Savings and fundraising

I don't agree with fundraising/asking people to donate to pay for your wedding, and it's probably giving your friends/family members on social media a bad vibe. If you can't afford the wedding you want to have but want to be married by the end of the year, eloping is very affordable. You can always have a bigger celebration as a vow renewal in a couple years once you've saved up the money.

I also would strongly advise against draining your savings to pay for a wedding. I would either postpone the wedding until you can afford it or have a very minimalist ceremony/reception if possible.

You could each get part-time jobs.

Get a second job. Cut unnecessary things like cable, gym memberships, daily Starbucks runs, etc. Fundraising is for charities, in which your wedding is not. You can get married at the courthouse for very cheap, the rest of the typical marriage celebration is a luxury.

Something I found helpful was putting money on the side every week. I set up our bank account to take money every Friday and transfer to savings. Is like money I never saw or had so it didn’t hurt me. Something else that help me was planning ahead of time. So I saved all the items I wanted to purchase on Etsy and every time there was a sell I’ll get a notification and purchase. Throughout the whole year and a half of planning this saved us a lot.

I don’t think fundraising is appropriate for a wedding. If you can’t afford it you can simply go to court and sign papers. If you want a simple small ceremony and dinner at a restaurant I don’t foresee a wedding more than $3000. Ceremony at beach, park are usually free. You can also have it at your local church with a small donation. You can pick a small local restaurant without decor. This can be around $15 to $25 a plate and with a guest count of max 50 that’s less than $1300.

A great option to have some extra income is getting a second job. Uber, Lyft, Uber Eats, a small part time side job can be of great help.

Good luck!

View Quoted Comment Well, we don't actually have a date for the wedding and we would actually like to make it as minimalist as possible. Our biggest matter at this moment is the money, cause we actually have everything set up, photography, placement, bride's gown, tuxido, everything. I just want to get all the help necessary so the ceremony can take place.

View Quoted Comment I can say I don't have unnecesary memberships and loans and stuff like that. I could go to a courthouse, but I want the wedding to be more self made, meaning decoration and planning by myself.

View Quoted Comment Thank you for the useful recomendations and not scolding me on the comments. I'll look up the Etsy idea, I liked it. Have a nice day!!

View Quoted Comment Then you will have to wait until you can afford, on your own, to do it that way. You’re not entitled to financial assistance just because you decided to
throw a party.

A wedding is not a charity which is why you arent getting any "donations". Either have a private ceremony that you can afford or delay and save. I would never in a million years contribute to a wedding fundraiser unless it was someone with a terminal illness or such.

With the influx of unnecessary fundraisers I think that you're probably not going to get a lot of help that way. Get a second job, do door dashing, there's lots of things you can do. Asking people for money isn't the way to do it. Little elopement chapels all over can get things done in a nice way for under $500. Some include photography and whatnot. You can't have everything "set up" if you don't have a way to pay for it. You throw the wedding you can afford. I can tell you we're doing something small and simple for under $1,000 minus rings and honeymoon. It's completely possible without draining your savings.

I did a side job to save up

I'd let go of the fundraisers and look into a part-time job for extra cash

We are each putting money to the side each week from our paychecks and then I have a savings account that has to have a direct deposit into it a minimum of $25 every month. So that’s an extra savings I’m already forgetting about . Also meal prep is a good idea, take a lunch with you everyday to work and breakfast if you have to, don’t eat out as often.

Unfortunately, people will tell you, including myself, that asking people to donate or fundraiser to pay for your wedding is a bad idea. You can’t expect people to do that. Most people have this idea that it’s your wedding so, you should cover it. You can easily ask your parents and in-laws. That’s more common than fundraising ideas. Second jobs; staying strict to budgets; doing something more reasonably in your budget or waiting till you have enough funds is best. I wish you the best!

Second job/side hustles. Fundraising is just, no. My side hustle is doing various bank deals, I follow Doctor of Credit and Maximizing money. Earn 2-4k a year. AND figure out how to get card signups for miles and points to travel (honey moooon!)

Why do you think people either would or should donate for your wedding?

As multiple other posters said, fundraising just isn’t the way to go and please don’t drain your savings. Although the actual wedding day and everything that goes with it means so much to every bride, the actual vows and marriage is the most important part. It’s not worth it to drain your entire savings for an optional party and it’s completely inappropriate to “fundraise” in hopes that others will pay. Please don’t ask your friends to share/post your fundraising efforts - I would be so uncomfortable with that and I’m sure they may be as well. Like others said, set aside little bits of money each paycheck, find a part time job, or have something super simple now (again, it’s the act of marriage that counts) and have a vow renewal years down the road when you can afford it. Good luck!

I agree fundraising is a bad idea . I would look for a small chapel or church where you can get married. Sometimes a midweek park/government building/museum would be the cheapest.

Look for community centers or an ELK lodge to see if they have anything cheap. Where are you from maybe I can help you. And a second job isn't the worse idea maybe uber because its on your time. Or look into work at home but one of you guys getting a 2nd job isn't the end of life whatever is made goes to wedding I would plan wedding 1year out so you have enough $$.

My fiancé and I are really low on budget as well. So, we’re getting married almost two years after the proposal and we’ve been saving up money since. We’re also doing it at a VFW post. Very cheap, and very affordable. I know it wasn’t an option for me, but you could even do it in your backyard if space permits.

View Quoted Comment So, you're saying that a wedding is some kind of party. If not, then I don't know what are you talking about because I don't want a reception. Stop skolding people just because they ask for help and you think you're some king of hero.