Question by : I really need ideas suggestions for my tight budget wedding.I have my venue booked .?
hi girls and lads lol.Im gettin married in August next year and im on a really tight budget .Any suggestions from a lovely dress to bridesmaids dresses flower girl dress for a tight budget.Also if anyone has any ideas of what i could use on table decorations i would be so grateful.Any ideas are really welcome.Thanks guys
Best answer:
Answer by Joe
Why bust your balls paying for a church wedding just nip down to your local registry office with a couple of witnesses then down the boozer for a good ol knees up £500 will cover the lot.
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ebay get great bargain. bridesmaid dresses look at party dresses in stores cheaper than wedding shops. decorations card shops, boyes, and again try different sites on line you will be amazed what you can find.
good luck with the wedding planning, hope you have a great day x
your girls are responsible for paying for the dress , so you don’t need to budget that in.
centerpieces that don’t have flowers are cheaper then ones with
finger foods instead of sit down dinner
only beer and wine
we are getting married in a state park and its so much cheaper
hey first off congrats
ryt: dresses for both you and your bridesmaids, try http://www.lightinthebox.com they are soooo cheap and fantastic quality, i have used them twice and cannot complain, the only thing i would say is use the custom measurement tool to ensure a great fit! you will get your bridal gown for around £100-£150 (about $ 200) and bridesmaids will be around £50 (around $ 100)
table decs can be done very cheaply, look on ebay for some ideas, maybe you could even go as simple as a small box (similar to a gift bag) in one of your colours, filled with short stemmed flowers of your other, like this….
http://www.onewed.com/files/imagecache/576w/images/1042920/red-rose-centerpiece-ideas-ceremony-reception-4.JPG
or you could buy some cheap wholesale vases and do this
http://static.vsocial.com/theknot/022008/photos/fe854e5b5b244209ce8713d22bf3d3a7_player.png
sorry theyre both black and red i searched for centerpeices and this is what popped up! they could be any colour tho!
as for table decs, this can be done also using ebay etc, i bought runners for £1.60 each and theyre fab!
the internet is your best friend when youre on a tight budget, it involves some very long computer sessions and a lot of note taking but if you search around enough you will find a great deal!
other money saving tips:
have a buffet and finger food rather than a sit down meal
have a later wedding so your evening reception can be pushed back and made slightly shorter
do not make favours, just have a few small boxes of sweets/chocolate on each table, people will share or give them to kids to keep them quiet anyway
good luck
Try confetti.co.uk for ideas
I found a dress that I liked in a magazine for £1300 there was no way I was paying that for a dress for 1 day so I had it made for £200 including material she even made my daughter’s bridesmaid dress in the same material for £50
We got married at a registry office for 2 reasons 1, cost and 2, neither of us believe in God, we told everyone straight up that we couldn’t afford a reception and were going to the local chinese for a meal if anyone wanted to come with us then they were more than welcome but would have to pay for their own meals we had about 25 of us in the end that went.
The day is supposed to be about you and your other half not about how much you spend and how you invite
Lets start with flower table decorations. I’ve seen this as a trend at several weddings I’ve gone to. Use hydrangeas. See the link below for pics. If you know someone who has these in their yard you are in luck. They are a hearty plant and easy to cut. You can use anything as a vase. My fav is the square plain glass squares. You can get these at Michael’s or ACMoores. Use the coupons and buy one a week. You can even line the insides with leaves or put marbles at the bottom (see pic 2 on the link).
Next – Instead of a dessert bar, do a candy bar. This is a new trend and is always a big hit. You get all different size containers/bowls. Glass looks best. Borrow for family and friends. You then have a table with all different types of candy. You put some off those small cellophane bags (dollar store ) so people can make their won grab bag. Way to save money – candy has a super long shelf life. Wait till the day after Halloween. All candy will be 50 percent or more off. Just make sure if it is individually wrapped items (say like Milky Way bars) that they are not in halloween type wrappers. Another option, ask family and friend to make something for the dessert bar.
Flower Girl Dress: I assuming you want the typical white dress with maybe a colored sash. Start looking at consignment sales. Google Children’s consignment sales and your zip code. I shop and sell consignment and there is always flower girl dresses for 40 or less. Often closer to 20. I got my daughter one for beach photos for 10 bucks at a consignment sale. It was a Strasburg (200 dollar) flower girl dress. You may not see many now /bc they are out of season but come spring they will be everywhere. Another option would be shop department stores after Easter. Some of these Easter dresses are nice enough to be flower girl dresses. They will be 50 or more off the day after Easter. JC Penny’s has very nice easter collection that they reduce reduce reduce after the holiday.
Bridesmaids- same thing. Shop the clearance racks. Lord and Taylor always seems to have good clearance in their fancy dress department. They can call other stores to see if they can get you all the sizes you need. If you want to take the chance of cutting it close, after prom dresses go for next to nothing. This would be super close to your date. Davids bridal often has reasonable dresses.
Good luck!
Are you in the UK? I got some great bridesmaids dresses from the Monsoon sale, they were £45 each but looked so much more expensive!
For my table decorations I bought some small square vases and pebbles from Ikea and just had one large gerbera in each vase – everyone will be too busy partying to remember your table decorations anyway!
No guests, no fancy clothes, no party, no honeymoon.
Registry office.
FLOWER IDEAS
Buy flowers wholesale in a local market, grocery store, or online http://www.fiftyflowers.com, and pay a florist to do simple centerpieces. Want to keep things really easy? Do one to two looks in abundance and make an impact. Place tons of branches, like curly willow or dogwood, in urns or tall glass vases from the dollar store; for a bit more flair, hang LED tealights from them with ribbons in your wedding colors. try groupings of the same flower/s in different hues for an affordably stylish look. Cluster vases of different sizes in interesting configurations on tables.Keep ceremony flowers simple by only placing arrangements near the spot where you’ll be exchanging vows, not on every aisle seat or pew.
LINEN IDEAS
You can go to a fabric store and make your own linens and overlays. Or if your venue already comes with plain white linens you can create your own overlays to go over the table cloth like a nice organza. You just have to know the size of the table. Or rental from an online linen rental company if their prices are good. And they normally ship nationwide and send linen sample swatches.
http://www.bbjlinen.com
http://www.glowconcepts.com
http://www.fabulousevents.com
http://www.linennstuff.com
http:// http://www.lineneffects.com
http://clothconnection.com
FOOD IDEAS
If you prefer an evening reception, but still want to stick to a budget, consider a desserts-only reception. Specify on the invitation that you will be serving desserts, so that guests don’t expect a full meal. Offer a delicious array of sweets: pastries, pies, mousses and a dramatic flaming treat like Bananas Foster. To accompany, serve champagne or prosecco and specialty coffees and teas.
Another increasingly popular choice is the cocktail party reception. You’ll save thousands on food and decorations; after all, you can forgo big floral arrangements for your tables and adorn small cocktail tables with candles and modest bunches of blooms. Hand pass hors d’oeuvres like mini hot dogs, grilled cheese sandwiches and mini quiches. On a multi-tiered table offer finger foods like Italian breads, olives, artichoke hearts and cheeses, finger fruits and salads. Or consider a chic wine-tasting reception. Guests can sample from different small dishes at food stations, each matched with a special wine. Printed cards can explain the pairing.
Good luck planning hope you like these ideas.
Invite Ideas
DIY your invites. There are websites that you can go to as well as going to a staples, office max or crafts store like micheals or a.c moore etc…. and they should have DIY wedding invite kits there for an inexpensive price
Bridal Dress and Bridesmaids
Bridesmaids dresses could be bought for a good price at macys, jc pennys, charlotte russe etc…. For the bridal gown you could figure out when your favorite dress designer or bridal store is having a sample sale so you can get a great dress for cheap or just stick to a budget. Also for tuxedos, normally tuxedo companies have sales and specials so keep an eye out for that. Also suites my be a little bit more cheaper but less formal.
http://www.davincibridal.com
http://www.marysbridal.com
http://www.jordanfashions.com
http://www.alfredangelo.com
http://www.privatelabelbyg.com
http://www.glamordesigns.com
http://www.moonlightbridal.com/newsite/index.php
http://www.dessy.com
Photographer:
This is so easy and way cheaper than hiring an actual photographer to do the job. Place a few disposable camera’s on the tables. People will take it upon them self’s to take pictures of the even. You will end up with a lot more pictures than what you would have paid for a photographer. Or if you don’t like that idea you can always give a few throw always to a few people that you really trust, and have them take pictures for you.
Videographer:
Go to a rent to own store and pay the rental fee to rent Three or four Cameras. Purchase your tapes they aren’t that expensive. Then get you a few stands and place them in the appropriate places, at the church. You will need to get extension cords as well. The best part about this is you can return these items and get your money back. Except the rental fee on the cameras. Have some one in charge of moving the camera’s to the hall for you so that way they are in place before you get there.
Decor
When it comes to the decorations for the hall. BORROW, BORROW, BORROW! I can’t say it enough. Get a hold of as many Christmas lights and other decorations you can. Buy some tulle it isn’t that expensive. Wrap the lights and tulle every where. Pull up some pictures off the internet for some ideas. There are cheap ways of recreating the same look.Look at the dollar store for items such as vases for the centerpieces. Also check craft stores like micheals and a.c. moore.
http://www.beau-coup.com/table-decoratio…
http://www.weddingdecor.com/centerpiece.…
http://www.topweddingsites.com/wedding-d…
Cake:
The wedding cake isn’t very cheap although there is a solution to this delima. You can purchase simple round or even square cakes from the bakery and the appropriate tools needed to assemble the cake. As well as a few fake flowers, then your topper and you just saved 100-150 on your cake. Or you can make the cake yourself and have a professional decorate it for you.Also getting it done at a grocery store is alot cheaper then a speciality store.
Music:
You could make a playlist on your ipod if you have one and hopefully the venue has a great sound system so you can play it off that. Or a lap top would work as well
We had the same issue.
For bridesmaid dresses, I picked a color-black-and style-short cocktail type-and let the girls pick out their own. Most girls didnt spend more than $ 50 on their dress and they wear then alot still. They all looked great and it was fun spending the day looking for them all!
For tablecloths we got black queen flat bedsheets and used them. I think they were $ 5 a piece at walmart and they looked perfect-no one knew the difference. We even sold them to someone after for their upcoming wedding!
Find someone you know that can sew and see if they wouldnt mind sewing your dress. My fiance is doing her dress and all the bridesmaids dresses also so that will save so much money.
Avoid wedding shops! Check out dresses in stores such as Debenhams. Buy stationery such as invitations, palce names or napkins from somewhere like Birthdays or Clintons. Get your cake from Marks and Spencers – lovely cake, several sizes in sponge or fruit, so you can have just one cake or have tiers if you like, and loads cheaper than having one made. Provide a buffet rather than a sit down meal. You only need to provide a drink on arrival and then a couple of bottles of wine for the toasts. Use pot plants instead of fresh flowers, wrap the pot in colour co-ordinated cellophane (from a florist) and tie with a ribbon, then put a few of those wedding sprinkle things on the table. Get the sprinkles from a catering supply shop as they cost next to nothing from there. (They also sell napkins and place name cards etc.) Or use rose petals or confetti on the tables.
* Do you have a family member/relative or good friend who has good sewing skills? Maybe you can ask that person to do your dress. Or if you have good sewing skills, the better! Wedding gowns are VERY expensive, but beautiful white fabrics aren’t.
* Observe the “something old” tradition. It can be your mom’s wedding dress or shoes or jewelry, so you don’t have to spend on either of that.
* If you want a ballgown type, use nice and tasteful fabrics only on the outer layer of the gown. You can have your petticoats in a lot cheaper fabrics and nobody would care.
* Make your gown as simple as can be to cut on fabric costs too.
* If good sewing skills are nowhere to be found among the people you know, then you simply have no choice but to go shopping. If you shop early, you may be able to find a nice white dress during mall sales. Bear in mind that a white dress is less expensive than a wedding gown. They usually place a more expensive price on a wedding gown just because it is classified as a wedding gown and not just a white dress.
* If you have to buy a gown, check EBay, thrift stores and second-hand stores. Nobody will know the actual cost of your gown, as long as it’s clean and well-pressed and you carry it as though it is from Vera Wang.
* Another option is to rent a bridal gown from a bridal shop. You’ll wear it only once anyway.
first of all what is a tight budget? you need to be more specific as a tight budget to you may not be a tight budget to others. In my eyes, I am having a tight budget wedding at a cost of £12,000. Thats because if I had more money I’d love to spend more. You could be talking about a budget of £1,000….who knows.
You need to look, dont buy the first thing you see and try and barter. All companies are feeling the credit crunch here in the UK and although theres always a wedding, they need our custom more than ever, so dont be afraid to ask for a deal, especially if your buying a lot from one store.
As far as your dress – look on David’s Bridal website – you’d have to get measured but they have a clearance store on their website – beautiful gowns for a couple hundred dollars or less, bridesmaids starting at $ 49; also look at the major department stores – in mid-december they’ll probably start clearing their winter formal wear and in mid- may they’ll clear out their prom gowns… Also look for smaller bridal shops in malls..for example, i am in Orange County CA and in one of our malls there’s a store called Modello – I think the most expensive bridal gown is $ 500 – the bridesmaids dresses the most expensive is about $ 200… and they’re pretty and fashionable.