$500 Wedding

Have an intimate ceremony with your immediate family and closest friends (maybe no more than 10 people) and take them out to dinner afterwards. Sometimes, restaurants will have a separate room where you can even have the ceremony there.

Your wedding guests will be parents and siblings/SOs only, then dinner at a restaurant. Your budget doesn't stretch for anything else.

Look into a courthouse wedding, then out for a nice meal afterwards.

Either a backyard wedding or courthouse wedding with a nice meal afterwards.

Most important people only, no wedding party. Courthouse or backyard ceremony (or church ceremony if you're part of a church that does them free/cheap?) Then take them out for a nice dinner.

I say do a backyard wedding or just a backyard reception.

You can buy already used wedding items and save a lot of money

You have a few options I'd think. Either have a VERY small wedding with only your families, maybe 1-2 friends each, and take everyone out to dinner (maybe go somewhere that there is also dancing?) and maybe spring for an inexpensive photographer (try a student), I feel like good pictures are important no matter your budget.

-or-

(this option will be more difficult but would let you have a real "wedding")

Throw a party but do it inexpensively! You would probably end up closer to $1000 for this but could make it work.

See if you can find a caterer who will do all of your food for around $500 - you can pretty much invite however many you can feed for that. You could try tacos, barbecue, or if you really want to have a big guest list, maybe opt for pizza or party subs and some good sides. Otherwise, brunch food might be an inexpensive option. If there's anywhere you can host this for cheap or free (maybe one of your parents' houses, a local park (not many are free but I've heard of ones that are), a fire hall (will have a small fee), or a church/other religious center basement (usually those have a small fee or may waive it for you if you attend and if you explain the situation -unless you're in the city, big cathedrals and the like will be a different story). Have little or no decorations, get a fake flower bouquet for yourself from a craft store or make your own. Personally I don't like weddings without any alcohol very much, so if possible buy some wine and beer, try to keep that budget around $200 which may cover a small guest list. Send e-invitations or print your own invites at home. Make your own/have family or friends make your cake (or cupcakes would be easier) or some other type of dessert - donuts are cheap! Use an ipod and borrow some speakers if you can! Other than that, all you really *need* is someone to marry you and a license- if you have a religious leader they may waive their fee for you, or have a friend get ordained. I've also heard of marriage license fees being waived if you have a good enough story, but that's a long shot. Good luck!

If you’re very young... maybe you should be engaged for a while and save up for a ‘bigger’ wedding. How young is very young? You’ll get many recommendations here for finishing college and getting your careers started...

View Quoted Comment A government agency will not waive marriage license fees. Don’t know where you heard that fairy tale...

Do I hav any family or friends that could help. Like a baker, photograher, officiant, ect. Try a comunity Club for venue. And use Amazon and wish for decorations ect. I had mine planed for under 1000 with 50ppl. Till we invited more now I'm at like 1400 with 90 ppl.

View Quoted Comment This was my first thought. Maybe wait and save up some money before having a wedding.

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Was thinking the same thing! A huge cost saver is the guest list, keep it small and intimate!

I suspect that legal fees will eat most of that. You have to pay for a marriage license and officiant. Here, that's about $500 just for that.

If you're so young, what's the rush? If you're right for each other, you still will be in two or three years.

I like the courthouse + restaurant idea. The courthouse might have lovely buildings or a garden/trees for photos. Choose a really nice restaurant and you won't even need decor but you could always buy some pillar candles or get 1-2 flower arrangements from the grocery store to decorate a long table (sometimes nicer restaurants may have decor--like candles--you can use). Try to find restaurants with an alcove or back room for your group (many have for private events).

YES to a photographer who is not a relative. Even a student or Groupon deal is better than none. When it's all over, it's the photos I appreciate the most.

View Quoted Comment I agree I'm over $400 just for this. Save up and wait or courthouse only and have dinner at home with your parents/VIPs. At $1000 you can take them out for dinner to a casual place.

I am 43 and my fiancee is 34. We've both been married before and done the big style wedding. This time we decided to go small because we didn't want to blow a bunch of money on the wedding rather than a honeymoon or a house together. We bought our rings on Amazon and spent a grand total of $55 on them. Seriously, look into Cubic Zircon for your ring, it's inexpensive and still looks beautiful. Look into elopement packages at nice hotels or resorts. Frequently they'll provide the meal, cake, bouquet, officiant and location for you for one package price. Look for vintage dresses, sometimes you can find good deals. Also consider public parks or other public spaces as they can provide inexpensive alternatives.
Above all, just remember that you're planning on building a life together and the clothes, food, cake, decorations, etc mean nothing compared to the person standing next to you. Hopefully you'll have your entire lives together to enjoy those things. Good luck to you!

View Quoted Comment Thank you so much! This was incredibly helpful.

View Quoted Comment Thank you!!!

View Quoted Comment Thank you!!!!