Need help!!!!!!

I don't know if I would go and change my hall...esp since they $5500 of yours...what I would do is really cut back on the rest of your vendors...try to make favors, maybe not have eleborate centerpieces, go simple on invitations, make your own std cards and anything else that you could print from your computer...
I'm sure you guys will be fine...Fh and I put ourselves on a weekly budget... that way we learn to live on that for the week while the rest is getting saved for the wedding and after it...it's a pain right now but will definately pay off in two years...good luck

edited for spelling

im in a similar situation... we are saving money by doing a lot of things ourselves...

we are also probably not doing flowers for cps... i was thinking of doing floating candles or candelabras... they look just as nice, but save a lot of $$$$

you can save money with the small things... dont worry everything will work out...

I also think if you love your room stick with it!! I know this may sound tacky to say, and you cant always count on it, but every guest that you invite will most likely get you a present and in NY cash is the most popular present and most people try to at least cover their plates, so its kinda like they are paying for themselves!

also, for your photog... maybe find someone that will give you proofs and negatives... we are going to make our own albums!

double your favors and placecards... that saves $$

it is doable dont worry... hope this helps!

Well I can tell you from experience the last place you want to be is in his mothers basement. That's where we live and let me tell you that I got along fine with FMIL before we moved in and now I've seen a side of her that, well lets just say I havent spoke to her since before new years and probably never will. I also dont know what it is but once a guy goes home he gets too comfortable and it's very hard to get them to move out. FH want s to get out but now we dont have the money too and what we are spending on our wedding doesn't come close to what we would need for a downpayment on a house that's why we opted for the wedding. I still have another year, year and a half of school so we only have one income which even if we had the down payment wouldnt give us enough to survive. I think you can find a solution if you sit and think about whats really important to you. I wish you luck

Keep your hall- that is a great price!

Here's ways to cut back-
Don't hire limos- have people invited to the wedding with a nice car drive you, especially if you are getting married at the hall.

Get your wedding dress from Netbride. I got my 800 dress for under 400. They were awesome and the customer service was great. If you get a corset back gown, you only have to pay for a hem and bustle.

Hire a student florist- I am using Jenn from www.Jennblossoms.com- she is very creative and will work with any budget. I am also making my own centerpieces- they are different and orginal. They are costing me about 15 dollars each to make. My total decoarting budget is under 1000. Candles are inexpensive and really make a room look pretty.

Invitiations- check out www.invitationsbydawn.com. I found mine on there and the sample was nice and thick, just simple. They are $200 total for 100 invites.

Hire a good DJ without the frills and try to get quotes by saying its for a 'party' not a wedding. After you sign on the dotted line, you can give all the details. Sneaky, but come on they jack up the prices when they hear wedding- you don't really need the light show and give aways to have fun- just a good MC.

NSGraham had an awesome budget page. I saw another bride had the link. Some of the info is dated but a lot is still current.

Have friends and family videotape the ceremony and reception. Have mutiple people with cameras so you can splice all the good parts together later. There is a vendor on NSGraham's budget page who will do this for you. You want the memories- but it doesn't have to be fancy.

Check into Duet or 12th night for Photography. Their prices are wonderful and I loved the work from both companies.

I hope that helps- I just outlined how I am saving money on the wedding. MY Fh and I are paying for a majority and are in the process of looking for a house. If we didn't have an expensive band (the only thing the FH wanted!) and expensive honeymoon(what I wanted), our wedding would be around 18,000 total and I am getting married on a Sat. night. You could do yours for around 15,000.

I thank you all for your input.

Cutting the guest list is a great idea, but my minimum is still 175. I am going to try and meet with my BM this weekend or early next week to talk that down.

I did some refiguring things and can bring things down if the minimum is dropped.

Its a thurrs night...I cant believe that they wouldnt lower the min

I agreewith all the other girls are saying and trust me we are in the same boat.

I am sorry you are having such a rough time. There are plenty of ways you can try to save money without sacrificing quality. Ebay is a great place to start. Some of the vendors have great invitations for cheap! One just mailed me a sample of an invite and it is wonderful. $150 for 100 invites, response cards, reception cards with printed envelopes. You can also get lots of other things there. For florists, I heard good things about the wholesale florist in Nassau county somewhere. The website is 800rosebig.com. You could also buy silk flowers instead of real flowers. My friend did this for her wedding and you couldn't tell the difference. If you are feeling more creative and would like to create your own CP of fresh flowers, try www.flowerfarmstogo.com

Hope this is helpful. And defintely ask that they lower your minimum for a Thursday night!!

I don't know how many ppl the room holds but for a Thursday night 175 min sound kinda high. Def. try to lower that and cut the guest list. There are a lot of other ways you can save on money with vendors too. For photo you can use someone who will let you do your album later on when you have the money. A lot of girls recommend 12th night photography. I've seen a lot of DIY centerpieces that are absolutely gorgeous. There are many things you can do besides find another hall. I say sleep on it and make sure you know what you want to ask your BM for when you go 2morrow. If you need any more ideas feel free to FM. Don't be sad. It will all work out.

I wouldn't change my hall if I was you-You have a lot of time to save money and you'd be surprised the little things you can do to save. Just as an example I've stopped buying lunch (and breakfast) at work. I bring it from home and it saves me so much you have no idea. Also, I started saving change in a jar and it adds up fast. Trying not spending your money on things you dont need (clothes etc) and you'll be able to get yourself some extra dough.

Also, since you haven't gotten vendors yet I would really shop around and negotiate with them. You can get DJ's from under 1000 to over 2000 etc so you need to be really careful about shopping around.

Thats the best advice I can offer-but you definately have time on your side you have over a year to save for things. Good Luck