Wedding under $3,000?

It sounds like you have realistic expectations of what you can afford for your budget. As you said, cake and drinks (cake and punch receptions) is definitely the way to go for 50 people on a 3k budget. My only suggestion would be to make sure you're not having the reception at night or right at lunch time when people would expect a meal. So either 10-11am (where you could potentially incorporate light brunch food) or 2-4pm. Congrats and good luck!

It seems like a do-able plan after reading what the other girls wrote. I wish I could have done more project and research and been able to keep my costs down like that.

I had a backyard wedding with 50 guests for $4k including my dress and DH's suit. I am lucky that my aunt and uncle have a property large enough to accommodate this. Our biggest expense was food (approx. $1300 and the chef was my brother-in-law). I got all the flowers for my bouquet, FG's bouquet (no other BP), and my centerpieces from a local farm stand that charged $10/lb to cut your own flowers. My $$ saving suggestions would be - cut out the BP or have a very small one, it saves time, $ and headache. Go minimal on decor (probably don't need any if you find a pretty park). Skip STDs, programs, lots of signage, and fancy invites. I bought pretty blank cards from Target ($21 for 30) and printed the inside on my home printer. My RSVPs were online on my website. FInally, if you do a community center, see if you can buy your own alcohol. We bought more beer and wine than we needed for 50 people for around $350.

Look into the Grandison Inn bed & breakfast in OKC. I've attended a small intimate wedding there and it was so beautiful. The couple said their vows under a beautiful willow tree. I'm not sure exactly what their budget was, so I can't make any guarantees, but I do know that it was a smaller budget. Might be worth checking out!

Check out the Chisolm Park gazebos in Yukon, they are beautiful and a lot of areas for photos down there. We are considering having our reception there once we return from our destination wedding, and just pulling out the grill and BBQ'ing and having a DJ for everybody to dance the night away!

Not sure if you've figured out your location yet. Our wedding is turning out to be around 6k but there are definitely things that could be cut out.

DJ / Open Bar & Bartender / Wedding Planner / Linens - We got a packaged deal for $2050 for 50 people through a company that basically does it all lol

Caterer - This was important to us so we went with one of the top caterers from Brides Of Ok magazine. Prices change based on season and availability so everyone's rate is different but we have heavy appetizers with a mac and cheese bar for around $1100 due pre wedding and around $400 due post wedding for service and cleanup

We are using a friend that is a professional wedding photographer so that is - $1200

Our venue is Ed Lycan Conservatory - $300 for the first 3 hours and $100 an hour after that. It includes tables and chairs

I budgeted $1250 for flowers and decorations which we are doing ourselves

An open bar and planner are things that I wanted but definitely brought the cost way up. If you look for places that let you do self serve alcohol then it definitely cuts down on cost. I know Thunderbird Chapel lets you do that. Places that include things like tables and chairs with venue rental are wayyy cheaper. Also a lot of vendors do discounted rates at Bridal Shows so I would check that out too. Hope some of this helps