Ideas on getting married ...

Question

I really want to have a wedding but money wise it is just not going to happen... my fiance and I decided maybe getting married away or by district justice then having a reception.... any ideas.. on waht to do to save money not to have a huge wedding but still ahve a get together??

Answer 1

I would say for $5,000 you can have a NICE wedding and reception at your church. But if that amount is not doable, get married at the courthouse and have a get together at a clubhouse. Congratulations.

Answer 2

Getting married and having a nice wedding can be more inexpensive than you think. My best piece of advice is to get your friends involved. Someone can be the photographer, cake decorator, DJ, etc.

You can get a willing friend ordained online for free and then they can register as an officiant in your state. That allows them to perform the ceremony (at little if any cost to you). Then find and rent out a local park (from $100-$400 dollars) and have the ceremony and a picnic reception there. If you're that tight on money you could make it a potluck reception. You don't need a lot of cash in order to have something nice.  

Answer 3

My husband and I hate weddings so we got married by a judge at the courthouse and are going to have a reception.

In all honesty the reception is the only part people seem to care about, anyway.  ^_-  Whenever we told someone we were getting married by a judge they said "But you're still have a reception, right?!" EVERY ONE, to a person.  Well, except for my grandmother but I wasn't about to have a wedding solely for my grandmother.  HA!

Anyway, there are lots of things you can do.  Do you own your own home? You could have the reception barbecue style in your backyard (or your parents!).  Many cities in the US have "community buildings" for rent by people who live in the area, you could have a party there, or at a park.  There are, again, lots of Veterans associations across the US who own their own halls and rent them out to the general public (just google your city and "VFW"), usually pretty cheaply.  

One of the big things to consider when doing something like this is food because in my search I've found a lot of community buildings charge a fee if liquor is served (so that they can have security on hand) or don't allow caterers that they don't have contracts with.

Good luck!  

Answer 4

I just helped out a young couple with this recently...it is possible, but you have to be creative!!!  They were married by the Magistrate ($20) but held it at a historical building ($75) which was beautiful.

They kept their invitation list to about 75/80 which ended up with about 130 people.  They rented a smaller hall, and many of the family members were very willing to help make food for the event, as they knew they were a young couple just starting out.

I helped the bride shop for her dress, veil, bra, bouquet holders, jewelry set, personalized cocktail napkins, and tiara all on eBay!!!  We got some great deals!  The dress she wanted from Davids Bridal was about $450.  We found the exact same dress in her size (which she had already tried on at the store) on eBay for $132 (including shipping).  It had been worn once, but you couldn't even tell, nor would anyone need to know!

We bought table coverings and centerpieces at the dollar store.  They turned out beautiful too.  I helped decorate the bridal table and cake table with decorations, netting, and lights I had from my wedding,  Ask around!  And her aunt made their wedding cake and included the topper.  I bought inexpensive flowers from JoAnn's Fabric and the dollar store and made all the bouquets, bouts, and corsages for them.

It really is possible to do this relatively inexpensive if you have the drive to do it and the friends/family to help and support your ideas.

Answer 5

I'm currently planning a wedding and trying to cut costs wherever I can. The main expense is the reception. If you really want a wedding, it doesn't have to cost you that much and then you can just have a small get together with immediate family and closest friends at someone's house and that would save a lot. You could just have a barbeque or something.

One thing that cuts down expense a LOT is by having someone you know do things. You don't HAVE to have a professional photographer. You can have someone make your cake or just do it at wal-mart pretty inexpensively. I personally bought fake flowers and made all of my bouquets, corsages and bouttineres myself. That cuts out a lot of cost because fresh flowers are expensive! It was fun too.

Outdoor weddings are probably least expensive because nature is your decorations. All you really need are seats and maybe an arch behind you. You really don't even have to have seats. You can just do a nice little ceremony at your parents house and have a cook-out afterward. That wouldn't cost very much at all.

Congrats and good luck to you!!

Answer 6

Well, you could always pay for a place to have the wedding, like outside.  And if anyone in your family cooks really well, have them cater it.  And have someone in your family who knows music well to DJ.  If there is an outside wedding.  You could always avoid the flower girl and sprinkle flower petals over the walkway.  Have a small wedding, with few brides maids and groomsmen.  I think it would be nicer for you two to have family there watching you get married.  But I hope you figure out what to do.  Congratulations by the way.

Answer 7

Yes there are tons of things you can do.  What can you afford to spend money wise? What I did was just start buying stuff early and slowly (a year in advance) I didn't have to fork out and large chunks of money.  We are having the wedding at our house.

Answer 8

Have a small intimate wedding, immediate family only, there are lots of small chapels if you want to get married in a church, or in a parents or friends home.  You can always to the reception afterwards and that can be where the bulk of your money goes.  Depends on what kind of budget your are talking about.  There are lots of things you can to do curb the cost of receptions, like no alcohol, afternoon reception, (lighter food for afternoon), things like that. You can even go out to dinner after the marriage with just the family and close friends to a nice restaurant, think creative and and as long as it's special to you and your fiance, it will be special to all your loved ones around you.  

Answer 9

Have an immediate family wedding only. You can have brunch reception later. Just serve tea sandwiches and punch. That's enough. You don't have to put on a big show.

Answer 10

You can have a potluck get-together at the park or your house.  Everybody can bring a dish, and that way you can accommodate as many people as you want without it having to cost anything.

Answer 11

you could have something simple at Church not shouldn't cost you much them find a friend's house that has a nice house or a family member etc. Do the party there and try to make it has elegant pretty as possible you could e-mail me if you need help I did everything on my wedding and it came out beautiful. good luck

Answer 12

Maybe have a ceremony with just the two of u then rent a party tent and have a get-together at your house or family members house for the reception... kinda like you would after a grad party. It will only cost $300 for everything probably.. for like 50 guests.  

Answer 13

I am getting married in Vegas for $3400(everything included) then coming home and having a party.

Answer 14

I will be having an intimate dinner with immediate family only.  Afterward a small reception for those family that weren't invited to the dinner.  I don't want to have a bunch of people I don't know eating my cake, drinking my wine, etc.!!

Answer 15

Have you tried looking at your local city websites? They have parks and halls available to rent at a great price.

You could have a ceremony in the park, then afterwards have a BBQ. Or, if you have a friend or family member who is willing to allow you to have it in their house or backyard you could hold a get together there.

There are lots of things you can do. If you just want to have a casual get together a BBQ or appetizer reception is reasonable.  

Answer 16

Here's what you do if your budget is under $200 (most of which will be eaten up by the marriage license and courthouse wedding.)

Have a potluck, and provide the main entree.  It could be simple, like hamburgers and hot dogs, or something a little more elaborate.  Invite local family and friends, and send wedding announcements to those too far away.

Have a few people come with you to the courthouse, and meet everyone at your favorite restaurant.  Everyone fends for themself as far as paying for their dinner.  

Any variation of the above two.  If you have a bigger budget than that, you can get a bit more elaborate, but nothing else is necessary, really.  Good luck on your simple wedding, and remember that the marriage is the most important thing.  If you have that, nothing else matters.