Registary / Courthouse Nuptials

[lmbmcb]

HI
Just an idea as an alternative.
Our wedding and honeymoon cost under $3000 and we had 150 guests.
Keep in mind that our wedding was in '99, so prices will have gone up somewhat, but the biggest cost we avoided was for catering. Even if catering has increased significantly it wouldn't affect the cost to you if you get your guests to pay for their own meal as we did.

Dress - $170 made by a friend, bought material and pattern from Spotlight - looked great!
Flowers - Only had a bouquet for me and one bridesmaid - paid for by a friend but only cost around $50 anyway, artificial flowers. looked great.
Cake - Didn't bother
[B]Bridesmaids dress - paid for her own
Celebrant - $80
Reception - Cost $400 to hire the Ballroom at Noahs on the beach - Newcastle - gorgeous venue. Had the wedding on a Sunday so it was cheaper! Included overnight stay in a spa room.
Food- asked guests to pay for own meals instead of buying us a present. $32 per head for a 3 course meal.
Alcohol - only supplied soft drink and non alcoholic wine, but the bar was open for guests to purchase their own drinks if required.
Music - Hired a jukebox - can't remember the cost but not very much
Honeymoon - 4 days on a houseboat on the Myall Lakes - under $500
There were other expenses such as suit hire and some table decorations, I did the invitations on my computer so only paid for the paper from office works. Cars were borrowed from a friend. Photos and video also by a friend who was learning photography.

Our wedding was beautiful. I don't feel that I missed out on my special day in anyway. The reception centre was just lovely and the meal was great. By asking our friends to pay for their own meal we probably saved thousands and could invite everyone we wanted to.This was actually part of the deal with Noahs, we got the reception room at a cheaper rate but we had to fill it with 150 paying customers. Maybe think about having your wedding on a Sunday or weekday - you will save heaps.
Hope you have a lovely wedding!
L.B.