Big wedding or small wedding? We cant decide.

Question

My fiance and I will be finishing with school in about a year. We want to get married next year but, we cant decide on the size of the wedding. We're going to repay the school loans and we dont want to be in debt.

Answer 1

Big wedding, simple reception: you can try a potluck, you can skip the reception all together and have everyone who wants to go to a restaurant, have it in a backyard, etc.

Answer 2

Just go down to the courthouse and get married like that. You two and some witnesses. That way you won't break the bank. Nothing worse than starting a marriage by being severly in debt. And if you have some extra, you can afford a better honeymoon.  :]

Answer 3

If you can't afford a big wedding, don't have one. Simple.

Follow your budget, if that means having a court house wedding and then a big reception with everyone that is totally fine. ONE DAY isn't worth going into debt over.  

Answer 4

I say keep it small...why pay for other people to enjoy a huge party.  Put the money towards a house or a cool honeymoon - something for just the two of you.

You can have a nice dress, some flowers, church ceremony, cake, and some champagne for well under $1000. The other stuff is just frills.  The best advice is to figure out how much total you want to spend and stay within that number.

Congrats and Good Luck!

Answer 5

A small wedding with just close family and friends!

Answer 6

a small wedding would be ideal with your current situation. also, ask if parents or family members plan on contributing and if so, how much. its an awkward conversation but its best to start with a good budget.

i would recommend picking up a wedding mag. and using their budgeting tips. (martha stewart is the best)

once you have a budget, you can determine the size from there.

also, alot of things can be done by yourself and with the help of the bridal party. by making alot of the things for the ceremony or reception, it will be more special and personalized. be forewarned though-- don't think you can hand-make everything! pick and choose which crafts you undertake. Flower arrangements seem to be the biggest way to save money. Order them in bulk from a wholesale store such as Sam's and have a day with friends to arrange center pieces and bouquets. Flowers will keep best in the fridge so be prepared.

Answer 7

You can have a small, affordable wedding, and still make it big :)

The key is the guest list. Only invite people you;'reincredibly close to. No one at my wedding is a disant friend or one of my mom's friends I hardly know. It will make such a different because you'll have so much fun together, and THAT'S what makes a wedding big ... the love and support from everyone.

I think a great idea is to have a your wedding in a state park if you have one nearby. Permits aren't usually more than $100 for the day, and if you pick a scenic area, you won't need decor (we're getting married in a garden, and don't need any flowers or decor items because it's already beautiful). Have a pot-luck reception where guests bring their favorite dish they like to cook for weeknight dinners. Have them mail you a recipe of it beforehand, and put them all together in a book, and hand that out as your favors. Purchase a small, tasteful cake, or have cupcakes (how cute would it be to feed each other cupcakes?). Buy a few more food items to round everything out in case something's missing (like salad or a side dish or something - or provide the main course like chicken from a caterer) and buy a bunch of beers, wine cooler, etc.

If you want a more elaborate wedding, though, I would highly suggest you wait. My fiance and I knew we wanted a more semi-formal wedding so we waited until just recently to get engaged (we're both now 25m will be 26 when we get married) because we both have good jobs and are more stable financially. It does help a LOT.

But if you're cool with the non-traditional, casual wedding (which I think is just as fun - it's just not my personal style) then I think you should go for it.

Congrats and happy planning!

Answer 8

Monica,

I have been in a similar situation.  I moved to Nashville from Los Angeles in '06 and my now husband proposed in '07.  I had to move back to L.A. so on top of the long distance relationship travel expenses I already had, I was about to incur more moving expenses and on top of that we had to buy a house, all within 9 months of the proposal.

So, while my husband really wanted to have a large wedding we ended up having a smaller one with our family and closest friends in my mother's backyard.  At first we planned to have it at another location but the wedding budget needed to be cut in half!  My hubby was pretty bummed about it and didn't think a backyard wedding would be nice but I assured him along the way it woule be.

When it was all said and done, we did manage to do the wedding for less than half of what we originally planned at the other venue.  I don't know what kind of money you have available to you, but our wedding ran us about $6k.  Our rentals accomodating 100 guests ran us close to $1k.  The catering was done by Macaroni Grill (and was wonderful) ran us close to $2k.  Decorations including centerpieces ran us about $500.  The rest of the budget was our attire, wedding party gifts, photographer (no video), wedding cake, and other wedding knick knacks.

The day after our wedding, my husband said, "I don't know why people spend so much money on weddings."  He loved how our wedding turned out and keeping things small made it much more intimate than it would have been at a larger venue with more people.  So, don't think of having a small wedding as a sacrifice but an "intimate" style choice.  Trust me you will have a ball and if you invite only those closest to you, all they will care about is that you are happy and glowing on your wedding day.  I'm really glad we kept ours small!

Answer 9

I would say a small wedding. Big weddings cost alot of money.

good luck to you. :)  

Answer 10

Small wedding and big party!  We were married in June and had a small wedding on Friday night.  Basically it was like a rehearsal dinner, but we got married instead of rehearsing.  On Saturday night we had an informal yard party.  You could do a potluck or just grill out.  It will save money and be a great celebration to welcome you into the world as husband and wife.

Answer 11

smaller means cheaper and more personal

big weddings can be amazing but at the same time go by in a blur,.  Have a day you love and enjoy!