Where are you cutting corners? And why?

I just want to know how yall are doing the cool dollar symbol things.

^Ditto!

My biggests cuts so far:

A family friend GAVE ME a brand new never before worn DB dress that I am so in love with!

My brother is a world class videographer and would be offended if I let anyone else do it.

[̲̅$̲̅(̲̅1̲̅)̲̅$̲̅] DIY catering

[̲̅$̲̅(̲̅1̲̅)̲̅$̲̅] Dress was a gift from my mother

[̲̅$̲̅(̲̅1̲̅)̲̅$̲̅] Self catering

[̲̅$̲̅(̲̅1̲̅)̲̅$̲̅] DIY flowers

[̲̅$̲̅(̲̅1̲̅)̲̅$̲̅] No Limo or special transportation

[̲̅$̲̅(̲̅1̲̅)̲̅$̲̅] Venue/wedding night and pary accomadations is the same

[̲̅$̲̅(̲̅1̲̅)̲̅$̲̅] Photography- Still working on that but cutting back there

[̲̅$̲̅(̲̅1̲̅)̲̅$̲̅] All invites are DIY and vistaprint

[̲̅$̲̅(̲̅1̲̅)̲̅$̲̅] decorations all DIY

[̲̅$̲̅(̲̅1̲̅)̲̅$̲̅] honeymoon is a cabin my mother randomly rented and said we could stay in lol.

Really I think the better answer is what area of the wedding are we NOT cutting back on? Though it's not really cutting back when you don't have it to spend in the first place,lol. We have other life goals aside from the wedding and are not at a point in our lives where we have an income that allows us to spend a lot on the wedding. We decided we have X to spend so have had to be pretty creative to make it work.

[̲̅$̲̅(̲̅1̲̅)̲̅$̲̅]- It's a secret....I copied and pasted

[̲̅$̲̅(̲̅1̲̅)̲̅$̲̅] copy and paste always works lol it's ASCII you can google it

Luckily I don't have to try and cut too many corners, but:

- No videographer. We have a fabulous photographer who I know will capture every moment for us. I'm not the type of person to sit and "relive" my wedding by watching it on video.

- No limo. The venue is also a bed and breakfast and I will be spending the night before there and we will stay the night after, so no transportation necessary!

- Uncle is doing the ceremony music.

- Will be using as few flowers as possible for centerpieces. Doing a lot of curly willow bracnches and tea lights with a few flower stems. The branches are coming from our willow tree so no expense for those.

[̲̅$̲̅(̲̅1̲̅)̲̅$̲̅] Check me out. I don't know fancy symbols but when you said copy and paste I was on it!

ASCII, will google that too.

For our center pieces we are doing real pumpkins, which FH friends plant every year and we are planting some so for about $4.00 for seeds we will have spent on center pieces, and then going to a green house a few days before the wedding to find mums, to place in side the pumpkins and at the church doors. And I am collecting leaves from outside and drying them and our flower girl will be carrying that instead of flowers petals.

We had a brunch reception instead of dinner, and hosted a few brunch cocktails instead of an open bar (mimosas, bellinis and Kahlua and coffee). We did invites, programs, thank you notes, address labels, favor cards, rehearsal dinner invites, & more I'm forgetting fer $38.66 from Vistaprint. We did a DIY photobooth instead of a pro one for about $150 (and I can use it again!) We did ornament bouquets instead of real flowers, and my girls kept theirs as Christmas decor. We did ornament centerpieces that were also our guestbook, which we ended up decorating our Christmas tree with. I got a sample gown, picked a dress from Target for my girls ($70). Our DJ was gifted to us by my aunt, and my photographer was my haunt stage manager that gave me a great deal. Oh, and our guest list was only 104, of which we only expected 75 (had a few less.) And our ceremony/reception were at the same place, and because we used all their rooms (it was a small inn), there was no rental fee.

I'm cutting back most on decorations, after lots of thought when it comes to time and money decorations are pretty low on my list.

-An Aunt is making our cake.

-My Uncle is officiating.

-No videographer, FFIL will probably record most moments anyways.

-Friend is being our DJ, thankfully he's majoring in music etc and he's done it before.

-Family friend is wedding coordinator

-No special car rental, we're just going to party up our Honda lol

-diy save the dates & invites

-Birth mother bought my dress/veil/slip

No favors. No videographer at this time. My dress was a sample gown (over 50% off!). Not doing super fancy invites, just something cute and tasteful.

[̲̅$̲̅(̲̅1̲̅)̲̅$̲̅] We bought our dresses from a consignment store.

[̲̅$̲̅(̲̅1̲̅)̲̅$̲̅] Rehearsal dinner was pizza delivered to the place everyone was staying.

[̲̅$̲̅(̲̅1̲̅)̲̅$̲̅] We made our own chuppah (wedding canopy), and resold it after the wedding.

[̲̅$̲̅(̲̅1̲̅)̲̅$̲̅] We had very limited decorations (no flowers except for bouquets and bout) at the ceremony, and all were DIY. Most were also resold after the wedding.

[̲̅$̲̅(̲̅1̲̅)̲̅$̲̅] We had only two attendants, and both wore outfits they already owned.

[̲̅$̲̅(̲̅1̲̅)̲̅$̲̅] Photographer was found on Craigslist, and used only for the ceremony. We also got only edited digital images, not prints or albums. Total cost was $400.

[̲̅$̲̅(̲̅1̲̅)̲̅$̲̅] Videographer was a talented amateur friend, who provided her services as a wedding gift to us.

[̲̅$̲̅(̲̅1̲̅)̲̅$̲̅] At-home reception venue was a private club, rented from a friend, that we decorated ourselves. Again, decorations were DIY and resold afterward.

(cont.)

[̲̅$̲̅(̲̅1̲̅)̲̅$̲̅] We paid a friend to purchase, prepare, serve, and clean up our food at the at-home reception, instead of hiring a caterer.

[̲̅$̲̅(̲̅1̲̅)̲̅$̲̅] We bought our linens and resold them afterwards, instead of renting.

[̲̅$̲̅(̲̅1̲̅)̲̅$̲̅] At-home reception musician was a friend who is a professional musician, who provided her services as her wedding gift to us.

[̲̅$̲̅(̲̅1̲̅)̲̅$̲̅] DIY fauxtobooth was run by another friend.

[̲̅$̲̅(̲̅1̲̅)̲̅$̲̅] NotFroofy made our cake.

[̲̅$̲̅(̲̅1̲̅)̲̅$̲̅] No special car rental; we used our minivan.

[̲̅$̲̅(̲̅1̲̅)̲̅$̲̅] No save the dates.

[̲̅$̲̅(̲̅1̲̅)̲̅$̲̅] No favors.

[̲̅$̲̅(̲̅1̲̅)̲̅$̲̅] No wedding coordinator or DOC.

[̲̅$̲̅(̲̅1̲̅)̲̅$̲̅] No engagement rings.

[̲̅$̲̅(̲̅1̲̅)̲̅$̲̅] No honeymoon.

[̲̅$̲̅(̲̅1̲̅)̲̅$̲̅] My attire and shoes is bought. Including veils. I'm wearing earrings my fh gave me about three years ago.

[̲̅$̲̅(̲̅1̲̅)̲̅$̲̅] We have about 55 guests on the list (subject to change with any family drama between now and then).

[̲̅$̲̅(̲̅1̲̅)̲̅$̲̅] Lots of DIY.

[̲̅$̲̅(̲̅1̲̅)̲̅$̲̅] I'm carrying down a lightsaber or a simple calla lily bouquet, our wedding party is paying for their costumes and lightsabers,

[̲̅$̲̅(̲̅1̲̅)̲̅$̲̅] my cousin will do my hair and make up for me,

[̲̅$̲̅(̲̅1̲̅)̲̅$̲̅] A friend of mine is marrying us,

[̲̅$̲̅(̲̅1̲̅)̲̅$̲̅] a friend of his is supposed to be doing our wedding cake,

[̲̅$̲̅(̲̅1̲̅)̲̅$̲̅] we're thinking of having some friends play live music for us along with an ipod/speaker system instead of a dj.....

This is the plan anyway. lol

-Ceremony/Reception and Catering (includes linens)- approx $4100 for approx 150 ppl

-Discontinued dress for about $350

-No Save the Dates

-No Favors

-No Videographer

-No transportation

-Limited flowers - Clutches instead of flowers for the girls as part of their gift - My friend and I will be doing my bouquet and whatever else we need with bulk flowers from Costco or online.

-Making cake plates for each table with will double as centerpieces

-Making all cakes (except the small one we will cut - not decided about that yet)

-No Honeymoon

-Hair done by one of the BM's that does my hair anyway

-No Aisle runner

-Still planning on some more DIY

-Planning on doing Vistaprint Invites

There are things that I will splurge a little on though..I never thought I would do a Day of Coordinator, but... I have a very loving.... yet pushy mother... so.. this way... we can BOTH relax!! I did however find one that had a discount deal going on and thought that I would spend the money I saved to do this

My budget is 2500 not going over only if family contributes. My coordinator is a friend of a friend of mine and she does DOC as a hobby. So her fee will be couple hundred I will not have a photographer family will take pictures and videos. My Church is letting do the ceremony for $275. My subdivision has a clubhouse that fits 200 people and 7 tables 22 chairs. My reception will be held at clubhouse and we get it for whole day for $300 we get 150 back if no damages and we can decorate day before. Renting my dress for 200 dollars alterations included and I pick from 18 dress. Renting a white car for the day to go in style. Doing decor myself I am crafty with lots of ideas.

Yes forgot to add that I was going to have honeymoon in Myrtle beach, South Carolina somewhere close in united states with a beach and great restaurants. Already been with family and me and my fiance rented a car we had a blast.

and my fiance rented a car and

Lots of great ideas here! But it really boils down to what is important to you! My wedding cost about $8k, but being a decorator, my decor expenses were prety low ;-) I spent $1k on my cake and about $2K on the photographer...that is what was important to me.

I have a couple more ideas...

* A friend rented her dress and the bridesmaids dresses

* Go with a theme/color scheme that is in season or coordinates with your venue. This may cut down your decorating expenses.

* Renting black or white chairs may be cheaper than chair covers and sashes if your trying to hide ugly chairs.

* If you are going to DIY your decor, check into renting before you buy...it's usually cheaper (in most areas) and way easier...no storing, cleaning, etc.