Budget crisis! Has anyone successfully planned their wedding for around $10,000?

A lot of that has to do with where you are getting married. In Indiana the cost of living is lower, and thus the cost of everything is a bit lower than say LA. We are working on a shoestring budget (that seems to be frayed at both ends) and are looking for non traditional venues, or spaces that don’t typically advertise for weddings. For example, we love the local Knights of Columbus Hall (it’s in a historic building). Check with local union halls. Any place where you can do your own catering or bring your own booze will cut a few grand off your cost in my experience. I had a friend have a wedding for $140 (including her dress, reception, food, and cake). It is possible, it does take work, and it does take asking for help!

I'm getting married in rural Illinois.
I'm splurging on several things, and I doubt I'll even hit 10k.
Look for venues that don't have catering restrictions.
If you're getting married outside of a church, local parks, wineries, may be cheaper alternatives.
Eagles, Masons, Elks, boat clubs tend to be cheaper and less restrictive.
Some places may cut you a better deal on a ceremony if you also have a reception.
Hope this helps!

I agree it definitely depends on where you are getting married. We live in Utah, our budget is $10k, we’ve splurged on a lot and have gotten a ton of last minute things added on and we’re still under budget.
I think everything is wayyy more expensive in California. Definitely don’t get a credit card just for a wedding, use money you already have. I hope everything works out well for you!

I just had my wedding this past Saturday and we did ours between 10-15k in North Hollywood, CA for almost 90 people.
We went an unconventional route and found a "venue" from Peerspace. It's like Air BnB for event spaces. I actually found several places before discovering Peerspace that was under 10k for 80-100 guests we really really liked, but would not allow outside catering which I did not want.
I learned the trick is to find a place that doesn't normally host weddings. Venues that are your typical wedding venue tend to overcharge just because they know it's a wedding and also do not allow outside catering.
On top of that, we did a TON of DIY. We handmade all of our wedding invitations, our wedding sign, seating chart, centerpieces, cake topper.

You might also look at renting a restaurant (either a small one, or the private dining room of one) for your wedding. In many instances, they are less expensive than traditional wedding venues. Because they are open seven days a week, they can spread their fixed costs over more days than a traditional wedding venue which may be open only on weekends. Also, they have the cooking facilities right there, rather than having to bring things from outside. And they are one-stop shopping, instead of your having to contract with a whole bunch of different vendors.

View Quoted Comment I've definitely been thinking about this. Do you think a plain dinner reception is tacky? Or is there typically space for a DJ at restaurants that host wedding receptions?

I'm not huge on dancing and could do fine with a background Playlist, but when I've told my sister and my bridesmaids this they looked at me like I was insane. "Well what are people supposed to DO? Just drink and eat?!"

View Quoted Comment I'm all down for the DIY! Luckily my stepmom is a retired interior decorator, so I'll have help with all that stuff. We definitely won't be needing a florist.

View Quoted Comment Also, did you run into issues with minimum nights booking? I've been searching through VRBO and Airbnb, but every decent house that allows events has a ridiculous minimum booking policy, like 5 to 7 nights. After taxes, cleaning fees, etc it ends up as expensive as a venue.

View Quoted Comment I cut out a DJ and dance floor and just had a background playlist. I did have a few lawn games I rented and put a box of conversation starter cards on each table as well to keep themselves entertained since I am the same way... Neither my husband nor I like dancing and we don't drink either so we didn't have an open bar.

We had several complaints from guests about why we decided not to have those things but in the day of, everyone enjoyed themselves despite not having the typical wedding activities

View Quoted Comment Try peerspace.com. All the event spaces went by hour, not day/night. A few places even offered a discount if you booked for 8+hours (mine did) and that is VERY easy to do since you have to also account for setup and cleanup.
The venue I ended up booking from Peerspace was someone's residential home in his backyard that was plenty of space for 90 guests.

View Quoted Comment I got a florist but looking back now, I didn't need one at all. I spent $500 total for my flowers only because I didn't realize how EASY it was to make a bouquet so not getting a florist would also definitely cut a big chunk.
That's great your stepmom can help you with DIY projects! The funnest part for me was the DIY stuff since I did them with my husband. It was a really fun bonding activity

I’m a San Diego bride determined to stick to as close to a 10k budget as possible and so far we have made it happen with a little buffer money to spare. Here’s my advice:

1) Make a priority list of the top few wedding items MOST important to you and your partner. For us, it was great food, great music, and the look of our invitations/print materials (my FH is a graphic designer so that was a priority for him).

2) Be willing to think outside of the traditional box. We saved a TON (thousands) by going with a venue that did not force us to choose from their preferred vendors. Local park venues and city-owned sites can me extremely affordable. We were able to hire all vendors on our own, at an agreed upon cost, without getting locked into the astronomical wedding vendor pricing. Our caterer, for example, typically does corporate events and not weddings. We saved at least 1k just because of that. We are doing a flame grilled, on site BBQ buffet. The caterers are famous for their fancy grilling “show” as they prep the food. We also used the app “Thumbtack” to research and hire vendors. I recommend looking into them.

3) Don’t be afraid to ask this question: “Can you use my idea but make some minor changes so that it fits into our budget?” Our florist is awesome (found her on Thumbtack) and has been able to work with the things I like, but is honest about what can fit into my budget. Rather than going with long eucalyptus garlands on our rectangular tables (which are hundreds), she’s doing a “scattering” of eucalyptus instead. Same concept, still pretty, and fits our budget.

You CAN do it! It’s work. But so worth it to have want you want without going into debt for the wedding. Best of luck to you! 🌸🌸🌸

Anything coastal in Cali is expensive. Sac itself is one of the higher cost places. Do you have the option of going a few hours up the coast? Oregon has beautiful outdoor landscapes with both ocean and lake front options. It’s totally drivable from Sac

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Super grateful for my Indiana location! Definitely helpful on the budget and we are totally using a KoC hall for our reception

View Quoted Comment It's funny because that was my original vision for the reception! I totally wanted to get some lawn games, have some great music and a meal and just relax. I suppose there's may be restaurants with outdoor space...

View Quoted Comment Omg i frickin wish. I WISH. Oregon is gorgeous! I originally wanted to go to Tahoe in the summer and am still toying with the idea. They have beach ceremony packages for like $1000 that include all the chairs and even 25 pro photos, then I'm sure I could find an affordable restaurant to host a reception (in fact, we already toured one). We also love Mendocino. Oregon is about a 6 hour drive through, so probably out of the question.

The problem with any of that is only a handful of my people would be able to make it. My mom is flat broke and one month into the engagement already COMPLAINING about the cost of MOB dresses, who's going to do her hair that she can afford, and whether they have $40 motels in Tahoe. My mom's a piece of work, but that's another story lol - I have an awesome dad and stepmom in my corner!
Then others are also likely to not make it. We both have college age nieces and nephews who could barely afford a day off work let alone travel and a hotel. I actually spent all day yesterday making a list of all these people and searching air bnbs we could afford that could fit them! It's a long shot, but it's doable...

View Quoted Comment There's no wedding rulebook about what you HAVE to have. It didn't make sense to me to have dancing and drinking when neither of us even like those things. We decided to do what best represents US as a couple.
Don't let people dictate what you should and shouldn't have at your wedding. Focus on what YOU want, not what other people want. It will turn out beautiful either way
Even though we had multiple people complain to us about not having a dance floor and open bar, they all told us they still had fun despite not having typical wedding fluff.
I spent too much time being sad and worrying about how poorly my wedding would go since I wasn't having the whole production but now I realize I wasted too much time worrying. Don't feel bad about not having certain things. If it's not who you are, you don't need to waste the money on it.

View Quoted Comment Thank you so much, this is all excellent advice and super encouraging!

I think I've been too timid with venues, like I didn't feel comfortable saying "well this is what I can afford, can you remove some things from the list and make it happen?" The hilarious part about that is I work in sales at a car dealership and literally spend my days negotiating with customers, but didn't think to try this with vendors🤦‍♀️

Also, your reply made me think of a bar that a friend of ours owns. We've gone to charity events there and they have an outside area where food trucks pulled up, plus there's space to put tables and chairs, a full stage, lighting and audio, and obviously a full bar. My mind is swimming right now lol - the best part is it's where FH went to a concert at for our first official "date." It kind of checks all the boxes!

Our budget is $10k, but we have a VERY small guest list of 35. Mostly consisting of out of town family & a few close friends. Ceremony & intimate dinner reception at a hotel so we're paying for a ceremony fee & food & bev minimum. My FH and I are splitting it so we'll be contributing $5k each. I'm also paying a little more for gifts and other things since it's smaller and can do so.

View Quoted Comment That's such solid advice! There's a lot of different opinions here on WW about who the reception is really for. I've even seen a poster criticized for wanting to have a breakfast buffet for dinner, and several comments said "a lot of people don't like breakfast food etc etc" But I think you're right, we should do what WE want to do