creativity on a very small budget

[Ricochet]

You can have an inexpensive wedding!

I got married 4 years ago and we spend $3000. Our biggest cost was the rental location ($1000). I purchased flowers from a farm in 5 gallon buckets and my friends helped me put table centerpieces together in old mason jars. I got a local cake shop to bake us a very simple stacked cake with very little decorations for $100 and then I put fresh flowers on top. Grocery stores are also a cheap way to go for cakes and food.  For drinks we had the caterer bring ice tea and lemonade and then we bought a keg of beer and bottles of wine from Costco.  Dinner was catered and was a chicken BBQ cooked onsite (for about $8/person). There are so many things you don't need you just have to decide which things are really important to the two of you. I also scored some cool stuff on EBay.  We had about 60 people at our wedding.  - Good luck!

[ginny]

Hi, as far as the wedding, I would go on Craislist.com and put an ad that you are looking for a used wedding dress in your size, you could also maybe barter some skill you might have in exchange, you might also ask to rent someones wedding dress for the night and leave something with them for collateral, since they don't know you. I know my old church had a gym attached and we rented it to have my baby shower there, it is normally a preschool, Monday to Friday, so we set up tables with our own decorations, and had the food catered and the kids had a place to play it was ideal, ginny

[Corrine]

I saw a television reality show where a couple got their dream wedding 100% free. She went around to different businesses soliciting them to donate to her wedding (dresses, cake, flowers, the hall, etc...) in exchange for them being invited to her reception to advertise and drum up other business. If you have the guts, I guess I would say try it. This woman's fiance wouldn't have any part in the planning but in the end he couldn't believe she had really pulled it off.

[emily1067]

Check out buying some stuff on eBay.  I read an article about a woman who bought everything for her wedding on ebay and she got some great deals!

[CSinbad]

Check the Miscellaneous Area for other replies.  She posted the same question there.

[CSinbad]

If you sew make your own dress and the bridesmaids dresses. ÝIf not then go shopping at 2nd hand shops. ÝI have seen brand new wedding dresses for under $100.00 at some Thrift Stores. ÝThe same for pretty gowns the only problem I see is they may not all be the same design. If that doesn't appeal, check the internet especially ebay (make sure you review comments about the seller before making a purchase). ÝAlso since paypal offers a guarantee refund over (I think) $50.00 twice a year for the buyer I would use paypal. ÝCheck them out for details. ÝYou can find beautiful dresses (many new) there. ÝMy friend Ýhas sold many new gowns on ebay.  www.ebay.com ÝThere are also dealers that might have several sizes of the same gown for your bridesmaid outfits. ÝYou can rent mens tuxedos or use nice suits. ÝThe wedding can be outdoors in a friends or family members yard followed by the reception. ÝOr have the wedding at your church and the reception in the basement or local fire hall. ÝFor food you can make your own. ÝThen store it in the refrigerator at the fire hall. ÝMy friends made vegetable platters and had sandwich platters for guest to make their own. ÝThey even served sloopy joes and bake beans from crock pots. ÝOne of the guest made the cake as her gift. ÝYou could ask other guest to do the food as their gift as well. ÝMake sure they are reliable Ýand have an emergency supply of snack food on hand in case there would be a problem. ÝHave the wedding start after lunch and end before dinner and just serve snack food. ÝMake sure you tell them it will only be snacks and the wedding cake in the invitations. Flowers could be dried and saved from friends and familys special events. ÝThis takes a big effort on your part but a lady did this for her daughters wedding a few years back as reported on the news. ÝDo a search on this topic. ÝYou could get them from your local grocerier cheaper than most florist if you want real ones. ÝIf the wedding is in the summer Get them free from friends or public land (where permitted) from their flower beds. ÝYou could use silk ones for your bouquet and ballons for the rest of your decorations. ÝRegarding invitations you can make your own and hand them out. ÝInclude a reply card with a stamp and your telephone number to send an R.S.V.P. Ý

Check out the Dollar Stretcher articles for ideas. Ýhttp://www.stretcher.com ÝDo a search using 'frugal wedding ideas' as your key words for other web sites that have wedding ideas. Ý Ý Ý  

[magpiefound]

Hey there everyone! This is my first time posting here. Here's my dilemma- my boyfriend just revealed to me this past weekend that the only reason he hasn't proposed to me yet is because he doesn't have enough money to pay for the traditional $20,000 wedding for me, and it's been really upsetting him and making him feel inadequate. I was overwhelmed, of course, with love for the him and his sentiments, but I really don't have any interest in that kind of extravagance! I'd be perfectly content to marry him at city hall tomorrow, but we both would really like to have a wedding that is very personal, and maybe start a few traditions of our own. So, I'm here trying to get some creative ideas from all of you! About the where, the cake, the decorations, everything! I've got a lot of ideas but I'm sure there are things you all could suggest that I'd never even think of! Mostly, we just want to celebrate our love in a style that is all about who we are together. So fire away! Any suggestions are VERY welcome and much appreciated!