$10k budget. Is it really enough?

WW actually has an awesome budget tool. You can add or remove items as you like, put in notes, etc. I found it really helpful as a starting point. I removed a few items, added others and then customized accordingly.

ETA: I'm in Florida and our wedding was originally budgeted at $5,000 with flexibility to $6,500. We are over budget by a little more but we are definitely coming in well under $10,000.00. We didn't really scrimp or penny pinch on anything we just looked for deals and always asked. One way we were able to get discounts or decrease the cost of something was paying in advance. You should always ask if a discount is available for paying in full in advance. Also, some vendors will work with your budget but you have to communicate and don't undercut/devalue what they actually do.

My budget was $10k originally and I live in Southern California. Not realistic for us I found out pretty quickly. Ours currently if all 170 guests show up, is $17k. I think only about 150 will attend which would put us at $15k..

You may consider having it on an alternative night (i.e. not Saturday). We are trying to plan a smaller wedding of about 50 people for around $12k (not including wedding rings) and found that the minimums at most places are killing us. At some venues, the venue cost is reasonable until you get into food and beverage minimums which can be around $7k not including the 23% tax. We did find some places without minimums, however, which made it much more doable.

It's definitely doable. But I don't think asking your friend and family to bring food is appropriate in exchange for a nice bridal suite. An invitation to an event means you're hosting them, no strings attached. Nobody should be asked to bring anything.

I'm in Tulsa and my whole wedding, not including rings and honeymoon, is about $8K for 130 guests (including kids). But - our venue literally only cost us a $100 cleaning fee since it's a church hall. I'm not going to type out my whole budget, but the major things are:

Catering $2100 ($16/pp for buffet and apps + servers and bartender)

Alcohol $500 (we got to buy our own - did beer, wine, scotch, and sangria)

Photographers $1.5K, 8 hrs, 2 shooters, no engagement session

Priest + servers + organist + cantors totals around $600

Dress $540 with tax

DJ $625

Florist $530 (altar arrangements and bouquets only)

Sam's club flowers for centerpieces $275

There were a bunch of smaller things too of course, like card box and veil and those things, but this is the majority of my budget.

I'd stay away from friendors...

Beautiful Rosemary!

We are also shooting for that budget. If you use the weddingwire budget tool (I think it's the best of the 3 websites I looked at; that's why I settled here) it will suggest an amount for everything based on a % of your total budget. However, not everything scales. Food does scale per guest, but photography doesn't for example, and it is amazing how much that can cost.

I agree with previous posters that A Practical Wedding can be useful to get a "reset" on your thinking about what is necessary for a wedding (summary: you, your spouse, an officiant and a marriage license) and what isn't (essentially, everything else).

The thing is that for different people, there are different priorities. I couldn't live without flowers, since I love having fresh flowers in my house normally, so I'm budgeting up on that. Other people don't care and find that is a good place to save. We're having a lunch reception with barbecue rather than a sit down dinner reception, but that might not feel special to someone else. So based on people's priorities, they will have really drastically different subtotals even for same overall budget. I think you just have to be creative to hit the points that are important to you and skimping on some of the other things that you don't care for as much, while still making sure that your guests feel hosted and that the day feels special.

It's easy to imagine a wedding as a summer Saturday evening reception followed by cocktail hour, dinner, and dancing, but if you try different days, times, seasons, or formats (punch and cake instead of a meal, going to a restaurant instead of getting a more traditional wedding venue, for example) you might stretch your money farther.

Also sometimes things that seem like cost cutters aren't once you put it all together. Like you have to rent so many more things to have a backyard reception that it can be cheaper to just rent a venue, and sometimes DIY doesn't save money (but it might be more fun and personal).

It's completely doable. We came in around $8k for ours for 75 guests. And that was with me being quite lax with money in the last couple of weeks when I was just like 'screw it, I'll by it rather than try and make it' for a few things.

And I don't think of myself as a budget bride. We didn't cut stuff so much as just not have a lot of stuff on the list to start with. You do have to decide what you want and what your priorities are, but it's definitely possible.

Our budget was $10,000. And we were having a wedding/luncheon in Massachusetts for a dozen people (and paying for everyone's accommodations for two nights), and then an at-home reception for 60 guests. Given that the rabbi and synagogue alone were $3,000, we had to be very careful on everything else, but it was doable.

But I think your best bet is not to think about what gets cut, but what gets included. Start with the least expensive wedding--a courthouse wedding with just the two of you (plus witnesses, if required). With each thing you want to add, consider how it will fit into your budget. Don't assume that even the most obvious things "need" to be there. For example, you don't need a wedding dress. You could wear something you already own, or buy a nice dress that you can wear again. That's not to say you shouldn't have one, but you have to think about how important it is to you, compared with other things you could include.

And do realize that your guest list is going to represent a huge part of your expense. For example, maybe you can take just your immediate family and a few close friends out to a great dinner. However, if you want a much larger number, you may end up with a cake and punch reception. Only you can decide which you would prefer, but always keep the trade-offs in mind.

Oh, and here's our budget:

http://sites.google.com/site/2dbride/recap/budget

The "upside down" approach to planning is really smart. Start with you, your license, and a great officiant (when officiants get left to the end, time and dollar wise, they are often not great......). Then see what's left in the budget and make a very conservative list of guests.

Every time a budget issue comes I say the same thing; it's far better to have a small group that you can host well and really enjoy than to stress for a year trying to figure out how to host 150 people in the cheapest way possible. They won't enjoy the day and neither will you (or the months leading up to it.....)

This is going to sound mean, and I don't mean it to be, (just realistic). Your wedding day and celebration is exponentially more important to you than it is to anyone else except possibly your parents and siblings. It's so much sweeter (IMHO) to have a wonderful, affordable party for those nearest and dearest to you than to have potluck for 100. The 80 people who didn't get invited will understand that you kept it small, your stress level will be far, far less, and at the end of the day, you'll be just as married. For all those people who say, "well I can't imagine being married without my 200 closest friends.....".....well......I see these weddings all the time. You'll have four minutes, if that, to spend with each one of them between the homemade hors d'oeuvres and the cupcakes you baked the night before. It's just not worth the stress for you, and it's really not that fun for them. (I'm not really that crazy about them even when the budget is sky high.....)

Cut your list to your immediate family; the people who are in your cell phone. Treat them well, have a ball. The person who said "reset" said it all in one word.

It's definitely possible! Mine was about 6k for 120-ish people.

I'm going to also suggest you re-think potluck. For these reasons:

1) Storage of food during the wedding. If anyone has meats, something could spoil.

2) It's not nice to expect your guest to provide your wedding dinner.

3) You might not have a good array of food.

4) A pot-luck doesn't go with a nice venue.

5) I would, as a guest, totally side-eye you if you didn't feed us but instead had an extra-nice bridal suite.

10k is more than enough to include food for your guests. Remember, this is a wedding, not a college party.

Research vendors ahead of time before planning your budget. And budget every line item. We didn't research our vendors ahead of time and ended up having to allocate more money than planned to certain things (for example, DJ) because we found we came in short when we actually started looking at the averages for our area.

My budget is 6k. And it is happening. So I'd say 10,000 will work if you make it!

I had a 10k wedding in MI for 60 people.

early afternoon wedding at a historical park, both chapel and house were $1k with table/chairs provided.

Caterer: Food, favors, cake, $4k Beer/wine: $200...not much drinking going on: $4200 with linens provided.

Officiant: $350

Dress $600, Grooms attire $350, 3 BM's dresses $450 (I did buy theirs): $1400

DIY'd: Invitations, Shoes, Veil, Bouquet, BM bouquets; Bouts; FG baskets/bouquets,

centerpieces, sweetheart table, dessert pedestals, card box, flea market finds: $1400

Costco flowers: $200, grocery store flowers $50 for centerpieces and church: $250.

Music: Ipod/bluetooth speaker: We had 1920-40's background music, technically no dancing but people actually did dance to the music. very fun: $250 on a Bose speaker.

Photographer: $500 We captured the day and didn't opt for the magazine photo shoot. My BIL videotaped the ceremony as part of their gift. He did a very nice job.

Also BP gifts, bridal accessories, hair/makeup, other miscellaneous.

total: $9900

Jennifer - I am in Austin too. Check out Second Summer Bride for dresses. It is a consignment store that has alot of options and will be more dependable than discount wedding sites. Feel free to connect :-)

Well, I have learned so much from you, ladies! Thank you. I found a place that will work with the 10k budget on an all inclusive deal. I'm still going to check out Second Summer Brides and another resale shop I found. I realized a potluck was silly, especially if I'm being picky on the suite thing. It came from a place of our friends have always connected well over potlucks and I was trying to build on that sentiment of shrink in our marriage. But, I also know that would be a crappy thing to ask of guests.

Honestly its totally do-able! For me I am kinda a cheapskate anyway so when it has come to the wedding I have made no exception! Here are a few things that have saved me THOUSANDS! Now, keep in mind my guest list consists of about 120 people. (12 of which are children.. AH!!)

1. Sunday wedding - Sometimes its not as fun, family members need to work the next day. But you can save between 15-30 % off your venue, people will drink less, you have time to do something fun with your family on Saturday and flights are ALWAYS cheaper if you leave on a Tuesday (You just saved $300 on airfare!)

2. Simple Reception - Keep it classy but not expensive. I am having a Garden wedding (In december - thank GOD for Florida!) Its a 2 acre botanical garden with an outside ceremony pattio and antique church on site for the inside reception. By doing it on Sunday I am getting the whole venue for 18 hours (we do need to set up/tear down) for $375.00... That's right! Because Its a simple but beautiful venue, I have opted for a slightly earlier ceremony and reception - So that gives us the chance to serve simple food. I.E. I am having Fried Chicken Catered in (300 Pieces for $265) and then having family members help with the sides of Homemade mashed potato's, green beans, and salad. Simple. Easy. But when you hire a few kids from the culinary school near by to plate and serve. you have just fed, plated, and served 120 people for less then $800.00. (thats including food, serving ware, plates, cups, table cloths, napkins and silverware)

3. DIY! Now I don't know if you have time, But I am DIY'ing pretty much everything. Center peices are going to be pretty antiques/candles/faux flowers. For 13 tables I will only need to put about $150 in (Thrift, thrift, thrift!) I am also doing all the apps and desserts (Publix will be assisting me lol)

4. Check out Milanoo.com!!!!! I have yet to order mine, But I have a friend who risked it and she LOVES her dress and honestly its nicer then most I have seen in shops. My "Dream Dress" can Be custom made and sent out for about $200.00 Its worth a shot! Just make sure you try on a few dresses at an actual salon to see what works with you.

All in all my budget for 120 people, venue, dress, and misc is at $2,300. and honestly were already staying under VERY well. Just get creative and don't be afraid to get messy! If you have any questions I would be happy to send you my budget/cut-out list.

ALSO! LOOK UP AUXILIARY CLUBS! Sometimes they are BEAUTIFUL and Cheap, Cheap, Cheap!

Lots of love!!! Good luck!

I've been budgeting pretty closely and we are pulling ours off for under 10K for 120 people. They place I'm spending the majority of my money is my vendors. I hired reputable vendors that had great reviews. Am I paying more? Probably. But I feel better knowing that I am working with professionals. I am cutting costs by doing my own centerpieces and have a local flower grower do my flowers. (No middle man) We are not doing a full bar but beer and a signature cocktail. I even budgeted a slush fund. Oh we also allowed ourselves a pretty long engagement so we could allow ourselves the time to save.

My budget is 6k for 150 people in se mn. My venue is a community center, food is from well 2 small catering companies, flowers costco, cake local grocery store, dress discontinued and on sale and our photographer and dj I did a lot of Internet searching. Thinking outside the box will always stretch the budget further.