5,000 budget on wedding

$79 per person will not include the 9-11% tax and 20-30% gratuity/service charge they will add on.

100 guests is literally quadruple the number of guests you can afford to host. If you truly can only afford to save $5K for the next 22 months you have 4 options.

1. Cut down the guest list to 15-25 people

2. Be engaged 4 times as long to save about $20K, in your case approximately 8 years...

3. Look for ways to dramatically increase your income(s) and/or lower your debt(s) to up your monthly savings'.

4. Forego a wedding and get married at the courthouse. Do a vow renewal ceremony or celebration of marriage at a later date/future anniversary when you can actually afford to host 100 guests.

ETA for clarity*

You cannot invite 100 guests in LI in two years for 5000.00 And yes, most of the money goes to food.

You need to get a firm grip on reality and do it now.

NWMFT.

E L O P E

Agreed. It's okay to feel panicked, but set that aside and take a good hard look at your budget and savings. Adjust as necessary- whether that means reducing your guest list or increasing your budget.

Punctuation and grammar, people. Use them. They are your friends and are there to help.

Now, as for what I understood there, please do not have friends and family do things for your wedding. That is tacky and always a good way to ruin relationships and end up with really bad DIYs. Hire professionals for everything, at least the main things like food, photographers, hair and make up, officiant etc.

I think that budget is totally doable if you have a small guest list. I'd much rather have a wedding for 15 people and host them properly than to have hot dogs and soda for 200 guests.

Well, of course most of your budget will be spent on food and booze - it is the most important part. Things that affect guest comfort (food, booze, chairs, heating/air conditioning, etc.) should be #1 priority. Your photography, dress, fancy shoes, makeup, etc., can all be after that. It ceases to be "your day" when you invite people to share it with you, so keep that in mind!

I'm in westchester and its so expensive. I think (like everyone else) you need to cut the guest list by at least half. Try a nice restaurant that has a private room and see if they have a brunch option. We visited Traveler's rest in Ossining and I think they are $69.50 including beer and wine for dinner with taxes and service charge--$58 for just soda. They don't care if its on/off season. The lady was very nice, we just went with another venue. Tarry Lodge was $65 for brunch and the food is amazing. They actually prefer no DJ--just make a Pandora playlist, they have a SONOS sound system set up. Thats savings right there. I know DJs do more than just play music but if your budget is that tight, it might be worth it. Try any Italian Centers as well. Does your church have a hall? I know a few churches have places you could host a reception. You would just have to bring in catering. There are so many food safety issues with self-catering. Many grocery stores cater as well. I know shop rite does.

As for other vendors, try thumbtack. It's a website where you put out a what you need and vendors (and handy men it's not just for weddings) gets back to you with a price. Our photographer is normally double what we are paying him for the same package. Read reviews and call people. Don't be afraid to ask if theres something they can do. As for photography--try fewer hours. You don't need 8 Hours. Maybe you can get by with 2-3

With your dress, try davids bridal or even try a https://www.preownedweddingdresses.com I haven't gone dress shopping yet but someone suggested http://www.rkbridal.com Don't be afraid of retail or even white bridesmaids dresses.

Check out local community centers.

I couldn't pull that off in the cheapest part of the country. In fact it's triple that (and then some) just for 80 guests. You're definitely going to have to go Much much smaller in terms of guests.

Two years to save. Start now.

My restaurant had lots of packages for people, were paying 28 per person. But I wished I had eloped

Elope ?

Long Island bride here.

Some options are:

1) elope- literally just the 2 of you -use the 5k to go on a great vacation and get married there.

2) cake and punch reception. Get married at the church or court, rent out a rec hall and serve cake, non alcoholic drinks and light refreshments (during a non meal time) and mingle, take pictures and socialize with your guests for an hour or two, call it a day after that.

3) get married at court, take a small amount of guests to dinner (25 ish). Call local restaurants, ask about private rooms and price fixed menus.

4) elks lodge or knights of Columbus hall- you can cater in your own food (from a local restaurant) and many can help you set up a bar and hire a wait staff. Won't be overly elegant but should be comfortable enough for a group of maybe 50 tops.

Cut other costs by bargain hunting for your dress, skip the bridal party, order flowers wholesale, sheet cake from local bakery.

Start saving and be realistic. Do not make your family cook! Get pizzas if you have to for crying out loud! There are ways to keep prices down - get creative! Take a deep breath - everything will be okay!

Long Island bride ... $5000 is, without a question, not a possibility for 100 people. That's less than what my florist is quoting me. My advice .. adjust that guest list and call up a restaurant and host people in a private room. You will not be able to bring in your own food.

I will reiterate what Powers said. Check out an Elks lodge. I went to a party at the one by me in Massapequa and it was actually done pretty nice. It's a big room and you can bring in your own caterer. Do not self cater.

You have 2 years to save..

Deep breath... our budget was 5k to start because I just thought it was absurd to spend more than that on a party (I was soooooo wrong). We also were planning a Sunday to save costs I quickly realized that was a bad idea too. Even if you scheduled it for the afternoon or evening so that no one missed church, you have to consider that most people work mon-fri and would have to leave early in order to be home at a decent hour to get ready for their work week. If they're planning on leaving early they probably won't have a couple drinks and enjoy themselves on the dance floor like you would hope. If you were in a time crunch I'd be concerned but you have plenty of time to save up and have an awesome wedding!

It's your day. Do what makes you happiest. If you want to budget $5k and self cater (and know you can!), then do it.

2 years is plenty of time to figure out if it's doable. However, it is your day. People spend on vendors so they can focus on their special time and minimize stress. So, make sure to consider wether you want to recite vows or the menu

It is not beyond the realm of possibility if you keep your eyes open. We are actually considering a day after BBQ/picnic for the friends and family that are local or choose to stay a while. A friend of mine has a huge smoker on a trailer and is always looking for an excuse to smoke good meats, I'm a chef and one of my loves in life is hosting, I have a few friends with acres of open land or any of the area lakes are free of charge for a gathering. So, doing this will make our special day more enjoyable and memorable for me.

Just plan according to what you REALLY are capable of getting done and not what you hope you can achieve.

Lol is this for real??

Okay so I'm getting married in rural south jersey and I couldnt even make 10k work for 100 people. I agree you might just need to reevaluate either what you're willing to spend or the type of wedding you're willing to have!

I have seen some gorgeous courthouse weddings, especially if you get married in a more picturesque city hall and then go out to a really lovely restaurant!