local wedding for $5000 - can you do it?

BAMFMrsB · August 2010

my BFF has $5k to plan her wedding. I think its possible to do it locally for that much. Do you have any suggestions I can give to her?

I've already helped her look at some local (Marietta-ish) spots but if you have more suggestions, feel free! I know how to find a wedding dress for cheap (eBay, Unclaimed Baggage -thx WDA - CraigsList, David's Bridal during the $99 dress sale). She has 2 excellent photogs that are good friends so I'm sure she's got either one of them willing/able to shoot for her.

Catering is the biggest expense I can think of...

any thoughts/ideas to pass on?

MeredithE · August 2010

If you have it at Lunchtime you spend less money on food. Also I picked two drinks( they were free flowing of course) instead of having an open bar.

joelizabeth23 · August 2010

Also have the wedding during "off peak" season. Having the wedding in the winter on a weekday (Friday) the cost for the venues and vendors are much cheaper. As far as the catering goes, I have a friend who had a very small budget for their wedding. They were only inviting closest friends and family. They talked it over with the families and decided to have it be somewhat of a pot luck. They asked people in loo of gifts to bring their favorite dish and share the recipe. They set all the food up on a big long table with cute signage explaining the dish/recipe etc. It actually turned out to be very classy and fun. Plus, they got mounds of great recipes. The couple had already lived together & on their own for a while beforehand so they didn't really need all the "set up your life together" gifts.

I used silk flowers from Michaels to make my bouquets. I got all the flowers on sale and used coupons. Everyone was floored when they found out they were fake because they looked so great. The best part? My bouquet is decoration in my house now and all my girls got to take theirs with them.

askmetostay · August 2010

skip favors, DIY invitations....michaels has some REALLY cute kits, and with 40% off coupons they'd be really cost-effective...the priciest part for my 100+ invitations was the postage.

musgral8 · August 2010

Can she have it outside of the city? We had a January wedding in Athens and people can't believe that we only spent $8,000 for a Saturday evening wedding. My guess is that if you go outside of Atlanta it would get drastically less expensive.

Sadlebred · August 2010

Use your friends wisely! Have a talented friend play the piano, guitar, or sing. Rather than pay big bucks for a videographer and burn it to DVD. We had a friend record it with his camcorder (albeit a really nice one). His wife played the piano. Don't serve alcohol, which can be a budget killer. Ask the parents/grandparents for money to help cover catering instead of gifts. Don't give favors. We sent a nice email thanking everyone for coming (not a fau paux in our circle of friends. Of course, thank you cards were sent for gifts). Don't do expensive center pieces for the tables. I bought inexpensive vases at Garden Ridge and filled them with flowers from Publix. Have a talented friend? Ask them to make the bouquets. There are so many things you can do! Use paper plates instead of renting "real" silverware/dishes.

soccer6 · August 2010

Look at restaurants for the reception. We used Maggiano's. No decorations needed. Food is replenished as much as needed. Can do a package with cake (CHEESECAKE!) included.

Don't do lavish decorations at the church/venue. We had one floral arrangement at the church and tulle/bows on the railings on the outside stairs leading into the church. We re-used the arrangement on the guestbook table at the reception.

Shop outlets for things you want but don't want to spend lots on. I found our cake server at Sax' outlet at Discovery Mills for $10. I use it all the time now.

Decide what's more important - more people or more lavish reception. That really drives what you can do.

ChanMask · August 2010

Choose your carterers wisely. I went with La Parilla and it was amazing. We had a taco bar and you would be surprised how excited all of my family and friends were. Also we did beer and wine and bought all of our beer and wine at costco.

augusta · August 2010

If she's small and short I got a pretty dress she could buy for cheap Smile

I'm terrible at saving money on stuff so I dont really have any ideas for that besides everything everyone else already said. Good luck to her tho!

PuppiesAndRainbows · August 2010

How many people is she having?

BAMFMrsB · August 2010

PuppiesAndRainbows:
How many people is she having?

I think the $5k is going to determine that. She's the type that has 500+ FB friends, KWIM? But I'm sure she knows she has to downsize her list to accomadate all parties (family, friends, etc)

augusta:

If she's small and short I got a pretty dress she could buy for cheap

I'm terrible at saving money on stuff so I dont really have any ideas for that besides everything everyone else already said. Good luck to her tho!

Hah, nooooo. She's my size on the larger/taller scale Surprise but thanks for the offer!

The catering/restaurant thing is a great idea. I highly doubt they'll go the church route, but her Dad has a country club on site near his home toward Alpharetta, so she's considering that which I think is a great way to save on the cost too

Thanks all!

PuppiesAndRainbows · August 2010

If she can keep her guest list to about 70-80 people, it's doable. As an example:

Venue - Clayton County Water Authority - $700, includes tables and chairs

Catering- if she likes southern home cooking, go with the Oakwood Cafe. For $1200 she can get a full buffet with a couple of meats and several sides. This includes gratuity.

Photography - luckily she has friends that can do this, huge money saver. $0

Flowers - If she's ok with keeping it simple, she can order some roses and do all the bouquets herself, and then do simple candles and rose petals on the tables. $250

Invites - Get a set at Michaels for $30 and DIY

Officiant - Get a friend ordained online, have it be their wedding gift. $0

Misc decor items - candles, aisle markers, etc - $250

DJ - Find someone on Craigslist - $500

Cake - Publix - $300

Dress/veil - have her get something at the DB $99 sale, plus accessories and alterations - $300

Linens - $200 - have her buy at Linentablecloths.com and sell after the wedding.

Dishes/glassware - she can get nice disposable stuff from SmartyHadaParty.com - $500

Alcohol/drinks - She can buy her own from Total Wine very cheaply. $400

=$4,630

She has a little cushion left for any extras or unforeseen expenses.

BAMFMrsB · August 2010

hah! I wub joo. You rock!

PuppiesAndRainbows:

If she can keep her guest list to about 70-80 people, it's doable. As an example:

Venue - Clayton County Water Authority - $700, includes tables and chairs

Catering- if she likes southern home cooking, go with the Oakwood Cafe. For $1200 she can get a full buffet with a couple of meats and several sides. This includes gratuity.

Photography - luckily she has friends that can do this, huge money saver. $0

Flowers - If she's ok with keeping it simple, she can order some roses and do all the bouquets herself, and then do simple candles and rose petals on the tables. $250

Invites - Get a set at Michaels for $30 and DIY

Officiant - Get a friend ordained online, have it be their wedding gift. $0

Misc decor items - candles, aisle markers, etc - $250

DJ - Find someone on Craigslist - $500

Cake - Publix - $300

Dress/veil - have her get something at the DB $99 sale, plus accessories and alterations - $300

Linens - $200 - have her buy at Linentablecloths.com and sell after the wedding.

Dishes/glassware - she can get nice disposable stuff from SmartyHadaParty.com - $500

Alcohol/drinks - She can buy her own from Total Wine very cheaply. $400

=$4,630

She has a little cushion left for any extras or unforeseen expenses.

PuppiesAndRainbows · August 2010

I wub juu too!

local wedding for $5000 - can you do it?

Re: local wedding for $5000 - can you do it?

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