5,000 wedding?!?!?

Yes I did! Maybe even under! Basically you have to do it all on your own and know people! LOOK LOOK & LOOK there is always a better price! I made my own centerpieces, Decorated myself, corinated my rehersal. Found the best prices on craigslist for photographer, videographer, dj. I got the grooms men gifts on oriental tradding, made the bridesmaids gifts, made the ring pillows, made the brides maids flowers and mothers flowers. So YES you can make it happen We had both ceremony and reception at my home. had a family friend do the ceremony music. Our friend is a chef and made all the food all he charged us was the cost to buy the food at the store. we bought all the alcohol and soda and had a bartender serve only certian drinks. we bought also a lot of stuff on ebay, at ross, I had branch centerpieces which saved so much money all I had to do was cut the branches off my trees in the winter.

I'm pretty sure I did my wedding for under that if not way under that. It wasn't a huge wedding but it was nice. We got married at my church so I didn't have to pay much for that. My mom bought my cake and food but I'm sure she didn't spend too much on it. She got it from Walmart I think. I got my flowers off of Ebay for about $120. My FIL paid for my dress but it was only $350 for the dress, veil, etc. My husbands uncle did our photography as a gift. We had a DJ but I do have to say that he was horrible! Spent $250 for him and he was late and could hardly hear him. Granted this was 8 years ago so I'm sure prices have gone up. Did the decorations with the help of my friend. She worked at a party supply store

I had 250 guest I should add and also I had 5 groomsmen 5 bridesmaids 3 ring bearers, and 1 flower girl.

Here's our budget breakdown:

Venue $0

Reception (food, drink, cake) $2,825

Photography $650

DJ for Ceremony & Reception $675

Bride’s Gown, accessories (Ebay) $300

Hair/Makeup (DIY) $0

Flowers (DIY) $100

Favors (DIY) $100

Centerpieces (included with venue) $0

Invitations, Thank you cards (DIY) $100

Officiant service $150

Groom’s tuxedo, accessories $100

Our bridal party is just our two children as the ring bearer and flower girl and we're doing a small wedding - 80 guests.

I'm aiming for about $2000... but I won't know for sure how successful I am at reaching that goal until later.

I think Gershelda did hers for a really low price... is she still around to tell about it?

Our budget is $5,000, but I'm trying to keep it at $4,000 so that we have some extra to spend on the honeymoon.

We're expecting 75-80 people and are having a dessert & coffee reception at the church where we're getting married.

Don't hire an expensive photographer...better yet ask your friends and family to take pics (of course you get what you pay for)....you don't really need a bridal party and definitely get your dress on sale....in terms of food, you got look at cost per head. and really, do you need to invite ppl you have not seen in over a year? and do you need to invite second cousins and friends of your parents or kids?

You can have a wedding for 5,000 or less. Here is my breakdown

Venue includes everything for 150 people.

dj, food, open bar, decorations, cake, room for ceremony and reception . all for 1,400 inculding tax.

DIY: makeup, favors, welcome baskets,

choc fondue(using my own I own the machine) fruits from farmers Market.

cookie buffet(my aunt is baking the cookies, for free)

Dress:400 MarysBridal.com

Shoes:groomsmen $400.00 total for all 5 of them

Necklaces:BM's $200 total for all 5 of them

FGresses $150 total for the 2 of them

Limo: (2) 160 (got a discount through my venue)

Chrysler 300 limos

Ed Hardy Wine: 10 bottles for $100

Ed Hardy Wine Glasses 150 for $200

And I got all that for under $5,00 (well that's the plan so far

Wow Trina, where are you having your reception at? I can't imagine getting all that your venue offers for 150 people for just $1400. That's like $9/per person. I'm spending that much on just desserts and no alcohol. I want to have my wedding there!

I just got married in Vegas! Gorgeous classy wedding at an outdoor gazebo at night with candlelight! I would be hapy to show you the pics to prove it. lol I wish I could do i all over again!

Yeah Trina share your secret! That is amazing!!!

We will be spending a little over $5000 but not by much, it can be done. You shop around, do your homework so to speak, lol. Check out dollar stores, ebay, garage sales, yard sales, thrift stores, DIY projects A lot of sites have real good prices but like I said, you have to search alot

We are also catering our own wedding

We're doing ours just just about $5,000. A friend of the family is catering a big 150pp brunch for us (ceremony is at 11:30am), I'm having my 7 bridesmaids get together a few days before and we'll all put together the flower arrangements with the help of our florist, who is a friend of my mom's, I work in the restaurant industry so I have several friends who are helping with the linens and flatware, etc., as well as the food! The venue ended up being more expensive than we thought, but I got a way better deal on my dress than I budgeted, so it worked out to be about the same Also, we'll be barefoot so no need for expensive shoes! I'm making hand-made paper for the invitations (easier than it sounds), a friend of mine is the officiant and refuses to charge anything, and another friend is making all the bridal jewelry to match the designs on the dress. I was worried that I would have to spend closer to $8,000 or $10,000, but all my friends are jumping out of the woodwork to help!

I think you can if you have a free venue and you do not include the costs of gifts for everyone...and if you do your own flowers...

Our budget is $5000 but i'm trying to get it even lower than that!!!I think everyone is right,you can have a great wedding without breaking the bank,you've just gotta shop around and find the best deals.Since your wedding isn't until October you should have plenty of time to find everything you need,reasonably priced, if you start now.Good Luck!!!!

If you are getting married in Oregon you should check out The Troutdale House I can work out a payment plan as well. Also my husband does photography and he could work out a good deal for you. He is www.martiniphotography.com You could also look at community centers to save money

You can definatley pull that off. i'm hosting a Budget Friendly Weddings Expo in Houston March 21,2010 to show brides extactly how to do so. www.budgetfriendlyweddings.com you have to be hands on. here are some tips

1. check out country clubs (alot of them are very reasonable, i had mine @ a country club. My wedding was around $7500 for everything dress, photos, included and i was planning it from out of state

2. e-bay your wedding dress- go to bridal shop to try on the dress you like and get it on e-bay, you may have to

3.michaels & hobby lobby- clip coupons they often have 40% off you can get your invitations with that

4. city parks & gardens are very inexpensive

5. look for dance studios who rent out space

6. get you favorite local chain restaurant to cater (no one's gonna know where the food came from) this is a very inexpensive delicios options

7. have a cocktail only and appetizer reception in a resturant banquet room

Yes, I had a wedding for less than $4,000 with a guest list of what ended up to be 155 people (was originally 250).

#1 thing: Know people who can help out for cheap

#2: Find the perfect Clearance dress. Got mine for $400 and it needed some beads sewn in, but my mother did that.

#3 Get a 3 tier cake then go with sheet cakes or cupcakes after that.

#4 DIY!!!!!!! make your own favors. Ex: My favors were less than $20. Buy bulk hershey's kisses (silver wrapping or whatever color goes with your wedding). Buy a 3/4 inch circle punch and the color of paper that you want. Print your Monogram on the paper, cut it out into circles, and used double sided tape to tape it to the bottom of the kisses. problem solved. DIY your own center pieces.

#5 Get fake flowers for decoration and only real flowers for the wedding party. I had fake flowers for the grandparents and parents.

#6Have the guys wear suits instead of tuxes if you are really trying to cut down on cost.

I could go on forever.

I'm on a budget of 3K and I have a feeling I'll be able to pull it off by the looks of things. Some tips I've picked up so far:

Public beaches=free ceremony site.

Roses can get kind of pricey. Do you HAVE to use them?

Online dress shopping! Fun, easy, and the deals are great.

bubbles=instant party favors. 6 for $1 at The Dollar Tree. They even have cute little doves on them.

If you're renting chairs for the ceremony, maybe only rent them for immediate family/elderly members. The 10-year-old energetic nephew can stand.

Pasta. It's cheap, filling, and you can have the girls cook it up and store in the fridge the night before. Feeds a lot of people. Offer red sauce and white on the side so people can choose.

Mom and Dad have a huge lawn? Instant reception site.

Instead of registering for gifts, ask friends to do a favor. My bridesmaids are buying their dresses. My uncle's a pro photographer. My best mate gets to use my video camera for the day etc...

If you need more, just msg me. =0)