Wedding for $5000?

Question

Hi, my friend is getting married and her budget is $5000. She wants around 200 guest ( I don't think that is possible). I want to give her some other options, like a destination wedding for her and her close family. Does anyone have experience with weddings under $5000? I am going to make her invitations since I am a graphic designer.

Answer 1

my wedding is pretty close to that budget. Honestly 200 will not all come if you invite that many they might have like 150 tops. Instead of a DJ burn there own cd's pop them in and let them play. Shop around for reception places if she doesn't want to do the destination wedding. A limo is not needed however I found out yesterday that the bridesmaids might have a problem with not having one if they have large dresses. Honestly it is possible!

Answer 2

Thats nice you will do the invitations. Unless she wants the reception at McDonalds, I dont see how she can do the reception. Sounds like she likes a big crowd. Is there a site you could show her about the average expenses of a wedding so she 'gets it'?  I know of  a small luncheon wedding for 35 and it was over 10 thousand which included flowers, dress, music, favors, food, alcohol, limo service, officiators fee, etc so she needs to do her homework.

Answer 3

Actually, weddings for under $5000 with 200 people are definitely possible.  You just have to be willing to be creative, compromise on certain things, and do a lot of the work yourself or have other people help you.  There are some great books you can find on amazon about how to have weddings for under $5000 if she wants to look.

Answer 4

I'm getting married in October and we are doing a wedding for 147 people for $5000.00. It's totally do-able! You just need to have the time to check EVERY vendor in your area and price compare. Food is our biggest expense. We ended up finding a reputable photographer for $500.00 a DJ for $500.00.... it can be done!!!

We ordered decorations, tulle, cake topper, baloons, ect. on ebay. Great prices there!

Answer 5

You didn't mention where she lives, but I think a wedding in the US for under $5000 will be difficult!  She could probably get by with a destination wedding(I'm getting married in Mexico!).  Have her check out http://bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/ and look at the reviews and wedding photos.  She might just fall in love with the idea.

Answer 6

A fancy wedding in Las Vegas, at a resort or even at a church with a reception in a private room at a fancy restaurant will be better, more fun, memorable and special for guests and the couple than a wedding for 200+ people on such a small budget.

Answer 7

Mine will be pretty close to that. Try getting some kind of a sound system and ipod instead of a DJ. having an outside wedding at a park (if you can find one that will let you have music and such). have small wedding party (it makes flowers A LOT cheaper).

aim for a photographer around 1,000. you dont want to skimp too much on that.

catering- thats one of the most expensive things. be carefull. that ones a toughy.

if you have a home church have it there then find a cheap park to have a casual reception.

you can do it as long as you dont get too crazy with the foo foo stuff

p.s. use any connections you have. that always helps a lot. if you have a friend or a family member who does flowers. or hair. or music. etc. all that would help.

also if she is dead set on 200 then maybe have a short reception with just punch and desert.

Answer 8

Our bedget is about that for a wedding for 75 guests, and we are all traveling out of state to do so... Let me tell you what we have come up with.

We are getting married in Gatlinburg TN, overlooking the smokey mountain in the national park. My fiances family is traveling from KY, and we live in north TX, and my family lives in CA and MA...Yeah lots of traveling, but they are paying there own way...Thank God!!

We found a place up there that is going to marry us, decorate do the chair set up, I get a DVD of the wedding, a photographer, a bunch of pics, a codywright release, the minister, bouquet, bouteneer, limo service to and from the wedding, and all that for $1200!! For 75 guests remember.

OK here is where we got clever because receptions are so darn expensive, and they usually want you to use there food which is outragously priced for a few finger foods.....

So, all that family we have coming in, we found a 14 bedroom, lodge/mansion (log cabin) and that was $1200 PER NIGHT!! But when you get 12 couples and they are all paying a portion of the per night amount, it turns out to be a deal.... There is LOTS of room, huge tables, a HUGE kitchen... So after the ceramony we are going there, where we will have it catered by Famous Daves BBQ ( $550 ) is the cost on that.. I will bye my own decorations and put some of the wedding aprty to work when we get there setting up. No DJ, just a pre made CD of all of our songs like first dance, and dollar dance, cake cutting music, ect... and a well loaded ipod that I already own. We will bring the stereo and the mic, and let the best man be the announcer of the events... and that in a nut shell is the reception!!

Then there is my dress, his tux, the wedding partys attire, ect.. that money will be going to but over all very cheap...

Also we have our own log cabin up there that is a total of $1100 for the week, so there is more money out the door, but still very cheap!!

Hope this gave you the idea to get creative, there are ways to cut corners if she truely wants the 200 guests... It is just going to have to be basic and simple.

Answer 9

Making all her sationary would be helpful for her. Start out with a theme so things wont be all over the place. For Example a garden theme where I live in Tennessee you can rent the botanical garden for about 400. Rent a tent and drape the poles with fabric you can get a fabric store. Rent cocktail style tables and low round tables w chairs. Go to sam's and get wholesale fresh flowers at a reasonable price and then go to (theknot.com) they have an article with example on how to make easy elegant floral arrangements.If you have anyone in the family that can sew really good they could make linens for the tables or you can rent basic ivory and add color flowers w votive candles. use an I pod for music and sam's again for the wedding cake and food such as party trays etc. One of my favorite places to eat is benniggan's and they have a excellent appetizer menu that  give great ideas for food that family members can make buying it all from Sam's Club.just an idea you can also have a church ceremony and rent a nice hall that will allow to bring your own food. Lastly dont have an open bar just serve a signature drink (foodnetwork.com) that play up the wedding colors.champange punch,tea, and water. To be more creative you can set the food up at various stations and use your graphic design skills to make little food signs for each station also a drink menu would be nice. This should keep her in the 5000$ price range by being creative and using personality that reflects them. A destination wedding would be a bit much if her heart is set on a big 200 person wedding unless she scales down to immediate family then it should be totally doable  and then have a 200 person casual party celebrating the marriage after they return.Hopes this is helpful

Answer 10

Absolutely!  My wedding was awesome for over 150 guests and under $5k.  I think these tv shows like Platinum Weddings and Whose Wedding Is It Anyway? are not a very good picture of the "average wedding".  You don't have to spend $10,000 on a wedding dress to have it be what you envision and be awesome.  You also don't have to have a destination wedding for it to be under $5k.  For sites, besides the usual reception types, think outside the box too.  I had my reception at the university I attended---at the University Hall.  It was a super gorgeous, old brick building that is now a restaurant and meeing rooms with 2 stories, 2 bars, multiple rooms and a patio.  I rented the entire thing for $500 plus food and bar for a Sat wedding and did full buffet, with beer and wine bar.  Plus it was right across the street for the church we we married in.  The church was so old and beautiful as is I kept it very simple with light flowers and pew bows.  Same thing for the reception, I opted for lots of candle light and rose petals. chimena fireplace for patio with twinkle lights.  Biggest expense was food--buffet with carving station, plus a nacho bar.  4 tiered wedding cake with 2 side cakes.  Best advice--find a place to get married and have the reception that you can enhance simply because they look great as is.  Go with the philosophy of less is more---without skimping. Good luck--it will be beautiful.