Can it really be done?
YES! My DH and I spent ~$5,000 on our wedding. We had a full meal reception and 120 guests.
We don't have too many photos just yet, but here are a few:
Our ceremony & reception were held at a banquet hall that I worked at for 3 years. We received a good discount that helped with the food/facility costs. I cannot reveal our cost, but we did come out under $2500 for the food & facility.
Our ceremony was at 9:30am and our reception was immediately following. Our menu was as follows:
Biscuits
Gravy
Grits
Eggs
Sausage
Muffins
Fruit
Hashbrowns
Apple Juice
Orange Juice
Milk
Coffee
Tea
Water
Cake
Here is a breakdown of our costs:
Bride's Attire
Wedding Dress: $109.60
Alterations: $35.00
Pressing: unknown, gift
Shoes: $4.24
Jewelry: $9.68
Undergarments: $47.68
Rehearsal Dinner Dress: $38.15
Hair Comb: $17.00
Groom's Attire
Suit: $159.00
Alterations: $10.00
Cleaning: $8.00
Shoes: ~$50
Tie: $11.40
Music
Ceremony: $9.99
Reception: $46.70
Stationary
Save the Dates: $10.60
Invitations: $235.85
Postage: $90.58
Thank Yous: $19.95
Postage: ~$20 (still in progress)
Decorations
DIY Silk Flowers*: ~$145
DIY Fresh Flowers**: $88.98
Lollipop Bouquets: $14.24
Candles: $1.98
Flower Girl Basket: $2.64
*includes 2 large arrangements, 2 medium arrangements, 15 centerpiece rings, and arch
**includes 4 bouquets, 9 boutonniere, 5 corsages and a cake topper
Cake
Wedding & Groom's: $320, gift
Groom's Cake Topper: $2.99
Miscellaneous
Wedding Website: $7.20 and lots of TIME
Magnet Favors: $34.96
Cookie Favors: unknown, gift
Rings: $722.79
Gifts: $521.20
Guestbook: $16.95
Other
Bridesmaid Dresses^: $38.15 each
Bridesmaid Shoes^^: $5.30 a pair
Bridesmaid Jewelry^^: $2.89 a set
Bridesmaid Flip Flops^^: $.80 a pair
Groosmen Gift Ties^^: $12.68 each
Groosmen Ties^^: $11.40 each
Flower Girl Dress^: $37.10
Flower Girl Jewelry^^: $2.89 for set
^Not including in budget b/c paid for individually
^^including in gift category
The only category that was WAY over budget was the Gift category. But, this included gifts to the shower hostesses, bridal party, parents and our photographers (who all did it for free).
We did not hire a DJ, Florist, Photographer, Videographer, Stylist or Transportation. Hair/makeup, music and flowers were DIY. We had friends do the photography. We did not do any videotaping of our ceremony or reception. We had a rental car for our honeymoon (included in breakdown below) that we used as our getaway car.
I did not include the rehearsal dinner in the budget because that was not a cost we covered. My MIL covered the cost and budgeted $1000 for 55 guests. Due to a last minute location change, I think she ended up going slightly over.
For details and pictures of all the things listed above, please check out
That site will also explain how I was able to get a lot of things as inexpensively as I did. The site has not yet been updated, so there are some things not on there.
If you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment.
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Also, I don't know how much of a "geek" your hubby is, but tell him that ninjas are way cooler than pirates.
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