Changed directions entirely and are going with a cheap wedding!

1. Skip favours altogether.
2. A good speaker and Spotify playlist can step in for a dj
3. Look for new photographers or student photographers as they are much more affordable.
4. Keep the meal simple and you can get catering for a very affordable price. More options and components will mean more cost. Make sure you know what your total food budget is (including cutlery, plates, serving dishes, etc) and then call around to places. If you have a way to keep food warm and want to go buffet you can try restaurants as well.
5. If you want cake don't go with a big show cake. Do a cutting cake and then have sheet or kitchen cake to cut up for everyone.
6. Keep decor simple with maybe just an arch to set the ceremony spot and then of course the rows of chairs. It would be good to have a tent or some kind of shelter (maybe hang some string lights inside) for the reception as weather is unpredictable and for April I would also make sure you have heating (heated barn, large space heaters, or heat lamps).

More people = more money

if you can keep your guest list down it will help a lot with cost. Doing a buffet or BBQ type dinner will help save on costs. If you are having it outdoors, make sure to have a tent because of the weather. With it being outdoors you will not need a lot of decor, most just want you put on the tables. A great type of entertainment would be lawn games, you don't even need to spend a lot, most you can make yourself! I hope some of this helps and that the rest of your planning is as easy and stress-free as possible!

View quoted message I think this is the best list to help you out!

If you aren’t too kean on spending a fortune on chairs, rectangular bales are wonderful! You can either provide blankets for on top of them, or just ask guests to bring there own to cover the bales, super fun, comfortable and rustic and also makes for great photos! And if there are ample trees on the property, you can string lights through the trees to make for a romantic back drop. And if you are concerned about rain, and don’t want to rent a tent, you can get seriously huge black tarps, and have them tied up on tall poles, and have the underside stung with lights. When it comes down to it, if it rains, people aren’t going to care weather they are under a white tent, or a tarp, just as long as they are out of the weather.

What do you mean when you say "bulk cater"? I've never heard of that before.

I don't agree with the concept of a potluck wedding. Guests should not be asked to bring their own food to such a special occasion. Please provide food and drink to your guests.

You can serve beer and wine along with up to three appetizers. Serving beer and wine will keep your liquor costs down since guests tend to drink more when they are eating appetizers.

For dessert, you can serve an assortment of pies or cakes from your local grocery store.

The best way to cut costs is to have a small guest list.

We are doing a cheap backyard wedding! Some ways we are saving money:

-no DJ. We made our own playlists on spotify.
-no cake. Neither of is even like cake.
-only beer and wine at the bar (but we were able to make it open bar buy getting kegs and making our own wine)
-making the food ourselves. Pulled pork dinner for the win!
-Minimal decor. Most of it is lights i can sell afterwards.

Our larget expense is the rentals. Renting a tent, tables, linens, chairs, glasses and portapotties probably accounts for about 1/3 of our total budget.

View quoted message Interesting. Never heard of it. Will check out Podcast

Congrats on making the decision.
Check out the Bridechilla podcasts (also on Facebook and IG), for help making this your special day and cutting out the stuff that’s not important to you.
Let us know how it turns out!

Hey girl ! I'm having a VERY budget wedding as well.

Something i would suggest is for sure get a portable washrooms for the evening. I was so set on not because its just one more expense but i realized so many flushes in my parents house will literally destroy the toliets/ septic tank and cost a fortune to fix.

Also check out the dollar store. so many great things there, i have got almost all my decor there, and make some amazing DIY things with there stuff. i think its dumb to spend money on decorations i will never use again. I also found some amazing things at value village (glass platers, lace table cloths)

We are having pizza for dinner, along with side dishes, (pasta salad, salad, veggie platters) we thought about doing a pig roast, but honestly I'm so cheap lol and most people like pizza and beer, we will also have a couple different options for dietary restrictions.

Desert table will be a couple cakes from the bakery of a grocery store, and other little treats (cookies, brownies, tim hortons donuts) to us cake is cake haha.

don't bother with favours, as they get thrown out, don't worry about being under decorated. i was always taught instead of trying to decorate every inch of a room for a party, pick certain spots and go all out (entrance way, dance area, desert table, seating area)

Its good that you know what you want and aren't having a wedding to please other ppl. Definitely look into some DIYs. Don't be afraid to save on costs where you can. Omce you get the rsvps it will be easier to plan for food. See if any relatives know anyone that can help out for wedding cake, dj, etc.

I’m newly engaged and have been stressing about all the costs too, and want to do it cheap as well.
I doubt we’ll be doing favors. I always end up throwing out favors, unless they are edible. I mean, you’re already feeding people....

If the wheather may be a factor, look into renting a tent for shelter.

Have a potluck instead of catering.

Decorations can be bought at dollarama and then sell them off or give them to whom may want to use it.

Favours can be as easy as putting candy or something sweet in an organza bag to let your guests enjoy.