Trying to plan a wedding under $5000... Help!

I have done two weddings on a lower budget ($5000 and $6500). How many people are you inviting/expecting?

My Wedding will cost $ 5000.. and that includes Dress, Ceremony and Reception for 60 people. You just have to shop around .. and do a lot yourself ( such as the decorations, Centerpieces,Bridal Party presents, etc)
Here is a rundown of my Wedding cost:
Dress and Shoes : $120 ( found online at a great price)
Officiant: $250
Venue: $500
Reception incl.
Cocktails and
Dinner: $2300
DJ for 4 hours:

$400
Photographer: FREE ( I have a very good camera and
my Sister in Law offered to
take the pictures)
Cake: $150
Decorations,
Presents,Favors: $200 ( all handmade)
------
$3970.00

Which leaves $1000.00 for any extras you may want

This can definitely be done! As Ellen stated, you have to do a lot yourself to cut costs, but its worth it. Doing ceremony and reception at my parents house to cut venue costs. They have a beautiful yard and garden so its the perfect scenery but I've heard some ppl say at a park which will also cut costs. About 40 guests. Cocktail reception instead of sit down dinner. Cupcakes @ $2.50/pp instead of cake which is closer to $6/pp. Signature cocktails and wine to cut liquor costs. Making centerpieces and bouquets/boutineers. Family member doing photos. Bff is doing hair and makeup. So far we're @ $3500 including my $600 dress. It can be done. You just have to be diligent, shop around, and have a strict, detailed budget. Good luck and happy planning!

Check with the local comunity colleges for venues and catering it's student working your weding so it's cheap. I found one that is above expectations I'm getting food, sheet cakes, decorations, lighting, ceremony(out door) and reception(indoor), av equitment, set up and teardown and a wedding planner all for under 3000. Got a dress on sale at Davids Bridal for 300.I am doing Payless Dyables for shoes. Costco for flowers. Friends doing hair and makeup, as well as Photography. And getting a friend ordained to officiate for us. Using Evites instead of mailing them out(cost effective and environment friendly!)With getting new make up, hair supplies, buying my daugters flowergirl stuff DJ/musicians and presents I'm planning on giving the wedding Party fiance, and parents. Right now I'm coming in a little over 2300 under my budget.Which is about 7,500. Hoping to stay under budget so we can use the extra for a honey moon. But if you get creative you can do it and still have a beautiful day!

Hi Mary and welcome to WW!

You'll find plenty of useful advice here on how to cut your cost. First cut your guest list, that's the biggest trigger of expenses. How about a Friday or a Sunday wedding? Most vendors give discounts for those days. How about having a brunch reception?

I would advise you against using friends to do wedding related services. Hire a professional photographer for a couple of hours and with a basic package. If something goes wrong, it will be very difficult to resolve it with friends.

Good luck! Also, could you please change your avatar under your profile to anything other than a salt and pepper shaker?

Thank you guys for the ideas. I think my hardest thing right now is finding the venue for under 1000. My parents were able to buy my dress before we decided to push the date back. So im just trying to get opinions on wedding venues in orlando

There is a bride here named Cydney who lives in Colorado. I'm sure we have many other Colorado brides, but none come to mind right now. If she hears of your troubles, and knows you are in here neck of the woods, I'm sure she will have some suggestions for you. Read the boards--there are so many brides here that have done amazing DIY projects to make their wedding beautiful. And for cheap printed materials to make your wedding look all come together, you just can't beat Vista Print. Get creative with your venue, an old school or church, an empty warehouse, anything can be great for a wedding with some creativity! Good luck and welcome. Let's see a picture so we can remember you!!! :-)

Another option is to do what is commonly called a "cake and punch" reception. For my FW and I, we are mkaing sure to have filling appetizers. We are looking comfortably to feed 120 people with $800.00. At first I was against the idea but after realizing what we both wanted from our reception I ate some humble pie.

If you are going to tackle anything DIY, Michael's gives 40%-50% off coupons valid for the next week with any purchase.

Colorado? I thought OP is in FL?

Cut the guest list.

Holy Crap! Time for new glasses. I was sure you wrote Colorado. Oh well, Cydney will still be helpful. LOL. What a maroon--sorry.

What about the Harry P Leu Gardens? Looks like they rent at $750 through Orlando Parks & Rec. I'd definitely look into either parks of fireman's halls, etc.

Julie, please put that wine glass down before you go back to the dress lol. Last time I saw it it was gorgeous! Speaking of which, where is the update?

Shoot my daughter Cate B a pm. She lives in the Orlando area. She may be able lto suggest something.

Julie...You started drinking early tonight. : )

We did our wedding for around $3,000. It is possible, you just have to think simple and outside the box. We had our wedding at a restaurant not normally known for doing weddings, we did a luncheon, and we had 30 guests. I managed to secure a great photographer off of Craigslist. Our officiant was a pastor who was a friend of my mother's pastor. My mother knew a woman who bakes a mean cake!

Big tip? Stay away from anything that is typically "wedding related." You end up paying more. Look at restaurants and city/count parks. Draw on friends and family for contacts. You may just be surprised. I know I was!

What seems to be so expensive is the catering! But Celia is right, cut the guest list. We are only going to invite just 75 people, we are at a $5,000 budget as well, so we are doing good... We do have a little extra just in case, but I stand firm on that guest list...

I really appreciate the help ladies. We want 75 guests but I'm willing to cut down to 50 if necessary. We haven't looked at Leu Gardens yet, we are trying to go this weekend and check it out!

I helped my BFF plan her wedding for $5000. It's doable but you have to think economically and reasonably. You may have to do a lot of DiY projects. WW is such a great resource and many of us are all full of great money saving ideas. Hayley is the VistaPrint queen and I'm always open to help think of creative unique and budget friendly ideas.

Welcome to WW. We're happy you're here!!

Just FYI... My BFF had the exact same amount of guests you want to have at your wedding...75

Check out local parks. It only cost me $1 to rent mine for the entire day....not sure what they cost in other places.

Also, the lady doing our rentals told me she was seeing more and more brides having cake and punch receptions. She said they usually have finger sandwiches, cake and punch. lol. It also might would make your guest list more affordable. I don't know how important the guest list is to you but it is very important to us and it was hard to make cuts even if I personally thought they weren't someone that needed to be invited.

Make Vista Print your best friend. I got 200 save the dates, 48 seals (still need to order some), 1 Bride Tshirt, 1 Bride Hat, 1 Groom Hat, 1 Father of the Groom Hat, 1 Bride Tote Bag, and 20 Thank You's (still need more), and 3 personalized pens for under $25. I did have to place a couple different orders to get each of the items for only shipping