Having such a hard time :/

Figure out your budget first. Not how much you think it’s going to cost, but how much you can afford to spend. Then come up with a rough draft of your guest list. The best way to save money is to keep your guest list to a minimum. Then you’ll find a venue that fits your budget and guest list and has availability in the month you want. You don’t have a date until you have a venue. After you book a venue, you can start looking into other major vendors like photography and catering.

We have all been there! Definitely keep looking because there are plenty of venues that are all inclusive (food, drinks, etc). My FH and I love the place we found and also doing a lot of DIY’s to help with the cost. Also don’t be afraid to try and negotiate pricing!


I live in NJ as well. There is a huge bridal showcase at the meadowlands on 1/4 & 1/5 coming up. There should definitely be plenty of vendors to help you.
Oh and one tip I got and has helped tremendously is to create an email address just for the wedding. You are going to be getting a TON of emails and it will be nice to delete the emails once the wedding is over so you are no longer spammed.
Best of luck!

I’m also from NJ, and know it can get real expensive real quick. You should definitely figure out your budget first. There’s no reason why a wedding should have to cost that much if you watch costs and don’t let things get out of hand. Figure out what’s really important to you, and then start with the less important things as areas to cut back. You can also revisit your guest list and try to cut that back. As someone else mentioned, there’s frequently bridal shows going on in the state. I know there’s one in AC in January. If you google bridal shows, it’ll come up with tons of dates. Bridal shows are great for give always and “winning” discounts. Also, don’t be afraid to negotiate. If a vendor isn’t offering completely what you want or are offering more than what you need, ask for what you really want at a better rate.

Hey Jenny! Congratulations on your engagement and welcome to the WeddingWire community! I’m so sorry that you are feeling like this but you are certainly not alone. A lot of couples in this community are planning a wedding for the first time so it’s a great place to ask for advice and opinions.

As the pp’s have mentioned, you should start by setting a budget that you and your FS are comfortable spending on your wedding. You can then start working on your guest list that you feel will work within this budget. There is a helpful Budget Tool that you can check out to help you divide your budget up between different vendors.

Have you thought about what style of wedding venue you would like?

Hi Jenny!

Fellow stressed and broke NJ bride-to-be here. I FEEL your pain!! It seems like you've already gotten some great budgeting advice, so the only thing I will add to try to keep yourself from spiraling is to try to keep yourself as organized as possible. I use google docs to keep all of my wedding research, ideas, etc. in one place that I can refer to easily.

I would honestly start by just doing some research around what kind of venue/vibe you are looking for (ballroom, barn, loft, etc) and just start touring some places and asking questions. It really helped me to go and see these places in person and talk to the employees and that helped me eliminate certain things right off the bat and better visualize what I wanted and how much it would cost. Think about roughly how large your wedding is likely to be and that will also give you a better idea of what kind of space will fit your needs best.

Good luck!

Congratulations on the engagement!! Figure out your budget first and fast because a lot of venues may not be available on the date you want since people book a year in advance pending the location.

Where in NJ are you? I live near glassboro and our venue is in glassboro at Masso's. It is costing us $7800: they do the center pieces, open bar (package we chose), emerald buffet (package we chose, 69.95 per person), make our wedding cake for free, and included was the officiant: $250. We just had to put down a $1,000 deposit. Our guest count is 92.

My guest list is 20 and i am having a hard time i got engaged on june 29 it took 3 months for me to find a venue. My wedding date is July 11 2020 turns out its a fire hall in north haledon. I have a photographer not sure if I want video or not if so i probably will do a montage. I have the dj but the catering is another hassle because i am looking for carribean and american food. Most of the places that cater in jersey is italian restaurants. I dont want pasta. LOL but whoever says trim the list my list is already trimmed and it's still difficult because alot of places will not consider you unless you have 75 or more guests good luck keep me posted. I am also DIY I already made my centerpieces thanks to (dollar tree, walmart, hobby lobby) I already have my sashes and seat covers and all my decor. I have no bridesmaids, groomsmen, maid of honor, bestman, and its still hard. i want a big feel with a small group. Good luck I can relate having a small guest list doesn't always make it easy. People would think without all those things its a breeze no its not. Keep me posted. I am the one REFUSE to do court house and wont do a restaurant I'm sorry just my preference,

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Wow you got it like that you go girl more power to you

View Quoted Comment It's the cheapest place we could find lol

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Wow my cousin is getting married at the galloping hill golf course in union nj i can imagine for her then she has 250 guests oh my. i just have my lil 20 $70 is alot per head i just hope all your guest show up. Good luck

Where I NJ are you?! I'm at the shore, but getting married in Egg Harbor City at the Blue Heron Pines. $90 a head, buffet style, open bar, dessert room, cake included. So you definitely have to really do your research!! Trust me I feel your pain. I'm broke here too. With everything included (DJ, photographer, videographer, and florist) its gonna cost us roughly $20,000!

Hey girlfriend! Like everyone else said, we have all been there. What part of new jersey are you from? Im from Cherry Hill, NJ and we booked at the Madison in Riverside, NJ and they are very reasonable and A LOT is included. Try to find venues that are within your budget and offer the most amount of things (bridal suite, event coordinator, cake, some decorations, etc.) It can get veryyyy overwhelming so just take it one step at a time. I must say, this website has helped me tremendously!

View Quoted Comment I am in the Trenton area and we booked the Madison in Riverside, NJ too! It’s so beautiful with fireplaces and stonework and it was the cheapest I found in the area that had everything we were looking for! Jenny I would first ask yourself if you are the type of person who can be a DIY bride. I know from friends and family that a lot of stress comes with the (sometimes) savings because there is a lot more pressure because of the hands on details. For me I know I couldn’t handle that so I looked for an “all inclusive” venue that has food, alcohol, cake, event coordinator and even a decor closet! Plus it’s already beautiful so that cuts down on how much decor we will actually need. The best advice I have been given is to figure out the top three things that are most important to you and your fiancé and then go cheap/cost effective on everything else. Hope that helps a little, don’t worry you’re not alone and we are all stressed too!

If your date is flexible many places offer a discount for Thursday weddings

We crossed the boarder from NJ to PA (we are in the Freehold area) we found a beautiful DIY barn and did everything ourselves. We had two food trucks for 130 people that served for 6 full hours so people could eat whenever they wanted. Our budget was 12k and we hit around 13k after all said and done including gifts but not including honeymoon.