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Do you have a venue yet? If not, I suggest looking at a community center hall or local parks that you may be able to use for free or low cost! Limiting your guest count is also a great way to save money - catering is often charged per person, so fewer people means lower cost. If you're looking for a traditional dress, check at either a secondhand shop or online (Poshmark, StillWhite, eBay, etc).

I recommend you look on thumbtack.com for affordable photographers.

View Quoted Comment Thank you I have found a venue at least I think so it’s my fiancé’s cousins I think he has a band and a huge farm type thing and the catering I have no idea what to even choose lol I’ve been to tons of weddings that I didn’t like the food and I don’t want that to be my wedding and thank you I didn’t know u could go to a second hand shop for a wedding dress. Also how do I do the brides maid ones my theme color is teal and white but I don’t wanna spend all that money on brides maid dresses that they will only where maybe twice

Congrats on getting engaged!! A couple places to start:

1. Do you have a general budget in mind?

2. Do you have an idea of how many guests you want?

A few "one off" ways to save money are to find a less expensive dress (secondhand, off the rack, a regular white dress instead of a wedding dress, etc.), go with a grocery store cake (usually - it's still worth getting quotes), doing DIY centerpieces and florals, using someone's backyard instead of a regular wedding venue, having plastic cutlery and tablecloths instead of metal/cloth, etc.

That being said, I would start by taking a big-picture inventory and being honest with yourself about what it is you want. If you have a budget of $5k for example, that will look very different if you're planning a wedding for 20 people vs. 200 people. Guest count is usually a big determining factor in how much a wedding costs, so I would start there + how much you have to spend.

If there is something that is important to you - say photography - prioritize that.

View Quoted Comment Check on Amazon for bridesmaids dresses! You should be able to find some good options in the color you want (or at least a similar color) for cheaper than buying them at a bridal salon.


For photography, check with a local college to see if you can get student photographers! They may end up being cheaper than a professional, and their work is still good. Otherwise, search for photographers in your area using the Vendor section on Wedding Wire, and search for ones in your price range. You may be able to save money by limiting the number of hours you book them for.

You can get a dress from somewhere like Davids Bridal, lulus or azazie because they aren't too expensive. For catering you could serve non traditional foods if your guests wouldn't mind (pizza, BBQ, tacos, pasta etc). If you are allowed, purchasing your own alcohol may save you some money as well.

You can have your bridesmaids look for cheaper dresses, and have them purchase them themselves. You can look on thumbtack for some of your vendors or even for photography find someone who isn't as established and ask for a deal.

You can use fake flowers, that will save A BUNCH. You can also get a sheet cake instead of a traditional cake or even get it from somewhere like Walmart they have really pretty wedding cakes.

View Quoted Comment Thank you lol I’m very new at this so wedding dress I saw some at goodwill but due to COVID goodwill isn’t letting people try clothes on in the dressing rooms so I don’t think I can do goodwill and I have no idea where else to find second hand cheap shops for dresses I have no idea what type of food all I know is I’ll have a crap load of adult adults there so I know I’ll have alcohol but basic alcohol they want a bartender but I don’t have that type of money as far as guest? On my grooms side it will be like maybe 20 then mine is like 30 or so lol maybe more but the thing is allergies run heavy in my family so I’m afraid I’ll hire a cater that won’t fit there allergies this is all so stressful lol

View Quoted Comment Awesome thank you

View Quoted Comment Thank you so much for the advice

Photography

Photography is one place I wouldn't skimp on because photos are one of the only things you will have to look back on from your wedding day. However, if photos really aren't that important to you then I would look at newer companies or into photography students.

Bridesmaids Dresses

The bride and groom usually don't purchase their wedding parties attire. It is up to the bridesmaids and groomsmen to purchase their own attire. My recommendation is to speak with each person individually to find out their budget and go from there. Azazie has some very cute, but affordable options for bridesmaids dresses. They have tons of different styles as well so you could let them pick their own style at whatever price point they want. You'd just need to tell them where to get their dress, what color, fabric (since not all fabrics look the same even in the same color), and length. If you don't like Azazie's options, Kennedy Blue and Birdy Grey also have affordable bridesmaids dresses, but they don't have as many style and color options as Azazie. I saw another poster mentioned Amazon, but my advice with Amazon is to read a lot of reviews beforehand. I bought a dress from Amazon to wear to my brother-in-law's wedding and the quality was terrible. I wore it for the wedding thinking it would be okay, but after coming home and washing it I had to throw it away because threads were coming out of the dress.

Wedding Dress

I would also check out Azazie for wedding dresses. Like bridesmaids dresses, they have very affordable wedding dresses. David's Bridal also has affordable gowns. Another option is to see if any bridal bouquets have any dresses on sale. I got my wedding dress for $200 from a bridal bouquet. It was brand new, but had been discontinued so it was on a major sale.

Catering

I would recommend comfort food given when your wedding is I would think of what you might serve at Thanksgiving/Christmas. For example, turkey, ham, potatoes with gravy, corn, stuffing, green bean casserole, or mac & cheese. For drinks, I would have warm options since it will likely be colder out so like warm ciders, tea, coffee, or hot chocolate. A lot of caterers can work around allergies or food preferences. For example, my husband's cousin is a vegan so she had a special meal that was different from anyone else. Another person had a gluten allergy so she was able to eat everything we served, but the pasta. However, they made a special gluten free pasta just for her. We had another friend who was pregnant at the time and couldn't eat Caesar salad so she was served a different type of salad. Our on invites we asked everyone if they had an food allergies/preferences that way they could accommodate everyone. Our caterer had no problem with this whatsoever because they don't what to be responsible for someone getting sick. As for alcohol, I'm not sure I would have alcohol served at the wedding since you are underage and can't drink it anyways. I would think your guests would understand given your age. If you really must serve alcohol, I would just offer beer and wine rather than hard alcohol.

View Quoted Comment Wow okay thank you lol that’s a lot of helpful advice

Set a budget. Decide on a ballpark guest list. Sit down with your fiance to decide on priority areas to focus on (food/dj/photos, etc) and skip whatever isn't important. Search for and secure your venue. The local parks dept is your best bet on a low budget. Utilize thumbtack.com for vendors. Get catering from a favorite local restaurant. Given your age, skip the alcohol and have a creative beverage selection instead. Fiftyflowers.com and the grocery store are way cheaper than fake flowers...plus biodegradable. Azazie and Cocomelody are inexpensive high quality mix and match dresses for bridesmaids..and sell wedding dresses too. Skip favors. Have pizza delivery for your rehearsal.

Depends on what your looking for many park districts and american legions have nice low costing places. Many bakeries at grocery stores are willing to compromise and help when it comes to cakes. I'm bulk ordering cupcakes for my wedding and it's only costing 70$ for 100 ppl.
I'm also getting married at an American Legion hubby is a Marine and they love and cater to vets and active service ppl so we actually get $500 off.
Hobby Lobby is having huge end year sales too, check out their website I bought a bunch of stuff, and it only cost about 65$ for a huge box of stuff.
My wedding is rustic country and casual, our decorations are simple, but putting more money into the food. I'm finding alot of stuff at goodwill, offerup, and facebook marketplace.

What is your current budget? Maybe look at a local reception hall or community center. They’re usually on the cheaper side.

View Quoted Comment I found one today it’s my grooms friends

The best was to have an affordable wedding is to cut the guest list, for food I recommend having a food truck if you're looking to try something different. For your dress, I recommend skipping the bridal shops and going for online retailers such as Azazie and CocoMelody.

Also don't think that just because it's a wedding you have to have fancy food! My fiance and I are doing a barn wedding in the Midwest in November and our caterer is just our favorite local bbq restaurant. My family also has a lot of allergies so I asked the restaurant if they could post ingredient lists by each dish and since we're having a wide variety of sides and salads in addition to the meat options it'll be easy for people to pick and choose what they want. Also David's bridal has surprisingly cheap dresses, I got mine there on sale for $500. If you're wanting to spend less, jjshouse has a lot of very pretty options more in the $100 range. I've not used them but I've heard a lot of good things. Think about doing non-floral centerpieces and making them yourself (or having a crafty friend help). I ended up doing all my centerpieces for 120 people for about $100 and am only having flowers in bouquets and boutonnieres. But definitely set a budget and decide how much you're willing to spend before you start getting quotes from people or looking into buying things.

Decorations
No one will remember them. Keep your decor simple but elegant. 😊

Hi Shylee! One way I cut costs was using a credit card that gives rewards, such as gift cards to Michaels and David’s Bridal. I put all expenses on the card and paid off in full monthly. I earned points in exchange to select gift cards. Hope this helps!!

Not sure if anyone mentioned this yet or not but fake flowers. I've bought them from Lings Moment and they're pretty darn close to looking like real flowers, and don't look tacky like the ones at craft stores.
You can either look for sale/clearance for colors depending on the season or check Amazon for cheaper prices by the same brand