social

Planning a Wedding for Under $1000

April 28, 2005
Notebook labelled Wedding Budget surrounded by flowers

When my oldest son married I knew that his fiancee been away from home for years and the expense of the wedding was pretty much up to them. Being the frugal Mom I am I went to bat.

Advertisement

She and I went shopping and found silk flowers for bouquets, corsages, candles, all the reception supplies, and ribbon. It took some work but I made her bouquet, 4 Bridesmaids bouquets, 6 corsages, 8 bouteniers, the pew bows, table decorations, 2 ring bearer pillows, 2 flower girl baskets, 2 Large centerpieces to go on pillars, a covered guest book and 4 handmade bridesmaids dresses.

The point I'm making is this: When you know you don't have a fortune to spend but you want a nice wedding to be proud of, Do IT YOURSELF. Use your talents and skills, don't hire people to do it. Tallying the reciepts I realized we had pulled it off for less than $600.

By Sharon KY

Bridesmaid Address
 
Read More Comments

2 Questions

Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.

March 11, 2008

I'm trying to plan a wedding, and have no idea where to start. I only have $1000 for the entire reception. If anyone has any ideas on what to do, please help me!



LaToya from Chicago, IL

Answers


Bronze Post Medal for All Time! 213 Posts
March 11, 20081 found this helpful
Best Answer

I had the best wedding. I bought my dress and made my own bouquet. We rented the reception hall and bought the cake, one keg of beer and several bottles of champagne for toasts. I had a friend that was a good photographer take a bunch of pictures.

Advertisement

But, as far as food, it was a "potluck". My closest friends brought their favorite hor d'ourves and snacks (mostly my moms friends). The cool thing was, everybody just loves the food and had a wonderful time!

If your friends ask you "What can I do to help?" Say "You can help me decorate the hall, or sweep the hall afterwards or bring a dish of food."

Forget about spending money on flowers for the alter and the actual wedding (besides your bouquet). Save your money for the reception. This is where you'll spend the most time with your friends. My dress wasn't an actual "wedding dress", it was a white prom dress which I got on sale.

You can either use sheets or better yet buy white plastic tablecloths at the dollar store. Buy cups, plates and forks at the dollar store too!

Advertisement

As far as decorations for the tables, buy 10 or so short glass vases at the dollar store with a white candle in each and put clear flattened "marbles" inside the vase and around the candle (all from the Dollar Store). Put one on each table.

Pick 1 or 2 colors for your "theme" colors (I chose blue and white). Have your cake made in these colors and buy some crape paper and balloons in the same colors from the dollar store. A little crape paper goes a LONG way to add color to a room and around tables.

The place you rent should have tables and chairs so you don't have to also rent those. As long as you clean the place up you'll get your deposit back. Move most of the tables along the walls (so people have room to dance) and put your potluck food on these side tables.

Advertisement

Unless you have a friend who's a DJ, record your music ahead of time. Number each CD and write a list with each CD number and track number you want played and when. Have a friend be responsible for the numbered CDs. If you record a few CDs ahead of time with different types of music on them. One for you guys to dance to, one with fast songs, one with slow songs and one that has both. This way, depending on the mood of the crowd, you've got the music covered!

Most all ages like music from the 1970's. You really can't go wrong with the 70's classics. This way both the older generation and the younger generation will both be happy. Throw in several "dance" tracks in to get people up and dancing. Just remember you probably have lots of age groups there, so try to make as many people happy and want to dance as possible. You should have lots of the tunes your family and friends like to dance to and don't forget to include some special songs for your parents, grandparents.

Advertisement

Friends and family won't look back at how much money you spent, they'll just remember how much fun they had. One keg of beer goes a long way. But you'll probably need a "party permit" if you serve alcohol and you will be responsible if someone drinks to0 much and gets into an accident (at least that's how it works in our state). So use care! Make sure to have some punch with NO alcohol too.

 

Bronze Feedback Medal for All Time! 116 Feedbacks
March 12, 20080 found this helpful
Best Answer

I had a beautiful wedding. I purchased an absolutely gorgeus dress from the JC Penny's bridal catalog for only about $300 and the veil was about $50. We married in my parents' backyard, renting chairs from the local funeral home.

Advertisement

As for the reception. We had it on the deck. My Mom and my Aunts made the food. We had 2 different types of punch and lots of finger foods and a beautiful cake.

The cake was actually from the local bakery supply store. My Mom called them up and had them bake the layers. She purchased the pillars and decorations from them and they boxed the layers up and told her how to assemble them at home. My cake was one of the most beautiful I've ever seen!

You can get a lot of wedding decorations at The Dollar Tree or other dollar store. For a center piece at my sister's wedding reception, I used a big, deep clear glass bowl and filled it with pretty gold wrapped bon bons. I weaved tiny strings of "pearls" through it that I had purchased in the crafts department of Wal-Mart, and then I also placed tiny silk roses in her colors throughout (they came on stems, but I cut them off the stems and just used the buds); the only problem with it was that it was TOO pretty. People thought it was just a decoration and didn't eat the bon-bons!

There are lots of ideas out there, and there are even books on the subject. Just go to the library and look up "Weddings" in the card-catalog computer. There should be books on "thrifty wedding ideas" or such topics.

The important thing though is that your entire wedding, including your reception should reflect yours and your husband-to-be's tastes, and be uniquely your own!

Good Luck!

 
By Susan (Guest Post)
March 13, 20080 found this helpful
Best Answer

I've been married for 32 years and I loved my reception more than the ones that cost thousands of dollars. We made a ham, a turkey, and a roast for sandwiches and all the aunts brought potato salads and baked beans. Like a pot luck or family reunion. The food is homemade! And everyone gets their favorite things.

 
Answer this Question
In This Page
Categories
PlanningJuly 9, 2016
Pages
More
🎂
Birthday Ideas!
🍀
St. Patrick's Ideas!
💘
Valentine's Ideas!
Facebook
Pinterest
Sub-Categories
AnniversaryBridal ShowerBridesmaidsCrafts & DecorationsDressFavorsFlowersFoodFrugal WeddingsGift IdeasHoneymoonInvitationsLocationsPhotographyPlanningReceptionRegistriesRenewing VowsWedding Themes
Published by ThriftyFun.
Desktop Page | View Mobile
Disclaimer | Privacy Policy | Contact Us
Generated 2024-01-30 00:20:38 in 8 secs. ⛅️️
© 1997-2024 by Cumuli, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
https://www.myfrugalwedding.com/tf40999652.tip.html