ideas for affordable wedding in Phx

bhead81

Hi ladies!!  My little brother and his fiance have been engaged for 2 years now and keep putting off the wedding due to costs.  They do not have much money to spend on it so they quit looking as everything seems so expensive.  I told them I would check with you all to see if you all had any recs on where to hold wedding/reception for about 10K.  They wouldn't mind doing a backyard wedding at a nicer house or a cheaper venue...they are open for suggestions.

Does anyone have and recs on places they can hold it or vendors that were affordable?

TIA!

FutureMrsL.R.Allen

Since I have newly moved from the Knot to here I know there are a bunch of current girls over there who have this budget or less.  In fact, there is a Knottie who just got married with the SN Nilla. . .who had about that budget and actually broke down her budget in her bio.  I know a lot of girls on there looked to her for advice on DIY and how to cut costs.  I would go over there and look at her bio/ask her questions, she is a very active poster so you should be able to find her.

xxSOMMERxx

I got married at Inside the Bungalow in Gilbert and loved it!

 

They are very reasonable and you can probably come in under budget once catering and photos are taken care of.  What is really nice is that they have a preferred vendor list so you don't have to worry about shoddy photographers or catering.

b15chik

we didn't serve dinner at our wedding. we did a really pretty wedding at sunset (but it was well after dinnertime because it was in the summer). we served little sandwich trays and stuff while we were getting pics taken, etc. and then we had a dessert bar with a choc fountain, and some ice cream cakes. everyone loved it, and it was not too expensive.

jware1985

So we are getting married at Sun City Grand in surprise and with my parents discount the venue was like $1247 or something like that and without the discount i don't think it was really that much more.  Our Caterer (sp?) i always spell that wrong,  anyways, for dinner and cake with complete set up take down linens for $85 our quote was under $3k.... um lets see i photog will be under or right around $1200 but we are adding things on like parent albums, our album, engagement picture frame guest book thing.  The florist i am wanting  to go through should end up being right under $800.  Our minister was a bit pricey $525 but that is because he was voted "best in arizona" for like two or three years or something but we really like his ceremony so we were ok with it. our DJ kind of gave us a discount and will be $600-700.

So that is just a general idea of what we are doing... It can def be done for $10k, that was our original budget but have since bought some things extra that we decided we wnated so in the end we will more then likely spend around $11k-$12.

If you want more info on exact vendors from me just send me a PM...

Mrs. Destructo

Our budget was much less than 1/2 that, and it was wonderful and gorgeous! We got married in Sedona in the morning and had a brunch reception. Since people had to drive to our wedding it culled the guest list to only people who really wanted to go, and feeding our guests brunch and unlimited mimosas was way, way more affordable than dinner and an open bar.

We were married at the Amara Resort, and the resort provided the food and drinks. We arranged for cake, flowers, an officiant and a DJ. 

If he doesn't have a huge guest list (I'd say less than about 100), Sedona really might be much more affordable for him. There are TONS of affordable venues there. 

NesJas

Vegas! I got married there and loved it. It was for under 1/2 that amount. It was a cheesy wedding either like everyone thinks. My guests forgot we were in Vegas when we had our ceremony and reception. And since people had to travel, only the ones that really wanted to be there were. So it was about 30 people. Just a thought because Vegas can be very romantic, it was for us.

irlndsumer

We got married on Coronado Island (San Diego) for under $13k-- right on the water.  It's definately do-able!!!  We found our photographer and DJ on Craig's list, both were trying to start new businesses and were dirt cheap. 

We did an engagement session with the photographer first, just to make sure we liked her work.  I believe we paid $1200 for ePics, 2 photographers for 10 hours and all 1,200 pictures retouched on a disk (I didn't want an album, I made my own).  We booked her in September, in January her rates went to $3k for the same package, since she got really busy and in demand. 

I wasn't too concerned with the DJ- I gave him an exact list of what songs to play, he did a great job.  To save money on a cake- have a small decorated cake to cut, then a larger sheet cake in the back to be served.  Most people don't realize the grocery stores do wedding cakes and flowers.  My mom used to be a floral manager at Safeway and did dozens of weddings for cheap.  She did an amazing job.  They should have portfolio of thier work.  David's bridal has great dresses for cheap, mine was under $400.  My bridesmaid dresses were J.Crew dresses I bought on eBay for them (as thier gift) for under $80.  And DIY is your best friend when on a budget- I made our invitations, buffet menus, bar menu and programs. 

Also, off season (Summer) and Friday or Sunday nights are usually cheaper.  It's also cheaper to hold a morning brunch wedding or afternoon lunch wedding.

NewYorkerinAZ

I did not get married here so I don't have any advice as to where they can do it. BUT....there are def. ways to cut costs....LOTS of DIY stuff that can be cheap if you find it at the right time. Using the 40 or 50% off coupoins at Michaels, making your own centerpieces, invitations, no save the dates....only the minimum. It can still be very pretty and elegant with a small budget. Also, ONLY invite family and close friends so the guest list is small.

homespunmetier

it is def do-able!! there are sooo many great places to do a wedding here for cheap. how many ppl are they looking at attending?!? do they want an outdoor wedding or indoor, black tie or not so formal?!? we had a black tie wedding with 5 course sit down dinner for about 50-75 of our closest fam and friends in paradise valley for under $2k...yes no typeo there under $2k.

JenniferBultman

It's totally do-able!  I have a friend who got a Saturday wedding at the Seville, all inclusive package, in an ON peak monthf or like $7500!  (not including dress and invites, but everything else!)  They went to tour the facility, and the coordinator said, we had a cancellation if you can do your wedding in 6 weeks, we'll cut the cost, they did, and they did!  It was BEAUTIFUL the package I think is normally upwards of 15K +!

My point, EVERYTHING is negotiable in this economy.  We negotiated a lot on our wedding and got some great deals because of it.

10K is TOTALLY do-able!

Tayrusso

We spent approx. $12000, and I have all of our vendors and expenses in a spreadsheet.  I can email it to you if your are interested?

Tayrusso

So...I lied...a little bit (lol).

I was looking over our budget and we spent closer to $14,000.  But that includes our honeymoon, rings, attire, and a few other things that were not actual reception costs.  

Their budget is verrrrrry reasonable.  Looking back, the best way to cut cost is to have a hotel venue.  Their catering costs seem a bit pricey at first, but there is no site fee, so it balances out. 

Megamuffin

10K is definitely doable! We got married at the Desert Botanical Garden and it was really reasonable. Picking a place that has so much natural beauty really helps you save on flowers/decorations. We just had small floral centerpieces and really no other decorations for the ceremony or the reception (except for some luminarias, which DBG put out for us for free). 

I think the easiest way to keep costs down is to keep it as small as possible and to forgo a bridal party. We only had my brother and Mike's sister stand up with us. It saved us a lot on bouquets and such. They might try looking into some local nonprofits, like DBG. I know the Phx Art Museum has weddings, and I'm sure there are other cool nonprofits that are already pretty and "decorated" and won't totally overcharge them.

jebuell

Would they consider a destination wedding?  I had mine in Jamaica and my budget was only $3,000.  If you stay at the resort a certain number of days the actual wedding is free.  We had about 24 guests show up and everyone had a blast and still say to this day it was the best wedding they'd ever been to since it was basically a 3 day party in paradise with all you can eat food and all you can drink booze. 

Otherwise, IMO, $10,000 is A LOT of money.  I wouldn't ever spend more than $5-6,000!  So there's a lot they can do.  The key is to do a lot yourself and skip flowers.  I HATE flowers at weddings, they are so expensive and I know very few people who ever pay attention and then they just get thrown out.  The bride can have a nice bouquet and then just give the bridesmaids something else.  At my brother's wedding we carried candles (that my Mom still uses for fancy dinners) and my girls carried parasols since it was an outdoor wedding (which I later sold to another bride). 

Also if they aren't too picky about who their vendors are a lot of start up companies do their first weddings for free.  I photographed my first wedding for free and since I was trying to prove myself my assistant and I seriously did our best to rock our wedding.  And friends of mine got a really nice wedding video for free from a start-up company.

NancyR16

Backyard wedding? Tha'ts also a good idea. For me, wedding doesn't have to be extravagant, the most important thing is that a couple is ready to face another stage of their lives as husband and wife. Anyway, have you heard the news about a couple who have earned money thrugh recycling. You heard it right. To finance their wedding ceremony Andrea Parrish and Peter Geyer decide to recycle aluminum cans. After 8-months, the happy couple has reached their goal of trying to recycle nearly 5-tons, or 400,000 cans of aluminum. This choice to earn money and give back at the very same time is something all of us should make an effort to find a lot more time to do. They went the extra mile to not just recycle, but make it worth something to them and the thousands that supported them through their efforts. Andrea and Peter have my support and I can't wait to see what their next opportunity is.

jebuell

Btw, I attend A LOT of wedding since I work in the industry.  And I always love the weddings where you can clearly tell the bride and groom put their touch on everything and did a lot of things themselves.  It's way more personable and less "cookie cutter".  Usually Doing It Yourself is cheaper, too!  So encourage them to do as much as possible themselves to save money and put a personal touch of everything.

ccoffman1

The old town wedding and event center in peoria is really nice and affordable I would check that out : ) http://www.oldtownweddingcenter.com/

bhead81

Thanks everyone for the suggestions!  Their biggest obstacle is going to be the bride's family.  She is mexican and for my nephews 1st birthday they had well over 100 people.