Tell me all about your inexpensive, informal and incredible wedding ;)
Understatement of the year, bit weddings are a tad exxy. DF and I are getting married early May. We gave ourselves such a small amount of time to plan because we don't want to get carried away with everything, we just want something simple and beautiful for US We are paying for it all ourselves as my mum can't afford to contribute (and we wouldn't ask her anyway, she has done so much for us already). MIL is very well off but a complete control freak and snob and I would accept anything off her, which is fine because DF and I are happy and excited to be doing this all under our own steam. We are classing 'inexpensive' as probably 2k or under, so not a big do at all. We want a registry wedding, the room we want is lovely, and it's about $340 for a service for 55 guests. My dress will be anywhere from $200 to $500 from what I've seen so far, and add some shoes, hair and makeup, another $250. We are still undecided on whether we will even have a reception or not, we don't really know what the etiquette of all that is yet
Anywho, I would love to hear about your 'on a budget wedding', how much it cost you, what you did etc etc
Last edited by PumpkinZulu; February 9th, 2010 at 12:28 PM.
: meant to say WOULDN'T accept anything from MIL lol, but doing this on ym phone and can't actually edit it atm so putting it here :)
We got married at my parents' place - they have a lifestyle block outside perth. It was lovely and free!
We had caterers come in with a buffet type setup - they almost didn't make it because they got lost, but it was alright. The biggest catering cost was the alcohol.
The celebrant was a family friend who gave us a discount.
A good friend is a hairdresser and did my hair (well, she cut it, it wasn't really 'done') and I bought a $50 dress that was on sale (just a dress, not a wedding dress as such).
So, yeah, all up for teh wedding and reception I guess we would have spent $2,500.
We never wanted a big wedding and like you couldn't have afforded it anyway! I think it's important to have the people you love around you with a good atmosphere so you can celebrate your union. That's it.
We too didn't want to spend too much on the wedding as we were financing ourselves as well. Wanted a good Honeymoon which we got
We got married in the Conservitory in the Fitzroy Gardens..that took care of flowers and we only had 50 or so guests too and a few people who came to the ceremony and not the reception and they fitted in fine. We used a Celebrant.
Reception was finger food only, it was enough to fill everyone up.
You could see if you can hire a marquee and have spit roasts and extra's. They usally come up ok in price.
I have seen quite a few people do this in the gardens opposite the old Mercy Hospital. They have a rotunda and the caterers serve the the food and you can get a license and book a spot I think through Melb City Council. That way if you are getting married at the registry you can just wander over to the gardens to celebrate.
We also used a friend who had a hobby as a photographer and was great.
We had another friend do the video for us.
Pretty sure we came in around 2k for the it.
Another friend booked a local Indian restauraunt for her reception and it was beautiful and worked out ok in price too.
I had a friend who had all thier family and friends over for a BBQ and surprised everyone by maing it thier wedding day... So the celebrant came to thier place and they said thier vows and had the party thier too. I am not sure how much they paid but I am sure it would not have been very much.
Congragulations on your upcoming nuptials and good luck with your planning
Ooooh great advice! Heather, love the idea of the marquee in the gardens! We too have a friend who is a photographer, we have seen his wedding stuff and it is gorgeous, so he has offered to take care of that
I have another question; I was speaking to someone IRL about having a gift registry, nothing huge, just omens things we need around the house as we have just moved into a new home etc. Anyway, she seemed to think this was a bad idea, as ''it's not like a 'real' wedding when you're 35'' with a nice reception, big venue etc, and therefore it would be rude to have a registry. I have no idea about wedding etiquette, is that true?
Bull****! If you want to have a registry then have a registry - you don't need a fancy-schmantzy huge expensive wedding to have one. I think they are awesome ideas because how many times have you been invited to a wedding and had no idea what to get someone? I know we've been to heaps! People will thank you for it because it makes their job easier.
One thing I would suggest is maybe even hiring a dress or buying a really nice formal dress that you can wear again because seriously, buying your wedding dress is overrated. I paid $1200 for mine and it has not seen the light of day since I had it drycleaned and boxed up. It is in our wardrobe taking up space. I wouldn't say it was a waste of money, but dead money kwim? I probably can't even sell it now because it's been 10yrs since I got married so it's probably dated too much.
Another thing is do you really need a place to get married in? I know May weather can be iffy, but you can get crappy weather any time of year and some of the most beautiful weddings we have been to have been with a celebrant in a park or at the couples house.
In regards to the registry I think you can do whatever you want and don't listen to anyone.
Our wedding cost $2000 (inc food, alcohol, clothes the works) and it was beautiful. We got married in a park and had the reception at my parents property. We also had a friend photograph our wedding too, they did it as our wedding present.
I like gift registry's. I don't think it matters what sort of wedding you have, people always turn up with a gift. When you send out the invites you can pick and choose who you want to put the gift registry thing in, as only you and your DP know who would not like it.
It certainly doesn't hurt to have one, and if people don't want to use it then that's fine. It helps people who unsure of what to get, they usally appreciate it.
We got married for around $1800 (although that was in 1997 so I guess you've got to allow for inflation, lol).
We also paid for it mostly ourselves (my Dad chucked in $500 and DH's parents helped with food etc) and did it all in 8 weeks - like you we didn't want a long engagement, we just wanted to do it
My dress cost $300, we hired DH's suits. One best man & one maid of honour, she wore her graduation dress (we were only 2 1/2 years out of high school).
I bought flowers from a florist but didn't tell them what it was for (ups the bucks straightaway!) I had a stem of orchids, it was gorgeous & cost around $20.
DD1 & my sister were flowergirls, mum made their dresses.
Mum's DP was a professional wedding photographer, so that was a big saving.
We bought our rings for $50 from Cash Converters
Wedding was held in PILs backyard, they had a rainforest kind of area which was very pretty. Reception was a buffet / barbecue type thing afterwards. Everybody ate drank & had a great time
and, if I had to do it all again, I'd do it all the same, bar a few small details. I have been to some big weddings over the years, and they are lovely (my sister's wedding was am-aaaazing!) but for me I couldn't justify the cost.
As for a registry... I don't understand why not? It's your wedding ... if you want a registry but not all the other trimmings why on earth shouldn't you have it? maybe I'm missing something, lol.
Another idea though is to have a wishing well, you could send out envelopes with your invitations and get people to make a donation. I know there are some lovely poems for the wording of this kind of thing...just an idea.
Anyway Congratulations! wishing you much fun & excitement in your planning, & a long & happy marriage
We had a smallish wedding, ceremony in a park & reception in my parents backyard for about 65 people. It was over $2k all up but our biggest expense was food & booze - we had a caterer come in and do the buffet type thing as well, the photographer was our other big expene but if you have a friend that will do it for you that's a bonus.
My dress cost me $350 and I did up/printed my own invites, decorations were from Ikea and ebay.
And about the gift registery if you want to do one go for it - it does help people to get you stuff you want & need if they choose to use it - just because you want a small wedding doesn't mean you can't have one.............weddings / babies / funerals etc bring out everyone's opinion on what should & shouldn't be done - do what makes you happy, it's YOUR day after all
Ooooh thanks girls! Jasp, love the idea of a wishing well. I've heard of these, some people have honeymoon donations etc? DF and I would love this (we're taking a week off studies to honeymoon as that's all we can take). Is it rude to ask for donations instead? (so many questions, I know, thankyou for indulging me )
Your gift registry could be at a holiday booking place. Lot's of people do that these days.
I know a friend of a friend who had one for their Honeymoon to Africa!!
Our wedding cost us $4000. That was every last thing.
We got married by a celebrant in a park that was free to book. We hired a hall for the night for $120 and got $100 bond back so it actually only cost us $20 LOL. Our meal was provided by Aussie Spit Roast Caterers for $12 a head, and they were so professional. My MIL did all the flower arrangements and bonbomiers (sp) we had to give her money so she could buy the stuff to do it.
A close family friend had his own hire company and the time, so we got all the linen ware and tables and chairs from him and that cost us next to nothing. We had a few friends that loved photography, so we made 1 the official photographer for the day, and another the video camera guy. We also had disposable camera's on each table.
We kept our wedding party down to just 1 bridesmaide and groomsman, but had my 2 nephews as paige boys.
I made all of our own invitations, name cards for the tables etc etc. My flowers and my bridesmaid flowers were professionally done, and the most expensive thing was my wedding dress for $750 on a clearance rack. So yeah out of $4000, $750 of that was dress alone.
Andrews aunt still to this day claims it was one of the best weddings she has ever been to, and that is even saying that after her own children got married. She said it was not over the top and really down to earth and lovely.
Congrats on the wedding....good day too....my birthday
DH and I got married at the registry office. It was a nice room, where we invited family and very close friends, I still blubbered like a baby, so the emotion was all still there. I was 36 weeks UTD so wore a nice maternity dress which didn't cost much. Got my hair done at the hairdresser...just washed and blowdried...nothing fancy. I bought a bunch of my favourite flowers too!
We had our 'engagement' party the day after we got married. So a huge party was organised with all our friends and family....most of which didn't know we'd got married the day before....our speech was where we told everyone.
We had it catered, but basically just beef and gravy rolls and salads.....we'd bought the alcohol over time when it was on special, and had 'baby cakes' as our wedding cake so all up I think we spent around $2k (and we got a bit back from the contributions from our wishing well)
We also had a wishing well....people like buying gifts or contributing in some way....so maybe just give people an option I say. It's not like you have to choose megga expensive things to go on your gift registry.....OR you can find smooshy poems on the internet about wedding wishing wells, or tell people that you have your hearts set on something (like a new dining suite) and would love a contribution to that particular thing as you've just moved into a new home.
Have your wedding the way you want it....enjoy it, and put a candle on your wedding cake and remember me!!!! Ha Ha!
I don't think it's rude to ask for donations. As some of the previous posts have mentioned a registry saves all the hassle of what to get. I agree with this, and I think a wishing well is much the same, even better in a way, because you give as much as you can afford, you know?
Tell me all about your inexpensive, informal and incredible wedding ;)
We are paying for it all ourselves as my mum can't afford to contribute (and we wouldn't ask her anyway, she has done so much for us already). MIL is very well off but a complete control freak and snob and I would accept anything off her, which is fine because DF and I are happy and excited to be doing this all under our own steam. We are classing 'inexpensive' as probably 2k or under, so not a big do at all. We want a registry wedding, the room we want is lovely, and it's about $340 for a service for 55 guests. My dress will be anywhere from $200 to $500 from what I've seen so far, and add some shoes, hair and makeup, another $250. We are still undecided on whether we will even have a reception or not, we don't really know what the etiquette of all that is yet 
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