Economic Wedding Ideas

9 responses so far ↓

• 1 L. L. // Jan 1, 2009 at 8:23 am

  Strapped for money, we planned a very small wedding. We had four long tables set in a square. The head table was for us and our wedding party, one was for immediate family on my side, one for immediate family on my husband’s side, and the fourth was for our closest friends. We booked a small room in a local “nice” restaurant and since we only were having 40 people we were able to give them a choice from the menu from about 6 items. Since there was entertainment in this room in the evenings we were able to request some songs, and there was a very small dance floor. A friend made our cake, another took the photos. My dress was lovely, but bought at a regular store and my bridesmaids chose their own flattering dresses within my color scheme. Our flowers were very modest, and I purchased containers the day before of lovely spring flowers that lined the church. I made centerpieces for the four tables. We were complimented - our wedding was one of the simplest but nicest anyone had ever attended. Of course things went wrong … and I’m saving the best for last. A few weeks before our wedding the restaurant was sold and turned into an Irish Ale House, our intimate room became its pub. We had more fun with the Irish music (my dear mother-in-law was from Ireland) and we just celebrated anniversary #23. My advice? In today’s economy don’t pay for a whole bunch of people to enjoy one night on you. Make it special for those that are closest and use the rest of your hard-earned money on the other necessities you will now need. Good luck!

• 2 nataliexoxo // Jan 2, 2009 at 9:16 am

  here are my tips that i have passed on to many buget concious brides… hope you can use some of them.

  first off- shop after holiday clearance sales at craft stores, michaels and ac moore, and places like walmart, target and kmart. i got things on christmas clearance for 75-95% off- votive candles in glass holders for $.40 each!

  i can set you up with a great lady who is making my invites. she does package deals (any size you will need) and a la carte - you will save tons with her. i’m getting 75 invites, evelopes, thank you scrolls, rsvp postcards, folded thank you cards and evelopes and address labels for under $90

  rings- shop jc pennys when they have sales, look for coupons…
  or ebay and craigslist. really don’t be afraid of ebay. shop sellers with 99 or 100% feedback only. i’m getting my ring for under $25 (stainless band that matchs my engagement ring) and his for under $50 (tungsten).

  transportation- use a relatives nice auto or use your own. you DON’T nee a limo, you can even rent a big suv for the day for near nothing from most rental co’s (budget hertz alamo) or call around to classic car clubs and see if you can rent a classic car for an hr or two… might be really cheap to do that

  dress- shop consignment shops. my dress cost $150 and is awesome. look on craigslist and ebay too. what ever size you end up being (i have faith you will lose weight!) you will find a beautiful dress!

  bm dresses- these have dresses under $100 ?…
  you can also try looking at prom dresses and homecoming dresses in macys and jcpenneys. most of them look like bm dresses anymore, it will increase your selection by looking for those 3 types instead of just bm dresses

  guys clothing- they don’t need to tux it up. they can wear white shirts and tan slacks. or white shirts and dark slacks and a tie… make sure they are all bought at the same time so they match.

  flowers- you can shop local flower stores or grocery store floral dpts (make your own if you like) bring pics of what you want to guide your florist. shop rite has a full service flower dpt and they offer wedding planning help too. or you can go the silk route. afloral.com has great flowers. that’s who i went to for mine

  centerpieces- i like the tall vases with topiary style arrangements on them. i love gerberas so i think using them is a great way to punch up color and keep your budget down
  you can also get different vases (walmart super cheap) and have different looks on each table.

  ceremony location- i’m all for outdoor weddings. i think being surrounded by nature is just beautiful and makes for awesome pictures. plus most are free or really cheap.
  i’m getting married in a park and it only cost $5 for the application fee. no charge to bring in chairs tents etc…

  reception locations- you can have it at a vfw, moose/elk lodge or fire house banquet hall. they are nicer now that ever… they realize how much revenue they generate so many/most have been updated in the last few years.
  we are using the banquet hall of the fire house where we are memebers. it only cost us $275 to rent. $500 for non members. (they do open bar. cash bar. cater. or let you diy the food)

  cake- look at bjs and costco, even walmart does wedding cakes now. don’t forget grocery stores. most do wedding cakes and are rather tasty cakes. you might not get all the flavor choices of a bakery but most ppl go with white or chocolate anyway.
  we are getting our cake from shop rite ($1.75 a serving compared to $3.50 someone else quoted me) i love s/r cakes and have had many a b-day cake from them when i was younger.

  favors- you really don’t need them if you are trying to save money. but… you can do organza bags filled with candies. shop ebay for the best prices, seller ideabus, has the best prices and selection
  or try dipping the ends of pretzle rods in white, dark or milk chocolate. then roll the ends (or sprinkle) with jimmies, colored sugar crystals, crushed nuts, mini marshmallows… or what ever else floats your fancy. put them in celophane bags and tie off with a ribbon to match your colors. super easy and people love things they can snack on on the way home from the reception.
  stick to edible, anything else are 99% dust collectors or trash can fillers

  photographer- look on craigslist for your area, under services, type in photography and see the results. i found a great gal for mine $300 for 6 hrs. some places charge wayyyy more but you should be able to find a good one for under 1k
  i also found someone who wants to build her portfolio so she’s shooting the whole day for free. if we like any prints we can order a la carte for super cheap.

  you might be able to find a dj service on craigslist too. or just call around for a good rate from someone with referrals

  our wedding for about 100 ppl will run us about 3500k.

  most important thing about a wedding, budget- STICK TO IT

  oh join your local yahoo group freecycle and post what you are looking for. i got lots of wedding things for free. (esp after june!)

  post on craigslist for your area too, and search for wedding things too. many ppl have left overs they want to unload after their weddings and sell at below lowest cost!

  oh ck out this site too

  BEST OF LUCK

• 3 kdollmusic // Jan 2, 2009 at 4:46 pm

  I planned my friend’s wedding with a low budget and 5 weeks of plan time. LOL

  I hit Hobby Lobby and Michael’s. You can find great deals on silk flowers and other wedding decorations.

  One of my best finds was at the dollar store. Yes, Dollar Tree was the best store I went to in planning the wedding. I found silver bells (the same bells at Hobby Lobby for ringing the happy couple) with little poems attached for $1 for a box of 8 (HL wanted $20 for the same box). I also got some other wedding decorations there. My friend wanted a picture table with pictures of her and her beau. So I bought a bunch of frames at Dollar Tree. It turned out really cool.

  I also had lots of help from artistic people. All her bridesmaids’ dresses were made by friends and other decorations were made and/or borrowed. She wanted birdhouses and blue, yellow, and white. We were lucky that someone else got married not too long before and offered some blue and yellow decorations. Again, Hobby Lobby was the place for birds and birdhouses.

  The food was made by volunteers from church. My dad made the cake and we also got some sheet cakes from Sam’s - which was a great idea as the reception was more of an open house. So we had the nice fancy cake on show - but we served the sheet cakes as the wedding cake was small.

  Look around at your friends - do any of them have a talent they would love to share? How about your parents’ friends? Many people love to help out at a wedding. You can even ask for specific things from people to give you as wedding gifts - such as the guest book and pen, candles for the ceremony, live music, etc.

  In short, don’t hesitate to ask for help. Look at the craft stores, and other stores. You can rent some really nice archways from Hobby Lobby.

  You can have a very nice wedding for $2000 or less. I believe that was the total amount spent for the wedding I planned for my friend - it was a beautiful wedding on the lake at sunset and we pulled it off with only 5 weeks of planning!

  Good luck! And Congrats!!!!!!

• 4 Warren D // Jan 5, 2009 at 10:18 pm

  My first wedding was as cheap as they can get. We eloped.

  Second was a budget wedding but a little more fancy. We used our church at no charge. My brother-in-law was the minister, my wife’s family was the singers, and family and friends cooked and baked for the reception.

  If you skip the expensive dresses and gowns and use basic things that can be re-used you can save a bundle. Both times I wore regular clothes. A shirt and tie for the first one, a suit for the second. My first wife wore a dress in our elopement wedding, performed by a judge in Las Cruces, N.M. My current wife wore a borrowed fancier dress that wasn’t a bridal gown when we were married in Pleasanton, Texas, where we now live.

• 5 LITTLE_JOHN // Jan 8, 2009 at 10:47 pm

  good for you…..
  there are many couples that don’t budget their wedding and in the first year of marriage, they’re so stressed out over finances….
  you and your family and friends can make a lot of the decorations. if you’re not having a church wedding, but i believe you are, cause of your careful planning, you could have it at a local state part, one that has a bridge going across a creek or pond. the reception is where most of the cost will occur if you have carters and serve alcohol. whatever you do, i’m sure it will turn out beautiful, just as you are………
  congrats….. hope you both have all happiness and success and may God bless you with healthy children

• 6 DuctTapeEMT // Jan 10, 2009 at 11:17 pm

  My husband and I were strapped for cash and had a very elegant wedding for 120 people and our friends and family said it was the best they have ever been to, this is what we did.

  Things we skimped on:

  Invitations: We purchased simple invites from Target for less than .50 an invite and printed them using pretty calligraphy font on a computer, everything down to the envelopes. They came out GREAT and no one knew the difference. Also, instead of including response cards with postage to mail back, which can get pricey. We included an email address for online replys and two phone numbers. We got a lot of response online and it was a big hit as it saved us money and everyone else the time of filling this stuff out and sending it back via snail mail.

  Location: we rented an empty ambulance/fire hall and decorated it to our tastes and it came out better than most fancy reception halls. The GREAT thing was, because they do a lot of weddings they had things we borrowed free of charge such as tables, chairs, a wedding arch, a mailbox for wedding cards, a cake table, et. Invest wisely and make sure you can get the most for your buck out of the location. (We did “winter wonderland” and got married in january so a lot of snow and things were half off, that helped a lot. And it turned out BEAUTIFUL.)

  Alcohol: If you want a really cheap alternative, don’t serve it. But if that won’t fly with your guests you can do what we did. We served only beer, wine, margaritas (most people pick one specialty mixed drink, that was just our choice) and we made it self serve. Invested in a wine fountain, Beer Keg and Margarita machine (rented of course) so the need to pay a bartender did not exist. If you are having it at a hotel hall you can opt for a cash bar where the gyests pay for drinks but many people consider that bad taste. If thats not an option either, cut down the amount of time in open bar.

  Transportation: My husband and I were very active in our local ambulance squad so we rode away with our bridal party in an ambulance and everyone thought it was great when we pulled in lights and sirens. Be creative. Do you have a friend with a vintage car that you would look awesome in driving away? Can you use something creative? Like our ambulance idea. Or does it really matter to you to have it at all? Also a cheaper option is renting a cool car for the day and having a friend drive for you and have the bridal party arrive in regular vehicles, I assure you, its your day, they shouldn’t care.

  Photography and videoography: We asked a friend who studied video production to do that for us. And for photography we asked a photographer from a local paper to photograph our wedding, and it was at least half off. But don’t skimp on these things if you can’t get lucky like we did, these memories last a lifetime.

  Cake: We asked an experience culinary student (graduating and we sampled her work beforehand) to make our cake and it turned out wonderful and was also half off. Students do these things for grades so they are very careful and much, much, cheaper than traditional bakeries.

  Attire: My husband wore his army dress greens, but a good alternative is to wear a suit instead of a tux, all our attendants did and it looked just as good.

  Flowers: I picked “in season” flowers and went with a smaller bouquet instead of a larger one and it was beautiful and elegant. And carrying that for a while when its heavy can get on your nerves anyway. Also, for any child/ junior attendants, get carnations, not roses, they hold up much better and are cheaper. I didnt use roses in anything but picked in season cheaper flowers that looked really neat in my boutineers. For the bridesmaids: My bridesmaids carried a single white rose with a purple tip trim and it looked very elegant and the floral shop jazzed it up and added stuff so it didnt look so plain. But your girls wont care what their flowers look like.

  Favors: If you have a theme, go practical and go cheap. Our theme was winter, as I said. So I found porcelin ornaments for less than .50 each online, and I ordered custom ribbons off an ebay sellar with our names and wedding date and hot glued it to the snowflake, they were a huge hit and looked expensive when they weren’t. Another option is a “candy buffet” look those up online, they can be neat. But if you do that get smaller bags/boxes so the candy lasts.

  This and that extras: I bought my disposable table cameras online from ebay from a woman who didnt use them at her wedding, same with our bubbles and cake cutting knife and I found a beautiful authentic crystal headpeice second hand for $150 less than in the bridal shop in excellent condition. We found our “unity candle” and ring bearers pillow and white basket at a craft store for 60% off what they were in the Hallmark store. Look online, its a realy great resource.

  As for food, never skimp or not have enough, thats not in good taste. We really wanted an evening reception s we just picked less options and less expensive options. Like 2 meats, 2 starches, vegetable, bread and salad and that was it and people had plenty of selection. And we did it buffet style which can be hit or miss because you eliminate the need for staff to serve them but you have to over estimate food since people serve themselves a lot more than a waiter would. We also got our own appetizers and desserts. we got cracker trays and shrimp cocktail from sams as well as some hot options a friend threw in the oven right before the reception and it cut down our costs. In addition to our cake we bought cream puffs (which were a HUGE hit) as well as some bakery cookies and it cut down our costs significantly.

  Negotiate, Negotiate, Negotiate: We had our cater throw in a carving station and table linens in at no charge, work with them, haggle and see what you can do.

  Another option: My friends for their second marraige had a “pot luck” where guests brought a dish and it was CONSIDERABLY cheaper. But only consider this for a informal wedding.

  Another option for food: Have a breakfast or brunch reception, its thousands cheaper and gives you the day to celebrate with your signficant other just to yourselves. And if you do that you only have to serve champange for alcohol for the toast.

  We borrowed a lot of things from friends, enlisted their talents and looked around the internet and looked second hand before buying new. I even found my dress more than half off. (I payed $300 for a $1500 dress because it was “last season,” well, it could have fooled me, it was beautiful and white so what did I care…) Suggestions: For little things you need, search dollar stores or walmart or sams club before going strait to a wedding store. Dinner mints in white packages that would be $3.00 for 500 at walmart are now $5.00 for one hundred because they have a wedding bell on them. Shop away from wedding sections as much as possible. There is no difference. we even did things like asked the ambulance hall if we could clean up ourselves and took money off the rental.

  Entertainment: Never skimp on entertainment if you would like your guests to have a good time. An option to consider if you are having trouble affording it is to make the reception shorter. But get an experienced DJ that will match your tastes in music and will do the whole thing for you, you don’t wan tto have to tell your DJ what to do on your wedding day, get an experienced person whether it be a live band or DJ. Some DJ’s charge less in the “off season” (thats why we got a discount on ours) and some bands will work for considerably less also during the off season as the amount of wedding gigs are more scarce.

  Which brings me to my last option: Have a winter wedding. Or a fall or “off season” wedding. (Not spring or summer) You cna usually find everything from your wedding dress to catering and entertainment at a discount.

  Hope this helps, have a happy wedding!!

• 7 Kaitlin ツ // Jan 12, 2009 at 1:32 am

  You don’t have to spend your life savings or go into debt to have a beautiful wedding. I have seen beautiful and elegant weddings with a $2,000 budget. It’s in the planning, the chosing, and the execution. I myself am having a $5,000 wedding, and while it is sometimes difficult, I can already tell it will be beautiful =]

  Here are some of my money-saving tricks:

  Ceremony: Have an early ceremony (around 2 o’clock).

  *Your guests will have already have eaten lunch, and won’t be expecting a huge meal. You then can serve light food such as finger food and desert. This is the only way that my fiance’ could manage to feed our 180-200 guests without going way over our budget.

  Wedding dress: I found a beautiful gown at for a little more than $300 (my splurge). They have beautiful gowns by wonderful designers from affordable to extravagent.

  *Try places like GroupUSA, David’s Bridal, and even eBay for knockout deals.
  I just found this eBay store
  One dress is $39! Brand new. Add $89 for shipping from China and you have some knock out deals.

  Bridal Jewelry: I found my crystal wedding jewelry at no other than Wal Mart. Originally I had been looking at genuine jewelry from big name stores, but decided to scrimp here to save money for the wedding gifts my fiance’ and I plan to get each other.

  *Don’t forget retail sortes like Wal Mart and Target. My headpiece, earrings, and necklace by Crystal Collections came to $21.

  Wedding location: I have four choices, a lovely place on the property of a family friend, the beautiful garden of a local inn, a church that has a SMALL fee and goes well with my wedding style, or on the mountain where my grandparents’ grew up, married, and live.

  *Look for unconventional venues; they’ll be cheaper or even free. I opted for the for the garden for my English Garden theme.

  Reception Site: I have two options here, one of which is the brand new mansion-style library in our town. It would cost only $199 ($100 refundable damage deposit, and $40 for a library worker to stay on site). The other would be our local arts building of the town center. They have several large and beautiful rooms and are roughly the same amount as the library.

  *The same rule for venues applies here.

  Caterer: My friends and family are fabulous cooks, and are going to provide a buffet-style meal for the wedding guests.

  *Friends and family can really cut down on wedding expenses!

  Cake: A friend of my fiance’ and I is a baker, and would only charge us the price of the ingredients.

  *If you don’t have anyone who can provide this. Go for a two or three tier cake, and then have sheet cakes to cut for the bulk of the guests. That way you end up saving several hundred dollars. You can also have a two-tier cake, serving that only to wedding party, parents, and grandparents and serve guests with a cupcake tower.
  I’m simply having a three tier cupcake tower and forgoing the cake.

  Flowers: I am making my own bouquets. Flowers for a 30-stem wedding bouquet, toss bouqet, six 20-stem bridesmaid bouquets, arrangements, and 18 centerpieces (five flowers a vase would only run $288 before shipping costs from. I am having a family friend do the arrangements for a fraction of the cost.

  *Do as much as you can on your own! has videos and step-by-steps on how to make your own bouquets and arrangements.

  Favors: For get then! Most of the guests toss these expensive trinkets.

  *Instead I am making a candy buffet–something even my smallest guests would enjoy. You need a small table, glass vases shapes and sizes, candy from a bulk store like Sam’s (in your wedding colors, if you like), scoops, and little bags or favor boxes. Mine will come to about $60.

  Children: Do you want children at your wedding, but want the adults to enjoy the reception worry free?

  *If so, enlist a teenage niece, cousin, or friend. They may help as a wedding present, or simply be happy with $50 or so. They can keep the children happy and occupied with toys or color books in another room. Alternatively have the kid’s table covered in a paper table cloth with crayons at each place setting.

  Invitations: You can purchase nice paper, envelopes, and an emblam, and an ink cartridge and make your own for about $50. OR you could go to.
  She has great deals and some of them come to a total as little as $100.

  *Instead of $250-$350! Do what you can on your own, or look for budget-conscience resources like the one above.
  I am making my own invitations using beautiful, old postcards from the early 1900s. One-of-a-kind, over a century old, and inexpensive at a total of $90.

  DJ: My fiance’s brother is a DJ, and will save us $975 by doing the reception as a wedding gift.

  *If you don’t have someone like this, consider cutting the cost by having premade CDs of the music you want, and have someone man the player.

  Attendant Gifts: Try places like

  *I found my 7 attendants gifts for $35, because they were having a sale on freshwater pearl and silver bracelets =]

  Centerpieces: Something simple. If you’re having a fall wedding, vases filled with slender branches painted gold or silver is beautiful and inexpensive, and branches of berries can be added for winter. Spring or summer, simple vases with a few flowers.

  *I found short, square vases and am putting five gerbera daisies in each. Total cost for 18 tables is $99, and they look gorgeous!

  Have your bridesmaids’ pay for their dress and shoes, and have a family friend who’s good with hair or makeup help with that on the wedding day. Be sure to get them nice gifts!
  If your attendants are on a budget, go to a place like for dress ideas. My attendants dresses cost $119 each, and they’re something they can wear again and again.

  GO TO It has everything you could ever need. Also get these books: Wedding Planning for Dummies, The Knot’s Guide to Wedding Planning, and Priceless Weddings for Under $5,000. Your local library should have at least one of them.

  Good luck!

• 8 theewokprincess // Jan 15, 2009 at 5:08 am

  Okay, here are the things to cut out:
  ~Huge bouquets and flower arrangements
  ~Favors
  ~Appetizers
  ~Extra desserts (cookies, candy)
  ~The Limo/Horse and Carriage
  ~Cut out people that you haven’t seen in the last 3 years
  ~Limit bridesmaids/ushers (not as many gifts!)

  Extra things to remember:
  ~Have a brunch or lunch instead of dinner
  ~Have the wedding on a Friday night or Sunday
  ~Have the ceremony in a park
  ~Have a friend DJ instead of hiring one
  ~Have a friend do your hair and make-up instead of going to a salon

• 9 budpepsoo // Jan 17, 2009 at 1:34 pm

  We’re also on a budget. Consider a cocktail reception with finger food and make people buy their own drinks. Also, dont invite everyones kids! And try to cut out the extended family who you never see anyway!
  We found a great little Inn just out of town to have our ceremony and reception and it was sooo cheap compared to other places but it’s beautiful!
  Shop around!

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