Young couple, low budget, no guidance: Help!

In terms of financing rings, many jewelry stores offering financing plans. I would call around to see if any in your area offer financing, and what the qualifiers and rates are. Another option is purchasing through a seller online that utilizes Afterpay, Affirm or Klarna, which will allow you to make weekly or bi-weekly payments on the ring without having to pay any interest on it.

As far as a low budget, meaningful wedding, I would consider a civil ceremony at the courthouse. It's small, intimate, very cost effective and can be extremely romantic and meaningful.

You might check small local churches in the area. They would be able to do the service and provide a reception hall, although the facilities are often pretty plain. Maybe if you attend church there, they will be able to offer lower fees. Then store bakeries and florals could be used to keep costs down beyond just the basic ceremony.

Please do not go into debt for a ring or a wedding. You can buy something very affordable or wear stand in rings now, then upgrade eventually down the line. Or skip for now and just do wedding rings. But if you are very young, not financially independent, and your BF is out of work, I would put the idea of an engagement on hold until your lives are more stable and you're in a better position to get married. Do you currently live together or at home? How young is young? Are you still in school? If not, I would focus on education and a career goal so that you are in a better position to support yourself and a family.

That said, beautiful and meaningful weddings can be done at any price point. A cake and punch reception after a church service, with DIY decor, and music could be as nice as anything.

Do you have a church that you attend regularly? If so, I would talk to your minister and see how people have done it. Very often at churches there is a social room where you could serve coffee and drinks with some cake and maybe veggie platters.

I've never once seen anyone shamed for having a simple wedding, only for thinking it's OK to ask guests to open their wallets.

I agree with PP about checking with a local church, particularly if you attend a specific church, not just for the cost, but also for ceremony planning. H and I paid less than $800 for our church ceremony. That includes the fees and tips for the musicians, rental fee for the church hall, and a cash gift for our officiant. We didn't have to pay a fee for use of the church itself (which I gather is abnormal), but H and I are active members, and it's a small church in a small town. We did a lunch afterwards, so the food costs were around $2500, but if you do a cake and punch reception for a small number of people, that cost would be significantly less. The advice we got was to decide on the 3 things are most important to us, and then to prioritize those things in the budget. Definitely go ahead and start doing research on how much things cost in your area so that you can set a realistic budget.

As for the ceremony, honestly, most Western wedding traditions come from Christian tradition, but the church may have it's own "way" of doing a wedding ceremony. IMO, that makes it easier, because you don't have to come up with something from scratch. I really enjoyed that part of the planning because H and I got to talk about the parts of our faith that were meaningful to us and to talk about scripture passages and songs that reflected our faith.

There's been some great advice on here so far! My in-laws got engaged without an engagement ring, and my MIL has happily gone without for 40 years. I have a really beautiful engagement ring that I actually can't wear to work (laboratory work), so going without an engagement ring for awhile can help you figure out whether you'll still want one in the future. Sterling silver wedding bands can cost $50 usd or less from a reputable jeweler, so that's a good option to start out with.

As others have said, if you attend a specific church regularly, that can affect your overall ceremony and budget. Many churches offer free or greatly reduced use of the sanctuary for weddings, and many have function rooms that can be used for a very small fee compared to other venues. As for traditions, Christian weddings typically are considered valid with the exchange of vows and in some cases a ring (or two for a double ring ceremony). Depending on where you live, some governments will offer a discounted marriage license if you provide evidence of pre-marital counseling; again, if you are members of a church, this is sometimes something that the church provides as part of marriage preparation. A simple Christian ceremony can be very individual and meaningful if you and your fiancé pick out the scripture readings and/or any sung psalms or hymns.

When making a budget, I would add up what you absolutely need (license cost, ceremony/officiant cost, and rings), and then determine how much beyond that you can reasonably spend. Determine whom you want to invite, and then figure out what kind of food and drinks you want to/can afford to serve. Non-alcoholic punch or fruit juice is generally fairly inexpensive, and sheet cake from a grocery store or warehouse store can usually feed many for less than the cost of what "wedding cakes" cost. If you have an afternoon wedding (i.e. ceremony starts between 2 and 4 pm), it is considered perfectly acceptable to have a short reception with cake and punch. I would forgo a wedding party, as that just adds cost. For the couple's attire, I would consider wearing something you already own or something that can be worn again. A nice party dress for yourself in your favorite color gives you many more opportunities to enjoy in the future than something that is specifically "bridal." Keep in mind too that there are many websites and also some brick-and-mortar thrift stores that sell pre-owned or vintage wedding attire.

Good luck with planning!