We Had A WONDERFUL Wedding For Under $3000!
Several months ago I began posting on here as I looked for money-saving ideas for my Thanksgiving Day wedding. Well, we are now home and settled in after the wedding, and I can honestly say it was the BEST day of my life. Everything was so beautiful, and we keep getting letters and emails telling us how much everyone enjoyed the wedding celebration.
Here are a few suggestions and tips I would like to pass on for all of you up-and-coming brides:
1. Make CONNECTIONS: I didn`t know where to begin searching for a place to hold our reception, or a place to buy the paper products for our reception, etc. I just started talking to people--and several wonderful opportunities came our way! For example, we had gone to our local COSTCO (bulk store) for paper products and had estimated spending about $200 on cups, plates, napkins, etc. For the reception. Then my mother went to a get-together at church which had beautiful paper tableware and thought to ask the woman in charge where she got them from. We wound up purchasing all our paper products, "glass ware", etc. At a local supply place for less than $40! As for a reception hall, we saved money by hiring a caterer. But finding a reception site which allowed us to bring in an outside caterer was a challenge. The local fire department had a beautiful banquet room which we rented for only $300!
2. Focus on the most important part--LOVE: when it came to the wedding preparations, my fiancee and I constantly focused ourselves on what the wedding was all about. It wasn`t a beauty pageant, it was a celebration of our love. The friends and family who attended didn`t care about eating off of china or taking home expensive favors. They were there to celebrate our love with us.
3. Recruit as many "helpers" as possible: several close friends and relatives helped us to piece together our long-distance wedding. One volunteered to make the reception centerpieces, I handmade all of the boquets and boutineers from silk flowers with the help of several friends, a friend made our wedding cake, and other family members helped us put together our wedding favors.
When money is an issue, it`s really hard to avoid some stresses. Just remember to RELAX and HAVE FUN on your big day!
Good luck to all of you! For more tips and questions, email me--I`d be glad to help!
Posted by Anne; updated 12/05/03
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Anne, congratulations on your recent marriage. Best wishes to you and your husband.
I simply wanted to say I feel you nailed it on the head when you said that the day is about LOVE. Too often people on this board (me included) get too focused on trivial things such as flowers, centerpieces, invitations, etc that we forget why we are getting married. One girl actually posted something as silly as pearl hairpins! She felt she needed bridal advice and what sort of hairpins she should use.
I`m getting married in 8 days and I have obsessed over the details of my wedding to make it `perfect.` My parents have spent over $50,000 on this event and in reality the only thing that really mattes is that I love the person I am marrying and that my family and friends are able to be a part of the day. The food, flowers, my dress, etc don`t really matter in the whole scheme of things.
Thank you for putting things back into perspective for me - I think I dug myself so deep into the planning of my event that I have forgotten why I am planning the event in the first place.
Posted by Meredith; updated 12/05/03
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Anne,
Thank you so very much for sharing your story with us. I will be getting married in July of 2004, and you really put everything in perspective. Best wishes to you and your husband!
Posted by Angelique; updated 12/07/03
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Thanks for sharing. I will be getting married in June of next year and I have a budget of $4000. I felt like this was impossible but you showed me that this budget can really work, especially with God at the helm.
Posted by Jay; updated 12/10/03
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Congrats!
We have a budget of $2,000, and it is so nice to know it can be done!
I really like the fact that you based the day on LOVE!
Posted by Becky; updated 01/06/04
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Hi Anne, I agree the wedding is all about love and having the most important people in your life there to share that day with you. I am having a loww budget wedding ($5000) and we have utilized so many friends for things like photography, catering, videography, DJ, Live music, and even the barn that one of our friends is letting us use for our reception. I was just wondering what type of supply store did you get your Paper Table ware from. Is it a common place that could be found in most cities? Anyway thanks for writing about your experience.
Posted by Kelly; updated 02/16/04
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Its a myth that a nice wedding costs twenty grand. Most people could have a nice wedding for under 5 grand, if they try.
Posted by missy; updated 02/16/04
