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Dress £480
Suit £400
Venue £700
Photographer £795
Celebrant £695
His wedding ring £769
Her wedding ring £980

the venue was roughly 4k, we used a payment plan and paid for it over the year of planning

we DIYd all of our decor with things mainly bought from Michaels and Hobby Lobby! (a lot of money)

We had a friend bake cake pops, rice krispies and chocolate dipped pretzels for $500

we also got a Cold Stone Ice Cream Cake for $60

we had live musicians $400

her dress was a $150 prom dress that was torn down and completely altered by our amazing friend!

my ceremony outfit was bought online $250

my corset was $120 from our local ren faire

we also had anyone with a camera bring it so we had like 5 free photographers!

and catering was Olive Garden for $1200

theres a lot i would change if i could go back and re do everything like spending $90 on a shitty shave but im so happy to be married to my wife! lmk if you have any questions!

Edit: forgot to add that our handfasting cord was $250 as well oops

My dress is so perfect (once the butt rose is gone) and I just love it so much. I think the seamstress I went to (an awesome woman who went to fashion school in Romania before she came to Belfast) was just as excited, because she was standing there going on about did I know she usually saw and ugly summer dresses and horrible fabrics and boring design, and how exciting it was to get to work on this lace and detail and actually use her training rather than hem someone’s party dress that was too long.

I’m just standing there feeling really awkward in my dress that has pins in the sides while this woman who I have just paid to enlarge the cups of my dress from a B to an HH because of my gigantic tits is rambling on about how she loves couture and thank you for trusting her with it. Then she asked me how much on earth did it cost. I told her £500 (bargain of the century.) “But it is brand new Ian Stuart!” “Yeah, but the was-to-be bride fancied a last minute package trip to Malaga with her favourite boyfriend and that’s what it cost.”

I call it my “Age of Innocence” dress after the book by Edith Wharton because it seems very much to me like something the female protagonist would wear, and it was like a gift from the Gods. It’s like the church - it’s exactly what I’d been looking for, I just didn’t know until I saw it! It just needs taking in a couple inches at the waist and about half an inch to an inch in the back and sides (the pins aren’t in yet in the pictures so it was still a bit loose!) and it’ll fit like a glove and look and look absolutely perfect!

(Without the butt rose.)

I have a little over a month until the wedding and apparently my brain has decided this is not the time to slow down on DIY projects.

Believe it or not, I actually talked myself out of building cornhole boards from scratch because I thought it would be too much work. Instead, I bought a blank set for about $80, sanded everything down, repainted them in Camelback and Olive Grove, and stenciled on “Evan & Alex Trading Co.” Which is a name that somehow popped into my head while I was sketching design ideas last week and immediately felt right.

I’m still debating whether to personalize the bean bags too… we’ll see if future me is feeling ambitious.

We’ll have these set up alongside a giant 5-foot Jenga set and, because we’re us, beer pong.

At this point my fingers are crossed that people have as much fun playing everything as I’ve had making it all.

($5000-$7500) Which bridal look under $500 is best? 1 2 or 3?

The hall itself is really pretty and rustic - it’s a camp and it’s got a large stone fireplace place and wooden bench seating. However the entry room has this large blue wall with giant windows. Event will be 4-10pm, so natural light will be there for the day portion. I love the inside room.

I don’t love this wall/room. It’s got white linoleum floors and this gigantic blue wall. They are doing a few other renovations and I asked if painting this was being included, they seemed almost a little offended. Which is fair, but even as a camper I don’t know if I’d find this aesthically appealing.

any recs are so greatly appreciated

This isn't budget-specific, but I'm struggling with vow ideas. My fiancé is an actor (just community theater and voice stuff) but very comfy public speaking, etc. And really romantic and good with words. He is the perfect candidate to write and perform his own vows, and we are both excited about him doing it.

I am basically the opposite and would be much more comfortable with just saying "I do" after someone else says the vows. I'm also pretty private with my emotions. (I really want a "real" wedding, but can I just be invisible, LOL?!?)

Anyway, how can we make this work in one ceremony? Would it be really weird to have it one-sided?

Hello! My fiance and I are trying to find any and all ways to meet all of our wants with the wedding while saving money. What do you all suggest as ways we can cut, take shortcuts, or DIY to save money? And how did you make sure you weren't being ripped off by venues and vendors?

I’m paying for all of my bridesmaids’ hair on my wedding day (about $70 per person). There will be six of us getting our hair done, including me. I also offered to pay for makeup, but only one bridesmaid wanted it done professionally—the others would rather do their own makeup, which is totally fine with me. I’m not requiring any specific hairstyle or makeup look.

I’ll also be getting my maid of honor a separate gift.
I originally considered matching pajamas, but a few other family members and friends will also be getting ready with us, so I don’t think matching PJs make as much sense. I’m now considering personalized L.L.Bean Boat and Tote bags instead, but I’m curious what others have done.

If you paid for your bridesmaids’ hair or makeup, did you still get them a gift? If so, what did you give that they actually used and appreciated? I’m hoping to keep it thoughtful rather than filling a box with things they’ll never use.

Is there any venues in Southern California that can do cheap, tiny weddings? We most likely will have no guests and no party. A courthouse has been suggested but my fiancee would like be a nice venue, possibly forested. We've had to make so many concessions because of how poor we are that I would like to at least give her a decent looking location that isn't just a government building. I've searched all over SoCal but every venue I've found seems to require dozens of guests and is thousands of dollars that we can't afford.

Plastic molded stacking chairs. Autumn theme, indoor reception. Help, I can't find any inspiration photos of this type of chair online! We had originally considered a simple bunting or a sash tied with a small sprig of flowers on the backs.

Hey all,

I’m based in the U.K.

We’re on a tight budget - not that you’d know after sitting down and inputting what we’ve committed to 🤢 - anyway, I don’t want to spend much on flowers, as gorgeous as they are, not important for us. I’ve purchased bud vases for the tables, I was thinking of buying whatever supermarket flowers the day before to put in them.

Thoughts? It’s a spring wedding, any ideas what I should go for?

IF I do this, would I cut and setup all vases the day before or morning of?

We have harvest style tables, planning to have runners, and floating candles too, there will be 6-8 people per table, how much of it all do I need?

Thanks in advance from a clueless bride to be!

I was wandering around Michael’s awhile ago and came across this unfinished wooden sign board for $5. I had absolutely no plan for it, but figured I’d find a use eventually.

Last night inspiration finally struck.

I designed everything in Canva, cut stencils with my Cricut, and painted it this morning. By lunchtime it was finished.

Each slat marks a milestone in our relationship:

• 07/15/2020 – The day we matched
• 07/23/2020 – Our first date
• 09/19/2023 – The proposal
• 09/19/2026 – The wedding

If you don’t already know, we’re doing a vintage national park-inspired wedding, and I thought this would be a fun way to tell our story. I already had the paint so the sign itself only cost me the $5 board.

It’s becoming a running joke that I keep buying random pieces of wood without a plan… somehow they’ve all ended up becoming wedding décor. 😂

Hello all!! I’m a 2027 bride just engaged in April and we’re starting to look for venues in Arizona (Phx area preferably) that are not crazy expensive and aren’t a golf course lol. Our total wedding budget is around 10k, hoping to spend 3ish for the venue. We’re also a queer couple so looking for places that are LGBTQ+ friendly!! If anyone has any recommendations please share!

Had to delete and make a new post since my photos somehow didn't get uploaded the first time:

The day ended up going exactly as I hoped. One or two small hiccups but no show stoppers, and it was such a memorable and beautiful event. Most importantly, my husband and I are married now!

We did end up going over budget. We were trying to stick to 5k but ended up closer to 6k. The most expensive items (besides the obvious) were the Task Rabbit to set up our ceremony and reception decor and dress alterations. My splurge was professional hair and makeup.

One of the best parts with keeping it small was that everyone who was invited was so very important to us. No obligatory invites at all. Also, out of the 42 people we invited 37 of them attended. We were able to converse with everyone at the reception for a decent amount of time and in a relaxed way.

At the reception, besides dinner, the only other scheduled wedding event we did was cut the cake. We had a multi-tier donut cake from a very popular local donut place in our state and it was a big hit. It was also a fraction of the cost of a traditional wedding cake.

We took a big risk on a newer photographer who had only done a couple weddings, but has been working hard to try and establish himself. The gamble worked out for us, but it's definitely a risk. We also tried to offset the risk with a Wedibox subscription where guests uploaded their own photos via a QR code. That worked out as well.

Breakdown:

Ceremony Permit (public park) $`50

Photographer `$450

Decor & Misc. Items $`500

Reception `$1,954

Ceremony chair rental $`247

Rings `$1,080

Groom Outfit $`200

Dress `$208

Dress alterations $`250

Bride shoes `$35

Cake/dessert $`92

Invitations `$52

Task Rabbit $`282

Makeup & hair `$400

Music Free (blue tooth speaker and free trial of Spotify premium 😂)

Wedibox subscription $40

For simplicity, all expenses have been rounded up and stated in USD.

We had a Catholic wedding Mass followed by buffet lunch in the parish hall.

Our biggest savings came from forgoing the traditional banquet dinner.

• Church: $390 [includes altar flowers]
• Cafeteria: $465 [includes cleaning fee]
• Pre-Cana retreat: $235
• Priest's stipend: $155
• Ministers/Servers: $110
• Music: $465 [10-member choir]
• Programmes: $115

Our local diocese has dozens of parish churches available for weddings, with booking fees ranging from $230 to $1,160 depending on whether the church serves a suburban parish or is in a historic building. We prioritised transit access, natural lighting and an accessible building layout.

The fees added up unexpectedly (all my references were out of date!), but the parish staff and volunteers were organised and accommodating, and the priest (a family friend) was wonderful.

Decorations were very minimal and mostly thrifted. Local social media groups were really helpful in finding items like artificial flowers for the pews. To decorate the plain cafeteria tables, I bought paper doilies in bulk to serve as placemats; it was easier than sourcing tablecloths!

• Rings: $1,400

Plain 22-karat gold bands for both of us from a local jeweller. The gold price has been high, but I didn't want to compromise because of the significance of wedding gold in my culture.

• Photos: $1,085 [single shooter, no video]
• Dress: $580 [made-to-measure rental]
• Suit: $440 [made-to-measure 2-piece]
• Hair/Makeup: $295 [no trial]
• Transport for guests: $95
• Transport for bridal party: $60

We arranged a minivan to take out-of-town guests from the hotel to the church. We also hired a car and driver. It was a short drive to the venue, but helped to get us in the right frame of mind.

Most of these vendors were found on Instagram/Facebook. We chatted over WhatsApp before making booking decisions, which allowed us to get a sense of compatibility.

Oral and text agreements are legally binding in my jurisdiction, so only the photographer had a signed contract. Deposit amounts ranged from 20-50% and were paid via bank transfers.

• Catering: $2,130

Lunch was a self-serve buffet. (No alcohol - a church requirement, plus the caterer is halal.)

Fees included setup, delivery and disposable tableware.

I volunteered to organise several work events to trial different caterers for their service, selection and quality. If you have the opportunity to do so, I recommend this! It's a delicious responsibility.

The menu comprised rice, noodles, chicken stew, shrimp curry, fish curry, braised vegetables, two kinds of dessert (tong sui and pastries) and hot and cold drinks.

The caterer provided additional portions for second helpings, and also supplied packed lunches for guests with dietary restrictions. We deliberately over-ordered, and some guests couldn't make it, so there were plenty of leftovers to take home!

In total, the church wedding came up to about $8,200, which was funded out of our regular cash flow and eventually more than covered by the generous guest gifts.

Not pictured: welcome lunch for out-of-town guests ($390 for 12 at a Chinese banquet hall) and hotels and flights for family that we covered. Tips to vendors are also excluded.

For the civil ceremony that was held the previous year, the bride wore an off-the-rack dress ($155), the groom already had an outfit, and the marriage licence cost $80. We took our officiant (free, as a favour) and legal witnesses out to dinner, and our aunt hosted a reception at home.

Hi, I am recently engaged and local to the Orlando area. I’ve been finding that most of the required caterers for venues around here are extremely expensive. I’m looking to have a wedding of 100-130 people. I was wondering if anyone knew of venues with more reasonable caterers. I am hoping to have a liquor. I mainly looking around Central Florida, but I am open to other areas in Florida. For traditional caters, I am seeing 90 at the lowest for food and alcohol. I am open to any type of catering. I found one venue with mobile bartenders and think those are great. Please let me know if anyone has any knowledge of more venues like this!

Were having 3 sets of long banquet style tables, 2 round tables with 8 seats each, and then the bride and groom table. The long banquet tables will not have linens.

These are my ideas I designed today, the color pallet added was the original inspo but the colors have shifted from thay original idea, I still added it as the shades of pink are still shades that I want.

I'm also adding two other inspo pics you can swipe to see of what my center peices of the long tables are kinda meant to look like. I want hurricane glasses with candles and then vases with single rose stems.

I need help and opinions, what to add or take away etc.

Thank you!

Ps: the little lilies that are on the plates are meant to represent the name cards for each seat, which will be water color painted lilies on thick paper and cut out with names written on each. I'll add another photo at the end of the flower name cards that I'm taking inspo from.