Budget

My wedding is going to cost around $4000.00 which is pretty low for a wedding... If I had a nicer backyard it would've been less LOL We are having the ceremony in a local park (which is free) only about 40 guests and slight decor on the gazebo.. my photographer is a good friend and our reception is just a BBQ and bonfire at some rental cabins we found

yyeesss exactly hopefully the FH will agree this time!

From what I have managed to pry out of reception venues, that would probably be waaaay cheaper. No plate-service food (do food stations! I love food stations!), less hours of drink, less hours of dj, photo booth, photographer, etc. almost all of it is hourly, so I bet that would be awesome! And late at night, you can go with much more simple, elegant decorations, since its dark and no one can see them anyways.

Yep! Here's what I was thinkinginner with the family and wedding party (because I anticipate the parents won't accept no dinner for at least those people..).
Ceremony at like 8-8:30 ish (everyone) followed by cake and punch reception. Not sure what the budget would look like, have to look into it!

I looked into something similar and I'm not convinced its cheaper if you want the same # of people. I'm told you can't really expect gifts or the same size of gifts if you don't invite people to the actual ceremony. I think brunch or cake and punch wokr, but I still think those people should also be invited to the actual ceremony.

Really considering doing a "cake and punch" reception, which is what you described: late evening reception with some finger foods, desserts and alcohol. Have to get the FH on board

What about getting married at city Hall and then hosting an evening event, no supper just finger food, desserts, drinks and dancing. Maybe pizza at midnight. Maybe list on invite where you want to take you honeymoon and who they can leave a donation with. travel agent, Gofundme accountor have a card box's. Good luck!

I have friends that just booked a Brunch Wedding...they are having the ceremony in the morning followed by brunch and then they are leaving for their honeymoon that evening. It sounds super cute and fun and they did mention that there will be cost savings which works in their favour since they are paying for lots of it themselves. Its a really neat and different idea. oh and its on a sunday so better pricing sturcture for the venue...double win!

I have a friend who is having a pot-luck wedding so that saves her a lot of money by not having a caterer. She is also having everyone camp out. I guess her wedding is on a large property where camping is available. My sister had a backyard wedding which cost maybe 1000$ max. She rented a tent to have the dinner, rented a sound system and made her own wedding arch. Her mother in law also made a ton of food to serve to guests for dinner.

We're going to a wedding on Saturday and from what I've been told, The couple is doing the ceremony and the reception at the same place and the grooms family will be cooking all the food. I'm pretty sure all together they spent about $2000-$3000. Most of the money being spent on the rings.

LOL, you and me both, my friend, you and me both let me know what comes out of your visits! xo

Also research and ordering stuff early. There's cheap dress sites if you know what you want and order in advance, and you don't want to get hit with last minute expedited shipping fees. Time is your friend in that respect.

Lol, yeah, I'm still waiting on my man to get it together on the budgetting side. We're going to go see all-inclusive and not all-inclusive venues really soon. Can't wait for that shoe to drop.

I've heard of people being asked to pay their own meals, or to bring food potluck style. Otherwise, some people definitely do BBQ/pig roast style, brunch wedding, high tea wedding reception, or even punch and cake reception, where dinner isn't served. Other options are passed hors-d'oeuvres, where it can either be catered or prepared by family and friends who have been enlisted to help.

My FILs have suggested we hold a family ceremony and then invite those family members to go out for dinner where they would pay their own meal. I don't think my mom would go for that, as she was already so shocked that we wouldn't offer open bar (in an ideal world, sure, but not possible due to budgetary constraints), and even then, it's not really something that I would be super duper pleased with. Instead, a better alternative to me would be to hold a reception and to cut costs but still offer food, buy platters of finger food, like veggies and dip, cold cuts, etc. The FH was not keen on that idea when I presented it to him a couple of months ago, so right now I am waiting for him to do some calculations and really finalize our budget so I can move forward with planning (we had done this at the start of the year when this planning adventure started, but he is unsure now, and we will have some unforeseen home renos to do this year).

I heard about Pop-up wedding event planners that have started in Montreal; basically you give them your budget, number of guests at the ceremony, and they find you a ceremony space; it includes the costs of the ceremony venue, some beverages like coffee and juices or something, seating, officiant, etc etc. And they tell you shortly before where to go, so it's kinda a surprise if you want it to be. I thought that sounded cool!

We thought about having a small wedding and a party after, rather than a reception. I think its easy to get carried away with the party stuff, but really, what is a wedding if it isn't about watching 2 people commit to spending the rest of their lives together? That might be a rosy perspective, but we've decided that everyone who gets invited is getting invited to both. I've been told its not really accepted in Canada to tell people how much their seat costs (its how its done where I'm from) so we're just not doing a registry to encourage cash or monetary gifts instead. Also my mother is going to tell my side of the family how much our plates cost, so that should help. I think family can spread that kind of thing quietly. We're looking at artificial flowers or no flowers for the wedding, which should save a fair bit, and a venue that will let us bring our own booze. Photography is a pretty competitive market and you can usually find a good deal if you're not set on the best of the best for that. You can also rent a sound system for not a ton of money, and plug in an iPod, if you've got family or friends who could MC the night. We're also going to be doing only website and email RSVPs so that we don't have to send out RSVP cards with return envelopes and postage. You can get a pretty sweet deal on invitations by waiting for a sale on vistaprint. I know people say they can save $$$ by printing them yourself but running card stock through a printer is hard at the best of times. Factor in ink and kit costs, I'm not convinced its worth it but rock it if you can. I think a lot depends on how crafty you are. I love to hit the mod podge. I think the best suggestion overall that I saw said to make a list of what is most important to you, have your partner make one of whats important to them, then compare and put together your priorities, then focus on the things on the top of the list and let the others be things you DIY or find a discount for.

I apologize if I sounded rude or offended anyone, that wasnt my intention. I was just stating my opinon on the matter. Food is an important part of the wedding , and I, personally, wouldnt go to a wedding if I had to pay for my plate. There are so, so many ways to save money at a wedding. But the two areas Id never cheat at, would be food and photography. Everything else is definitely cutable.

I think there's a better way to word your response. This is suppose to be a place where people can ask your help and advice and not be offended by others responses.

Your advice is pretty solid and very helpful. Thank you for your input. However, your first comment was completely unsolicited. This is a discussion for EVERYONE and anyone asking their guests to pay for their meals may now be afraid to say something. It's nice that you have a lot of family and friends that can help you and now anyone shy to ask their circle may be less shy knowing someone else has so thank you for that. It would do well to keep some perspective though as not everyone has such a support system. I, myself, have been to two weddings where I've paid for my meal and they were both beautiful. I thought about the economy today and how much the couples were already spending, and it seemed fair to me.One couple had even asked that guests pay for their meals INSTEAD of wedding gifts which just seems more cost effective for everyone. I really like how you have made a community of helpers for your wedding and it sounds like a great time even just preparing for that big day! You are abundantly lucky to have so many people in your life and to have so many that can and will help you! I wish you the best of times and the best of luck to you and your fiance!

I feel like asking guests to pay for their own meals is pretty tacky. There are plenty of ways to sve money at a wedding without doing that. I just ordered my invitations, envelopes, thank you cards, a poster, and 4 personalized coffee mugs from vistaprint for free. (Used their 50$ off your first order and made 2 seperate orders). My fmil is paying for our venue, but if she wasnt we were going to have a backyard i do bbq. Keep the guest list small. We are paying 22.50 per head for a 2 meat buffet at our venue shop around and find the cheapest caterer. We arent doing favours, or a cake. Our photographer is 1500$ and my sister will be paying half of that. Our DJ will be roughly 900. But thats a big maybe. We may go with a cheaper one at 600. We are diying all our decor including headtable & using the linens provided at our venue. We are buying second hand when we can. Our first budget was 12k. And weve since gotten it down to 8k by asking for help. Dont be afraid to reach out to family/friends and see if they can help out with something, or if they know anyone that can do it for a fraction of the cost. Oh , our officiant is FHs cousin who is doing it for free!