Cheap Weddings - Easy When You Know How

There's really no mystery to planning a cheap wedding. You don't have to spend a fortune, but where you put your money to get the biggest bang for your buck is the secret. You also need to sit down and plan before you spend one cent. You need to set dollar limits for each item and keep to the budget. This is not a project for the wishy-washy type that watch too many episodes of, 'Whose Wedding is it Anyway?'

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Make Your Own Wedding Invitations

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Once you have your budget done - and there are so many places to get this info I'm not going to put it here - then get ready to get busy.

Choosing the reception venue is key to the whole thing. The reception is the most expensive part of the whole event. Food, beverage, music, cake and decorations can add up very quickly. Did I forget to mention that size matters - for everything associated with a reception comes down to the price per person. The smaller the guest list the cheaper the reception becomes. The difference between feeding 75 and 175 is huge! You are not just talking food, but each added table needs a centerpiece,

larger bar bill, bigger cake, and the larger the room the harder to find comparable prices. The smaller the event the greater number of resources available to you.

Look outside the box for locations. My son and daughter - in - law held their reception in a Hummer building of a car dealership. The all glass airplane hanger looked very elegant at night during the winter. Since the dealership did their business's 'meet and greets' in this gorgeous building, we got the use of the tables and chairs, tablecloths, dishes, silverware and glassware - all for a steal. No, there were no Hummers in the building - it was a great open space and our guest loved it.

We had to rent a hot box for the food, paid college students who were into catering, and spent a couple evenings decorating - but wow! It was gorgeous. A couple hundred votives added an elegance that would have costs thousand of dollars.

We had h'orderves - large blocks of cheese and crackers - look to the Barefoot Contessa show for this idea, shrimp on frozen blocks of ice to look like a wedding cake, veggies and dip, fruit put on skewers and put into florist foam in a silver bucket - think Edible Arrangements - very nice! Our food was arranged in stations. Italian station was ravioli, sauce and cheese, another station had chicken strips with different sauces and meatballs, a baked potato station with butter, sour cream, scallions, cheese and bacon bits. The wedding cake was a gift from a talented friend - this cake was amazing and gorgeous.

The college kids that we paid to service the reception were the best. Friends of our daughters, they carefully followed the list I made of the time table and warming instructions for the food - which we bought at Sam's. They washed every plate and piece of silverware. They were a joy and I hope if they read this they once again get the thanks for a job so well done. Pay for good reliable people - they are worth every penny.

We weren't a big drinking crowd so the case of wine and champagne were enough for the drinkers, and plenty of punch and sparkling grape juice made sure the teetotalers were happy too. We rented pretty coffee urns and had a selection of flavored creamers.

The dj played and the guest danced. Our photographer was just getting into the business and advertised for a wedding to photograph on craigslist - we were blessed to have her. She took hundred's of gorgeous photos, and a friend of the family took the video.

I'll also let you know that we spent only $24.00 a piece on the bridesmaids dresses - on a sale rack at the Ann Taylor store in Palm Beach Florida. 100% silk dresses in a frosty winter blue - perfect for the February wedding. Because there were only 3 girls in the wedding they could all join in the savings. By the way these dresses can truly be worn again.

An avid thrift store shopper, I found a next to new basic black tux for my son to wear, made him a white vest, purchased a gorgeous white and silver tie to complete his attire. He still has his tux to wear to other occasions. Tuxes are not that uncommon at thrift stores. A basic black one will see your guy through many occasions and without the huge rental price. I've purchased several over the years.

We found the wedding gown on a sale rack - it was stunning, just a couple of sizes too small. No problem - the zipper went out and I turned it into a lace up back. This was one example of inexpensive wedding dresses that are beyond fabulous. I even made a white cape for her to wear from the church to the reception. We found the veil with rhinestones on a clearance rack at a thrift store - we also bought a tiara at the store with a 50% off coupon.

I am a trained florist and so the flower bill was extremely low and the best deal in town for flowers was Sam's. You might try and hire someone to do your floral arranging instead of going the traditional florist route. A talented person will save you hundreds - I kid you not.

If you need to know who might help you with these plans check out area churches and find out who is in charge of their large events. For a fee that would be a lot less than a typical wedding planner you could get a very valuable resource. It's all in finding who knows how to do these large parties and their experience saves you a bundle.

Invitations were made from a kit from a craft store - use a 50% off coupon. The savings go on and on, but all this took planning and time. You will be busy, but if you get a calendar and spread the work load out, it is very doable. And how did we feel a week after the wedding? Pleased!!! No regret about vast amounts of money spent on stupid stuff and we did not feel victimized by the wedding industry.

So if hard work doesn't scare you - you too can have a wedding with no credit card debt and lots of happy memories!