell back half-flats of beer.[/quote]
Out of the "deal"? Please. They're giving up their time and often spending a great deal of money to be there for someone's nupitals--when you count travel expenses and presents, they're coming out way behind for a "free meal," and that's completely ignoring guests who incur common expenses such as hotels/clothing/babysitters/etc. For a free meal? I think they're getting the short end of the stick, if you look at it that way.[/QUOTE]
I don't have a problem with an open bar but it seems to me that you're saying that the guests (i.e. your loved ones) are coming to get something out of it rather than coming to celebrate your wedding day and provide a helping hand to the new couple (therefore the gifts, traditionally to get the happy couple started on their new life). If you were to put it terms of a thank you to the guests coming, I could maybe agree but your phrasing implies more of a trade, which I don't think is, or should be, the point.
It's tacky of the bride and groom to not pay for everyone's entire way there too then, I suppose.
It's tacky of the bride and groom to not pay for everyone's entire way there too then, I suppose.[/QUOTE]
Don't forget low class.
Cajungal
Staff member
One thing I can tell you is that my sister saved a LOT of money be doing 2 things:
1. There were very few professional photos taken. Most of them were done with those little white disposable cameras, and they're AWESOME. Obviously, there were some family photos.
2. As a "wedding gift," my cousin's mother in law filmed the wedding and reception for free (if you know anyone who wouldn't mind making this their gift, it would probably help you out if you wanted a video).
3. Very few flowers. There were little bouquets, mostly made with herbs. No flower decorations--just home made centerpieces with floating candles in glass bowls. Most of that stuff was bought at dollar stores and Big Lots.
That's all I've got since I've never gone through it myself. But good luck to you my friend.
Seems to be a lot of good advice in here.
1. There were very few professional photos taken. Most of them were done with those little white disposable cameras, and they're AWESOME. Obviously, there were some family photos.
2. As a "wedding gift," my cousin's mother in law filmed the wedding and reception for free (if you know anyone who wouldn't mind making this their gift, it would probably help you out if you wanted a video).
3. Very few flowers. There were little bouquets, mostly made with herbs. No flower decorations--just home made centerpieces with floating candles in glass bowls. Most of that stuff was bought at dollar stores and Big Lots.
That's all I've got since I've never gone through it myself. But good luck to you my friend.
Seems to be a lot of good advice in here.
We had a lot of help (not money, but people pitching in and helping with lots of stuff), so we got our down to about 1500 for the wedding and about 500 for the grooms dinner (Which was the real party). No alcohol for us (none of her family would have shown up), or rather none that was "obvious".
The important thing to remember is that your wedding is an important day, BUT it's not worth going into debt over. People are there to celebrate with you guys and see you off on your new life together, not to have you spend all your money on them.
You can still have a really nice, classy wedding for a reasonable amount of money.
And congratulations man.
The important thing to remember is that your wedding is an important day, BUT it's not worth going into debt over. People are there to celebrate with you guys and see you off on your new life together, not to have you spend all your money on them.
You can still have a really nice, classy wedding for a reasonable amount of money.
And congratulations man.
Cajungal
Staff member
About the cash bar thing---Jake's brother and his wife had beer and wine for free. If you wanted anything harder than bud light, merlot, or pinot grigio, you had to pay for it. No drink was more than 5 bucks. I don't consider that tacky. Liquor's expensive, and no one's begging you to drink it. Plus, his wife was a barista at the time, and for a discount, she had another barista come and make blended coffees. So that was cool.
The reception was gorgeous and really classy. Most drinks were free, plus there was free gourmet coffee. No one was fussing over paying 3 bucks for that jack and coke they just had to have.
The reception was gorgeous and really classy. Most drinks were free, plus there was free gourmet coffee. No one was fussing over paying 3 bucks for that jack and coke they just had to have.
It's tacky of the bride and groom to not pay for everyone's entire way there too then, I suppose.[/QUOTE]
Would you invite someone to a party at your home, put out drinks, and then if they go for a beer ask them to cough up some money to "recover some of the costs"? Because it's the exact same thing. When you invite people to a party, whether it be a birthday party or a wedding reception, you take on the responsibility of playing host and everything that comes with it.
Again, the main thing is that it's about two people starting their life together. If they can't afford to have an open bar and want to have liquor available I hardly see how that is tacky or low class to let people decide if they want to pay for it or not. Now, yes, if you can afford to spend 10's of thousands on your wedding, come on, dish it out people, but if you can't... it's one day, save the money for your honey moon 
You know, one other interesting thing, I've been to many weddings and honestly? The weddings that cost tens of thousands (and up)? My least favorite. They feel like they are more about showing off money than about two people's love for each other.
You know, one other interesting thing, I've been to many weddings and honestly? The weddings that cost tens of thousands (and up)? My least favorite. They feel like they are more about showing off money than about two people's love for each other.
Cajungal
Staff member
Amen, son. Amen. We'll probably never get to travel much, but for my honeymoon, damned if we're not going on a long and romantic whirlwind adventure, dangit!it's one day, save the money for your honey moon
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