what is a good budget for a wedding you are paying for yourself, have a

Peyton Pressley · #1 03-07-2007, 22:45

yr to save up and are still in college i know my family nor his family will help pay because they're too cheap, but this is a decision we have made and i want the most elegant wedding we can afford. it will be a small party attending, around 40-60 and we don't plan on having a full meal at the reception, i know the caterer, so she isn't going to charge and i know the photographer charges $400. rings aren't included in this budget. thanks so much!

duritzgirl4 · #2 03-07-2007, 23:15

I agree with the above poster - keep it under 50 guests and you can have a elegant wedding for under $5K, especially if you are willing to do a little DIY work. Try visiting theknot.com for ideas!http://www.theknot.com

googlemaniac · #3 03-07-2007, 23:25

well, here's one scenario if each of you save 50 bucks a week for the next 52 weeks, you'll have $5200 in a year. so there's some perspective for you!

Landa M · #4 03-07-2007, 23:35

Why are you having a wedding you can't afford? You should go to the justice of the peace for now and have the wedding you really want after you and your fiance are stable. You should be saving for a house for the two of you. I think that is a better investment than a wedding. A wedding is one day event and a house can last a lifetime. Think about it and good luck.

mommyoftwo728 · #5 04-07-2007, 01:13

Our wedding has 90-100 people invited and we just started planning 3 months ago and it is this month. We consider ours to be a somewhat elegant wedding and it is only costing us $2300. As long as you really look for good deals and keep things neat and simple you can have a very classy wedding without spending an arm and a leg.

christa E · #6 04-07-2007, 01:34

I just had a wedding in the beginning of June and we had 56 guests and it cost me $4,970. My budget was only 5k and we started planning it in march of this year... Yes i only had 3 Full months to plan it. Everyone loved it and if you are willing to designe it yourself and do a lot of the decorating and what not with friends and family it is defiantley possible to do for under 5k for that amount of people. I feel better about my wedding since we worked together and decorated ourself. Much better then if i would have just been like i want it to look like this, and then had nothing to do with actually creating it myself. I was less stressed becasue i knew exactly what it was going to look like and i knew it was going to be prefect because I did it myself.

Hollis G · #7 04-07-2007, 01:37

You can have your dream wedding for way under the $5000 that the other answerer's have offered. For instance: I've got my guest list down to 35 people. Try to find places that accomodate the most of your needs for one price. For example, the local aquarium here puts on georgeous weddings and receptions. They offer everything for a flat fee per person (food, tables/chairs, admission the facility, set up and clean up). If you don't mind having silk flowers, you can make your bouquet and other flowers. Check out local craft stores for center pieces, invitations you can print yourself, your thank you cards, and any other items you can do yourself. And keep in mind that a of craft stores offer craft classes if you aren't the most crafty. Keep your money for your must haves--for instance that photographer you have to have, or the cake you dream of. Price the places your interested in and see if you can get prices in writing. Show the different locations you are thinking about the prices you've been offered somewhere else. They may be more than happy to accomodate you at the price of the "other guys". Other than the cost of my photographer, our wedding and reception is going to cost us under $2300. It can be done!

Australia · #8 04-07-2007, 04:05

I would base it on around 10,000 or defiantly less. That's $96.00 bucks each a week.I am having 100 people, Traveling from New Zealand to Australia, honeymoon, flights, dress, 4 bridesmaids 4 grooms, paying for all dresses, suits, food, ceremony, photographer.All for exactly 10,000.I bargained every thing down.Everything is negotiable. We saved $1,000 alone by using our own choccy mud cake (wedding cake) for dessert instead of the venue caterers supplying us one.Good luck x

bluflowr · #9 04-07-2007, 06:31

you need to sit down and budget your bills and your wedding it does not matter how much you pay you can do a wedding on a small amount and make it a great one just remember that is the start of your new life and you do not want to have to pay for it the rest of your life it could just became to much and put and strain in your marrage and you do not need that . just have fun with it and remember it is your day

Shaina W · #10 04-07-2007, 07:18

I have 100 guests attending my wedding and I have a SMALL budget, I cut corners by making the centerpieces myself out of fancy jars with colored water and floating candles in them. The DJ and the photographer are expensive on the $500 range. My budget is around $2000 and I am doing well. My hall was around $300 and we are getting a keg instead of open bar. We are borrowing chairs from my old high school (since I am now friends with a couple teachers) and we are getting married at the park that we had our first date at (he also proposed to me there). It is possible to have a lower budget than $5,000 you just have to cut corners and be crafty. If you need any other tips, let me know.

tinkstales · #11 04-07-2007, 07:35

At least 5,000. but you could try to save between 5,000-10,000 so you can have a really nice wedding. good luck.

mrsmatchniff · #12 04-07-2007, 07:56

Hey Listen. I am in college full time too. My fiance is well off though. My family is paying for my wedding too. However, I wish I would have put this on a house instead of catering to everyone else but yourself.!! Take the saved up cash, take a nice honeymoon and get married via destination of choice and put the rest for your future home. People will compare your wedding to a nicer one they attended recently and you will keep thinking this the whole time. My friend Alli said the same when she did what you were thinking of doing.

booboo · #13 04-07-2007, 08:15

Hmm... I don't know what to say. I was reading the answers and I am shocked. We have spent 30k on hour 130persons wedding. And that was the cheapest one I got quotes in LA. I am surprised with ur photographer, catch him tight, mine asked $ 2k for a 2 hours session. What I was really happy for was the reception hall and the caterer $ 35 per person including a gorgeous hallTrust me i had a VERY modest weddingI made favors by myself, the cake was made by a friend of mine, and we didn't go to honeymoon. But i would rather spent that money to buy a house but not the wedding. It was an obligation to do that, so we did.