Complete wedding under 5K! HELP PLEASE!!

Take a look at Airbnb for venues, seriously! It's where I found mine, and it's gorgeous! Also, very reasonably priced.

Don't be fooled into thinking outdoor = less expensive. Our outdoor venue is free for us and we are easily over 10K for 75 people. Decide if budget or outside location are more important, for us, it was outside.

I'm going to warn you about "friendors" - please pay them and don't ask them to do it for free, even if they cut you a deal. When its free, you are unlikely to get the service and final product that you really want. Get a contract in writing too! Most importantly for your photographer friend. What happens if you don't like her pictures? What happens if something comes up at the last minute and she can't come/doesn't show? What happens if she takes 10 months to get your pictures back? etc. Be really clear about what kind of pictures you want - she won't be able to enjoy your cocktail hour, reception, etc. as a guest because she will be working. Disagreements over money or something as important as wedding photos (a once-in-a-lifetime event) can kill a friendship.

Also- Please change your avatar to something other than the rings! The rings are associated with spam/trolls, so it will help you get more responses on your posts and also it helps other brides get to know you and helps others navigate the forums much easier. If you need help doing it, there is a sticky post that tells you how. Thanks!

Yes of course they are going to be paid for their services. I would never expect anyone to do anything for free especially since it's their business.

Keep the guest list small, even smaller.

You're looking at two years from now. Pricing will go up.

I think it's doable. I mean, I guess it depends on where you are from, but around where I'm at... it's doable. I would recommend having catering from a restaurant, they are cheaper generally. Also, check out some unconventional ideas (food truck, taco station, etc). It's fun and different and generally cheaper. For 60 people (I'll take B-list) and this alternative, you could do dinner for like **** EASILY. And then the next big chunk is venue. Search search search. You got time.

Dress-wise for under 200 CHECK ASOS. Their bridal line is cute and oh so reasonable. That's where I got mine.

Are you willing to go to the west side of Fl? Like the Bonita Springs/Naples area. I had an amazing wedding there. Ceremony on the beach and catered dinner in a wonderful indoor/outdoor boat club. I did this for under 5k. I'll give you more details if you like the gulf side.

I'm only spending about$6k or so, and that's in NJ where everything is damn expensive. My guest list is about the same size. That's the biggest expense so good for you for keeping it low, it's the best way to save money. If you look around on Pinterest and here you'll find good ways to save. I cut out a lot of things that aren't important to me so I could spend money on things that were.

I'm getting married in S Fl too. . Look into the parks for am outdoor venue, super affordable. If you Google $5,000 wedding or similar you'll find a ton of tips online. Also, consider checking out some books at the library which will have good step by step guides for a budget wedding. With that much time you should have no problem pulling it off for that price!

We are doing ours for $2500 firm.

Backyard bbq at a friend's house - free venue

Invitations - Vistaprint

Close friend doing hair and make up - her gift to me

Close friend doing cake - her gift to us

Dress - I won 5 BM dresses at David's Bridal. Me and my 2 BMs, my mom and FG all have beautiful dresses that we will wear again. Free. Enter those contests!!!!! People actually do win them!

Food - Costco

Flowers - Costco

No favours

Find deals. Accept freebies. Make sacrifices. DIY whatever you can. Wouldn't you rather have a wedding you can afford and be able to then start off your marriage on the right footing with time to enjiy it?

Wouldn't you rather have a wedding that is really nice for a few people? And not make your friends and family work?

Stick with just your A list, you could do $5k. Definitely don't book a Saturday as venues up charge for them. I'd also consider having everything done at one location (venue, food, linens) it may seem easier and less expensive for separate but I've found that not to be the case. You have plenty of time to research. Go to bridal shows, many venues will offer discounts there.

ETA-keep decorations minimal and avoid things like STD, direction cards, itinerary etc.

My wedding is at least $5k total and I'm doing a small immediate family wedding out-of-state. So much less stress. It's an idea!!

You have a wedding planned two years from now. You think you can save $5K between now and then. That's $2,500 per year. That's a mere $208/month, or $48/week. That's such an easy amount to save that you won't even notice it if you use grocery store coupons, stop mani/pedis, car washes, clothing shopping (unless it's underwear or socks, you're probably fine), salon waxes, going out to dinner, happy hours, overblown gifts purchased on credit, a full blown cable package, the hair salon, checking out TJ Maxx or designer outlets, girls' night out, movies at the theater, or any number of monthly checking account deductions you no longer use or care about. It's really easy. Go through your budget with a fine tooth comb. Coming up with less than $50/week in savings will make your $5K wedding almost painless.

I agree with you; a home in which you will create and nurture your family trumps an eight hour wedding with all of the trimmings. The good news is that you can have the lovely home, and in the foyer of that home, a gorgeous wedding photo of the two of you can still be center stage -- even if the entire affair cost you $5K.

Buy your gown and bouquet, let him wear a tux or (a better investment) a purchased suit. Remove the kids from the guest list -- unless they are the offspring of the bride and groom. Make it an adult event. Make sure that every limited seat is filled with an adult who understands the magnitude of your event. You can do a cocktail reception with heavy apps and drinks, or you can rent a private room in a restaurant.

There are lots of ways to do your wedding so that it will a classy and memorable affair. I've been to these smaller weddings. They are beautiful, and at the end of the day, the bride is the bride, the groom is the groom, the celebration is lovely, and the couple has not spent so much that they couldn't even think about buying a home for another four years.

ETA: NO friendors. Don't do it. Nobody should be a guest/MUA, guest/florist, guest/caterer, guest/officiant...you get it. No friendors. Invite your guests and hire your vendors. It doesn't matter how small the affair is -- what matters is how classy it is. As far as your guests as concerned, classy equals served, not serving.

Please no B list. Nice restaurant will be fine

If it helps since you said you didn't want to spend more than $200 on a dress, you could try the Easter dress section of any department store. I don't know if you'll find a bridal dress for less than $200 except for the $99 dress sale. If the dress isn't super important, a gorgeous white sundress can be worn again. I found mine on sale at Belks and I plan on wearing it again!

Especially since you're in South Beach (my old home:-( ) I think you will be fine. You can do a tasteful beach wedding on your budget. It will be beautiful.

Thank you all for your all your wonderful and helpful tips. After much talk with FH we've decided to go with a Food truck wedding approach. After running some numbers and doing some research we've found that its much more affordable that way.

Of course this was his idea all along and the more I think about it the more excited I am in following this approach. I think it would be a lot of fun for adults and kids. We cannot get rid of the kids list because they are nieces and nephews and our own kids will be participating as well.

My budget is still less than 5K so I defiantly think we can pull if off. if anyone has any suggestions on venues that allow food trucks please do share!! THANK YOU ALL!!

Totally doable. I'm having about 80 guests & my budget is $5000. It has taken a lot of research but I'm happy with all my vendors. Friday's & Saturday's tend to be cheaper, lots of diy decor, lots & lots of time looking for a caterer & venue in price range. Another way to cut costs is to do a day wedding instead of evening.