Where do i Start

Welcome to Wedding Wire. Usually a more formal wedding will be more costly because the host is responsible for higher level of service and guest experience. But, good news there are many different ways to throw a nice wedding with considerate guest experience. With your partner, ask each other what type of vibe and size of wedding you both want. Then come up with a list of must haves and like to haves to determine your budget.


Often the larger guest size the more expensive so if you want to trim costs, have fewer guests. No one wants to throw an event where you run out of food or chairs and people leave early. So start with guest list first, research prices, and determine your budget. Best wishes.

A cheap formal wedding is a difficult ask. The best way to do this would be to seriously cut the guest list, so that only the most important people are there with you. The first place to start with any wedding planning is budget. You'll need to work that out first then figure out how many guests you can afford to host in a formal way.

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Start with your venue because you can cut costs from time to time by bundling your venue and catering or other services. Also do not be afraid to DIY things like decor because there are plenty of good ideas on Pinterest that you can do right from dollar tree.

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Unfortunately, these things are usually a contradiction in terms. A formal, or black tie wedding is about more than just a dress code. It usually means an elevated, luxury experience that starts after 6 pm, indoor upscale venue with dramatic decor, plated white glove service, extra servers, full open bar, valet parking, live music, lavish cocktail spread etc. etc.


A wedding does not have to be formal to be absolutely beautiful, of course. If, by formal you just mean traditional wedding that’s a different story.

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If you are asking how you can do a wedding ceremony and reception on a really small budget but still meeting some level of obligation to the guests, you can do a wedding ceremony around 1pm with a cake and punch reception lasting until 5pm. The time of the event avoids an expectation of a meal but still gives time to visit with your guests and allows a bit of a celebration.

If you do a Sunday wedding at 11am to 5pm, for example, you would have lower costs for a ceremony and brunch type wedding event. Since the time crosses a typical meal time, you would be needing to feed your guests. So you can work around some of these concepts to determine how to do your wedding event. Just figure out the venue, guest count and budget to decide what style of celebration you can do.

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