(Closed) Calling budget brides – How did you do your under $8000 wedding?

• MrsLDC
• 8 years ago

• Wedding: April 2014

We are doing our wedding for less than $8k 

We found a venue that has a wedding package, inc. ceremony room, reception room, food, drink, decor, table flowers, honeymoon suite and a first year anniversary dinner. 

There’s license fees, bm dresses and jewellery. Groomsmen attire. Photography, our rings (bracelet) and other stuff to pay for. 

So far I’m being gifted with my dress, wedding cake and cupcakes, photography and invites. 

• creativeplannertobee
• 8 years ago

Oour daughter’s wedding was $5k. I could probably give you lots of ideas Ann’s links.  

• BrandNewBride
• 8 years ago

• Wedding: May 2013

44 Guests-

$500— Ceremony/decorations/Pastor/organist/Church DOC

$1400– Reception food/drink/cake (We got a STEAL, $15pp because it was lunch instead of dinner!

$950— Photographer

$700— Limo usage (From Church to photo location to reception to hotel), then a party bus that night to Rochester and back

$350— Flowers (my bouquet, two Bridesmaid or Best Man bouquets, five buttonieres and five corasges, as well as five centerpieces)

$250— Attendant gifts

$1800– My dress

$1000– My accessories (I wore real diamond earrings, or it would have been $200)

$300— Drinks at the club that night (we bought for all the people in our party bus)

Totals out to $7250! But my dress was a gift, and my earrings were a gift, so it totals out to

$4850!

• bellabella21
• 8 years ago

• Wedding: May 2015 - small cafe

My wedding is coming up…but we’re looking at 5K at the most.  We have too many things going on….and we’d like to remodel the house

Early on, I found a dress I loved for $3000, but decided against it…and am either going the preowned route or using a dress that I bought for a cruise.

We’re doing lots of DIY, and having the venue at home.  I have friends who are photographers, artists, DJs, florists, and very creative…so it’s going to wind up being a big party.  

I’m also probably going to use my mother’s wedding bands or another relative’s ring….

I’m looking at casual and lots of fun for everyone.  I’ve been to a lot of weddings…but I remember the one that didn’t cost a lot, was casual, and we just all had a good time!!

• AverageBessyJ
• 8 years ago

• Wedding: August 2013

Catering and Venue: $2750 for 70 guests

Spiked punch: $75

Wedding rings: $280

Dress with alterations, shoes, jewelry: $845

Grooms Outfit: $225

Officiant: $200

Licence: $105

Flowers: $365

Cake: $250

Invites: $20

Stamps: $10

Ceremony decor: $8 

Centrepieces: $8

Transport: $140, gas incl.

Guestbook: $25

Hair and Makeup for self and maids: $250

Bridesmaid Gifts: $125

Groomsmen Gifts: $150

Cabin: $300

Suite: $150

2 Day Honeymoon: $400

IPod: free

Photography: $660

Total: $7341

My dress and alterations were gifted to me, so we paid

$6496

• Mrs Christopher
• 8 years ago

• Wedding: July 2013

I just did our budge the other day we actually spent about 4.1K my parents covered 2K in expenses and we were gifted and estimated 2K worth of things when we stopped to think about it.  

Save the dates

Total: $66

Invitations

Total: $80

Overall costs

Flight to MA for both bride and groom – $674

Car rental for week – $336

Dog sitter while we were away – $150

Transportation to and from wedding– gifted

Wedding Night accommodations – $350 (ended up staying two nights)

Rest of the week stayed at mother of the bride’s house for free

Photographer: $530

Total: $2040

Ceremony

Venue for ceremony and reception – free

Officiate – free

Paid for decor, portion of flowers and musicians.

Total: $380

Pre – wedding prep

Total: $57

Groom/Groomsmen

Bouts – $29 in total for 10

Tux – $117 (groom tux only)

Groomsmen paid for their own tux rentals, Bridesmaids paid for their own dresses etc

Total: $146

Bridal look

Dress – Free

Undergarments – $30

Cleaning the gown – paid for by mother of the bride

Shoes – $40

Hair – paid for by mother of the bride

Bouquet – paid for by father of the bride

Veil – $100

Earrings – heirloom

Necklace – gift from groom to bride for Christmas

Haku lei –  paid for by mother of the bride J

Total: $170

Reception

Gift: Dinnerware, Menus, Veggie Dishes, Cake, Ginger Ale, Table Signs

Free: Tables and Chairs belonged to the church, The church ladies served the food for free, All the serving dishes used for the reception belonged to the church, Water

Cake topper – $66

The chicken and pork was catered  father of the bride paid for about half, bride paid for $250

Capri Suns – $8

Kid coloring books and crayons – $8

Bubbles – $12

Material for food table cloths – $60

Ribbons used for various things – $17

Apple Juice & Cider -$20 (ended up not doing a toast so this went to my mom’s house)

Total: $441

Favor

Total: $82 for about 72 favors

Wedding Rings:

Total: $149

Décor for Reception

Total: $508 

After Party

Total: $73

Grand Total: $4192

 Not included:

Bridemaids and flower girl were given gifts $128, Gold chain purchased by bride for bridal look necklace for about $118 way prior to ceremony

• Mrs Christopher
• 8 years ago

• Wedding: July 2013

Forgot to add also $8 for the guest book

• Bebealways
• 8 years ago

• Wedding: August 2013

@tiredanonabee2:  My budget is a LITTLE over yours but not by much. And if I had skimped a little more on the food I probably could have made it.

Things I did to go cheap:

-I got non-wedding dress wedding dresses. (My ceremony dress is a corset and an etsy skirt that look like a gown together. My reception dress is a civil war style costume dress that just happens to be high quality.) Total on dresses: $400. If I had stuck with only one dress, I could have halved that. There are beautiful dresses out there being sold as prom gowns and costume gowns and quinceanera gowns that are a lot cheaper than a wedding dress.

-I got leather ballet slippers as my wedding shoes – $7.

-No flowers (Instead, I ordered decor from lunabazaar and am making centerpieces out of test tubes and test tube racks I got from a science supply shop for very cheap. My aunt is making paper flowers to put in them.)

-No DJ (ipodding it)

-Photographer for only 5 hours instead of all day

-Got super cheap wedding bands (about 70 total) because they aren’t major things to us.

-Self uniting, so no officiant

-Only 50 guests

• MrsBunnyBear
• 8 years ago

• Wedding: August 2010

Lots of DIY. Used a restaurant that doesn’t normally cater and essentially got ‘take out’, bought lots of food and all of our alcohol from Costco. Used an inherited wedding ring and bought DH’s ring on Amazon. Used a family friend as the photographer and edited the photos myself using a free software called Photoscape. Didn’t use flowers for the centerpieces and kept decorations simple. Didn’t invite too many people. Made our own cake and cupcakes.

• Mrs Christopher
• 8 years ago

• Wedding: July 2013

Double post

• mccoyrrt
• 6 years ago

• Wedding: May 2015

• dmh426
• 6 years ago

• Wedding: August 2015

I have a reat venue that will host the wedding in a gazebo and provides linens, food, etc for $25 a head.  We are putting $800 on the bar for 105 people on the guest list, but aren’t sure how many we will actually have. 

I got my flowers at Price Chopper, which is about half the cost of a regular florist shop. Seriously, check it out.  My flowers were $600, but I cut buttonieres.  The boys don’t really care anyway. 

I got 26 matching vases from Craigslist for $110 from another bride’s wedding.  

I cut every Michael’s coupon I could find to buy the branches for the centerpieces at 40% of each. 

My dress I got on sale. I told my three bridesmaids they could wear any black dress to the knee they wanted to. 

A judge who is a friend of mine is officiating for free.  

I asked as birthday presents for my birdcage veil, wedding shoes.  My hairdresser/make up artist is a good friend and her services are my shower and wedding gift. 

• 2YorkiesMama
• 6 years ago

• Wedding: May 2015 - Antique Rose Emporium

With a few sacrifices. But that’s okay. tradition hardly influences us and Im at a place where I’m okay with doing thigs our way, not the way TLC tv shows or magazines make it seem.

Our GORGEOUS venue at a Rose garden is $200. It’s on a weekday which is cheaper than on a weekend. The rental is only for two hours.

Our awesome officiant is $300.

I plan on buying pretty nice gifts for my parents and his, about $400 total.

We’re staying at a beautiful B&B that night which is $300 and comes with a gourmet breakfast in bed…champagne, chocolates, fruit, meat baskets. Over the top. The place is GORGEOUS and sooooo romantic!

Fiance is wearing pants and shirt already owned, buying a vest and tie and new dress shoe, $100.

Food is graciously being covered by my FI’s mom. We could’ve paid for it but she insisted. $400 for 30 people to eat at our favorite restaurant. Renting out their private patio. Food will be two choices of pasta, gelato, wine, and wedding cake.

No DJ. Using Spotify premium to make a playlist that the restaurant will hook up to their speakers.

Making my own small cake. I am an executive baker’s assistant. the owner of the bakery I work for is allowing me to use their equipment on a day we’d normally be closed. $100 at the most is what I’ll need to spend.

No limo. 

Hair and makeup will be about $150.

No bridal party. Real touch peony bridal bouquet for me, two corsages for the moms, and a bout for Fiance and my dad was $175.

no decorations, the venue is literally breathtakingly gorgeous on its own and so is the patio at the restaurant. 

…..and that is all that we felt necessary to have our special day, our way. We’re no fuss kind of people, both pretty shy. Honestly the biggest thing was a tiny guest list. We felt only our immediate family (8 for him + 5 for me) plus our closest friends should be there. I honestly couldn’t be more happy with it. 

 Lastly, we haven’t bought bands yet so that’ll be another $300.

• This reply was modified 6 years ago by  2YorkiesMama.

• ChicagoSLK
• 6 years ago

• Wedding: Local Resort

We are eloping, and having a party in November for 65 people.  For a Friday night buffet, 60 people, 4 courses plus dessert, red and white wine for the tables, and a soda service for everyone [coffee and tea included], ipod music selection, no photographers but we’ll have many photos and we’re DIY’ing the candy bars with our name and date as favors, after tax and gratuity our wedding will run about $2700. 

I must mention the venue is on a local river in the heart of a historic downtown and will be in the evening, so everything on the street will be lit up with christmas lights, linens already come on the table and the center pieces are provided by the banquet hall.  We don’t have to worry about a cake because they provide desserts.

• tmpierson
• 5 years ago

• Wedding: August 2017