SUPER budget conscious

We've already spent over 3,000 on my dress and half of the venue alone and we are on a budget. In this day and age I don't think 3,000 for 200 guests is reasonable. Our budget is 10K

@FB99, I think she means the $3k was for the dress and half deposit on their venue?

I can't even with this thread anymore.

The budget is not enough for 200 guests.

No one has 200 guests they have to invite and then proceed to treat them badly.

The suggestions about how to stay in budget it are truly unfortunate.

Baby's breath stinks to high heaven.

Your friends do not want to work at your wedding.

Don't ask for money.

Don't, FSS do potluck.

I think that covers it.

We are budget is very small under 5k. Decorations are coming from previous events and a friend's wedding. Our reception is happening at a restaurant on a lake that has the room to host the meal and dance. We are inviting 100ppl. I was able to get discounts for our Chapel because I am alumni of the school so that really help. Invites and save the dates I'm doing myself with the discounts we get from Vista print and other sites. Plus the 25 dollars we receive from Wedding wire for hired vendors helps out for the little things. I honestly believe it can be done and we are doing it

I think you need to be more realistic. You can't feed that many people and pay for everything that you'll need for your wedding for under $3,000 no matter what you do! I tried like hell to cut as many corners as I could, (without cutting into being able to host guests properly) & I still spent over $10k for 45 people! I did my own flowers, decor, my venue didn't charge a location fee, and we went without a lot of extras that we had initially wanted. We also knew the owner of the bakery that made our cake so, we got a discounted price. You need to consider how much things cost on a per person basis and then make your guest list based on what you can afford. There's nothing wrong with having the budget you have. That would be fine for a small group but, not 200 people. ETA - spelling

We have a small budget, but even then we have $10,000 for 200 people. Our food is $3,000. Personally, I would suggest spending the money catering. You will want to enjoy the time with your family.

I would love OP to come back and explain how exactly she is pulling off a $3000 wedding for 200 guests,

I am all for saving money on weddings. Invites, dress, shoes, accessories, hell even flowers go as cheap as you like. These things don’t effect your guest’s experiences of your wedding. Self catering, cash bars and dry weddings, do. Don’t ever skimp on these. Your guests deserve better.

Kelsey, a home cooked meal is great for the holidays with 20 family members. Not for a 200 person wedding. We share etiquette and advice to save her wedding and her guest's experiences from being a disaster (potentially even their lives because food poisoning is for real!).

@Jennifer, it took me a hot minute to get over what I perceived to be the negativity on here too. But once you've learned the best and correct way to do something yourself, why wouldn't you insist that it is the best and correct way to do things for others? We're not talking about differences of opinion here. We're talking about tried and true etiquette rules, legal matters, and matters related to the health and well-being of your guests. I promise you my BBQ catering is not big and expensive, but it is catered and tasty and will be dressed up as much as possible to make it a memorable experience for me, my groom, and my guests.

I love how offering suggestions in the name of good etiquette equates to people preaching that a big, expensive wedding is the only type of wedding someone can have.

Especially because all anyone ever says is essentially "have the wedding you can afford", "don't go into debt for a wedding", etc.

Reading comprehension can be a wild ride at times.

Lmao....

Because Jennifer, I wanted my wedding to be more than a Labor Day picnic. And, quite frankly, my guests would have been appalled if they showed up to crock pots on a table.

My guests are more interested in nursing a hangover from free booze than praising the porcelain gods when they have diarrhea and vomiting episodes from self catering. They're not interested in a big fancy expensive wedding, just being treated well.

I don't have a similarly small budget, but I do wish you the best of luck. I do understand your reasoning; I have frequent guilt trips over spending more than my annual income on a single day.

I do have some concerns about your self catering, since it's likely to be hot outside in August. I will leave you with this encouraging note: A good friend of mine self-catered her own wedding. Her FH got up early and BBQed a bunch of brisket, his groomsmen got a few kegs pretty cheap, and her brother acted as bartender. So again, best of luck!

@Jessica The groom worked on his wedding day? The bride's brother worked instead of celebrating with his sister? If that was me I believe I'd have a greater guilt trip over that than over spending money to not have to have that happen.

I understand having a limited budget however food safety is important. I attended a pot luck style wedding before & half way thru serving the food several of the guests that were served food already that started eating noticed that the mac & cheese was spoiled. Since it was potluck they couldn't distinguish which pan was spoiled etc. Food poisoning is life threatening to children & elderly people especially. Some pp may come across as being harsh but they are just trying to help prevent a disastrous event.

Because everyone I know would just love to be invited to an event that is hosted "extremely cheap?"

Sorry, but I've said it before and I'll say it again, I'd rather not be invited to a cheap event for 200 people, than be invited. Invite 100 and host them well.

Man I thought I was struggling 17 K for 130....

That's too funny I was looking at a fb page and ppl was saying their weddings were under 4,000 and they freaked out when I said mine was around 24,000. I'm so making sure my guest that travel and awesome time with drinks and food.

My groom worked on our wedding day; so did I. We're both chefs by trade.

It was awful.