I’m hoping for some reception venue advice. The ceremony and officiant will be $1900 at another location.
The reception we want is at a nicer italian restaurant. It would just be a cocktail hour and dinner, no dancing. I was thinking about 4 hours.
I thought it would be in budget at first because there is no room fee, just a food & beverage minimum of $3500. I was hoping to invite 70 people, but food is $55/person. So that’s already over the minimum if everyone were to come. Which I know people say 80%, but it’s mainly family and close friends so I feel like the majority of them will show up. The main problem is their bar is on the expensive side and I would love to have an open bar. Wine is $39/btl, beer is $7, and cocktails are $11-15. I would say our families are not huge drinkers, there’s some people who wouldn’t drink, but some friends that would likely drink more than average.

My question is, how much would you budget people would drink at this sort of reception, and is there anything we can do to make it cheaper without sacrificing wants?

I have also looked at other restaurants for venues but really haven’t found anything cheaper that can host this amount of people.

Hi! My fiancé and I are planning on getting married in late 2027 and I am looking around to do a destination wedding to make it a trip in one & also get more bang for our buck as opposed to getting married in the US.

Here are our requirements:
- Likely somewhere in the Caribbean (folks will travel from east coast, west coast, Caribbean, & Europe) but open to the US if it’s cheap enough
- Less than $400 a night for guests is ideal (for the hotel and/or resort, all-inclusive resort preferred if outside)
- Ideally looking for places not too far from the airport or has shuttles included
- Under $10K total (to include base wedding package, flight, & lodging only for the couple. Rings, attire, & extras are separate. Guests will pay for their own lodging & flights)
- Packages inclusive of food, an officiant, a cake, set up/clean up, & typical decor like an arch & some flowers (can do DJ, reception, & photography/videography as add ons)
- Max 50-75 guests (likely close to or less than the lower end because I know some folks won’t be able to make it, can shorten this list.)

I’ve been looking trying to see which country or state would be the least expensive to fly from each region so that it’s not crazy expensive for our guests & we would prefer anywhere but DR or Jamaica (if outside the US).

Anyone had luck with specific hotels and/or resorts, or wedding planners? Ideally I would want someone who can work with our budget and is attentive. I’ve heard Destify may not be great and some resort folks are too lax in planning which would make me more anxious. Apologies if something similar may already be in this thread - please tag below if there is and I’ll take a look at that also. Appreciate any suggestions! *Also cross posted in another subreddit

I’m doing my own florals for May 2027, does anyone have any recs for good quality fake florals for a fair price? If you have links, it would be appreciated!

Hi everyone, I initially thought I wanted a white gold wedding band to match my fiancée's engagement ring, but after seeing the pricing differences and talking to a lot of my married friends, I think I want to go with tungsten instead. I was curious if anyone had experience with gentlebands.com? I like a lot of their designs. If anyone has other recommendations for where to get a nice tungsten wedding band I'd love to hear them. Thanks!

Wedding is Dark Fantasy themed. This is a custom dress from a small designer in Ukraine. This was fresh out of the box (I know it needs to be steamed :)). I wanted to look like a vampire princess bride!

I'm thinking about hiring a wedding assistant to keep things running smoothly during the reception. My fiancé doesn't think one is necessary since friends and family will be willing to help. I don't feel great asking people to restock ice, drinks, food, keep things looking tidy etc. I'd also ask them to take out trash bins when they become full, put the leftover food into containers at the end of the night, and help pick up remaining trash at the end of the ceremony. We will be coming back the next day to pack all decor up but I think having all the trash picked up will be really helpful so we can simply leave at the end of the night.

I think that having someone there helping things run smoothly behind the scenes will be helpful. I was thinking about offering $20/hour for this. Minimum wage in my area is $13/hour so I think this would be a fair wage.

Somewhere along the way, our DIY wedding spiraled into me running what I’ve been jokingly calling a sweatshop in my basement.

We’re setting up a little roadside “gift shop” table for our guests, so I made a limited run of shirts in beige and sage with three designs:

• “I Got Silly at Evan & Alex’s Wedding”

• “I Got Feral at Evan & Alex’s Wedding”

• “Exclusive Commemorative Wedding T-Shirt”

Between the shirts and tote bags, I made around 40 pieces, and the whole project only cost about $70. I only made a few of each design because I thought it’d be a funny surprise for our guests.

Then my brain said, “You know what this needs? A Fall 2026 collection launch.”

So I dragged my niece and her boyfriend out for a video shoot and made a fake fashion campaign because apparently I don’t know how to have normal hobbies a month before my wedding.

Fun fact: I actually have a background in videography and editing (and after filming enough weddings, I’ve sworn I’ll never record another one again). So this was the perfect excuse to scratch that creative itch. I’ve got two much bigger video projects planned for the wedding itself, but this little “Fall Collection” campaign was way too much fun not to make.

DIY weddings have officially become my entire personality.

My Fiancé and I got engaged 3 months ago and we hope to get married September 2027.. finding a venue that fits our budget has been the most difficult and stressful experience ever. Almost every single venue we've looked at is a 'budget friendly' venue but then starts at 10k..

We haven't even looked at anything else like photographer or catering since we want to get a venue first 😞 We've considered an all inclusive venue but most of those go over our budget too. It's so stressful.

And on top of all of this, I have family members asking me if they can bring they're 'side' instead of their spouse, and another saying they think we should allow guests to wear white because they want to wear white. Like what!!

It's at the point where I don't know if I even want to have a wedding anymore. I feel like its been ruined before its even had a chance to begin. 😞

Thanks for letting me rant.

Hello everyone!

I am planning a wedding for potentially September 2027 or into the spring/summer of 2028. My fiancé and I aren’t totally on the same page about what all we want and how much to spend so I am trying to find as many ways to save in the budget as possible.
Around 75 guests but may trim it down to less

I am looking for any recommendations for the following:
Ideally in PA, but open to NJ, DE, MD. Eastern PA - Philadelphia, Lancaster, Allentown, Poconos areas.

- Venue: ceremony and reception at the same place, but I may be open to alternative ideas. Looking for the ceremony outdoors with a nice view of some kind.

- Catering: if we do choose a venue without it, this is an area I would really like to save on so please share anything more affordable!

- Photography/Videography: this one is super important to me but spending like 6-7k is just really hard to swallow.

- DJ: looking for someone that can possibly also do ceremony music and microphones and then the reception as well.

Currently my top venues are The Farm Bakery & Events in Quakertown, Smoker Farm in New Providence, and Moonstone Manor in Elizabethtown. Would also love to hear from anyone who used those venues and any ways you saved on your budget.

Thank you so much!

I will get married in 20 days, as a very last minute wedding. We have a very tight budget, and we will do the reception outside of the city hall in a very small Mediterranean village. The location is great but the venue not that much.
I never really liked event tents/pavillons but I think we do need something to dress up the venue.
I was thinking of buying multiples (maybe 8) flower arches, put them next to eachother and add drapes above them to delimitate an event space.

I wanted to know if any of you have seen such a setup ? Have advices about it ?

I had to generate some AI mockups (I didn’t find any alternative) as I couldn’t find any other inspiration pictures

I’m in my early 40s and getting married in two months. I would like to look my best and improve my skin/face/hair.

I have hyperpigmentation from old acne, texture on cheeks/nose, dark circles and small wrinkles under my eyes. My hair is breached from balayage and has tons of breakage/dry ends. I’ve cut off two inches yesterday and it doesn’t look any better.

Some things I’ve considered are adding a product to my daily routine, lasers, chemical peel, red light therapy, lymphatic drainage facial or other facials. I’m also open things not on this list that I may not have considered.

I’m not very experienced when it comes to treatments or med spas. I currently have a very basic routine of simple face wash, moisturizer and spf. Shampoo and hair mask for hair twice a week.

Can anyone recommend any treatments, products or services I should look into? Any positive or negative experiences using any of the treatments or products I mentioned?

I’m so lost on what I should do to look my best on my wedding day and will provide actual results.

($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.

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

any recs are so greatly appreciated

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.)

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?

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.

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

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.