Tent wedding DIY versus RH for small wedding????

I had initially thought that having a small wedding of 60 guests would be less expensive.

However, the RHs that I am interested (including my #1 choice Old Field Club) have a minimum even on a Sunday.

My budget was initially $10,000 (as we are paying for this ourselved) but I have now upped it to $15,000 and don't want to go any higher.

I had assumed that a tent wedding would be more expensive, but now I am reconsidering. Can it be a lot less than a reception hall? Has anyone here done this with a small wedding? Are there any scenic locations with a low site fee? My FH has a wealthy relative with beautiful property, but she is out in Westchester...which I guess could be a possibility...

The controller where I work was originally going to hold her sister-in-law's wedding in her yard under a tent. When she priced everything out- from the tent down to the plates she realized she was going to be going WAY over budget. She never realized how expensive it was going to be until she worked with the numbers.
They wound up having a buffet reception at the Watermill on a Saturday morning and it cut a lot of the cost. If you don't have your heart set on a certain day- try picking a week night or an off month. I definitely think it is possible to keep it under 10K especially if you do a lot of DAY stuff.

I'm in the same boat as you. I do not want to have a crazy expensive wedding. Here's my plan. I'm having my wedding at a state park. Its like $300 to rent the pavilion. Then we're bringing in caterers and a DJ. It's right on the beach. It won't be anything fancy but I'm going to decorate and to save money on the flowers I'm going to buy plants and pot them. I figure its money better spent. My guests can take them home and potentially have something from my wedding for years to come. They'll be just as pretty.

The only real negative is that its FAR from where I am and you have to be out by sunset. The positives are that you have the place from sunrise to sunset and that its the only state park that you can bring in your own caterer. Oh and did I mention that its literally on the beach. We'll probably not have real plates/forks/glasses but I'm okay with that. I'd rather give up on that stuff and spend it on the food and drinks. Oh and that's another thing. We're buying our own alcohol. That should make it way cheaper.

Hope this helps.

Sweets,

Have you gotten any prices on caterers, tables, chairs, etc.? That sounds really lovely. That was my vision also. But the cost of brining all that in can be excessive.... And in the end I am not sure how it all compares to the reception halls. I do hate the feel of reception halls (which is why I wouldn't mind so much to splurge on a place I do like!)

I am considering just spending 75% of my budget on the hall and scrimping everywhere else. We won't have a bridal party (just a best man and maid of honor), I don't plan on using flowers.. I will hold a single red rose and use floating candles and rose petals as my centerpieces. My dress will be under $500. The only thing I am not sure about is a good photographer. That is important.... Who knows. In the end maybe I can stay under $15k.