Weddings on $10,000 or less... can it be done?

[lil miss]

Sure can!!! Our wedding so far has cost $6,330. Here's a bit of a break down of how we did it...

Ceremony: $5,800. This is a wedding package from the wedding planners here:

Consultation with wedding co-ordinator to discuss, advise and book
co-ordinator present on wedding day
ceremony location (long island beach front). Includes palm frond and fresh flower petal aisle, registry table, 2 covered chairs and mini stereo
civil celebrant- including all legal documentation, legal fees
bridal hair and make up
bride bouquet and groom buttonhole
3 nights accomodation on long island in beach front room
bottle of wine on arrival
chocolates
30 min relax and unwind massage for both groom and bride
9" leather photography package- up to 3 hours of photography including pre-wedding, full ceremony and post wedding
private helicopter ride to whitehaven beach- includes chilled champagne, gormet picnic, rug, beach umbrella and snorkelling gear
Island portrate sitting
Hand made one of a kind bride and groom champagne flutes
Wedding Dress: $250. My dream dress! Similar dresses the cheapest i have seen is $3900

Flowers: $330 (total for mine, bridesmaid and 2 flowergirls). Hawaiian red fragipani's with frangipani leaves bound in satin ribbon

Reception: location included in wedding package. Instead of gifts, we ask that guests pay for their own drinks.

All thats left to do now is choose the cake and organise table arrangements!

[Ohlala]

Yes! I saved by cutting back on guests.

We had the normal Traditional wedding, I spent the normal amount on my dress ($1800) everything was the same as it would be at a big wedding BUT we only invited 35 guests! We still had the reception with full paid bar and 4 course meal but with less guests it was alot cheaper. It worked out to around $90 pp.

It was lovely and intimate but we did have alot of angry people asking why they were not invited and we did lose a couple of friends because they were offended by not recieving an invite. We were really offended ourselves by how some people acted in regards to not being invited, some even left nasty comments under other peoples comments about our wedding, it was horrible.

I think all up we spent alittle over $12,000.

[Me]

Sure can. Ours cost approx $9k all up including our honeymoon.

We only had 30 guests(immediate family and 2-3 best friends each, no bridal party, just ourselves).

My Dress was $2500, DH's suit was $500, photography was a favor from a family friend and the celebrant was also a family friend - both were paid, but majorly reduced rates.

Our honeymoon was only 3 days, but in a 5 star resort.

Even 6.5 years later, we still have guests saying how much they loved our wedding and how huge the food servings were.

[lil miss]

That's it! I think guests get more out of small, simple weddings. Its more intimate.

We arent having a honeymoon (not yet anyway). So that is saving us a bundle! As we both have younger sisters and brothers (i have 4 sisters ages 9 to 18 and a brother aged 7, he has 2 sisters aged 13 and 11 and 2 brothers aged 23 and 9), plus 2 daughters of our own, we figured the easiest way to keep costs down was for me to have my best friend as my only bridesmaid, his best friend as the best man and our 2 girls as flower girls (they will be ages almost 4.5 and 1.5).

My family is HUGE, and very close, so its nothing unsual for my family weddings to include 2nd cousins and 3rd cousins and so on. Plus I'm 1/2 italian! Dont get me started on that side of the family! Where as dp only really has his mum (who we no longer speak to), his brothers and sisters and his nan. As it is, we have about 55 guests and the majority of that is my family.

We are still deciding whether to have a buffet or just cocktails and nibblies for the reception. Either way, guests pay for their own drinks. And as its on the island, we are doing an accomodation package for them, but they are responsable for paying for they stay.

[Blonde Assassin]

Absolutely!! We have just planned our beautiful wedding with a slightly larger budget (its costing us about $16K) but its still not much more compared to those $50k + weddings!! What a waste of money!!

I agree with you lil miss! Guests really do enjoy smaller weddings! We are only having 40 guests at ours & I'm so happy about that! I'd HATE having heaps of people there because you'd never get to talk to anyone or enjoy your time with them. We only invited the people who really matter to us & who we want to see us get married.

Ohlala your wedding sounds exactly like ours! We aren't missing out on the finer things (couture dress, cake, photographer, venue, drinks etc) but we are having a small number of guests!! I reckon its the best way to do things & save money!!

We are having a small morning garden wedding in front of a waterfall & lunch time reception at the same venue in a room above the trees! Its just over 2 weeks away!! So excited!! Perfect way to start our marriage...ahh bring on matrimonial bliss!!! :D

Best of luck with your planning :goodvibes:

[TripleTime]

Sure can!

Ours was $7500, dont ask me where it all went cause i have no idea.

[Tangarine Mummy Machine]

Yes. my exes and mine cost $5000 all up including honeymoon.

I had it at the local church which cost $250 and included minister, flowers, musician, councelling.
We then went to the buckingham arms and they gave us our own room with free decorations for $20 per head. Everyone was responsible for own drinks.
I haggled and got our wedding rings for less then 20 percent of retail value so $300 all up.
Mil made my dress and got suit hire for exdh and his brothers as our wedding gift.
I went and got my hair done at a hair dressers at a retirement villiage and they gave it to me for free.
I got a suit for ds on sale at myer.
We got married on friday night as lots cheaper then saturday or sunday.
I made my own bouquet at thye market with help from the florist. $35
I bought shoes and anecklace on sale for $200.

We then went to cradle mountain lodge off peak and i haggled and got billy suite for cost of smaller suite.

[3boysnpregnant]

It definatly can ours cost about $4500.. We had 85-100 people. White marquee, White chair covers, chandelier, cake, flowers, wedding dress, hair, make up, nails, spray tan, suit, kids suits and dresses, alcohol included, bonboniere, Buffet dinner, celebrant, jewellery, rings(not engagement ring) waiters, shoes and our awesome photographer (who wasnt a family friend or anything was a pro who we met with a week before the wedding).. we didnt really miss out of anything to get it in that amount.. Sorry we used our wishing well money and paid for our honeymoon also.. We took the kids and stayed at paradise resort in Queensland and used the money also form the well for spending money! So that amount included everything...

The only thing we didnt have was cars...

It was really classy and guests that tried to guess how much it cost said at least $10,000-$15,000

[Bnbub]

Definately!! If u can get an expensive dress made u can save a few $1000. Having the wedding on a day other than saturday makes it cheaper, you dont have to have a sit down dinner, you cud always do a cocktail style. Knowing ppl helps with flowers, hair, makeup....
You barely see your shoes so they dont have to be expensive. Photographers can be exy, see if u can change the package they offer.... U can always make the album, print some of the photos etc. Get a family member to video tape.
Borrow friends cars that are nice.....

My DH n I set a budget, made a temp guest list to find an average, found a place with good pricing, then made the guest list according to what we cud afford. Be brutal if u have to. Its ur wedding, ur day, u dont have to please everyone else.

[TurnedBatty]

Yup! Mine is staying under 6000 at the moment, I will add it all up in the end. I cut things like the cake, I am making one because its cheaper, and we arent having flowers, I was quoted 200 for me and one bridesmaid. I think I will go to woolies instead. ;) My shoes are 35. Everything can be done cheaper. :) You will find though that things come up ou hadnt planned on, so be sure to budget a little extra on the side.

[Chunkydunks]

I'm not sure of the final total because my parents paid for the majority of it but I know it was under $5000. We had an awesome night with family and friends.

And just to add....your thread has just made me check the date knowing that our anniversary is close....well...it's today :laughing::laughing: I can't believe neither of us realised :laughing:

[Liddy]

Our was just over $10,000, I don't think we were necessarily hugely careful we just set a budget and stuck pretty close to it. The venue was fairly reasonable really, reception and ceremony in the same gardens, I only got a normal hire car not a fancy car because nobody saw me arrive anyways, so that saved a little bit.

We had an 'afternoon garden party' rather then a full meal aswell

[lil miss]

Well.... so much for that :laughing: after looking into the wedding package a bit more (like actual flowers they offer etc), we realised there is no room for flexibility (unless you want to pay an extra couple of hundred dollars!!). So we have decided to do it all ourselves. We have decided that things like the flowers and photography we are will to spend that bit extra on, and thing like table decorations, decorations for the ceremony etc are things that arent all that important to us.

Luckily, a friend of ours is a hairdresser and make up artist and said she is willing to help out, and her mum is a celebrant (also handy!!). As for the location- we live in the whitsundays, Im sure we can find a nice beach somewhere lol

[mum2bubba]

Of course it can be done, I am not married so not the best person for advice but there are a few things you can do to cut the costs down.

[Nat1341]

My wedding cost over $40,000, it was a beautiful day and we loved it ...BUT BUT BUT...I regret paying that much now that I have a mortgage and 2 kids! eeeeeek!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Crazyfamily]

i am getting married next year and it will be under $5000 for everything. the thought of spending more makes me feel terrible. we have 9 kids between us so even $5000 is a struggle

[lil miss]

i am getting married next year and it will be under $5000 for everything. the thought of spending more makes me feel terrible. we have 9 kids between us so even $5000 is a struggle

Wow 9 kids! Yeah we are going to be struggling with money as well. A friend of mine got married earlier this year and her entire wedding including dress, car, flowers, hair, make up, celebrant, all the grooms stuff, EVERYTHING cost $1500! They paid for it themselves, and her parents paid for dinner for the 20 guests as their wedding present.

[Freya]

Ours is going to be very cheap but going to look amazing :)

We are having a beach wedding, I got a $3000 dress copied and made in china for $130. My fiance and our boys are wearing basic beige pants, white shirt, no shoes. My friend is doing my makeup and my dad is doing my hair (hes a hairdresser), we are having the reception at my mothers house, caterers cost $1200, beverages $800, music $300, $500 on tables, table linen, champagne buckets hire and about $500 on decorations,$250 on bamboo wedding canopy to get married under and $400 for the celebrant and a friend is making the cake.

We're doing a tiffany look, the teal and white.

So long as you spend time looking and getting quotes from everyone so you can compare you will save money as the prices can vary so much. For example, the chair covers and sash range from $8.50 with some places to only $2.50 with others.

[EmilsMum]

Our wedding was about $4500 in total and the most expensive part of that was my dress at $450!! We had an afternoon tea type of thing and we were lucky enough that my parents neighbour is a celebrant who also did our son's naming day, my mum is an AWESOME cupcake maker and we have friends who are really great photographers who took lots and lot of photos for us as a wedding present!!

It was an absolutely perfect day and I wouldn't have done it any other way even if we could have afforded to spend more money!! :)

[lil miss]

Yep so.... our wedding is no longer in the 10,000 budget. I have decided that its now 20,000. The food and alcohol alone is going to cost $5100 and $4200 respectively. On the plus side, my step dad has offered to pay the deposit on the ceremony/reception venue, my uncle gave us a grand to put towards the photographer and my dad and step mum said they are paying for the majority of the rest. Only thing we have to pay for is now food and drink, and DF's suit!

Everything is booked and paid for, and all thats left to do now is the little things like table decorations and place cards!

[KyD]

Ours cost a little more than 10K. ~15K not including honeymoon which we completely went overboard on. But for the wedding we skimped on nothing really. We had a gorgeous 3 course meal plus cake where the guests picked of an acutal menu (so rare these days), we had a friend (just getting in to professional photography do the photos) flowers were all roses, but from a wholesaler, so had to have a family member do the hour return trip the morning of the wedding. I spent a silly amount on my shoes. 2K on my dress, had just under 100 guests ( this was an intimate gathering as we are both from quite large families and only had about 5 friends and their partners each!)and left in a stretch limo. But borrowed matching silver sedans for the wedding cars. Did the invites and bonboneirres ourselves, Had professional makeup done at a MAC sitting in myer for the whole bridal party and got our hair done proffesionally, I primped and preened myself with nails and fake tans like I have never done before (and probably never will again). I really couldn't have wanted for anything else. I have NO idea where you could sink 50K + in a wedding!! It can be done cheaper, we could have done it cheaper, you just need to know where to put the money to get the best value. You also need to know where your values lie and what is important and what isn't for you as a couple.

[lil miss]

KyD, I totally get what you mean about 50k+ weddings! I saw in one of the bridal mags that a ladys dress (and dress ALONE) cost over 10 grand!! i mean seriously..?!

We have decided that things like photography and flowers are things we are willing to spendthe extra money on, but table decorations etc are things that arent really important to us, so I am just buying some material from spotlight and using it as table runners, buying mirrors from the dollar shop and candles and decorating the tables that way.

I would like to have my dream wedding but there is no way my family can afford it, so having where we have booked is the next best thing!

[delirium]

We spent about 5.5 k on the wedding. But that was nearly 10 years ago.

I got a deb dress for $300 that looked exactly like a wedding dress. I got comments all day how beautiful it was.

We found a decent modest venue with nice food and good prices.

We got a semi pro photographer and paid him 1/3 of what the pros cost.

We borrowed the cars.

We used our wedding cake as dessert (a mud cake) and saved a pack on the cost of the reception.

Each to their own but I would never ever spend more than 10k on a wedding

[lil miss]

Here is our budget so far:

Dress: $1,400

Flowers: $335 for my bouquet, 1 bridesmaid bouquet, 2 flowergirls bouquets and 5 buttonholes), although it may be cheaper as a local florist is trying to do me a deal

Ceremony Location: $1,800

Celebrant: $400

Reception venue fee: $2,500

Food: $5,100

Drinks: $2000 (bar tab- with the package they offer it would have been at least $4,200)

Photographer: $2,250

Stationary: $150 max.


The only thing weare paying for is the groom and best man's suits, and part of the food and bar tab cost.

We arent having transport as we are staying in the penthouse at the resort for 4 nights (2 before the wedding and 2 after) and a friend of ours and hs brother have offered to sing at the reception for free (they are professional musicians).

We have approximately 65 guests.

[lotheryn]

Ours had better bloody be!

We are inviting 38 guests, getting married at the registry, and having the reception on our back deck!! But I did splurge on my dress - $750 custom made!

[spideysmummy]

Sure it can! We are having a secret ceremony with only parents and siblings on the beach (600 for arch, celebrant and permit) the morning of our "engagement" party. Then me and df are going out for lunch just the 2 of us, and then having our "engagement" party at home that night where well announce to everyone we are married!!! Probably by showing them video of our ceremony!

Very cheap, stress free and easy! :-)