How to plan a wedding on a budget

Would you be open to having the ceremony followed by a cake and punch reception?

Just as a ps, DIY doesn't necessarily save money, sometimes, it can cost more. where are you located? this depends a lot on location.

we are having 100ish guests in california and our budget is 15K, but we are having a brunch daytime wedding which made the costs way less than dinner.

$5,000 for 80 people is not near enough money!

I've spent just that on my photographer, DJ and dress!

Cut your list, to like half or less.

I have a $5K budget.

My breakdown is thus: $600 for Ceremony, including license, officiant, and venue (City Hall), has a buffer for an hour of photography. $2000 for food and booze at a local restaurant for reception. $800 for attire for FH and I. $400 for transportation for the day for the family. $20 for invites. $200 for hair and makeup the morning of. $600 for gifts. $200 for hotel for wedding night. $200 for incidentals.

I'm having 10-15 people at my wedding.

Shoot for a non-Saturday wedding in off season, that'll help cut down costs a lot. So will cutting your guest list. Properly hosting 80 people with that budget won't work well unless you opt for a cake and punch reception and even then, it could still run you up a pretty big bill when you think about providing alcohol as well.

DIY is cool and all, but could be expensive. Just don't DIY the food; let your guests enjoy themselves without the fear of possible food poisoning.

You will have to do a lot of research to find a good venue but you may have to cut you guest list to properly host your guest. Maybe try a VFW, library, science or arts museum or a park. You will need to be able to get a venue, provide food, dress, photography and a few more things with that budget but overall cutting your guest list may be key.

I had about the same budget as you and was able to have a lovely wedding with 20 guests. Here's my BAM with budget breakdown: https://www.weddingwire.com/wedding-forums/butterfly-bam/8029162e7c34fc14.html. If you aren't open to cutting the guest list having a cake and punch reception (at a non-meal time) is probably your best bet. I don't advise this if guests are traveling for it though.

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A museum or art gallery are not necessarily cheaper. Both in my city require an extra amount if you want to serve alcohol, plus extra liability insurance.

Or you can extend your wedding date. This allows you more time to save, deal hunt, etc.

As other PP said, cake and punch reception with a very small, intimate crowd. Look at places like Craigslist for wedding dresses. You can find brand new ones for ridiculously cheap.

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Museums in my area are generally much more expensive than other venues.

DIY isn't always cheaper. The only upside is that you might be able to sell some of the stuff after the wedding, but it'll likely take a while.

Where are you located? I wouldn't be able to do that in my area for more than 10 people.

There are a few small art galleries and museums in my area that weren't expensive to rent with tables, chairs and linens. The rental was less than $1,000. That's why I made the suggestion. They're are larger museums in my area that would be expensive to rent.

I am in West Michigan. My family will likely be catering for a good discount and the officiant will also be in the family.

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You must live in a low COL area, the smallest Art Gallery or museum to rent was $1200 plus $500 just for the venue rental and alcohol deposit. Then you had to provide your own caterer.

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Well that will be wonderful for your family. It's great to do things that require you to miss the wedding of a loved one when you have to work it.

You still have to pay your officiant and catering staff...

If $5k is for the whole wedding and not just the reception, you're going to be pretty tight on money for that amount of people.

If you are both in school, why not wait until you have jobs and the money to pay for a wedding?

Edited to add: absolutely no family members working your wedding.

How about wait to save up more money since I don't know for sure how much $5,000 can host 80 people. Cut your guest list, and perhaps have a courthouse ceremony, then take some out for dinner afterwards

That'll be tight even in a low cost of living area. Can you wait until you graduate and have jobs and save a little longer? Or cut your guest list?

Check with local hotels, they usually run package deals for weddings. Our package is for 100 people with a room for the bridal party to get ready in and it's about $4500. Including cake, my dress, and photography it is about $6k. My FH's step dad runs music for a living so their wedding gift to us is running sound and music and that saved us a lot of money. Best of luck, it's hard to keep it that tight!

I'm not sure where you're located, but we have about the same size guest list. I'm currently at 75 invited guests, and have an additional few that might be added if budget permits or if a few single friends end up in a relationship by the wedding. Literally the only way that I could make a $5k total budget work in SoCal would be with 10-15 people at a restaurant's non private room, and even then it's tight. An average photography package alone will eat up half of that amount.