Personal Planning a Budget-Friendly October Wedding: Tips and Tricks for a Dream Ceremony

[lesliec]

We eloped 5 yrs ago. Our pastor married us at the local lake. We picked up a disposable camera on the way there and his wife took some amazing pictures, considering.
My bff just got married in Sept. The family did all of the food, she had the flowers done at the local grocery store. Everyone jumped in and did a ton of work and kept it pretty stress free for her, but it was a lot of work and it was simple but beautiful.
She didn't have attendants, her husband was really against it. She was upset b/c she wanted me up there, but in the end I think it worked out better. It freed me up to be able to run and help get the last min stuff done for the wedding as opposed to standing up with her at the wedding. She is 29 and her hubby is 35, so they weren't going for fancy or impressing anyone, but it was beautiful and simple.

 

[chefheidi2003]

I think before I look too hard at caterers I might talk to some of the ladies at my church. They are used to feeding a lot of people..some would call this the same..but they are in charge of the funeral luncheons at our church..so maybe I could buy the food and then pay them to do it..I would still save money on a caterer. I am not looking for a fancy meal. I can get bags of salad cheap at Costco..so we can have salad then probably just chicken some kind of potatoes and some kind of veggie. Like I said before the appetizers will already be on the tables in the form of the centerpeices so I don't need to worry about that. hhmm..now I am thinking..I am going to look into this.

 

[pampered1224]

Heidi that is wonderful! Here is hoping for a smooth planning period as well as a wonderful life together. I helped with my best friends wedding in that not only was I his best man, but my gift to them was also the making of the food. The parents paid for part of the food as did I and then my mom and I put it all together about a week before the wedding and froze some. We made Italian beef. Then we did coleslaw, potato salad, got rolls and tossed salad the day before. We went simple as asked by the bride and groom and the parents. They got one of the buildings at a local park for free to hold the reception in. It was very nice. Big enough to accommodate the food tables and a dance floor and we found a DJ. Check the area for anything you might be able to get for free or at a very nominal fee. Like maybe even a club house where some lives as the fee is usually refundable if the place is cleaned up when you leave or even one of the local parks. Hey, you never know.

 

[lesliec]

I think before I look too hard at caterers I might talk to some of the ladies at my church. They are used to feeding a lot of people..some would call this the same..but they are in charge of the funeral luncheons at our church..so maybe I could buy the food and then pay them to do it..I would still save money on a caterer. I am not looking for a fancy meal. I can get bags of salad cheap at Costco..so we can have salad then probably just chicken some kind of potatoes and some kind of veggie. Like I said before the appetizers will already be on the tables in the form of the centerpeices so I don't need to worry about that. hhmm..now I am thinking..I am going to look into this.

You can do trays of sandwiches at Wal-Mart or Costco or Sams and have others help with the set up and serving. That is what my friend did. I guess I mis-spoke when I said that the family did the food. The family served the food and it turned out well.

 

[crystalscookingnow]

It's WHO you marry? Well, darn, why didn't somebody tell me that 30 years ago?

(I wouldn't have listened, anyway.)

That's funny. You notice my post says that we both were married before too, so I doubt we would have listened either... sigh.

 

[minirottie]

I wanted to say congratulations!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I wish you much joy and happiness!

 

[chefheidi2003]

My fiance's parents offered to let us use their house for the reception..I said where would we have it..they said outside and you just need to get tents..I said..I can get my church for the reception for $100..they said..oh..well then do that..because everything you would need to rent would cost more than that.

I have a cousin who we are going to ask to roast a pig for us.

My brother and sister each know someone who DJs..so they are taking care of that..and there is a good chance that they will be paying for the DJ for us..since there is really not much that we need.

 

[chefheidi2003]

My cousin just called..the one who was going to do my flowers for me..and her and her sister offered to buy the flowers for us as our wedding gift..I am so excited..she did a beautiful job on her own wedding flowers. And she knows how much she spent..and ours will be much less because we aren't having flower centerpieces.

God is providing.

 

[heather223]

Congratulations! We did our wedding for under $5,000 and that included booking our honeymoon. (Went over $5,000 with what we actually spent while on the honeymoon.)

I got a lot on ebay too- champage glasses, guest book, cake server, etc.

We rented the large room of our local community center for under $300 and then catered the food for about $1500 and it was an entire meal. $300 for a cake made by someone local who does it out of her home.

To serve the food we used plastic (nice) plates and plastic cups. Cost saving. No one even remembers this but me. You could check out the price to rent glass china and fabric napkins but I am pretty sure it is more expensive. We got all of it at Pat Catans/ Flower Factory.

Tableclothes were included in the cost of the room- they were white. For center pieces we used cheap glass vases with floating candles and glass marbles in them. Got them at a Pat Catan's store for under $50.

Dress came from David's bridal. Dress wasn't expensive but the alterations were almost as much as my dress. See if you could find someone local to do this for you- may be cheaper. My alterations were done by Davids.

Invitations- We used a fold style invitation where the response card was a postcard back to us. It folded and we sealed it- no stuffing multiple envelopes and using lots of postage. 1 Regular stamp and 1 post card stamp. Cost was under $200. We invited 200 people.

If I think of anything else I will post it. PM me if you have questions- it can be done!

 

[heather223]

Oh and I agree- splurge for a caterer, while people won't remember what you serve the food on they will remember how the food tasted.

 

[lisasfuncooking]

Granted it has been 21 years that I have been married, but I do remember everything there is in planning a wedding.
Me personally, I would put less into the church. I think church's are beautiful without having to go crazy decorating and adding a ton of flowers. Simple is better.
I agree as far as the invitations, flowers, photographer, dress, ect- keep in inexpensive.
As for a wedding dress, I have seen beautiful wedding dresses sell at second hand stores for little of nothing. Perfect conditions. You may be able to get more for your $ that way.
The only thing I personally think is hire a good caterer. I have been to weddings on a budget and the only thing I remember is the food. Don't add something to the menu because it is inexpensive and have a lot of different things. Stick with a theme, (b-bq, brunch, ect) and plan the food around that.
I have been to a wedding that had such little food and no choice as the entree (lamb). I spent the whole day getting the kids sent off to my moms, getting ready, driving far and my husband and I were starving. There was not enough food and if I even had a small appetizer plate of food, that was alot.
Also, even though you don't think it is in your budget, check the costs of having it at a hall/restaurant that will provide the food. Some restaurants have large catering rooms and it would not be much more than having it at a hall where you have to be responsible for the food.
Have fun, it is easy to get stressed and takes away from the whole experience.

 

[chefheidi2003]

We are going to decorate the front of the church with mums..I am pretty sure that I know where we are going to get them..they have great prices..I am going to let them know in plenty of time that I am going to need 20 of them..and when I will be picking them up..I am also going to ask about a discount since I am buying so many..if they say no..then..so what..at least I tried. At my church the members sign up for the Alter Flowers for each Sunday..and I signed up for them the day after the wedding..they will be there in time for the wedding..so the church secretary said that I can let them know what kind of flowers I want. Which will be easy..no roses and no white flowers..and keep it looking fall.

 

[pampered.chris]

Congrats to you! I got married this past October, it was a GREAT time for a wedding. I live in PA but about 20 min from the NY border, so on the 16th (my wedding day) the leaves were gone. But that was okay. I decorated with mums and apples and pumpkins. I put the apples in galvanized tins, (small ones) for center peices then one of my bridesmaids had a great idea and we took the fake leaves I bought and glued them and some twine around the tops of the tins, they looked amazing. I put the mums in my big #2 canisters and set them in front of the head table. I didn't decorate the church alot, I only spent about $25 on decorations for the church, I used my mums then had someone take them to the reception hall and I bought some bows for the pew ends. That was it. I agree when someone said put your money into what is important to you! That is what you will remember.

 

[pampered1224]

Chris that sounds so cute! Perfect for that fall wedding. And Heidi, you could have one apple per table - use the Apple Corerer - to put a tapered candle in if you wanted candles. Steve and Lisa had everything they needed to furnish a home. They did not need anything like toasters or Silver Tea Sets or stuff like that. They were so happy that every aspect of the wedding was paid for by "guests" as their wedding presents. I mean really, will you remember 10 years from now who gave you the toaster that had to be thrown out 2 years later or the people that made that special day all the more special. Heidi, your family and friends have the right idea and I applaud you for not starting married life in the hole from a huge wedding bill! I know one couple that spent so much that they ended up getting divorced about 18 months later because because they could not handle that debt. It did not help that neither one realized that regular life costs so much but hey, that wedding bill was the bases of all their troubles! Inexpensive does not need to mean inappropriate or in-elegant if there is such a word. Even a simple collection of fall leaves, small gourds and/or pumpkins and/or apples in the center of each table would be very cute. Pop a candle in there some where and viola, a Martha Stewartish centerpiece on a budget!

 

[chefheidi2003]

John..I love your idea about the apple with a taper candle..hhmm..I might do that for the head table.

One of my cousins who offered to pay for the flowers sent me an email saying that if I didn't want them to buy the flowers that they would not be offended..I replied back and the first line of my email said..Don't be an indian giver..You already offered..LOL. My mom said I should have said..I have already budgetted that money elsewhere..LOL.

 

[pampered1224]

Actually the line should have read, Don't be an Indian Giver, you already offered, besides the wedding gift of flowers is really appreciated. That appreciation may make the flowers "grow" so to speak but assures them that they are doing the right thing for you. Besides, it also tells them that they are off the hook for a blender! Which they will appreciate! There is nothing worse I think for someone to know that the gift they bought is sitting in a cupboard some where, or did it get regifted or rummaged? This is something they gave you that really made a difference and was an important part of your wedding. It is a win, win situation for everyone. I guess it never hurts to "suck up" sometimes!

 

[chefheidi2003]

If it was anyone else I would have sugar coated it..but we are close..and strange as it might sound that is how we talk to each other..LOL.

 

[pampered1224]

I have a friend like that too. If I ever said anything remotely nice to him, he would probably want to know if I was going to die! Or he would take my temperature!

 

[heather223]

I also love the idea of an apple with a taper. My husband and I paid for our wedding completely out of pocket and are so grateful that we didn't incur debt. Actually it is why I started PC- the extra money was to pay for our wedding.

 

[chefheidi2003]

Looks like we will be doing a pig roast. And I asked some people from my church to put the food out. All we have to do is pay for the pig, my cousin is going to roast it free of charge. Cold cuts for people who don't want pig, then potato, pasta, and macaroni salad.

 

[chefheidi2003]

Becky..you reminded me of something with your post..our centerpieces are going to be edible..we are going to do

Cheeseballs - using PC oil dipping seasoning
Crackers
Cubed Cheese
And MAYBE Hershey kisses.

We are not doing favors..if I did they would just be either Hershey Kisses or M&Ms..but I would rather save the time and just scatter some Hershey Kisses on the tables.

I have decided to nix the cubed cheese on the tables. In order for it to look nice there would need to be a lot of cheese on each table..with only 6-7 people at each table there would be waste..but since I love that to just munch on..we are going to have it on the buffet.

I found these wooden chickens and cows at a local cheap store (don't know what else to call it..lol) and they have 3 metal picture spirals sticking out of the top..so I am pulling the picture spirals out..we are going to put pictures of us with the table number on the back in the spirals and put them in the top of the cheeseballs.

 

[chefheidi2003]

I found my dress yesterday..my mom surprised me at the end of dress shopping when she paid for my dress and shoes. Very pleasant surprise I was very excited. Especially since the dress was a bit more than I was expecting to pay..BUT..not outrageous. It was just because I set my dress budget very low. But when we got there I told the lady that I was looking to spend close to $300..but would go up to $400..I did stay in that range though.

 

[wadesgirl]

I found my dress yesterday..my mom surprised me at the end of dress shopping when she paid for my dress and shoes. Very pleasant surprise I was very excited. Especially since the dress was a bit more than I was expecting to pay..BUT..not outrageous. It was just because I set my dress budget very low. But when we got there I told the lady that I was looking to spend close to $300..but would go up to $400..I did stay in that range though.

Yah! How exciting!