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@moonadea:One suggestion would be to do as much as you and her are able. Meaning..if you can sew...sew. If you are crafty (as I am) make your bows ext. If you have a good eye for arrangements...do centerpieces and/or fkowers. Any thing you guys can do...do it yourself.
We had our wedding in Massachusetts for the exact same reason as you. You might want to think about a reception in the private dining room of a restaurant, which is what we did. That way, you don't have a site fee. Also, instead of having to deal with a bunch of vendors for the venue, catering, rentals, etc., you can just work with one. And it is easier to get a handle on your reception costs, because you can basically divide your budget by the number of guests to get the per person amount you can afford.
As for UU churches, Boston is where the Unitarians got their start, so there is pretty much one in each town in Massachusetts. You might try to narrow down where in MA you'd like to get married (e.g., near Boston? Cape Cod?), and then look at UU churches in that area. Or for the least expensive option, you could consider getting married at your reception venue.
I went to a bridal show this weekend and I saw a place called Overlook that was definetley reasonable priced. My friend is going to tour there soon. It has a chapel you can use for free with the reception room. They charge 500.00 for the reception room, and it gives you two rooms for that price! Therefore you can use any of their rooms for your ceremony or cocktail hour for free. They also have space available outside to get married. The table linen setup was gorgeous...at any other venue it would be ugraded linens. The meals are definetley affordable with your budget.
Here is the link:
http://www.masonichealthsystem.org/index.tpl?SID=11840887444614662&ng_view=102
The rooms look like brand new.
Thanks for the comments so far.
We will be doing lots of DIY since we are both artists/designers. I'm making my dress, hairpiece, and most of the decorations. She's designing and making the invitations. We are going to go without a lot of the "extra" stuff that we don't care about like save the dates, veils, professional hair and make-up, favors, programs, etc.
We really would like Cape Cod, and there were two UU churches whose websites specifically mentioned gay weddings - one in Provincetown and one in Barnstable. However, the one in Provincetown does not allow alcohol on the grounds for a reception, so we'd have to hold it somewhere else and nothing has jumped out at me yet. I'm not sure if the one in Barnstable has a place for receptions or not, but I sent them an email. I'll probably email the other two which seem smaller as well just to inquire. We were also considering renting a vacation cottage near one of the churches and holding a reception there, but I'm not sure it would really be in our budget once you factor in all the rentals.
We are also considering the UU church in Northampton, because it *appears* (waiting for email confirmation) that they allow alcohol on their grounds and they have a beautiful church .... hopefully their reception area is decent as well. It's also a bonus because there are tons of close, nearby restaurants that we could either get catering from or use as a reception venue perhaps. Also in Northampton is Look Park, which has a few different affordable options for ceremonies and receptions. We really want to get married in a UU church but if not it would be at the top of the list.
Please keep suggestions/recommendations coming ...
@futuremrscollette: Wow! This place does seem awesome, and very affordable! Thanks so much for the tip.
Another awesome option if you want to do a Boston wedding - you can pay for a permit ($50, I believe) to hold your ceremony on the beautiful Boston Common or Public Gardens. My friend did this and then had everyone stroll to Newbury Street where they had their reception in the private dining room of a bistro. It was beautiful!
Northampton is gorgeous. I graduated from Smith College, and had family and friends join me for a graduation party at Look Park. :)
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Hello all,
My fiancee and I are trying to start scouting out ideas. We are in Atlanta, but want to/have to go to Massachusetts to get married since we are gay. We will only have about 30 people, and don't want to spend more than $2500 on the reception including site fee, food, alcohol, tax, gratuity, etc. Less is better though - 2k would be great.
We really like the idea of getting married in a Unitarian Universalist church, and then either having the reception at the church, or a nearby venue. We'd also consider getting married on the beach or at a really pretty garden area, etc. We'd like Cape Cod but it's not a necessity.
Does anyone have specific suggestions for beautiful UU churches, nearby venues, caterers, etc that you know are cheap and good? Or other directions to point us in?
Thanks!