Low budget wedding

There was a budget breakdown where lots of brides listed their budgets in the last week or so. I'd search the forums for that. I'm not from your area and don't have much advice, but I do have encouragement. I think you can do it because lots of other ladies have managed to do it as well. I'd really start by looking at the guest list though.

200 people? you absolutely can cut your guest list.

Cut your guest list.

What do you mean by tri-state area? We cant see what region you posted in.

List of people's budget breakdowns:

https://www.weddingwire.com/wedding-forums/budget-breakdown/a1d94508a30f02ad.html

And everyone can cut their guest list. You can, you just choose not to. Trust me, I cut mine from 150 to 15. It's doable.

BYO alcohol? That doesn't sound good.

A. It would help if we knew your location.

B. You can always cut your guest list. Always.

C. Don't tell us how to respond.

20 K for 200 people is not realistic unless you're looking at big empty warehouses and BBQ 25$/person catering.

I mean unless your immediate family is 200, you can cut the guest list.

Have you tried the vendors tab on the WW page? (No snark, serious question.)

Cut your guest list in half.

It's definitely doable on a $20k budget. All in my fiance and I have spent less than $10k for 80 people. You just need to determine what's most important to you. For example, flowers - important or not? I'm not a big flower person and I have terrible allergies. We opted for wooden rose bouquets, corsages, and boutonierres and no flowers at the reception which saved us a ton of money. We seriously spent less than $200 on flowers where some people spend $5k on flowers.

There are venues that allow you to purchase your own alcohol, but you still pay a bartender to make drinks. I hope that's what you meant by BYO alcohol, not that you're asking guests to bring their own.

If by tri-state area, you mean the NY Metro area, I think there's slim-pickings for those qualifications. Not saying it's impossible, but you could find the needle in the haystack.

I'd search the forum for the budget thread. And I'd listen to the advice about cutting your guest list. My FH and I have huge families; our original rough draft was 250, and we're down to 100 now. It's possible.

Hi, we are having ours in Erie PA and are doing stations for food, it's BYOB for the alcohol (as in we are supplying our own alcohol - NOT asking our guests) but they have the insurance and bartenders with a pp cost. Our guest list is 250. Our overall expense including everything will be right under 20k. That's including EVERYTHING. Our venue is extremely reasonable and the caterer is even more reasonable with great food. I'm not sure if you're in the Tri state area of NY PA & OH but if so, Erie is very reasonably priced!

It's totally do-able on 20k for 200. trust me, I'm doing it for less than your budget...

But you have to be REALLLLLLY good about looking for deals and thinking outside the box.

You need to ask family and friends for vendor recommendations and look at places you wouldn't think about.

Be creative and you can make it work- trust me.

^^^ I assumed it was NJ/NY/PA.

In which case 20K for 200 people is laughable.

We're having a destination wedding because of our small budget, expensive area, and large families. Because our wedding is in Cancun, we were able to invite 110 people and are only expecting 50 to attend.

So, when you're looking for a venue, if you're inviting 200 people- the venue needs to be able to hold 200 people. Do NOT look for a place that holds 170 and just hope 30 don't come. We've seen that lead to disaster.

Tri state area as in New Jersey, New York (i'll go into hudson valley but not upstate), some areas Conn & PA if it helps our price. BYO as in I'll purchase my own to supply my guests with. Thank you @losforthewin for the encouragement.

I know I have to cut my guest list, but even with cuts its still going to be at least 150, I have a big family and its really important to me that they are there.

150 people is not going to happen for $9000. That's $60/person. Maybe in rural PA, but not NJ/NY.

As for other saving tips-

Buy a lower priced dress- instead of a 3k designer gown, buy from DB or even a bridesmaid or department store dress in a shade of white.

Limit floral- we are only having bouquets, bouts, and corsages for the mothers/grandmothers. No floral decor or centerpieces.

Inclusive venues tend to save money overall and are less stress as well.

BBQ and Italian are among the cheapest catering options.

If you can bring your own alcohol, buy in bulk over the course of your engagement, not all at once.

Look at non-traditional venues for lower costs- instead of a banquet hall, look at a community center or fire hall. I found a bunch of state and local parks in my area that let you rent buildings for a whole day for less than $300.

Have a small wedding party. Fewer gift expenses, makeup/hair, fewer places at the rehearsal dinner.

Offer beer and wine instead of a full open bar.