Budget

Elope just the 2 of you! Jk


One of the easiest ways to cut costs is to reduce the guest list, consider a weekday and/or an "off season" wedding.
Sometimes finding an all inclusive ends up cheaper than DIYing everything yourself.
Also keeping family on an information diet helps eliminate any extras they may persuade you to buy.

View Quoted Comment Thank you, we have thought about cutting the guest but I’m Hispanic so I have a big family and so does my fiancé so we are looking for cheaper like food options idk lol this is stressful! Definitely something we will look into though!

View Quoted Comment Definitely do off season if cutting the guest list isn't possible. As far as cheaper food there's the possibility off drop off catering from a restaurant (olive garden, Chipotle, chick fil a, etc) you'll just have to hire people to help set up and serve.



Wedding planning can be very overwhelming at times but it will all be worth it!

Check for city community centers as a venue, especially if they have chairs and tables available. I suspect parks would be less viable in November. Churches may be an option too. It all depends on your primary goal -- ascetics or pragmatism.

Another way to save money is to have a lunch or brunch wedding. People tend to drink less and the food items are cheaper.

View Quoted Comment Thank you so much I’ll definitely look into other catering options

If you’re trying to save on food, you can also do a cake and punch reception. Make sure you time it so it’s not during a normal meal time when people expect something more substantial, and then you can get away with cake and/or dessert spread and light bites. You don’t need to get alcohol then either, which saves a ton.

You can do charcuterie, cheese and desserts for your wedding instead of a full meal.


To pull this off though you have to either have it early or late in the evening. For a early afternoon wedding you can even just order sandwich platters and assorted desserts with a few light alcoholic sefreshments like mimosa and sparkling wine with ice tea, coffee and tea....or just skip the alcohol all together.
You can also skip the expensive wedding cake and do a donut or cupcake "cake instead. Or if you can find a place with a rental show cake, you can use this for photos and then serve a slab cake to you guests.
The 2 main expenses of a wedding is the food and alcohol, so if you find a way to cut the costs without having starving guests then that's usually a good way to go.
Another way to go is to provide table wine & then have a basic cash bar. A lot of people opt out for simply beer and wine, but I would advise against it. Mainly for the people who don't drink either, they will not be having as good of a time being surrounded by everyone drinking while they sip pop or water and are most likely not to stay as long.
Same if you have a dry wedding. Now don't get me wrong, there is nothing bad about having one, but don't expect your guests to dance the night away without it.
I'm trying to keep down my costs as well, since I live in a expensive area. After playing around with various concepts, I have opted to having a Friday evening wedding going from 7-12. I'm having a donut cake as the centerpiece to my dessert buffet, along with tiered plates of assorted meats, cheeses, crackers and pickles set up on the dinning tables (all purchased from grocery stores). To avoid wasting time, I'm doing my bridal party photos the day before at a different location, then doing family photos onsite at 6pm (I will be purchasing a some sandwich platters for the bridal party and the family members that will be present for this photoshoot, since they will be skipping dinner to be at the venue early). My guests are being seated at their tables for the ceremony and reception to avoid a separate ceremony location or having a downtime for a room flip.
Because I'm having a cash bar, I'm also having a area on my desserts table for coffee, tea and 2 mocktails, along with plenty of alcoholic Eggnog on the tables to give people options to not have to open their wallets as much or at all.
I'm not having any father/daughter or wedding party dances, just our 1st dance after the ceremony, to kick off the reception. I'm not doing cake cutting photos, or garter/bouquet toss. Pretty much we're planning on a evening with 50 of our family members of eating, dancing and singing karaoke.
So when it comes down to it, it depends on what you're "must haves" and vision is.

View Quoted Comment I recommend, doing Mexican/Hispanic food. It's affordable and feeds alot of people .

View Quoted Comment

I agree with this.

OP, would you do a full roasted pig as the headliner with other smaller proteins and side dishes? In my community circles, subpar food or not enough food kills a party faster than no alcohol. If your families are similar (and will click their tongues), consider putting more cost into F&B and less on lower priority elements e.g. invites, decor, attire, live music. If your venue allows it, you can hire a bartender for legal purposes and provide cases of beer from BJs/ Costco, non-alcoholic punch and sodas for others.

Also, borrow, reuse, and rent when you can. I borrowed tablecloths from my mom and venue, reused my own getaway car, jewelry, shoes, and rented tall flower stands, the all-inclusive venue. A Church ceremony should also be very affordable, if within your joined interest. Other posters will have more DIY tips. I did none of that as this was stressful to me.