We did ours for under $3000 (including the honeymoon). Granted, it wasn’t the most glamorous wedding (and there are a few things I might have done differently, looking back), but we rented a church hall for the reception and just did cake and desserts instead of a full meal, which cut down costs A LOT.I sometimes regret not spending more and doing a meal (plus we didn’t have a DJ and a lot of the traditional reception things — the first dance, speeches, boquet toss, etc. — just didn’t happen because we either didn’t have time to do them ourselves or we just plain forgot :-P), but at the end of the day we were married and it’s all good 🙂
Here’s the breakdown of how we did it:
Total Wedding Costs: $2936
Wedding:
Total: $1985
Location – Side Cut Metropark – $50
Back-up location – Washington Church – $100
Sound System – Washington Church – free
Flowers (Anstead-Shuster Florist) – $144 (I just bought flowers and then arranged them myself)
Floral Tape (Jo-Ann Fabrics) – $4
Candles (Wal-Mart) – $5
Candlesticks (Salvation Army Thrift Store)- $1
Communion Cup (Salvation Army Thrift Store) – $1
Dress (Weddingbee.com Classifieds) – $320
Alteration Supplies (Jo-Ann Fabrics) – $20 (my friend’s mom did the alterations for me, which was one of my regrets — it still didn’t fit quite right :-P. If I had it to do over, I’d go with professional alterations, despite the higher costs).
Bridal Jewelry (Icing by Claires) – $9
Bridesmaid/Flower Girl Jewelry (Jo-Ann Fabrics) – $14
Hair Flower (Jo-Ann Fabrics/Hobby Lobby) – $5
Hair/Makeup Supplies (Rite Aid) – $29 (a friend of mine did my makeup and hair)
Shoes (Target) – $20
Flower girl dresses – Free (the girls actually had the dresses already from a cancelled wedding and their mom asked if they could wear them. Sure!)
Ring bearer outfit (Target/Goodwill)– $7
Rehearsal Dress (Goodwill) – $5
Rings – mine: $150, Derek’s: $468 (this doesn’t include my engagment ring, just the wedding bands)
Dry Cleaning – $54
Marriage License – $50
Photographer – Lisa – $250 (an old friend of my husbands who had just started her photography business, so we got an incredible deal!)
Minister – George Williams – free
Musicians – Jeff and Kristina – free
Rehearsal dinner – George and Sarah
Paper for invitations (Michael’s)- $16
Envelopes (Office Depot) – $23
Postage – $77
Thank you gift cards (Wal-Mart) – $99 (for some of our friends who offered their services to us for free)
Lunch for wedding Party (Subway) – $40
Bachelor Party – $24
Reception:
Total: $304
Location – Pilgrim Church – $200
Cake – Shelly — Free (a friend made our cake. We planned on paying her, but in the end she wouldn’t let us. Another blessing)
Other Desserts – Free (my mom and some friends made them)
Punch/Coffee – $83?
Plates/silverware/napkins/cups/etc. – My mom
Decorations – My mom
Guest book (Borders) – $21
Honeymoon:
Total: $647
Yesteryear Log Cabins – $318
Car Rental – Free
Oil Change (Wal-Mart) – $38
Car Wash (Russ’ Auto Wash) – $3
Gas – $47
Groceries/Supplies – $170
Eating Out – $51
Shedel Gardens – $20