Money 😬

I know exactly how you feel. Im trying to do things as cheap as humanly possible and it aint no fancy wedding but its still going to be special. I got lucky my photographer is only charging for gas and the venue is free I just gotta pay for food. So the venue/food is 1000$, the officiant is 150$,and the photographer is 50$. I cant work because of medical reasons so alot of everything is falling on my FH. I found a dress on amazon for 200$,my MOH is doing hair and makeup,and our service dogs outfits were under 20$ combined. My MOH isnt having flowers she will just be walking with my service dog (that way my service dog will still be close by , my brothers are doing the ceremony so im only paying the officiant for the legal stuff, im making the "cake" (cupcakes) with my stepmom, MOH and BM are buying their own outfits, FH's outfit will probably be mostly from walmart, our decorations are all from wish (centerpeices are fake leaves in a ring with fake candles because i dont trust having real candles,back drop is tule over fairy lights with 2 fake roses and leaves garland things in the shape of a heart,guest book and card box we will either diy or buy off facebook or kijiji) we arnt having rings and the only time we would have a flower girl is if my friend can come with her service dog and the dog would be the flower girl. i guess what im trying to say is everyone says you need to have x y and z to have a beautiful and perfect wedding but honestly you would be surprised what you can find online. my entire wedding shouldnt cost more the 5000$. thats still alot of money but thats me over estimating by alot. just gotta read reviews carefully. start with the worst and see if its a deal breaker or not.

Drop the flowers. They aren't necessary. Get just one bouquet for yourself, and a few bundles of wildflowers for your BMs, or just little bundles of baby's breath, it's the cheapest. Do a small ceremony at city hall to forgo ceremony costs; you can fit a decent amount of people in there and one officiant who did a wedding i went to at a city hall had such a beautiful ceremony that we were all in tears! Don't order a cake, just let your caterer's dessert (if it's included) be a stand in, and if you were set on a cake cutting, buy a single gourmet cupcake (they're like $5) and cut it.

I know it sucks to cut out what may feel like important volunteer work, but it may come down to considering what the bigger priority is. FH and I had to cut some expenses out of our lives in order to make our own wedding feel more feasible, and it totally sucks. At the end of the day, do what is best for your future. A wedding is just a single (important) day, but debt and LOCs can be lifelong, and that's not how you want to start a marriage! Prioritize how you're going to be creating a life together rather than a single day in time. Hope this helps a bit

Wedding costs do arise high and costly which is accountable to know what your wanting and how it can be done at a fair price. There were a few things we did to cut costs and make things look beautiful yet simple.

1. Instead of florist, consider renting all your décor to bring the price down and saving on storage after the event. Items that will be needed and for how many tables plus your ceremony and head table.

2. Wedding party can pay for their outfits as BMs decide to rent or purchase their dress and same for groomsmen for the tux. The cost shouldn't be upon you both to break the bank as it does add up fast. The same for make up/hair for your bridal party as you should focus for yourself to be done. BMs can pay for their part of the stylist available at the venue if they want to stay or go out for their appointment at a salon.

3. Friends/Family can help to lend things they may have from their day towards yours to make that much more special. Your parents can help to ask whom they know that's attending and collecting everything beforehand as the same with you and decorating ahead of time.

4. DIY projects do save a ton of money that will help to get your wedding party together putting together your vision.

You might be able to push back your wedding till the end of the year and that way you wont lose your deposits with your vendors. or you pay them in monthly installments now so that way when your wedding is much closer you wont have to worry about paying so much then

I would personally postpone until a time where you have more money to pay for things. You could open a line-of-credit to help, but then you'll be on the hook to pay for things eventually.

You could also still legally get married at city hall, and just push the reception back, but if you are set on having all guests at the ceremony, this might not be for you. Some people, especially ones doing a destination wedding will legally get married, and have a symbolic ceremony at the destination. You could do the same thing here in Ontario/Canada - have a legal city hall ceremony and then later on have a symbolic ceremony with a reception.

Moving the date is an option. But you still have time, I feel. A lot can happen in 6 months. As the girls said in previouses response, bridesmaid can take care of their dresses. Skip the ring bearer and flower girl. Cosco or Sam's clubs sell bulk flowers for cheap, you can make your centerpieces from your bouquets like a 2 and 1.

Also ask yourself what is important right now in my life? Volunteer or focus on wedding.

A friend can marry you and you can apply online. So that can save you with the officiant.

May I ask what rentals you are speaking of?

I would say to move the date. You can still get legally married but if your vendors allow it then I would push it to when you can afford it.

As for the reno's - I've been living in reno's for over a year so I would say to stop what you are doing obviously, and wait till you have the time and money to complete it (unless you don't have a working washroom or something).

As for the Photographer and DJ - that is crazy expensive imo and I would even try and cut my losses with them and find a different one that isn't so much money. I was able to find photographers in my area that were quoting me $1,200 and my DJ only cost us about $600!

Sorry to hear that money is tight right now - but what can you do right?

If you are absolutly against postponing the wedding then:

Stop volunteering. Stop renos. Have your BM's pay for their own dresses like they should be anyways. Have your FH get a part time job - tons of my friends are full time University and have part time jobs and make it work. Check out the FB group pages and maybe you can buy somebody's artificial flowers off of them. You don't need a flower girl/ring bearer but if you are insistent then just ask that their parents pay for their outfits. I was able to find an officiant for $200 (rehearsal and travel included) so it's possible you can find one for not that big of a cost - try pulling on heart strings and explain your situation. Alterations... this is a tough one... how much do you need done though? What type of rentals are you needing? Maybe go for the minimilist look?

It would be easier to push the wedding off but if you can't/ don't want to then it's for sure doable!!! Just got to put your head down and get to work!

I agree with Hope, I think by giving the vendors that you've already booked a heads up now they'll be more willing to change their schedule for the later date that you pick. Check your contracts and see what they say about postponing before doing anything though. It sucks, but life happens and you can't always plan for it. Since you're already in the middle of renovations for the home that you're going to live in with your FH, I'd say focus on that since that counts for years of your life together as opposed to the one wedding day. But waiting, and taking the extra time to inform everyone will be worth it to alleviate that stress.

And also like Hope said, if there's anyone willing to help you financially then it's worth asking.