Bride on a budget!

Hi @op! I'm 18, and when I was planning for my wedding (it got pushed back) I was looking at ideas from Pinterest. I know sometimes goodwill (or other thrift stores) have really good deals on bottles/vases, and you can spray paint them or decorate them with ribbon or pearls. Also, ikea or even the 99cent store, or like dollar tree, sometimes they have cute bottles and also fake flowers that are good to stay at a decent budget. You could make cute center pieces with them and maybe pair them with a picture of you and your FH!

I'm also a young bride. For venues try looking at country clubs or park venues. For decorations it depends on your theme, but you can diy centerpieces with fake flowers and vases. You can also get table cloths for a great price at linentablecloth.com

Add garage sales and flea markets to the list!

My advice to all brides with all budgets-- remember, all you *have to have* is an officiant, a license, and someone to marry. The rest is icing on the cake. So, the officiant and license will run you about $200 or so-- decide what is most important to you-- having all your family there, having a 5 course meal, having the latest designer dress-- and start adding that in. Once you've spent all your money, that's your wedding. And keep in mind-- the couple who gets married in the park and serves their friends and family Costco pizza and soda is just as married as the couple that drops $100k on a 5 course plated meal in a chapel. Good luck and have fun!

I am a young bride and know exactly what you're going through and I agree with Zoe. Just remember that you can take almost anything and make it look like its worth a thousand dollars! We have a rustic theme so a lot of it is nature based and pretty cheap. Just let out your crafty side and you'll have a beautiful wedding, even if your budget is very small

Young bride here also!

Where are you located? Maybe I can help you out with some ideas.

Some of the bigger budget items that you will need to get creative with are food and venue costs. For more affordable venue options I would look at parks, community centers, and church halls. For food consider doing your reception in the afternoon between meals and doing finger foods only. So the wedding would go from 2-5:30 let's say. It's short but can still be enjoyable. Talk with your families, they might not be able to provide a lot of financial support but maybe they can help in other ways or pull together help from their community. For example, my friend who got married at 22 right after graduating college had a lot of help from people her mom knew. They knew a lot of people from girl scouting so paid a girl scout troop to help put out and monitor finger foods that their prepped from costco. A family friend offered to make their wedding cake etc. I am having to do something similar. I am actually having a taco caterer because it is waaaay more affordable. I purchased alcohol from BevMo and became a member of the church I am getting married out (I didn't do this just for the wedding, but it has helped a lot).

I just read this awesome article on story mix with DIY projects and tutorials! Hope it helps!

http://www.storymixmedia.com/weddingmix/blog/2015/04/diy-wedding-ideas/

Courthouse with a marriage license. Boom. Done.

Don't be afraid to use Ebay! I bought a card box from someone on Ebay that I had been admiring online for months. It was originally $120, and I bought it from someone for $20. The seller said it was unused (I wouldn't have cared if it was used once) and just wanted to get rid of it.

Dollar Tree also has some really cute budget ideas.

http://www.dollartree.com/custserv/custserv.jsp?pageName=Weddings

Small guest list, nice little meal, cute dress, officiant, license. don't go big and cheap, go small and sweet.

Keep your guest list low. Google low cost, or budget weddings for ideas. Remember the marriage is mire important than the wedding celebration.