I think if your family or your partners family are from abroad or way out of state/province, its almost impossible to ask them to spend the $$ traveling & then make it a potluck. I think its risky thinking of a wedding being zero budget, because there is no way not to spend some money on it, even if youre doing everything at home. For brides, however, rental is usually not an option but there are ways to save money and still look fabulous on your wedding day. We decided to buy a family register for 20 , which was optional, and if both of us wouldve lived in the city in which we got married, it would have been 6 Euro less. Youll still be just as married at the end of the day. Weekends may be the popular time slots for weddings, but they cost a lot more. One important consideration is that booking well in advance can help provide planning time, give you time to save up for big-ticket items, and allow you to lock in the best rates for photographers, caterers, and other professionals. A potluck would also be a great idea. Anyways, thanks OBB for once again opening my eyes a little wider. Real weddings for people who have "zero money" - Offbeat Wed (was So were hoping the whole total will be well under $1000. We have been struggling with all of these issues & then a lot of comments from family & friends as we try to stay on budget, staying true to ourselves & to our budget. This is such a great resource! Money is such a weird thing. In our area the normal wedding budget is usually 25k-35k (at least according to google and other married couples we know) so we felt like major champions coming in so far under that. I just got married two weeks ago in a similar boat. Invitations: $50, DIY. Anyone done anything fun & funky (& budget) for outdoor lighting? Test our free app. You have come to the right place. Flowers: $0 for wildflowers you picked for a bridal bouquet, bridesmaids bouquets, and boutonnieres They directed us to their fb page and the photos were terrible. This helps you determine how much you can afford to spend on your wedding to make a budget rooted in what you can realistically afford. I got married at the local park that we paid 40 to rent the shelter and it was on top of a hill with a beautiful view of the city area. Wedding Planner: $4,000 for a full-service planner Guests grabbed a snack and found spots to sit wherever including on the stairs and just chatted while watching the rain outside there were no formal speeches, dances, throwing of things. In Sweden its free to get married in the cityhall If you want to get married somewhere else you pay an travelingfee that I dont think is high. All you need is a good home printer and an invitation kit from a stationary shop or an office supply store. This has to be part of your lease plan when it comes to your couples. Id guestimate around 400-500 dollars total. Since you already have that covered, the next thing that usually costs a lot is food. It was a fantastic day . You can also honor a family member by wearing their wedding dress. Photography: $2,000 I would have ended up worrying about pulling all that off smoothly and would have been disappointed if something hadnt been right. 3. We can do this. Flowers and decorations: $50 for a dozen roses When you picture your wedding, what do you see? Maybe youre willing to splurge on photos, but flowers dont really matter to you. How to Plan a Wedding Without Breaking the Bank, Talking about finances with your partner can be tough, There are a ton of great templates out there, Party on a Budget: Ideas to Plan Your Event Without Breaking the Bank, Marriage and Finances: 7 Things You Need to Know, The Love and Money Checklist: 7 Financial Questions to Ask your Significant Other. When I say budget here, Im not just talking about how much money you can spend totalIm talking about how much you should spend in each specific area. We paied all drinks from the rest and threw out a daring sum of 80 EUR on a fancy hotel room for the night after. Wedding rings (Photo:sorce_photography) The talk about weddings is a very tricky and highly relative one. Took 15 minutes to fill out a form, wrote a check for $60, and away we went! It required a bit of planning; they instructed guests to bring an appetizer, entree, vegetarian option, or dessert but it worked. Though wedding vows often include for richer or for poorer, going deep into debt to finance your wedding can add stress to your relationship. To save money on your wedding, you may want to host a smaller, more intimate affair. As a lot of posters mentioned, the most expensive thing is often the food and drink (30 people cost us 1900/$2150 to feed and water) so a pot luck sounds like an excellent idea for your wedding. Dessert: $400 for a cake 75% of weddings being 30K and under makes *way* more sense than the average wedding is 30-40K statistic Ive been hearing for years. We got married for about $2,100 TOTALincluding rings, clothes, and honeymoon. We didnt have 5500 in one lump sum as soon as we got engaged but we only had to cover deposits to begin with (i.e. Rings = $1,100 skipping out on an entire catered meal will help though, and having a potluck wedding would do tremendous things to lower cost, if you feel comfortable doing that. Join forces with your families to draft a menu and buy food and supplies at a wholesale store. Anyone have success renting a marquee/big tent for a reasonable price? Venue, Catering, Cake, and Rentals: 50% of total wedding budget. In the UK you can actually get married a little bit cheaper than this, if you opt for no more than 4 guests. Once youve got an idea of your total budget, you can estimate how much you can spend for each part of the wedding. We scheduled time with a court-provided officiantin my county you can make appointments and the people arent technically at the courthouse but in offices near it. We bought random white tablecloths at thrift stores. It's a lot of you. LEARN MORE. How To Plan a Beautiful Wedding on a $5000 Budget Wedfuly How to Plan a Wedding Under $10k: A Brief Intro. Then, make a household budget listing your household income and expenses. If there were *enough* local people willing to bring food it may cover out-of-towners as well At our reception (a week later than the wedding) we fed 200 people for less than 2000 by hiring a festival caterer (bbq food: chicken legs/wings, vegetable skewers, little roast potatoes that sort of thing) Im not sure that its possible to do it cheaper that without calling in favours! Learn how! So thats 5500 between two of us spread over a year (depends on the length of your engagement of course!) Take those surprises into consideration by putting in a little bit of cushion. After we spent about 350 EUR on wedding location and app. I know from the our reader survey exactly how many of you are trying to plan economical weddings with budgets under $10k (or $5k or $2k). You can also trim your guest list to make a smaller venue work or to afford a more luxurious venue than you would otherwise; this is an easy way to cut your budget in other areas. Invitations: $200 from Etsy, Church Ceremony With Ballroom Reception Blowout. Planning the Ceremony & Reception. In addition, this is one of those things where the mean is not the most useful/representative of numbers; a small number of very large budget weddings really drive up the average. On top of that it takes even longerwhen u have to wait for the person to be able to come over so yiu can fit them, which needs to be done a few times. No matter how much you plan to spend on your special day, the principles of your wedding remain the same. Another thing about leasing when you start a wedding venue is you need to keep an eye on how you're accepting payments. Serve guests slices from a sheet cake you bought at the grocery store. Got married for about $1500 total. Create yours today with EveryDollar. This will help you make educated decisions on whether its wise to go into more debt to pay for a wedding or how much you can afford to spend while still paying down the existing debt you have. Planning a wedding with no money | Weddings, Planning | Wedding Forums The photographs shown were also not really to our taste (one had the grooms head up the dress and looked like he was going down on her, another had her dress flipped up and looked like they were going at it doggy style. 6. Eligibility for personal loans up to $50,000 depends on the information provided by the applicantin the application form. She does photography in her spare time so I lucked out. And another is a purchaser for a wine company so hes getting us a discount & also doing our wine & food pairing for us. 35 guest, our kids, immediate family and 5 friends! And my wedding took place in 2009 so the cost has not changed much since. Basically, forget everything you know about weddings and do what works for you. I did, however, buy a dress knowing that would take the longest to get and have altered. If you have friends and family members with creative or organizational skill sets, ask them to use their talent at the wedding in lieu of a gift. The couple doesnt have to deal with a registry, the guests dont have to awkwardly guestimate how much money to place in a little envelope (cf. We used that for the reception at no cost. Wedding Planner: 10% Once youve found one who seems like a keeper, scour the internet for online reviews just to be sure youve picked a winner. In this article we will look at how you can plan an incredible wedding for $5000 and not feel like you are missing out any of the magic or the celebration. First things first: Give your budget a little breathing room. 2. The typical couple spends about 7% of their wedding budget on wedding rings and wedding bands. Angles werent nice/flattering, lighting (even natural) wasnt chosen at the right angle. Wedding Planner or Venue Coordinator: $0, included with venue Catering is another big-ticket item, comprising 23% of a typical wedding budget. 15-20 of our nearest and dearest can show up for free. I dont think its been mentioned yet in the replies but an important thing to remember is that the cost can be spread out over time you dont necessarily have to pay for everything up front. These same court-provided people could also offered to meet you at a location. Buy flowers in bulk from a wholesaler and keep . Through her shows, books, syndicated columns and speaking events, Rachel shares fun, practical ways to take control of your money and create a life you love. http://offbeatwed.com/2014/03/massachusetts-surprise-wedding. Most grooms rent their tuxedoes. Black Gothic Off The Shoulder Wedding Dress with Puff Sleeves. The answer for busy couples? You might feel tempted to come up with a guest list as long as the royal weddings, but think of it this way: Every guest is an expense. You're not going to win anything around here that way. we also got a few party trays and some soda, other drinks for under 100 as well. One common budget-draining move is to book the hottest photographer youve seen on Instagram or TikTok, when there are lesser-known photographer out there who are just as talented at a fraction of the price. How to Pay for a Wedding With No Money: 5 Ways to Plan an Exquisite