A wedding for $500?

My parents backyard, with our parents, grandparents, FH's brother and our best friends (5 people total) and mom's cousin (our officiant and his wife). Nice clothes we already own, moms and grandmoms to cook. About 17 people. Then the young uns would go out on the town.

Make my own wedding dress, pick flowers out of the yard, get married in my backyard and my fiance would wear jeans and a buttonup shirt. Nobody would get fed, and we wouldnt have a honeymoon but i could definitely get married for that.

I would honestly be happy with a simple courthouse wedding and then dinner at a restuarant with close friends & family.

Buy a nice white dress from a dept store ($100), ask my sister to cook ($100 for food) and make the cake from the cake mixes we already have in the pantry (she's a chef and also a master pastry chef), and have a barefoot wedding either in our backyard or FI's backyard, or at the beach on either coast. he has plenty of nice shirts and black dress pants. $100 more for a nice bouquet and i'd have sis also be MOH and buy her a nice dress ($50). $100 on alcohol and sodas. $50 for gas and any other incidentals. done!

Courthouse, than maybe dinner at a restaurant for a very small group. Because the license alone was $90, the justice of the peace's fee was $100, so we'd already be down to only $300.

Well ~ to start ~ the Reenski showed us how we could get all our wedding stationary and more for under $50

https://www.weddingwire.com/wedding-forums/ode-to-hayley-fawn-and-cyndi-aka-my-vistaprint-haul/65ea210239feeede.html

~ Centerpieces would be empty wine bottles or spaghetti jars.

~ If I planned it right, I would get a package of flower seeds for $.99 and grow my own flowers in the spring. Clip them and use those.

~ Dress would be from Kohl's or JcPenny ~ a cute white dress or ask to borrow from a friend (my MOH is the same height and size as me)

~ DIY hair and make-up

~ DJ ipod (which we did at my real wedding ~ just wouldn't be able to afford the live band)

~ back yard wedding ~ under 60 guests (family: parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews - and 6 friends (3 or mine, 3 of his)

~ pot luck ~

The rest of the $ would go towards drinks & food.

We are eloping on Sunday. Us, two attendants. That's it. With the help of the WW ladies we came up with some nice ideas. Here is my costs break down

Marriage license: $28

Officiant: $100 (found on Craigslist)

Bouquet and boutonnière: free because of my amazing friend

Rings: $159 for both (we will upgrade later)

My dress: $20

My jewelry: $1 (found perls in the $1 basket at Walmart, and had some beautiful earrings that I got from my parents)

Blue garter: $3

Shoes: had them

Hair extensions: had them

Hair clips: $15

His pants: $25

His shirt and tie: $20

Blazer: he had it

Shoes and socks: had them

Just married sign for the car: DIY

Champagne flutes: had them, will get a silver marker at michaels

Wine glasses for attendants: will paint them DIY

I have a scarf from my boss and my own sunglasses for some elopement fun pictures (all DIY for about $10)

Sixpence: $12 (DB)

Champagne: present from my best male friend

Chocolate strawberries: $5

Rose pedals: $5

We treat us and the attendants to dinner at the cheesecake factory because that way we have dinner and delicious wedding cake

Under $500. Voila!

My friend will just take pictures, but you could find someone on Craigslist that works on his/her portfolio and would do it for free.

A lot of DIY projects and a backyard wedding with immediate family and a very small bridal party....

Defintely my house. We have lots of parties so we already have a tent. Ceremony at the house. Any white dress for about $50.

Ipod dj

I have roses, lilies and wildflowers in my garden. Those would be cut.

We would provide the main dish and ask people to bring sides.

We would have one alcoholic drink- Sangria!

Here's a fun blog that speaks to that..

http://500dollarwedding.blogspot.com/p/resources.html

Buy a cute little white cocktail dress off of Ebay for cheap, pick up flowers for a bouquet from a grocery store, and have FH throw on one of his already owned suits. Have FH's cousin who is working on building her photography portfolio (she'd do it for free w/ no issues). Find a nice little park/garden, and myself, FH, my ordained buddy who's marrying us anyways, our immediate family, and our best friends would commence in having a wedding! So far the total is looking to be about $150 for the dress, flowers, and the marriage cert. So there would be plenty of money left over to take my whole group out for a nice dinner and drinks afterwards

Hmmm.... I have

Guest list of no more than 60(like we really had)

Wedding on step-son's acreage with a tropical theme - $0

Paper - Decor done the VP way - Maybe $30 tops for shipping

Our attire - trop outfits from our closet - We have an extensive vacation wardrobe. $0

Citronella lights from parent's shore house. $0

Tables from friends $0

Chairs from a local funeral home or fire hall. $0

Cake baked by DIL $0

Paper goods, cutlery and tropical decor bought at Dollar Tree & BJs $50

Pineapple Centerpieces $50

Booze - A 1/2 keg of beer $40

Signature Drink - Captain and Coke $60 for the Captain $20 for the Coke

DJ & Karoke - My stepson is seriously talented. $0

Favors - Deep Woods Off wipes & packets of sunscreen wrapped in cellophane bags from Michaels topped w/ magnets from VP. $50

Tents - Borrow Push Ups

That leaves about $250 for food. That is enough for a pig roast with sides and my baking cookies/brownies for the dessert table

We plan on doing our wedding for under $1000 or less (not including rings and honeymoon)...I think it can definitely be done for $500. Here is an idea (although not quite what our plan is since we have a little more to work with).

White dress from a store - $50

FI has a suit - Free

FI cousin is an officiant - Free

Pick flowers from gma's yard - Free

Wedding on the beach - Free

Dinner for close friends and family at a restaurant - $300

Marriage License - $60

Mom's jewelry - Free

My sister is a baker so she'd do the cake for free

DIY Makeup and hair

Am I missing something? If so, the extra $90 should cover it.

I like this thread. I think weddings today become too much about the "hooplah" of it all..make a list, make sure you have this/that, etc. When in reality I think there are a lot of those "little" things people pay for that no-one ever notices. I am excited for our simple and sweet wedding.

What great ideas! Just goes to show that if you really want it you can have a nice wedding for $500 or less!

@Jacklyn: be careful. To get married on the beach here you need to get a permission. Also, you are not planning on decorations or chairs?

Well the lisence here costs $120

the officiant costs $300 (and you cant just have an ordained friend do it in canada)

so that leaves me with $180

I'd have it outside, borrow my bff's dress or a friends white prom dress, he would wear the suit he already owns. We would ask everyone to bring potluck and byob, instead of a gift, and get married at the cottage which is Free cause we lease at a park and have use of the facilities including the dance hall incase it rains with the chairs and tables all free.

Then we would only invite his immediate and mine which is 20 ppl and then invite about 10 friends. have 6 tables with a bottle of red on each and white on each. wich would kill the other $180. We wouldn't need a liquor lisence as the park is private and we wouldn't be selling it. and that's that.

Ok, I'll play Mostly, this is how our wedding is being planned anyway!

License - $55

Officiant - Free (friend)

Location - $100 (MDRF)

Flowers - $20 (DIY grocery store bouquet/bout)

Photog - Free (friend)

Food - Free (potluck)

Outfits - Free (Garb we already own)

That's only $175. Man, if we didn't want new garb for our wedding, we could actually do this

We would get married in my parents back yard. Just close friends and family.

E-mail invites (free)

DYI food (pot luck - Free)

flowers (grocery store $40)

hair (sister) and makeup ( Free)

Officiant $ 100,

License $75

photos by 2 friends (both pro photogs - Free)

outfits - FH has a suit and I would get a dress $100.

Decorations $100

Total = $415

@SoontobeMrs.Smith: $120 for a license? Oh my God, thats crazy! Ours will cost $11 max! And $300 for an officiant? You are being robbed! Ive heard all sorts of high costs and taxes you have to pay to get married in Canada, but thats horrible!

Go to the justice of the peace with a a cute white sundress then just go to cedar point with my new hubby for a few days..we love that place!