$5k Wedding

For the photographer,call local colleges and ask to speak to someone in photography. Get a Sr student if you can or maybe the teacher wI'll take photographs for you.Have the wedding on a weekday .I agree with what Happy Hedge said.

As beauty goes see if you can find a place that does both.Or maybe one of your friend know someone who can help.

I would skip deserts,decor,invites,music, transportation.

View Quoted Comment

Hi ! I am on a similar budget - not quite as small but more people so probably about the same in the long run... and I am in Chicago - so similar pricing (probably) to keep our pricing down we are opting to do suburbs vs city, which will save a ton. We looked at restaurants and small venues and (at least for us) restaurants with private rooms ended up more $$$ because everything was a la carte - food package, bar package, cake, etc... so a venue that offers "a full service catering package" is the way I think we are going... appointment later today!

Anyways, I don't see a lot of obvious cuts here but... here are a couple options... If you have cake you don't NEED a separate dessert... you just don't. it's nice if you do, but you don't need it - no one will leave your wedding saying "OMG, can you believe hey didn't serve gelato?" so there's $245...

Not sure what your Ceremony cost includes, but if it's for an officiant (rather than a location) ask a close friend or family member to be your officiant as their gift - you will save $140 and make your ceremony super special ...

Invites can be so expensive... and you already have a nice low budget, I am guessing a little DIY is going on here so you might be able to get it lower - I was at Michael's yesterday and they had invites on clearance (nice ones) for less than $30/box of 40... but don't forget postage in your budget!

If you find an awesome venue you can probably spend less on decor... but I wouldn't consider this money back.. you may need to increase your PP food/beverage budget as your estimate is pretty low... and hopefully if you find a great restaurant with a private room, they will be happy with your food and drink spend - so you can get rid of the venue fee... or roll some of it into more food/drink...

Personally - (and this isn't cost cutting) I would spend more on (or be willing to) photography vs. music... when it's all said and done, the pics and a husband are all you have to remember the day... I have heard a lot of low budget brides doing a playlist on an iPad to save money on music... again ask a friend to "manage" the music at key moments - or check with the local college radio station to see if there's a student willing to MC and manage the (pre-made playlist) for $100 or something... unless music is super important to you this could be a BIG savings...

Good luck ! Hope this helps

I think if you just do dinner and don’t hire all the bells and whistles, this is doable. I’m hosting 65 guests and we’re paying 7k for food and beverage only in upstate NY. If you’re in nyc it’s going to be a little higher priced, but 30 should be doable for just a nicely hosted dinner.

View Quoted Comment

1. Do you need cake and dessert? I'd cut out it down to $150 for a simple bakery cake.

2. I'd budget waaaaay less for decor. Move that money over to food.

3. Ditch the music completely. If you have a brunch reception at a restaurant you can use an iPod for background music. Just realize you won't have dancing. Move the majority of this money to food and photography.

4. Add more money to your food/beverage budget (see suggestions above). I'd recommend this (plus your venue fees) should be approx. 50% of your budget.

5. You may need more money for your ceremony. Even if you get married at City Hall (highly recommended) you need to consider the cost of the marriage license, etc.

6. Find a restaurant with a private room and book that so you can save the venue fee. Add this money to your food budget.

View Quoted Comment

I completely understand why you want July. I hope you can make it happen.

I live absolutely nowhere near NYC and I've visited exactly once (it was amazing) so take what I say with a grain of salt but, I feel for you and would like to see your vision come true. I did some research and think these could be good starting places for a brunch reception.

Writing Room: http://www.thewritingroomnyc.com/private-events/

Hudson Clearwater: http://hudsonclearwater.com/brunch.pdf

Pearl Room: http://www.pearlroombklyn.com/brunch-menu/

The Wren: https://www.thewrennyc.com/menus/#brunch

Freeman's: http://www.freemansrestaurant.com/private-dining/

Barleycorn: https://www.weddingwire.com/biz/barleycorn-new-york/bf03e9fbab576ab1.html

Also check out this guide from New York Magazine: http://nymag.com/shopping/guides/weddings/planner/listings/brunch.htm

Good luck! Keep us updated on how your planning is going.

PS. I'm now starving for brunch. Also, I'm now slightly disappointed that FH and I decided against a brunch wedding and went for dinner instead. We debated back and forth but, dinner ended up working better with our timeline.

View Quoted Comment

I went with traditional vendors, but I had a friend that graduated from the Manhattan School of Music and I bet there are students there interested, or photography students at School of Visual Arts or NY Film Academy. Maybe a craigslist or facebook posting? You never know you your friends know!

You are going to have to think outside the box and look for options that are not wedding related. Start looking for popular places that sometimes offer catering for large groups, may be buffet style catering and renting a public place such as park, museum or library for the dinner. It’s a lot of researching and phone calls but it’s wirth it.

View Quoted Comment

That's amazing! I'll look at that! We did't tell everybody the news yet. So I need to wait a few weeks before being able to look this kind of services on Facebook

View Quoted Comment

I do need a cake. But I found some affordable options, so that wouldn't be a problem.

About the decor, you are absolutely right. I just did the change.

I have a roommate who has the dj equipment, but he is too much into conceptual music. I don't know if he'd be able to entertain my guests, a mix of Brazilian-Geek-Dominican-American people. And for Brazilian and Greek, music does matter a lot. It's more important than the photography. I happen to find these wedding photos quite lame, and I feel like I don't need a photoshoot, just cute pics with my FH, and our family.

It's possible we can put some extra money after all, and it will definitely to food/drinks. Food+dinks+decor+venue are 53% of the budget.

We are getting married at City Hall, which is not budgeted there. But we also plan to change out vows again with the family and friends.

I'm searching for both, venues and restaurants, to see which one will be more valuable for us. Because sometimes, the all inclusive packages happen to be less expensive after all.

View Quoted Comment

I'm considering places in NJ, upstate NY, Long Island and even CT, but transportation in NY is so expensive, that maybe is better put more money in a closer venue. We have like 15 of the guests, plus the 2 of us that we'd be paying for the transportation.

The desert table is kind a Brazilian tradition. Even for little birthday cakes we always set up a nice desert table, but most of it will be done Diy by family and friends.

The invites either will be from party city or elegantweddinginvites.com. It matches perfect with the budget we have.

We are considering multiple options of places: venues, parks and restaurants. But 53% of the budget is reserved for that: food/drinks/venue/decoration.

You are right about the music. I'll look more into that. And it probably will have to be a pre-made list anyway, because our guest are a nice mix, and we like to dance. Top 40 bilboard won't do it.

View Quoted Comment

This is so great! Thank you very much for all your help! I'll definitely check these options! They all look so great!

Brunch is my favorite meal, so it makes sense having it on my special date, plus, it might be cheaper than dinner, for what I've looked so far.

You will be able to find more restaurants that will host events like this on opentable if you filter by $$, $$$, or $$$$. Also, keep in mind that you need to find a venue that will be in your food/alcohol budget before you can even think about extras like cake, dessert table, music etc. because those will all depend on what your venue allows. Most restaurants will not allow live bands, outside food (even a wedding cake) so I would wait on all of those things until you find a venue. I would plan on putting 50% of your budget towards food and drink at a minimum.

https://www.opentable.com/info/banquets.aspx?m=8

View Quoted Comment

Don't forget marriage license and officiant fees

Http://theoldstonehouse.org/space-rental/

Http://forestparktrust.org/oak-ridge/overview/

Http://www.wnfd.org/Catering_Hall.html

View Quoted Comment We are getting married in the City Hall. It will cost less than $100. The ceremony there will be just we exchange of vows for the family and friends we can’t take to the city hall.

View Quoted Comment I would start making lists of what is needed and your estimates to avoid getting overwhelmed. I wanted low key so I have about 25 people and found a nice spot for dinner. Did a partial space rental. They did a menu at $75 per person. To avoid a photog fee maybe get some poloroids for the table and just let the guests snap shots and enjoy ! I got my dress at David’s on sale for $300. Ceremony will be on the beach and only needed a permit $75. Just figure out what’s important to you. You can make it work 🍀

I have the same budget except mine is May 26 on the beach in Destin. I’m getting flowers ordered from a grocery store—check out Trader Joe’s for great prices and wide variety, cake from Publix, catering from my friend who is a professional chef, rental place for tables chairs etc. shop around for vendor on here. Compare prices. Don’t hire a coordinator. It’s like they charge DOUBLE TO TRIPLE for everything. Hire out individuals or companies yourself. Write stuff down. See what’s more important and not so much to you.

Catering is probably going to be the most expensive thing. Vistaprint right now is having a half off sale I think they do it twice a year. We got 40 Invitations and RSVP cards for $40.00. Look for unusual venues. Ours for example is an old estate built in the 1800's it was $350.00. It has a dining hall so we can also have our reception here. We are doing a brunch wedding too. Sometimes the food can be a little less expensive but not always. Look for local caterers apposed to big names. Our photographer is our second however we cut out thing s we don't NEED. (Photo album, Slideshow/movie) and that brought the cost down. If a vendor offers something that you don't need, ask if removing that product/service will bring the price down.