Brides Helping Brides ™ - Is a $5000 wedding possible?

rozenextdoor Posted: Jul 11, 2011 09:44 AM

Is a $5000 wedding possible?

I know we're all in the midst of wedding planning so I'm starting to wonder if what I'm trying to do is possible....

We've got approx. 100 people on our guest list but our budget is only $5000. Cutting the guest list is hard as right now it is only close family (we come from BIG families)

Anyone have any suggestions?

BellaRegina Posted: Jul 11, 2011 09:52 AM

Re: Is a $5000 wedding possible?

ANYTHING is possible, it all depends on what you plan to do.
Money is no option to my FH and I, not because we have it (by NOOOO means, lol), but were having a very long engagement to save for it, but were expecting to be in massive debt aftwards.

Obviously if you cut out a big RH and do a backyard wedding, that saves you $$$. Using a hand-me-down wedding dress, or something like that can also help. There are a lot of places you can cut corners!

I'm not the best person to discuss budgets with, but there has to be girls here who know more.
Good luck!

mybabylovesmoi Posted: Jul 11, 2011 10:08 AM

Re: Is a $5000 wedding possible?

it'll be a challenge but i don't think it's impossible...you just will have to work really hard and get creative.

big money suckers are venue, music, photo, flowers.

maybe do a brunch/lunch or cocktail reception. you can get great bargains with photography if you get someone less established. a friend of mine did my epics (in my album) and i know he would give you good deal since he is still building his portfolio.

he has shot weddings BTW and i think he is very talented. this is just an example of how you can save money.

instead of flowers, maybe get different centerpieces like lanterns or candles. etc

get creative girl and ask your friends and family to help!

HSsweethearts Posted: Jul 11, 2011 10:09 AM

Re: Is a $5000 wedding possible?

I would honestly suggest waiting longer to save more money. At least $10-15K

You are going to be VERY limited on that budget.

Even if you have the reception at a restaurant instead of a catering hall, I feel the food alone will be minimally $40 pp, which would bring you to $4000, not counting drinks. It might include some wine and beer, but not liquor. This would include probably a sheet cake, not a tiered wedding cake, which will cost you more. We paid $160 just for upgrades to our cake.

You COULD get your gown at David's Bridal's $99 gown sale, but are you going to be happy with that?

Even the cheapest DJ would be $600, but you could play music from an iPod.

You could have a friend do photo and video (I did the photography for my SIL's wedding), but if you don't have a friend who has that background, you're going to end up paying someone and/or taking a huge risk. Most photo/video budgets are larger than your entire wedding budget.

Flowers - I'd say forget flowers and just get very creative with centerpieces. IKEA sells these adorable lanterns for $7 and you could put some pinecones from BBB around it for your winter wedding and voila, $10 centerpiece.

With that budget, you're doing your own hair and makeup.

Keep in mind that February 2012 is really close. Can you wait a year? There are SO many hidden costs to a wedding? I spent SOOO much money just on my own preparation like hair and nails, things that had to be done to the house and just buying so much stuff. There are a LOT of costs and if you really want to keep your 100 person guest list, I'd say wait another year and save more money. We waited a long time to get married and have our wedding, so I know it's hard, but throwing a $5K wedding is going to be difficult.

HSsweethearts Posted: Jul 11, 2011 10:10 AM

Re: Is a $5000 wedding possible?

Also, if you're getting married at a church, a church fee runs over $500, so that's 10% of your budget right there. Other officiants run from $350-1000

Heidys Posted: Jul 11, 2011 11:11 AM

Re: Is a $5000 wedding possible?

I agree that anything is possible. Some people are really creative and/or have amazing connections and hence get some crazy discounts on the big budget items. Going along with what the other girls have said, it is a question of how much you want, and what are you willing to sacrafice.

I suggest two things: don't look at standard RH, for that budget I really doubt it could be done. Instead, maybe look into doing it at someone's house, or maybe there is a community center you could rent..and have a cocktail and hors d'ouvres.

Don't know if you've thought about this at all, but a destination wedding on that budget is totally possible...

HTH!

HSsweethearts Posted: Jul 11, 2011 11:22 AM

Re: Is a $5000 wedding possible?

If you rent a VFW and do catering, you could make it work and yes I didn't think of destination wedding. You could totally do a destination wedding esp since places like Sandals offer free weddings. We saw a few while we were there and they were very beautiful. You'd still have to pay for your time down there, and your dress, etc.

sjr385 Posted: Jul 11, 2011 01:25 PM

.

JuneBride14 Posted: Jul 11, 2011 01:34 PM

Re: Is a $5000 wedding possible?

i had a friend in wisconsin do a wedding on a limited budget (which is easier there than LI) but she was the only one with flowers- she had a simple boquet with a couple big flowers - i think he may have had a boutinneire since they aren't too expesive... her MIL made centerpieces by putting ribbon in her wedding colors and a candle in a glass box from the $1 store (she put them on mirrors to make them look bigger with the reflection)... she had talked about having speakers hooked up to her ipod and had spent time creating a playlist that they could just let play and someone would play the dance songs manually when it was the appropriate time

those types of things along with what other girls have suggested can save some money but i think the biggest cost is the money to pay for the food for 100 people

i went to a beach wedding where they had bbq type food (burgers, hot dogs, salad etc) which could save money but ma not be what you want

CroatianBride Posted: Jul 11, 2011 04:21 PM

Re: Is a $5000 wedding possible?

It's possible but I think it would have to be in someone's backyard, I don't know if you'll find a RH that's under $40 pp, and even one for that much will not leave much $$ left for everything else.
We waited a long time (8 years!) until we were financially set to have the wedding we both dreamed of, maybe give it another year? Even with $10,000 you can go to Villa Russo and they'll include everything but your dress for that price.

Click here

nic2011 Posted: Jul 11, 2011 04:50 PM

Re: Is a $5000 wedding possible?

no.

maybe if you have it in your backyard, a friend to officiate it and/or get married at town hall and make it BYOB and pot luck.

but i doubt that's what you're going for. i'd just wait to do the whole hoopla thing if you are in a rush to marry and save the cash.

MrsKon1111 Posted: Jul 11, 2011 05:22 PM

Re: Is a $5000 wedding possible?

Totally if u find the right vendors

or try marconi manor they have like all included packages for i believe 100 people for 5000

VCanizalez Posted: Jul 11, 2011 05:32 PM

Re: Is a $5000 wedding possible?

OMG THIS WAS MY POST ON like April 2010!!!!!!!

I AM GOING TO BE STRAIGHT UP HONEST...
I HAD THE SAME BUDGET AS U!!!!!!!!
and NOPE.. IF U WANT A WEDDING ON A RECEPTION HALL /LIMOSINE/FLOWERS/VIDEO/PHOTOS/HONEYMOON $5000 IS NOT ENOUGH!!!!

i THINK U SHOULD WAIT....

save more money......

THANK to GOD ^& MY PARETNS who gave us a lil more than Double we are able to have a great wedding....

VCanizalez Posted: Jul 11, 2011 05:35 PM

Re: Is a $5000 wedding possible?

SEND U FM

Heidys Posted: Jul 11, 2011 05:36 PM

Re: Is a $5000 wedding possible?

Right, but this only includes the RH. There are other costs that you have to factor in, which I think could easily add another 3-4k to the budget...

leesah85 Posted: Jul 11, 2011 05:36 PM

Re: Is a $5000 wedding possible?

maybe a brunch/lunch and do a cash bar?

or just hors deorves and cake? this is big in the mid-west. i was invited to a wedding last year in IL where basically all they had was 2 hours of pass around hors deorves and wedding cake. soda was included, everything else was cash bar - they rented a big house in IL for a few hours and did the ceremony there too - only about 50 people though

you'll need a friend to do basically everything else - invitations, photo, music, officiant, etc.

it can be done, but it may not be what you envision

HTH

LMEL1223 Posted: Jul 11, 2011 07:57 PM

Re: Is a $5000 wedding possible?

It is possible but it depends on what you want.

I threw my engagement party for under 1000 for 100 ppl.
I had buffet style food catered from Sabastianos.
I made my own CPs from wine bottles and flowers I bought at trader joes.
I got a keg and made two different kinds of mixed drinks.
I rented a white tent and decorated it with paper lanterns.
My brother played DJ for me. And my parents lent me their back yard.
There are pics of this party in my album on here.

I of course did not have a photog or officiant or limmos but I also only spent 1000 ... that would leave you with 400 for everything else.

FH and I have been engaged for a long time becasue we wanted to have a big wedding with everyone we love there. But that is what we decided is best for us.

You have to do the right thing for you and FH!

ewecki825 Posted: Jul 11, 2011 08:06 PM

Re: Is a $5000 wedding possible?

I think that anything is possible but you are going to be very limited. Personally I would not be happy with what $5,000 can buy. It just depends on what you expect your wedding to be like.

angelscri Posted: Jul 11, 2011 08:18 PM

Re: Is a $5000 wedding possible?

I think it is completely possible. Instead of having the reception at an RH, you can see if you can rent a private room at a restaurant that is not too expensive and have it there. You can DIY your centerpieces and your dress does not have to cost a fortune. It may be hard, but definetely doable. Good Luck and Happy Planning.

redrose0605 Posted: Jul 11, 2011 08:26 PM

Re: Is a $5000 wedding possible?

Honestly, it really depends on what you want. But I do know that a lot of reception halls run deals on weddings for 100 people during the winter (but you might want to move your date a tad later as to not compete for flowers with Valentines Day.).

From what I've read, the hors d'oeuvres and cake reception is probably one of the least expensive you can do. And you'll have to be careful with things like shopping for the dress (mine was over $5k alone, but I save my own money for it).

And you can check out Kiss My Tulle , Cris has a lot of good ideas about weddings on a budget and I believe she's also affiliated with Big Day For 10K and they feature weddings on a budget, so you can get some ideas there.

Good Luck!