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firstbase32

firstbase32

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When I sat down to ask my fiance''s parents blessing to marry their daughter they shared that they were setting a $2500 budget on the wedding. I thought at first that it was a decent amount but after discovering that there will be 250ish people invited to the wedding..is this even possible? Can you send out 150-175 invitations, feed that many people, buy her dress, rent the church and DJ and all that stuff for $2500? We''re in midwest Indiana so the prices of the church and DJ aren''t TOO terribly bad...the church adn reception hall is $325 including all the cleaning fees and the DJ is $375 for 3 hrs. I want this day to be the most amazing day ever for my fiance and I but am just wondering if any of you guys think you can do an amazing wedding for $2500.
 
Date: 7/20/2006 12:44:46 PM
Author:firstbase32
When I sat down to ask my fiance's parents blessing to marry their daughter they shared that they were setting a $2500 budget on the wedding. I thought at first that it was a decent amount but after discovering that there will be 250ish people invited to the wedding..is this even possible? Can you send out 150-175 invitations, feed that many people, buy her dress, rent the church and DJ and all that stuff for $2500? We're in midwest Indiana so the prices of the church and DJ aren't TOO terribly bad...the church adn reception hall is $325 including all the cleaning fees and the DJ is $375 for 3 hrs. I want this day to be the most amazing day ever for my fiance and I but am just wondering if any of you guys think you can do an amazing wedding for $2500.
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$2,500 or 25,000??

2,500 definately not, you'd need to chip in. 25,000 for 250 people is doable, but you may want to cut the guest list to cut costs. If we used our venue for 250 people for cake, centerpieces, food and invitations, it would cost ~ $20,000. That includes champagne toast, but excludes any other type of beverage. But I'm also in MA near Boston, so Im' not sure what Indiana would cost. Church here is 450.00 and then there's dress (most likely anywhere from 300.00 to 3,000.00 depending on teh bride), photographer (here is about 3000.00 on average) flowers we're DIY'ing for bouquets and DJ here is anywhere b/w 600 and 2000.
 
Honestly, I would say that it may not be for that amount of people, unless it was really, really basic. Although I''m in a much more expensive city, our budget is $5000 and we''re flirting with it; that''s just with 40-45 guests. I''m not even spending money on flowers, a DJ and favors.
 
I know its not "traditional" but could your parents match that or you guys & your parents both? 5K-7.5K seems more doable for what you're describing -- still tight - but a fighting chance.

For a $2500 total budget: maybe a mid-day cake & punch only reception? No band/dj/dancing etc. You'll also need a photographer & videographer which are pretty pricey (and the pix are your mementos!)

Good luck! (In the South, where I grew up, the "cake & punch" type wedding is very common. I don't know WHEN things got so CRAZY, but I blame the North
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eta: Here's a "budget wedding" link that I found helpful. It's a girl on The Knot who did a wedding for $5000-6000 in your neck of the woods. It will be eye-opening for you to say the least Wedding on a Dime. Hope it helps!!
 
We''re both college students and I met a guy this past year in one of my classes who takes pictures semi-professionally. He''s mid 40''s going back to get a religion degree and he is VERY VERY resonable and I''ve seen his quality of pictures and theyr''e amazing. So that won''t be a problem.

Her mom said she works with a lady who had a cater feed 200 people for $400 and that teh food was so good she ended up giving her way more than what she charged because she was amazed. So if all of that works out we could save a ton of money there. Also her mom works with the DJ''s wife so he may cut us a deal or his wife might talk him into making that our wedding present...which would be amazing.

The officiant is my best friend and I do some part-time ministry work for him so he would more than likely cut us a HUGE deal.

The guest list is a big issue because my side is inviting 60-70 and her side is inviting 150-160. This past weekend they said we should eat cut 20% of our guest list and I objected because that would be completely unfair to me because the fwe people I invited are the people i REALLY want there as opposed to inviting a ton of people who i could careless if they''re there. How many people did you guys invite and then hwo many showed up or RSVP''d?
 
Date: 7/20/2006 12:56:50 PM
Author: decodelighted
I know its not ''traditional'' but could your parents match that or you guys & your parents both? 5K-7.5K seems more doable for what you''re describing -- still tight - but a fighting chance.


For a $2500 total budget: maybe a mid-day cake & punch only reception? No band/dj/dancing etc. You''ll also need a photographer & videographer which are pretty pricey (and the pix are your mementos!)


Good luck! (In the South, where I grew up, the ''cake & punch'' type wedding is very common. I don''t know WHEN things got so CRAZY, but I blame the North
3.gif
)
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haha, I''d blame us too! IT''s freaking insane here, price wise, but the cake and punch reception sounds cute!
 
that''s not a bad idea i suppose...my parents made the comment they are willing to pay wahtever just as long as it''s the day of our dreams for the two of us...i was completely taken off gaurd when my mom said this adn she even offered to rent out this hideaway place so we could have an outdoors wedding and that was only goign to be $800-$1000 and it comes with a 4 or 5 bedroom house and a pond and a VERY big pole barn type thing taht is air conditioned and set up so that peple can have weddings....


But as for the parents matching the money....if my parents were to match their $2500 there would be no point because my parents would want them to cut their list down because it would make no sense for my parents to pay $2500 for our 70 people and they pay $2500 for their 160 people...ya know?
 
Date: 7/20/2006 1:06:07 PM
Author: firstbase32
if my parents were to match their $2500 there would be no point because my parents would want them to cut their list down because it would make no sense for my parents to pay $2500 for our 70 people and they pay $2500 for their 160 people...ya know?
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I know what you''re saying ... but, my parents are paying 99% and my fiance''s family & friends are 65% of the guest list. That''s not "fair" but you kinda have to look at it like everyone''s contributing to the greater good. It''s all negotiation. If you as a couple decide that each "side" gets a certain # of invites - then cool. But I''d really advise ya not to divide the wedding in a dollars way. i.e. "you paid this - you get this".

ALSO - a lot of the wedding costs don''t come down to "head count". Location, officiant, flowers, dress, rings, music, photographer, video, etc don''t depend on how many people are there - so it''s not as tit for tat as it seems.
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Dear Firstbase 32,

My husband and I just eloped (and we had 2 crashers). We are having a small reception of about 75 family members and close friends in about 2 weeks. Our totals are below, for your information:

Dress: $295 (I will add that my dress was from JCrew and not a traditional poofy ball gown- the more traditional dresses run from $300-$3,000 as Sweetpea said)
Alterations: $100
Undergarments for dress: $57
Shoes: $175 (I know, but I couldn''t find any that matched as well)
Jewelry: $150
Pashmina: $100
Hair and Makeup: $200
Manicure & Pedicure: $40
Flowers: $175 This was for my bouquet and his bout. only
Photographer: $700 (after photos, prints and buying the rights to a high def cd)
Cake: $28 (this was for 4)
Post wedding dinner: $250 (for four people)
Invitations: $300 (my friend designed them and printed for free and we got the envelopes of paper-source)
Stamps: $60
Thank you cards: $150
Stamps: $60
Reception Location & Food (includes linens, water, tea and tables and chairs): $2000
Centerpieces: $250
Keg: $100
Margarita Machine: $150
Hostess Gifts for showers: $200
Grand Total: $5490
(This does not include hotel accomodations for both events and travel to Texas for the reception.)

You should probably double this (at least) for the amount of guests you are talking about. You will also need gifts for bridesmaids, parents, etc.

I would sit down with your fiance and ask her exactly what she wants, what she can live without and start getting preliminary quotes to make a budget. Show your families when your are done and tell them that if they want all 250 guests to be there, you will need more help.
 
they seem afraid to offend anybody and feel we need to invite our entire church and everybody they work with and way way way extendd family....i''m only inviting close family and for most of them if they didn''t show up i wouldn''t really care and 4 or 5 people from high school that i would really like to be there. We sat down the other night to talk about the guest list and narrow it down and her parents said they were too tired to discuss it...i need to call around and get some quotes like you guys said and be liek look here''s what we''re looking at .....and when i say $2500 i mean taht''s where they said we''d start...i''m suer we''ll spend more than that because ..well there''s really no choice....if i would have known that we only get $2500 to do the wedding i would have spent much less on her ring lol
 
but also...i feel intimidated to look into things too much because being the groom it''s usually not the thing the groom does....i''ve always heard the bride and her family plan all this stuff and most grooms stay out of the planning....how do i go about looking into it without making them upset?
 
I'm in northern Indiana and I believe this is possible. Costs are fairly low. You will need to be creative and think outside the box. Do some things yourselves like invites, flowers, etc. If you do something beside the standard Saturday afternoon wedding then reception with dinner & dancing following it will be much cheaper. Consider a lunch reception.....

That being said, you can always save money yourselves to have the type of wedding you envisioned or enlist your parents. Or you can tell her parents that you don't want their money and fund it yourselves (or with your parents) AND control the guest list so that it is much smaller. Once parents give money they tend to demand control of the guest list--and this seems to be the case with them wanting to invite the entire church & all the extended family. My first wedding had these kind of issues. It was a real strain on the relationship with them and my fiance. Looking back, I should have just eloped because the stress of trying to please everyone on such a small budget was too tough.

Are you in a small town in Indiana? This can make a difference on the church/family part. I'd seriously tell them that they are limited to X number of guests and let them make the choices.

Good luck.
 
but i think i''m overlooking a HUGE thing.......we still have to cut out a lot of people but then after that we''re talking 80% of the people show up right? So that would maybe put it down below 180 people hopefully.....but i am sure you can''t always count on the 20% not showing.
 
If you can get the guest list down and have only 150 people attend you can probably come in close your budget if you go cheap on food.
 
aight you guy''s have been amazing........i''m sure i''ll post on here sometime soon and give you a recap or the final total........a wedding with JUST the two of us in Jamaica is looking VERY VERY tempting right now....lol
 
Date: 7/20/2006 1:22:11 PM
Author: firstbase32
but also...i feel intimidated to look into things too much because being the groom it''s usually not the thing the groom does....i''ve always heard the bride and her family plan all this stuff and most grooms stay out of the planning....how do i go about looking into it without making them upset?
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Don''t be intimidated at all. I''m the groom and I am taking a large role in planning our wedding. I have contacted the DJ and photographer, booked and paid for the hall, designed and purchased the Save the Date cards, etc. She''s taking care of the caterer and florist (though I''ve been at the meetings). I think this works best for us because it lets us do the things that we want to do and lets the other do the things they want to do. Sure, there will be things that nobody likes to do (like working on the guest list or setting up a registry), but we''ll survive.

BTW, if you are a client of State Farm, you can get a copy of "Easy Wedding Plans Plus" for free. I got it through their website: link. You have to sign up for the website though. It''s been great for planning and budgeting for our wedding.
 
Hi! and welcome!! I believe anything is possible and like Islandreams said you just have to be creative!! I just got married and was on a very tight budget, as I was paying for it pretty much on my own...here is the run down. 120 guests, ceremony was by candlelight @ 8:30 with an all desert reception.

My dress-$99 on clearance at a bridal boutique (my sister bought it)
Venue- FREE-His parents lawn and Rose garden very beautiful with mountains in the background,...
Flowers- $120, my bouquet of min calla''s, 2 corsages and 6 bouts (BM''s carried candles
Candles- $20 for 4
Undergarments- $20 (on sale)
favors- $15 bells to ring so that we would kiss with a poem (bought 150 @ 5 for 50 from theknot)
Disposable cameras for table-$25 for 7 from theknot
Rentals-Chairs, tables, linens, plates, glasses, and silverware- $465
Food- $200 (my dad paid) Not including the cake, cheese cake, key lime pie, chocolate mousse, Strawberry trees w/ chocolate fountain and Fruit basket
Shoes-$10 Bride flip flops
Gifts for BM''s-$40 MIL donated 4 beaded purses she had just bought at Market and I bought their Jewlery on sale
Centerpieces $70- Had 7, clay pots that DH antiqued for me, filled with sand 5 taper stuck in and covered with a hurricane
Lights-$50 bought 10 strands of christmas lights, borrowed 30
Sparklers-$25 for 120
Wedding Cake- $100 for 4 tier all Ivory with starbursts all over it (it was July 1st)
Tikki Torches-$30 bought 16, borrowed 30
DJ- Free DH had all the sound equipment we needed and a friend volunteered to do it.
Vocalist during Ceremony- Free Friend volunteered to sing
Misc Thank you gifts-$150
Photos- $200 family friend trying to start her own business this was bridal portrait and wedding (they''re awesome!)
Ceremony Arch- Free (borrowed hand made arch froma friend)
Day of Coordinator- $75 family friend
Tulle-$50 backs of chairs
Ribbon-$50

Grand total $1769

So for another $1000 you could probably add 100 guests.
 
wow, you did amazing. If we play our cards right we could do something like that because I know many people with sounds equipment and they would be more than willing to come set it up and play some music for us for the reception...i hope that we can get people to help and let us borrow stuff like you did. Whenever you get some wedding pics let me know I''d really like to see that mountain background....there''s not many of those in indiana haha.
 
Date: 7/20/2006 1:56:56 PM
Author: amyg
Hi! and welcome!! I believe anything is possible and like Islandreams said you just have to be creative!! I just got married and was on a very tight budget, as I was paying for it pretty much on my own...here is the run down. 120 guests, ceremony was by candlelight @ 8:30 with an all desert reception.


My dress-$99 on clearance at a bridal boutique (my sister bought it)

Venue- FREE-His parents lawn and Rose garden very beautiful with mountains in the background,...

Flowers- $120, my bouquet of min calla''s, 2 corsages and 6 bouts (BM''s carried candles

Candles- $20 for 4

Undergarments- $20 (on sale)

favors- $15 bells to ring so that we would kiss with a poem (bought 150 @ 5 for 50 from theknot)

Disposable cameras for table-$25 for 7 from theknot

Rentals-Chairs, tables, linens, plates, glasses, and silverware- $465

Food- $200 (my dad paid) Not including the cake, cheese cake, key lime pie, chocolate mousse, Strawberry trees w/ chocolate fountain and Fruit basket

Shoes-$10 Bride flip flops

Gifts for BM''s-$40 MIL donated 4 beaded purses she had just bought at Market and I bought their Jewlery on sale

Centerpieces $70- Had 7, clay pots that DH antiqued for me, filled with sand 5 taper stuck in and covered with a hurricane

Lights-$50 bought 10 strands of christmas lights, borrowed 30

Sparklers-$25 for 120

Wedding Cake- $100 for 4 tier all Ivory with starbursts all over it (it was July 1st)

Tikki Torches-$30 bought 16, borrowed 30

DJ- Free DH had all the sound equipment we needed and a friend volunteered to do it.

Vocalist during Ceremony- Free Friend volunteered to sing

Misc Thank you gifts-$150

Photos- $200 family friend trying to start her own business this was bridal portrait and wedding (they''re awesome!)

Ceremony Arch- Free (borrowed hand made arch froma friend)

Day of Coordinator- $75 family friend

Tulle-$50 backs of chairs

Ribbon-$50


Grand total $1769


So for another $1000 you could probably add 100 guests.
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OOOOOH! AmyG, what kind of candles did your bm''s carry--do you have a pic??? How cool!
 
My friend is doing hers for under $3000. That includes dress, church, church musicians, church reception with dessert/punch, her cake, invitations (DIY from Walmart, and they are actually quite classy looking), flowers (just hers and her BMs. She is making silk ones for the guys/honored guests), and photoraphy. She''ll do her own hair and make up. It''s very simple, but she is just not into the frills of weddings. She just wants to be married.

You CAN have a wedding for an inexpensive price, but you won''t be able to do much with food and decoration and entertainment.

Maybe if your parents match the $2500, you and your Fiance can save up for additional costs?

And maybe your Future in laws will get wrapped up in the wedding and splurge a little.
 

OOOOOH! AmyG, what kind of candles did your bm''s carry--do you have a pic??? How cool!



*~SP~*


They were actually part of a candleabra with removable stems, I don''t have any pics in digital form just yet, but as soon as I get them I''m going to post a thread... They really did work out very well!
 
Date: 7/20/2006 2:11:36 PM
Author: firstbase32
wow, you did amazing. If we play our cards right we could do something like that because I know many people with sounds equipment and they would be more than willing to come set it up and play some music for us for the reception...i hope that we can get people to help and let us borrow stuff like you did. Whenever you get some wedding pics let me know I''d really like to see that mountain background....there''s not many of those in indiana haha.
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I will definitely post a thread when I get the prof pics back. I forgot to add $65 for invitation paper and then I designed and printed them myself, and did the same thing with programs, for $50, so add $100 to make it $1869. Oh and there were candles lighting each side of the aisle they were cheap though, not more than $20 for 2 dozen, sooo $1889. LOL
 
Is there food involved? If so, forget it. That's like $10/person WITHOUT food. If there's no food, it's doable. By food, I mean a meal. Our cake for 300 people cost about $250. Delivered. It's the cost of an entree that will kill the budget.

Hand deliver invitations if possible. Postage is murder now too.
 
Firstbase,

The first thing I'd suggest you do with your fiance is to cut the guest list in half. We're keeping our guest list at 100 people, which means close family/friends only. If you're able to get the list down to around 100, $2500 will cover quite a bit more.

You knowing both the officiant and the photographer is a plus, and a cake/punch reception (2:00pm wedding, 3:00-5:00pm reception?) will save you money on food. I know that many grocery stores make wedding cakes for as low as $1/slice. Do you have a suit? Wear it! Don't have attendants...this will be a HUGE waste of money. Your friends can be plenty supportive without wearing matching dresses/suits (money saved on attendant gifts).

Think about what you really need and what you really don't. Do as much as you can yourself (invitations, silk flower bouquet). When you think about it, all you actually need to get married is a bride, a groom, and around $50 for a marriage license, so don't get suckered into all the "must haves".

Good luck, and keep us posted!

ETA: Show your fiance this website: www.juliusbridal.com. It has lots of designer knockoffs for less than $300.00 if she's looking for something traditional.
 
dang, ate my post. try again.

I second the 3 in the afternoon cake and punch reception. that way everyone can be invited.

what Ebree said. all you need to get married is a license, bride, groom and officiant.

I actually applaud the parents for limiting to 2500 dollars. very wise.
 
Golly,

You girls are thrifty! Why didn''t I talk to you more 6 months ago when I was planning?

Firstbase32- Don''t listen to me! Listen to these thrifty girls! They are smart and did their research!

I wish you and your fiance the best of luck!

I also wanted to tell you my cousin had her wedding at an old fire station in Houston and they had the ceremony upstairs and the reception downstairs and that saved a lot of money. There were 150, full meal, beer, wine, fully decorated, etc. and their total cost was under $5,000. And that was in a big city. In rural Indiana- you have a great chance of keeping it in the $2,500 range, especially if you listen to all these smart brides to be.

I say this to encourage you to not give up on what you want.

I also wanted to add another way to say money is to have your wedding during the holiday season- especially Christmas, becasue it is easier to decorate and if you wed in a church- there will most likely be decorations already. FYI.

Good Luck to you!
 
Date: 7/20/2006 1:01:13 PM
Author: firstbase32
We''re both college students and I met a guy this past year in one of my classes who takes pictures semi-professionally. He''s mid 40''s going back to get a religion degree and he is VERY VERY resonable and I''ve seen his quality of pictures and theyr''e amazing. So that won''t be a problem.

Her mom said she works with a lady who had a cater feed 200 people for $400 and that teh food was so good she ended up giving her way more than what she charged because she was amazed. So if all of that works out we could save a ton of money there. Also her mom works with the DJ''s wife so he may cut us a deal or his wife might talk him into making that our wedding present...which would be amazing.

The officiant is my best friend and I do some part-time ministry work for him so he would more than likely cut us a HUGE deal.

The guest list is a big issue because my side is inviting 60-70 and her side is inviting 150-160. This past weekend they said we should eat cut 20% of our guest list and I objected because that would be completely unfair to me because the fwe people I invited are the people i REALLY want there as opposed to inviting a ton of people who i could careless if they''re there. How many people did you guys invite and then hwo many showed up or RSVP''d?
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no way to cater 200 people for 400 dollars unless you''re having tea sandwiches only. thats 2 dollars per head.

no way.
 
most grooms these days are involved.
 
It''s totally possible if you use all your contacts/friends to the max, and have a punch and cake reception. Sounds like you have a lot of useful friends/family that will do things at lower cost, and an afternoon reception will take care of the food situation.

And my DH was very involved in the location selection, food, and ceremony.... many different aspects of the wedding.

Good luck and keep us updated!!
 
last night I talked to my fiance about cutting the list down and she said that they said the lowest we could get it down to was 250....but there a quite a few people who are from Florida and it would be IMPOSSIBLE for them to make it and also i have an uncle who is from Arizona who money would not be an option so he could come home.....my family isn''t a big "family" type family and I''m almost willing to take quite a few of them of the list just to free up space...cause we haven''t celebrated holidays together for teh past 5 years and only see each other on rare occasions where we are in town and go to my cousin''s softball game or something.....i know if took off 1 uncle and 1 aunt that would free up 8 people.....i''ll see waht i can do with the list with my friends and family i''m wanting to invite and maybe if i got it down to 40 or 50 then I could help intiate knocking some people off.......who knwos.........thanks for the help guys!
 
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