Baltimore bride w/ baby budget!

I'm gonna be honest. You're going to be hard pressed to do all of this on such a small budget in Baltimore. How many guests are you having?

How many guests? You have little time and a small budget in a big city (i.e. more expensive). You may be able to do a small afternoon reception.

My fiancé and I have a $5,000 budget. Our church will cost $500, his tux his free with groomsmen rentals from Savvi. The hall will only cost $150 because it is a church hall. Caterering is $1,500 for 150 guests. The DJ we have budgeted around $500-$700. Our photographer is amazing and he cost $1,500. That includes all day coverage of the wedding and reception with him and an assistant. Also includes a engagement shoot. All photos are on a CD thought and no prints includes. & my dress ended up being $970 with alterations it is possible to have a nice wedding on a budget. Just watch for sales and to DIY as much as possible. Also bridal shows help a lot! It gives you an idea of what you want and the prices

You can look at some of the options here:

http://www.pgelegantsettings.com/home.htm

I'm doing Newton White, which is the high end ($3k) but they have a couple historic mill type places that are much less fancy and more like $800 or so on a Saturday and probably less for Fri/Sun (Adelphi Mill, Billingsley, Snow Hill). I think the website has a calendar you can check for dates. They're scattered thru PG county, so I don't know how close to Baltimore you really want. Rates are cheaper for PG or Montgomery residents, but if you have any resident friend do the rental application to rent on your behalf and you pay them back (they want to see your DL), you could totally get away with it.

I just got back today from the BEST BRIDAL SHOW EVER. It's at Turf valley resort in Ellicott city and it's $28 pp ticket but you free hors d'oevres and open bar during the vendor show 4:30-7:30, then there is a three course meal with fashion show included. Or, and I highly recommend this, you and a friend/FH/mom get two tickets plus a room overnight plus two breakfasts all for $140. It's utterly amazing. Did I mention the open bar?

ETA: Even if you get married this year, go to Turf valley next January. Look online in Dec for tickets. It is the best value getaway you could possibly find. I promise you.

I did some researching and found several barn sites that are in your budget (and some very beautiful!), but they are booked solid. There is one beautiful barn - Jefferson Patterson Pavilion - that was lovely and super reasonable. They are booked every single Saturday through the end of 2016. Remember, popular venues often book 1+ years in advance, and October is in the top 4 wedding months. They did have some Fridays in August available. Worth a look - you don't have a wedding date until you have a wedding venue! ETA: grammar

LoveyouMoore, who is your caterer? How are you getting 150 people fed for only $1500?

Baltimore is expensive so look into photographers who may be a bit out of the city proper. I may know a few

10 bucks per person for catering? That is scary cheap. Accent on scary.

The Gambrill State Park Tea Room up in Frederick will fit your needs venue-wise, both in style and cost. Its around $350 to rent it for 2 days, I believe. It holds 75 (though realistically, it holds 40-50). I've attended some really beautiful weddings there, though they're more suited for afternoon weddings as you need to be out by 9 pm.

However, it books up fast, as do pretty much all worthwhile venues in the DMV. Set your sights on 2017 and you're going to have much better luck.

How many people are you looking to host? Between photography and food, you're going to find that 4k eaten up VERY quickly in this area. Does that include your dress?

Hello fellow Bmore bride!!! Congrats! Honestly, Baltimore is a very expensive area. I spent $15,000 just on catering. You will be hard-pressed to find good vendors at this stage in the game. It's not impossible, but a lot of places will be booked. You may want to consider pushing your wedding back until next year so you can really shop around and get the best deals. Have you looked at Carroll County for a rustic venue? That's where I grew up and right off the top of my head I think of Union Mills Homestead, which is popular for budget-friendly weddings. Also, there's a property called Montagu Meadows: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100011325336153&pnref=story that I know several people who recently got married there and had gorgeous weddings! They recently opened so may be open to cutting you a deal. Good luck!

@loveyoumore that is very similar to my budget lol. As for the budget, is your date set? If so my question is, how could you have it set with no venue? If your date is not actually set to keep this budget you may have to change your date to next year. A lot of vendors I booked had so many weddings booked more than a year in advance.

What about a really pretty state or town park? You can still have a rustic feel at an outdoor location. Just have a back up plan in case of rain

If you have a little bit of flexibility you should ask venues about their availability for Sunday events. Saturdays fill up easily, but Sundays are often left wide open.

Why can't you push your date back to 2017 so you have more options for venue availability and you can save more money? You just got engaged a couple weeks ago and have chosen one of the most popular wedding months only 8 months away. A lot of venues and vendors will already be booked.

Lilypons Water Garden: $250. http://www.lilypons.com/

Adamstown, south of Frederick. It's gorgeous and inexpensive and flexible, not a million rules.

We are having the reception in the party room at Kelsey's in Ellicott City. If you spend $1k on food, the room is included. We are buying our own liquor, they will serve it.

We are hiring a band, but if you use a DJ, or DJ yourself, that's a big savings. If you want to talk about Lilypons, email me at *******@***********.***. Good luck.

Thank you thank you THANK YOU everyone for your comments and cautions! I have found a venue in Columbia MD called The Other Barn, which I am sort of happy with and fits my price range, but Im still looking around. Time is of the essence I know, but I will keep trying to get married this year until it truly becomes unreasonable to. I am inviting 100 people, we are using a premade playlist as opposed to a DJ, our photographer is free, and our dinner is going to be pizza and salad along with other "cocktail hour foods" (I am a pizza FANATIC, its pretty ridiculous, but its special to my fiancé and I) so I have the ability to come in at my budget, as long as I can find a venue! Thank you all again for taking the time to comment on my post!

Savannah k: would you mind sharing what the venue was that you originally liked but was booked through the rest of the year? You mentioned it was $400 for the weekend, which sounds great!

Also, thanks to everyone for all the other suggestions! This has been really helpful to read through.