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Hi all thrifters. I am from New Jesey and cannot afford a $3000 wedding. My fiancee and I want a reception indoors, with a DJ, and dinner food (not brunch), but are looking to spend between $1000 to $1,500. I have made requests for help before but I was not specific, so many people, whose ideas were all great, suggested brunch and outdoors. I am sorry for not being specific in what I was looking for, but I appreciate dearly all the suggestions. Thank you. Now that I given people a clearer picture to what I desire, can someone help me? Thanks!
First off, where are you getting married? If you're marrying in a church, most churches have fellowship halls where your reception can be held at no cost. You can also ask your local American Legion or any civic organization to allow you to use their facilities.
You can keep your dinner simple by serving pasta, garlic bread, and a veggie. You can purchase paper goods at a wholesale warehouse very cheaply.
You can keep your decorations simple, again you can purchase paper tablecloths at wholesale warehouses. Check with your local bakeries to get prices for your cake, the more elaborate the more expensive. Also, try your local Walmart, they do beautiful wedding cakes.
For table decor, you could just use a tablecloth, sprinkle the middle with confetti and set a votive candle in a votive cup. You'll get sparkle and shine doing that. You can get votive cups for .44 cent at Walmart. Most dollar stores have cheap candles.
If you have flower arrangements for your wedding, move those to your reception place. If you're using champagne glasses buy those at a dollar type store for a dollar each and tie ribbon around the feet.
You can have an excellent reception on that amount of money.
How much you will spend definitely is impacted by how many people you will have, and how long the reception will last.
DJ's charge by the hour, with a minimum for a certain number of hours.
Get a small wedding cake done fancy somewhere-prices vary widely from store to store. Then get an extra sheet cake to have enough to feed everyone.
Use the church hall or local civic group for the reception. Alcohol is a huge expense, so you may want to do without, or just have a champagne toast, or a cash bar.
You might ask around about a caterer, some newly-in-business caterers might charge less than more established businesses. A pasta entree, maybe a pasta primavera, with or without chicken, would be reasonable, festive and could accommodate both vegetarians and meat-lovers alike. If you have crafty friends, get them involved in the decorating!
I would first shop around for a reception site. An alternative is city owened halls. I found an oceanfront city owned hall for $265! Check with the community center to see if there are any available where you live.
Also check whole sale catologs like oriental trading company and craft stores like Michael's for great decorations and cheap party items. You can even order personalized napkins out of OTC.
To save on beverages I had a beer and wine bar. If you purchase wine from Sams or Walmart you can even return the unopened bottles. Check first in your area though.
If you want a more elegant effect considered a wine tasting. Pick 10-15 wines (or less) and have a tasting event. Serve appropriate cheeses and desserts with the wine at different intervals during the evening.
If you buy a case (12 bottles) most wine areas will usually give you a 10% discount. This way you can save on a big dinner, have a great conversation starter and learn something at the same time!
I had a really elegant indoor evening wedding for about 55 people on New Years Eve. I cut corners where I could and the guests all thought it was at least a 5,000 dollar wedding and it was nowhere near that. We spent the bulk of the money on the venue and the meal and the music.
food-get a few people to each make a huge quanty of something they're good at
Beverages- U brew (give extras to folks who did food as a thank you)
flowers -talk to farmers at a weekend market or try to find a small greenhouse to buy direct from
Hall-I was married in a ski lodge in july- with white ta bleclothes it looked swank and was only $300 for the whole weekend
I also live in NJ and am trying to find a wedding venue that will not force me into bankruptcy. I have looked through many of the bridal sites on the internet but everything still seems very pricey. I will be having about 50 people at my wedding. I know of a small restaurant that makes wonderful meals at low cost prices.
Check out a feedback that was posted under cheap wedding reception by jenH. Hope this helps.
www.thriftyfun.com/
I am planning an outdoor wedding in Brick, NJ. I already have the reception site booked, but am having trouble finding outdoor locations to have the ceremony. any ideas? Any and all ideas are welcome. I am willing to travel to surrounding towns like point pleasant. Thanks in advance.
P.S. If you know any nice indoor sites to, they would be helpful.
There are some great tips already. If I can add to that, try a wedding planner. They usually have an up front fee, but they can sometimes save money overall by getting bulk and pro deals you can't get yourself. Look for someone near you at
www.gatheringguide.com/
I live in Linden, NJ and I am looking for a wedding reception that will cost me about $1000 for 300 people, I also need wedding decorators, videographers/photographers who are inexpensive. I have my own caterers who would provide food, I am also looking for a cake decorator who is reasonable. My budget for all these is $3,000, any ideas?
You will not really get a ceremony, reception with dinner, DJ and photographer that cheap unless it is someone you know. Weddings are not cheap as you all know and you probably won't get much for that price.
You will not really get a ceramony, reception w dinner, dj and photographer that cheap unless it is someone you know. Weddings are not cheap as you all know and you probaly wont get much for that price.
