My budget was suddenly cut in half yesterday

Oh no well at least you still have plenty of time to get things fixed you'll be good by then still it's tough having the budget cut in half

Can you maybe talk to your some of your vendors and negotiate with them? talk to them and let them know what happened, at worst...you have some time to save up for it, im sorry this happened

It sucks that they are now unable to gift you the money....but at the same time, it's really not good to sign contracts without physically having the money. Is there any way you two can be contributing more to your wedding?

Jlam, I agree. I kept pushing Fh to get his hands on it but he said, "look, if my dad says he can do it, he'll do it. Chill out." I should have stuck to my guns. Our contracts aren't too bad. The venue I can actually get out of without losing any money. The photographer I can't, but I'd like to use her no matter the budget. My caterer hasn't been signed yet, but I've been in talks and figuring everything out for months. I'll feel so bad when I tell him no. I'm thinking if we don't do a honeymoon we may afford the original wedding. It's a bummer but nixing it will put the money towards the wedding as well as going with less expensive bands and a lower key rehearsal. We had about 6,000 budgeted towards that. Unfortunately thats all we can do, considering the time towards the wedding. Its all feeling a little silly now. I almost want to do a JoP ceremony, but my folks already bought some stuff and are kinda living vicariously through me since they didn't have a wedding.

My advice is to cut the guestlist, NOT the honeymoon. Good news is that you haven't sent out STDs yet. We skipped the honeymoon so that we could have a nicer wedding. Looking back, I would have rather cut about 15-20 people and used the money toward the honeymoon.

You know us thrifty brides, we can help think of ways for you to cut the budget and still have a classy wedding.

That sucks, I'm sorry!!!!!! Talk to your vendors and see what they suggest before you go making any set in stone planes. You never know what suggestions they might have!!

Maybe you can still go on a honeymoon-- just closer to home and cut the amount of days. I agree with mello- cut the guest list first though.

@kiera- Hey chica, sorry to hear this news. I feel ya Im in the same boat. My dad said he would give a big amount we were counting on but he's only given 1/4 that amount. While we're still moving forward, I totally understand where you're coming from. try to cut back the guest list I would recommend. That way its just your closet of the closet friends and family.

Keep us posted.

I did so much bargaining (which I was so proud of) with the vendors in the beginning I'm not sure how much I can do now. I can cut the hour-dourves ($300) and down grade the chairs ($400) That I know. My mom is doing all the stationary already (except the STDs)

Mellojean, you're right about the STDs. The funny thing is I was in a war with UPS about them trying to deliver them, but they require a signature. I live in an Apt that so, they can't get ahold of me. I even left my phone # with a note and they just stuck the "sorry we missed you" note on top of it. So, I haven't gotten them out yet.

Its in bad taste to not invite ppl that were invited to the e-party right? All of our friends were invited to that and the rest is family. If I don't invite the family a feud will develop for sure. So, I feel kinda stuck.

I can be an all or nothing person for sure. But, I wonder if I cut down to a ceremony I'm not proud of or happy with, will I happier just kinda eloping?

Eloping has a romantic ring to it about now! =)

My mom already bought the centerpieces (non-floral) and we're doing DIY flowers for the WP. Hmmm, what else can I cut down on?

Make the rehearsal dinner more casual. skip a limo. do a buffet. have limited alcohol- we had beer, wine, and a signature drink. do a registry for your honeymoon. skip favors. make sentimental gifts for your bridal party instead of buying something. find a trusted friend to do your hair and makeup. order a smaller cake than you planned- we had sooo much leftover cake. still thinking.....

Skip things like chair covers or special napkins.

We are not supplying alcohol at all. That eliminated tons from out budget. For us FS and I and our immediate families rarely drink.

Besides the limited bar, I'm there with you mello. I haven't got a limo, or hair/make-up. No favors and a cake from wal-mart. I also have a buffet. Ha, you got to wonder how I got to an 11,000 budget huh?

The bar is the one thing I really, really don't want to budge on. I'm a bartender FH is a night club DJ=) I will not put on a wedding without a full bar. Seriously, I'd rather not have one. In fact, I'd rather just do a JoP and then pick up the tab at a bar for everybody.

But, I think I'll get rid of the expensive linens like you said thats a good recommendation. I was deciding between two dresses 400 and 950 and I'll def go with the 400 one! Making gifts is a good idea too! I'll have to research that one.

Those are all good ideas!

Which vendors have you signed contracts with? I assume the venue and the caterer, what about florist or DJ? My friends just used an ipod connected to a speaker system. Instead of flowers, how about fans or parasols for your bridal party/you to hold while walking down the aisle? And for centerpieces, does your venue offer a default like a lamp in the center of the table if you have no centerpiece? I think lamps are a really cute idea, the only problem is that if your venue doesn't have this option, you might have to buy them or possibly rent them.

Try Costco if you have one in your area for flowers! I had them supply all of my flowers and it cost me $450 for everything. My bridal party flowers alone would have cost me that much at a florist. My bouquet was 24 roses, freesia, baby's breath and greens and cost $59, BM's were the same but with 12 roses $29, 2 bouts were $10. Bunches of 10 flowers were $10. I got 12 bunches of white spider mums. I also got 2 big white bouquets to use at the church and reception. They came all packaged, the bouquets wrapped in ribbon, and all beautiful, nobody could believe I had gotten them at Costco!

We are using tea lights and rose petals instead of fancy centerpieces. We're ordering the petals wholesale, and the venue has agreed to provide the tea lights (although they're pretty cheap if we had to buy them ourselves. I've seen it done; it looks beautiful. And it's costing a tenth of what a florist wanted to charge us to do centerpieces.

My mom already bought our centerpieces. We got candelabras for all the tables for $200 bucks! Costco or Sams club is going to be our florist like Mrs.Murdie said!

I haven't signed with a DJ, but FH is a night club DJ so running with an Ipod would break his heart.

There are some things I'm so stubborn on, the things I haven't cut down on yet, that I wonder if I cut down anymore, whats the point?

Slim down the invites. The more you stuff into that wedding invitation envelope, the more you'll pay both in product costs and postage. Streamline the contents by putting reception and ceremony information on the same card. Eliminate extras, like fancy liners and interior envelopes. And in lieu of including a map, send an email with a link to mapped-out directions or include the address of your wedding web site where guests can find the full details. The goal is to get the invites down to one ounce which will save you 25 cents each invite.... Completely eliminate rsvp cards and have them do it on your wedding website... No one leaves a wedding saying "I had a great time because I got a picture frame" or "They must be in love because I have some chocolates." Wedding favors are an easy line-item to cut out. While you can make them yourself if your really struggling with your budget, just cut it...