Budget

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Can I ask where you found your fake flowers Kaysey? I have been thinking of doing all fake except my bouquet, but I want them to look at real as possible. Also, where did you find Save the Dates and RSVP cards? Thank you for sharing your ideas!

View Quoted Comment I found our flowers at hobby lobby. The save the dates I made a purchase off of the photo affections website; I think they were around $90. Our RSVP’s I made myself on Microsoft Word and printed them on card stock

Planning a wedding is so stressful! You want to be excited and have a dream wedding, but you have to be realistic. If the two of you are still in college and living paycheck to paycheck, I would either ...


Have a cute, small, intimate ceremony at a local park. Then, maybe have a less formal reception. Make it a family reunion/get together style so that you can save on food, decor and etc.
Hold out until you all get a bit more financially stable and allow more time to save and put for things.
Get married at the courthouse, invite friends and family to a dinner at a restaurant afterwards (everyone can pay for their own food and drinks, you all could just provide appetizers).

For flowers try doing wood flowers, I just ordered sola flowers for my wedding that we will dye and put together ourselves and it cost me less than $500 for 500 flowers plus dye and craft supplies to put them together

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Sherry, I know this question wasn't for me but you should check out sola flowers... I just commented below about them, inexpensive, look very real and are made of wood

New York will always be expensive..smh... you can try looking into an all inclusive venue. They have a few on long island and some in hudson valley...otherwise- guest list will def need to decrease. Best of luck to you and your soon to be hubby!

I definitely agree with the other comments about guest count but my other suggestion would be to look outside the city the outer boroughs, Long Island, NJ, Westchester, or SI. When I was looking for a venue I noticed the cost went way down once we were outside of Manhattan and Brooklyn.

Find a venue that majority included. I can give u my venue in queens very affortable

DIY (centerpieces, flower arrangements) cash bar, get married out of season (October - March) get married on a week day (Monday-Thursday) or a Sunday. Cut your guest list, no children, no plus ones to bf or gf that you guys aren’t close to, just married couples, no casual coworkers. Use thumbtack app to find photographer, dj etc. Use Walgreens (online) for invitations.

Walgreens.com has very affordable invitations and STD suites, get 1$ vases at the dollar store and fake flowers for centerpieces and bouquets. You can do a cupcake tower instead of a cake. I’d do it in a park since you want the garden party vibe and you’d just pay table chairs tent if they don’t provide them. Use friends for dj, photographer and make up. You can find an inexpensive dress at David’s Bridal, ModCloth, Lulus, and eBay. Etsy has very inexpensive wedding bands. Try and cut as many people off Your guest list as possible. You guys can use your tax returns to fund it. Use Groupon for a weekend honeymoon. They have tons of all inclusive packages. Italian and Mexican food is the cheapest and most filling for catering. You can do a fruit cracker and cheese spread for your cocktail hour.

I can recommend to do a fake cake. A lot of places are starting to offer this as only one physical cake topper that the married couple cut into and than serve the guests a sheet cake. No on ever sees the cake go in the back to be cut up anyway.