Want to have a wedding but can't afford it

Now Bethie - let's not throw immediate gratification out the window. You can always max out credit cards, take out loans or demand others gift you cash. That's what I do.

OKD: You spent your million dollar budget already?! Goes quickly, doesn't it?

Has anyone ever told posters like this one that one doesn't always get what they want?

Oh, here we go again! Let the snarky remarks begin! Yesterday's thread was so much fun, I had to laugh on the inside to not arouse suspicion from my co-workers!

Im sorry but I create my bio last year thinking I planning to be married august 2015 but it didn't happen so that is something I need to change in my profile.

Like many others have said, have a small wedding. Its really the truth. Its quality over quantity.

If your able, host at your local party room, or town hall which gives residents discounts. (Our local fire station has a huge party room that can be rented for $150 for the entire day.) -you can Bring your own booze/food.-

Check your local grocery store caterers in our area they started packages at $13pp up to $20pp.

Use a i pod for music, try sams club/costco for flowers or even a florist that can provide you with beautiful flowers in your budget.

Weddings can be beautiful and inexpensive. We had under 20 guests, and had a blast.

I too am a bride on a budget. We have had a 3 year engagement and every year the wedding didn't come, I started to feel discouraged. We finally got things set in motion this October and marry October of next year.

Think of the long wait as a blessing. This gives you time to REALLY think about how you'd like your ceremony and reception to look. I spent 3 years brain storming and well, I'll tell you what, we started planning in October (1.5 months ago) and I have the reception, DJ, and photographer booked. I have already purchased my dress, sent out invites, made our cake stand, have the seating chart mapped out based on "if this person shows up", created my wedding website, started a registry, created a menu, created a grocery list, picked out the song list, got my jewelry (made myself), and have the rough draft for my vows. All of this was possible because I had that 3 year waiting period.

Ways to save money:

Ceremony in your local park.

See if the park has a picnic area or indoor facility for a reception. (these facilities are usually very inexpensive.)

Don't rent your linens. I have come to find that linen rental companies charge around 3x the actual cost they paid for the linen itself, for large linens, and charge "at cost" to buy on smaller linens. It's a total joke. I talked to 2 different rental companies and the minimum it would have cost me was $500 for 10 table clothes, runners, and an alter drape. I found 12 table clothes and runners, and plastic flatware for $115 online. I found an alter drape for $85. $195 versus $500(minimum), I will take it!

Invitations were done online. I collected everyone's email addresses. Create a wedding website on theknot . com so you can set up all the information and your guests can RSVP on the wedding website. It has a bunch of neat little features. Lets be honest, it really isn't worth to spend $100+ on invitations or RSVP or Save the Date cards when they just end up in the trash. If you send them online, those who want the invitation as a keepsake, can print it off.

Thrift stores and up-cycling can be your best friend and saving grace. I have a 1/2 tattoo I want to cover. I needed a bolero. I could not find one I like that matched our theme, my dress, or our budget. The one I really liked was $85. I up-cycled a thick cotton button up jacket I found at a thrift store for $4.

Hardware stores can also be your DIY saving grace. I wanted a cake stand. I found some really cute wooden box ones and a metal vintage style one. All of them were $50 each. Instead of shelling out $50, I went to the hardware store and bought the wood, screws and stain for $15. Now I have what I want.

Cater your own wedding. Pasta is extremely inexpensive to make and can be made in mass quantities with little effort. Chicken is another inexpensive option as well. We are feeding 100 people at our wedding. Caterer would have cost $1400. Instead, I am making sun-dried tomato chicken over a bed of penne pasta and sun dried tomato alfredo sauce. There will also be steak medallions in Marsala sauce, mashed potatoes, long cut green beans, and dinner rolls. I anticipate to cater my own wedding for $500. The next option you have is to have a potluck. Have everyone bring a small dish of food.

Friends can be an important resource. If you have a friend with a couple of nice speakers and a subwoffer and an mp3 player, you essentially have a DJ. Just create your song list and upload it to the mp3 player and do a run through with the friend a few times, going over the order of the songs.

If photography and capturing the memory is important to you, I would not skimp. Ask to see portfolios and discuss prices. Do not commit right away. Shop around and make sure you are getting the best value for the quality.

Cake. How many slices do you need? Most places charge per slice. Depending on the amount of guests, it can start to get pretty pricey. You can either go with a grocery store cake or you can make your own cupcakes for cheap. Generally, for what you pay for a box of cake mix and icing, you will pay a baker/decorator for 1 - 1" wide slice of cake. So you really just have to figure out if making all those cupcakes would be worth the extra stress.

Make your bridesmaids pay for their own attire. However, if you do this, do not select something more than $70-$80. Remember your bridesmaids might be on a budget too.

Floral. You can find some nice floral arrangements online for cheap. You can also order them offline by the stem for cheap and do your own arrangements.

BYOB.

See if there are members of the family willing to help out financially as a wedding gift.

Any move or decision you make, ask yourself if there is a way to cut corners without cutting quality. Can it be handmade? PRICE SHOP LIKE A MOFO.

Best of luck to you fellow bride on a budget.

Self-catering for over 100 people? Here we go...

@Mandy please tell me that novel was a complete joke??? Did you seriously just tell her to make her own dinner, dessert, borrow someone else's boombox, and have her guests bring their own alcohol

Your 100 guests are going to be freaking pissed off at you and fall ill from your bad pasta.

Not that I think this is real. But you will not be able to self cater for that many people for $500. The steak alone for that many people will cost you about $200-$250. I swear I don't know when that last time some of you went grocery shopping.

BYOB!!!!!!!!!!!!!! that is the best thing I have ever heard.. On a whole other level now.

You're not special. All of us have budgets- and all of us have to figure out how to spend our money in a way that makes sense for our budgets.

If that means 500$ or 500,000$- the premise is the same- pick what's most important and what gets you married- then work from there.

Mandy can't be real. Calling shenanigans on that shit. #flagontheplay

Self-catering, potluck wedding, putting your friends to work, and BYOB all in one post? Why stop there? They can bring their own chairs too so you don't have to rent them. Or why feed them a nice meal at all? I hear hotdogs and water go over very well.

I feel like if you're REALLY going that far- just invite yourself to someone ELSE"s party- and do it there... don't just set the bar low- set it on the ground and walk around it.

Sell tickets. Problem solved. If they want to see you get married badly enough they'll pay for that privilege

I can't wait to see Mandy's BAM and hear about how much her guests enjoyed bringing a dish to pass and providing their own booze. You should ask them to bring their own chairs too.

Is this a freaking joke? How do you afford a wedding? You save money. Wtf? What kind of question is this? You're an adult, learn how to cut expenses and save money. I can't even with this.

Save money - between the 2 of you working full time jobs, saving $5,000 really shouldn't take that long. If you each save just $100 per paycheck, in a year you will have $5,000.

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