In today’s economy, we’re penny pinchers, and if you have an up-coming wedding you can be left stressing about how you’re going to pay for your nuptials without making yourself broke. However, it is incredibly easy to have a wonderful wedding without sacrifice for under $2,000 (including the cost of the dress) and any blushing bride can do it.
3 of my siblings accomplished a cheap and elegant wedding, and it starts with having an open mind, not an open pocketbook. The first thing you should do it create a budget, and stick to it. If your budget is 10 grand (lucky you) keep your wedding planning under that amount if possible. Itemize your purchases (flowers, food, dress, tux rentals etc) and once the money is spent, it’s gone, so keep that in mind at all times.
When purchasing your dress, keep in mind that you CAN buy the dress of your dreams without blowing half your budget. Shop at discount bridal stores or the local bridal shops in the mall. Take a look at EBay- you can browse vintage dresses, modern dresses, and pre-owned gowns, often under $200. So long as the seller has a great rating, you should be in good shape as EBay is a reputable site most of us are familiar with. Buy your dress at least a month or 2 in advance of the wedding if you’re purchasing on EBay, as you will likely need alterations. But the cool thing about this is that you can get a unique gown for cheap, and put your dollars into altering it to fit you perfectly for under $500 total. Most small-town shops are eager for business, so they’ll throw in underskirts, veils, tiaras etc for free on top of the gown, and alter the dress for free as well. This happened for both my sisters and my sister-in-law, and they all got their dresses (gorgeous gowns, might I add) for under $500 TOTAL. Wow.
For venues and seating, contact your local church or the churches of your family. All my siblings had chairs, tables, and venues provided free of charge from their local faiths. They’ll even throw in tablecloths and things like crystal punch bowls, platters, and even centerpieces and decorations for the venue of your choosing. Churches love to organize and help with weddings and you can even get volunteers to help with serving food and seating guests. This allows you to have a beautiful wedding and reception with the aid of your fellow churchgoers, and you can return the service by helping for other local weddings in your area as well. My siblings all donated their time to help with other weddings since they were given so much for theirs. There’s no harm in having your church help you, it’s what your community does, and they’re glad and eager to do it. They’ll even help you clean up. It’s wonderful how much (and how quickly) your church will help you with a smile on their faces.
Hit your local dollar store for things like decorations, centerpiece ideas, and souvenirs for the guests. One of my siblings bought dollar store baskets for centerpieces and filled them with skittles and m&ms;, and another bought a bunch of tiki poles and decorated them with jewels to make an aisle, all purchased at dollar stores. At craft stores you can buy glass bowls to fill with potpourri or glass jewels to match your wedding colors, and I’ve seen these little bowls filled with goldfish that guests can take home. Candles, vases, etc can be purchased on the cheap at local craft stores (Michaels is great) and can really make an impression on your wedding without breaking the bank.
For food, make it fun. One sibling did an ice cream sundae bar, another did burgers. You don’t have to serve snotty food to your guests. They just want to eat. Have candy bowls at the tables, and remember, your guests are there to share your special day, not be served fillet mignon. Have fun with your food, and don’t stress about it. Everybody loved the cheap food they got at my siblings’ weddings, because it encouraged a fun atmosphere.
Almost everybody knows someone who bakes beautiful cakes. If you have a friend of the family who bakes cakes for fun, ask if you can recruit them for your wedding cake needs. Pay them, but most likely they’ll be touched you (or your mother) asked, and offer to do the cake as a gift. People love to be involved and feel important and contribute to your special day.
Make your own wedding announcements. Computers can do anything these days. Have your family photag (everybody has a chronic picture-taker in the family) take your engagement/announcement photos and get your creativity into making your announcements personal to you. You can buy lace paper and ribbons at the dollar store and local craft stores, and you can recruit for friends and family members to help you out. My sisters made their own announcements, and their largest cost was buying the stamps to send them out.
Check with already-married friends and families to see if they have centerpieces and/or leftover crafts they’ll let you use. My brother used my sister’s tiki poles for his wedding, spray-painting them black to suit his outdoor wedding needs. Once again, people love to get involved and help in your wedding needs.
You can turn a plain white napkin into a beautiful table setting by rolling your silverware (even plastic utensils) yourself. Cut strips of decorated paper about 4 inches long and 3/4 to an inch wide to hold your silverware into your napkin. Roll your silverware the way they do in restaurants. Take the napkin and place the silverware in the upper left corner, facing diagonally into the napkin. Fold the lower right corner up to the butt of the silverware (it will look like a loose pocke)t. Hold the napkin on the right of the silverware where you folded the corner up and roll the silverware to the right until it’s tucked in. Take your decorated paper, wrap it around the center of the rolled silverware, and glue in place with a glue stick. If you’d like, glue a jewel or stamp in gold or silver a heart or you and your fiance’s initials onto the paper for a personal touch. If you don’t know how to roll silverware, ask your waitress friend or pay attention when you eat out to how they roll their silverware in the restaurant. As a former waitress, I can tell you all you have to do is try it once and you won’t forget.
For hair and makeup, you don’t need to go to a salon. Your gorgeous cousin who’s always so put together would be touched to doll you up. Or your sister in cosmetology school, or your best friend who always has the best hair dos. There is always somebody who you think has the BEST hair and makeup, and they would love to make you over for your special day. Let them. You won’t be disappointed.
The key to having a wonderful wedding is to get your loved ones involved. This not only allows you the opportunity to spend time with your friends and family, but it allows your community to get involved, which is great for everyone. You’re not imposing, you’re not mooching, and you’re definitely not being cheap. Your family and friends love you, and what better way to show it than help you with the happiest day of your life? Instead of hiring a wedding planner who only gives a crap about getting paid, why not include your family who truly cares about making your wedding day a success? This is what my family did, and it is so much fun to be involved and see how everything turns out.
So when your wedding is right around the corner, don’t be afraid to ask for the assistance of your family. This makes your wedding more personal, involved, and certainly more fun for all.
And don’t forget your THANK YOU notes!
