HELP! How can we even afford a wedding.

I'm not in Chicago but I'm having my wedding in a community center. Georgia has beautiful community centers and state parks I don't know if Chicago is the same. Also try to book the venue early in the day for a brunch wedding and reception. It may be cheaper.

Here is the baseline. You need only your officiant, your license and each other. Start from there and add as you can; a little restaurant, a few guests, a bouquet, a bout, a dress. Dont' start with 100 people in a banquet hall and then freak out at all the costs that go with that scenario. In the end, you'll be just as married, not anywhere NEAR as stressed, and not broke.

My best advise is (sadly) look elsewhere for vendors/cateresr/photographers. Meaning don't look just on sites like theknot, Weddingwire etc. Try yelp and just straight up google instead. Also look into local parks/lakes and restaurants. These places tend to be much cheaper! And keep the guest list low!!

What does "wedding" mean to you? If it's celebrating your marriage with your closest family and friends, that's pretty affordable! If it means a giant blowout party with every single family member and friend you've ever had with fancy everything, it's going to take some major funds! There's nothing at all wrong with wanting a wedding on either end of the spectrum or somewhere in the middle--just realize that you always have options!

I posted something on Facebook asking my friends if they had any recommendations for me for photographers, DJ's, or catering. I ended up booking everyone that my friends knew and it was cheaper. So my advice would be go with friends of friends or search on craiglist because they have stuff on there as well.

I'm also saving little by little. I typically put about $500 a month in savings anyway, so now that goes into the main wedding account. Then if I have anything left over when the next paycheck comes around (let's say I skip the daily starbucks and end up with a little extra-- $200, $50 whatever it may be) I'll tuck that away in another account which will end up being emergency wedding $ like for extra fees I was unaware that may pop up, hair/makeup, a piece of decor I just can't live without. Whatever it is, it'll be there in the end (hopefully).

No, why would you look on a wedding site for a wedding vendor? At least WW verifies their vendor reviews; yelp does not. Anyone can go on and post anything.

CL? Depending on your area, you'll find beginners and cut rate people who are cut rate because they have to be.

Riviera Country Club in Orland park is very affordable (and they offer a $20/plate discount January through April). Also, their prices include tax & gratuity - which can be easy to forget about when budgeting - and they're situated on a little lake that is great for photos.

I was very lucky and get the venue for free (perks of being Mormon, haha) but I know everything else can get out of hand price wise. I have used Ebay and Amazon for so much! One would think it would be a bad choice but I have only run into 1 problem, which is so good! I am very pleased with how everything is turning out. I wish you good luck! And yes, you can do it!

Thank all you ladies sososo much. Really made me feel better and gave us so many ideas to try and make our day more affordable ♡

Research is your friend. I feel like our wedding keeps getting more and more expensive regardless of what I do, but I keep fighting back. Here's my recommendation, make a list of the things you need to get married: you, your fiance, officiant. Then add on the things that to you it's not a wedding without, for us that was a chapel or church for the ceremony, our parents, siblings, and a few close relatives in attendance, and for me a dress, bouquet and cake, and some nice pictures to remember it with. Beyond that the rest is frosting on the cake, nice to have but not required. My mom is wanting a meal for the OOT guests at least so we are going to do a luncheon reception instead of the cake and punch style we were going with originally. When it comes down to it, everything else is going to be budget friendly or cut completely. If I could have a live harpist play will I? In a heartbeat, do I need to shell out an extra $1000 for it in order to be happy with my wedding? Nope, at the end of the day, so long as I am married it was a success. That is how I don't get freaked out by my microscopic budget.

Definitely take extra time to save for what you want, rather than pushing yourselves to extremes just to get it all done within a short time-frame. You'll enjoy your hard-earned wedding so much more if you AREN'T completely dead from working overtime like a maniac during the months leading up to the wedding. There are enough financial hurdles to deal with as a married couple -- you don't need to spend your entire engagement stressed over money.

We got engaged last year and chose a wedding date far enough away to save up for the same reason. we had orignially planned 5000.00 but re-estimated at about 11500 after booking the photographer and venue...we're in the same boat... we never ever dreamed of spending this much on a 1 day event. it's a little sickening if you think about it too much..lol. it's not so bad though if you plan...we put away 170.00 each, every pay..the deposits come in waves so it doesn't hurt as much when you dish it out.