Can't find a venue!!!

Thank you I appreciate it!! and our date is on April 22nd, which is a Saturday. I found a place that's fairly nice and is cheaper than all the other ones I looked at, but my fiancé really wants to self cater. So it makes it difficult for me. If he doesn't make up his mind soon I'm changing the date. I don't want to rush and not get everything done on time..

Well we're always here to help if you would like a hand researching anything Also, most venues and caters offer a substantially lower price for off season weddings. You could save a good amount by having your wedding on a Friday or Sunday or in "winter" months (vary from venue to venue). That's literally how we picked our date! We looked at venues and were looking at early to mid May but the venue we loved considered April to be winter, so we decided to book it for the last weekend in April lol. It's really helped get good deals on other vendors too

Yes there is sooo much that has to be done. even if it's simple food (he wants a family members to help) I'm sure they wanna be in on the wedding too instead of just doing all the work all day. hopefully I can somehow convince my FH to just spend a little more on the reception

Yes I agree with you!! I'm going to have to do that bc he knows what he doesn't want but doesn't know what he wants. it's really stressful to do everything alone. But I will definitely take your advice and get him more involved.. bc there won't be a wedding like this. money has to be spent!

Thank you Valerie!! & that's soo true, same with my FH.. haha and once we started looking at the cost of venues and how much receptions really are he was very quick to change his mind about cutting our guest list.. I live in a very small town and there's not a whole lot around here. but thanks for everything, I'm going to have to do that!

I agree with the other ladies who suggested looking into halls... it gives you more options for food... I looked into self catering since we want to keep our food budget under $2500.... Even though I found someone to run the kitchen day of (not something I want to be doing on my wedding day) it was way too much prep and work for not enough savings.

Yeah I agree with Valerie. Maybe buy him a wedding planning book so he can see what all goes into it and get a better understanding of how the pricing works? I found a bunch at second hand bookstores that were really helpful! Also, if he makes his own Wedding Wire account, he could use their tools as well! Try to incorporate him as much as possible so you're not having to do all the work yourself and so he can see what you're really working with!

If you post your budget (for the hall and catering) and the area you want to get married in, maybe some lovely ladies on here can help!

Guys tend to just see dollar signs when it comes to spending money on the wedding. Wedding planning causes some serious sticker shock for many people. It's not every day you throw a big (or even small) party so it can be surprising when you start seeing the money! If you want to keep costs down you can have a smaller more intimate reception with just family and close friends. My FH wanted to invite practically everyone he's ever met... he got a reality check quite quickly HAHAXD

OK then, you can start looking at halls (they usually allow you to bring in caterers) and you can find caterers for Italian or BBQ (they tend to be much cheaper options). It is very seriously worth the money, I mean it KILLS me to spend 60% of our budget on food and drinks, but that is just where the bulk of your money goes in a wedding. You will be much happier in the long run having someone else take care of your food

I completely agree!! we are on a budget but the way I see it is I'd rather spend a bit more and have everyone relax and know it's taken care of instead of having to do all the work ourselves..

Yeah and because he wants it to be a bit more intimate then "random" people catering. I found a nice venue but their cost is quite a ways above our budget so I'm sure he'll say no.. he wants a cheap reception which is hardly possible..

Why does FH insist on doing your own food? It's not really the best option to self cater, which is why most venues won't allow it. It is a serious liability for the venue because they don't know how the food was prepared or if it has been kept properly and if anyone gets sick because of it, they are liable. Also it is A LOT of work to have to worry about on your wedding day.

How come he wants to do his own food? To save money?

You can always look for a cheaper menu at a hall. Doesn't have to be a 5 course meal type of deal.