It's been a while since I brought the subject up, but...

B

blushing bride

New Member
I would like your opinions on something. My fiance and I have had to postpone our wedding. We were looking at sometime next year, but it looks like he'll be getting laid off in the next few months. We'd talked about his job over the weekend, but it didn't occur to me just what the implications would be until I got to thinking about at work that Monday. I was really upset, but I'll just have to live with it.

Here are a few ideas I was thinking about in order to save money when the time came:

1. Wearing a white bridesmaids dress instead of a regular wedding gown.

2. Having the reception at a restaurant, then going to a nightclub for dancing.

3. Buying my bridesmaids dresses at a nice department store.

I haven't brought this up with me as of yet. I wanted to get some opinions from "the girls". Thanks for taking the time to tell me what you think.

P.S.
I couldn't remember what my last password was. I promise to do better this time!

P.P.S.
HOW TO GET IN SHAPE FOR YOUR WEDDING is kicking my butt! I love it!
 
Those are great ideas! I bought my wedding dress at a prom dress store and sewed little red roses on it. My bridesmaids dresses didn't match. There were just both red and they weren't full length. The guys wore black jeans with just the top part of a tux, but I was going for kinda a western look, so it might not work for you. We had a buffet style dinner which was much cheaper than a sit down. But, we had friends do pics. Unless you have a friend that is a pro photographer I highly recommend hiring one. We were very disappointed. We also had things like the wedding cake was a gift, and something else but I can't remember. And for a honeymoon I honestly think you can't go wrong with a cruise. Ours was quite cheap and so much fun!!!

I hope you don't have to wait too long!

Andrea
 
My opinion

I strongly believe that weddings are about the commitment between two people and all of the emotions that go along with that and not about your dress, the bridesmaid's dresses, etc. Do what makes you and your fiancee happy, enjoy yourselves and you will have many happy memories of your special day!!
Erica
 
I had to jump in here. . .

I know all about planning a wedding on a budget -- my father was very ill at the time I got married, and we needed to make it quick and keep things small. I don't know what kind of wedding you're planning or where you live, but I'll tell you what we did: We were married on a private beach on Sanibel Island at sunset. I hired a wedding planner for about $150 (I don't remember exactly) and bought my dress at David's Bridal shop for about $500 (this included alterations and rush delivery of my dress, so it cost a little more). I carried a bouquet of white tulips for under $50 (very simple and pretty, btw, lilies are also a nice, simple way to go) and a friend did my hair. I have to agree with Andrea and say that you should go with a professional photographer. We did and were very happy with the results. Since our wedding was very small, we held an informal reception in our favorite restaurant on the island and had a small wedding cake.

I think what you have to do is think about what is most important to you as far as your wedding is concerned. While the most important thing is that you and your fiancee are committing to a life together, I think that it's also important to celebrate that event in a way that will make it special and memorable for both of you. I can say that my husband and I look back on that day as something fated and magical and we couldn't be happier with how it turned out. We were blessed with beautiful weather, I had (in my opinion) the perfect dress for that type of wedding and our photographer was great.

Okay, I've rambled on long enough. You can have a beautiful wedding on a budget -- it just takes a little extra planning and some strategy :) I'm sure yours will turn out wonderfully.

Best wishes,

Randi
 
Your Day will Be Beautiful

It is the spirit of the occasion that counts. And down the line you can have a fabulous anniversary party with all of the trimmings you want. I was married in 9/1999

To conserve $$$ I:
- Had a black and white wedding (easy to find bridesmaids dresses)
- Did all my own planning (I love party planning)
- My bridesmaids carried 2 long stem roses (maid of honor, 3)with beautiful ribbons which saved alot on flowers
- Decorated ceremony site w/ bows instead of flowers (saved loads of $$$) Another idea is to use ceremony flowers or balloons to decorate the reception dinner
- Made own favors with tulle, scented candles and ribbons w/our names and wedding date
- As was mentioned earlier, don't skimp on photographer also disposable cameras on the tables are fun for the guests and gets some good candids
- Made my own centerpieces with baskets, tulle and ribbon in my wedding colors and filled them with kisses and other candies
- Made own programs (no one knew) on beautiful (inexpensive) marble look paper hand tied a bow on each one and they were a hit and looked fabulous (if I do say so myself)
Whew, that was fun!

I should have given as much thought to "after the wedding day" but that's a different story LOL!
 
Spring is just around the corner which means Prom season is coming up and there are lots of fabulous dresses in a variety of styles at all the deparment stores for really reasonable prices. I got married 2 years ago. We went to Jamaica and got married on the beach. I found a beautiful long, white satin, backless, prom gown that was very simple and only cost me $60.00! Then I just put some tropical flowers in my hair. As they say in Jamaica - Irie (i.e. perfect) But even if you are having a more formal affair I bet you could find gorgeous prom dresses that would work for a wedding gown and bridesmaids dresses.

Anyway, lots of great suggestions here. Congrats on your upcoming nuptials and remember to have fun - don't let the planning stress you out! :)
 
RE: Probably not for you..

But it worked for us! i wore a busienss suit and then we played racquetball. (He let me win :-gloat, much to his happiness.)
Then we went out to dinner; had the folks to dinner at a later date. It's now 15 years later and he still lets me win :-rollen
 
RE: Probably not for you..

That must have been a sight....your playing racquetball in a business suit!!! ;-)
 
My husband and I got married almost 4 years ago, and also did everything else on a budget! We got married in a nearby hotel and had the reception in the back, which they catered (if another company came in, we would have had to pay for the catering company and a kitchen fee). I lucked out and one of my friends did the deejaying, a friend of my mom's did the flowers, and I found a nearby photographer for a reasonable price. We did really limit our guest list to about 100 people, but we both wanted a small wedding anyway. I also found my dress for about $500, and the headpiece I liked, they only had the floor model in, so I was able to also get that for a discount.

I don't know what size you are, but I have been planning on selling my wedding dress and headpiece. The dress is a size 10 (with very little alterations) sheath-style dress with a detachable train. It is off-the-shoulder style (short sleeve), with beading on top and plain bottom. If you are interested, email me ([email protected]) and we can work something out. I don't want to pressure, just thought I would extend the offer!
 
Unfortunately, I'm a size 12/14 in wedding dresses right now. I'm working on getting smaller, but I haven't yet overcome my addiction to sweet snacks and butter. I never thought about buying a prom dress. You guys have given me so many great ideas! I know this isn't really the place for it, but the wedding websites I've been to haven't answered my question. I really appreciate all of you giving me your input. One other thing, if we go to a club later for dancing, who should pay for everyone to get in? Guests and wedding party? This may sound a little hard to believe, but I never gave my wedding much thought until it was clear that I would be getting married. I just don't want to do something that most people would consider tacky. Thanks so much!
 
Whatever you decide to do....

Please, please, please don't have your guests pay for anything if at all humanly possible.

If you are going to a club, many of them have free admission before a certain time.

Or you can dine at a place that also has dancing.

Or you can probably negotiate free (or reduced and YOU pay one price) admission for your guests (with a section reserved just for you). Most places don't mind doing this since they make up the difference with cocktail purchases.
 
Some more ideas! (this is a long one!)

I also had a small budget to work with, here's what I did:

- Dress: I found a gorgeous dress at BridesMart (right across the street from David's Bridal, also a great store) for about $350, including veil. Shoes: Had a pair of ballet type slippers dyed at a shoe store, for no more than 40, I can't remember exactly. I added some little ribbon roses to the top, but they fell off during all the dancing! Comfy and cheap shoes. You can also find them at Penney's.

- Bridesmaids: Their dresses cost 60 each from Marshall Fields, real cute short flow-y dresses with scarves to go around the neck. I had various sized bridesmaids and this dress (made by Alan Paige) fit them all beautifully. It was purple and they each picked out their own silver shoes.

- Flowers: Amlings (around Chicago area) is where I went for flowers. They will do whatever YOU want. Each of my bridesmaids carried a single white rose, wrapped with white ribbon, my maid of honor had a purple ribbon (colors were purple and white). We had corsages for all family, which can get real expensive. My bouquet was about 50, and I didn't buy an extra to keep.

-I made party favors for not too much $$: here's how: buy those plastic shot glasses, bags of silver/gold hershey kisses, ribbon, and white (or colored to match your colors) fabric netting material (like the petticoat stuff), and ribbon (curling ribbon works real well). An extra is those silver or gold plastic wedding rings that you can find at Wal-Mart.

Put several kisses in a shot glass, wrap a small piece of the netting around it, tip it upside down, tie a ribbon tightly around the top (which is actually the bottom of the shot glass). Do this to another one. Then tie both together with two of the wedding rings and curl the ribbon. It looks like wedding bells. My guests loved them--my parents and all their friends took pictures of each other with the rings on their noses, toungues, ears, etc.

-As for all the other stuff, it really depends on who is your area. We got married in a small church so had to pay the fees, but you can get married in a quaint restaruant (or elaborate!) with a jp and just pay for dinner for your guests. You don't have to invite everyone. Meeting at a club afterwards is a fun idea. or, you could have a backyard bbq. One of my husband's friends was married in his apt, just family and close friends, and then all went to a real casual pizza joint for cake (homemade by the bride's friend) and pizza. It was fun! (Also, no formal wear, just dressy casual.)

E-mail me if you have any questions, I'd love to help if I can!
[email protected]
 
RE: Whatever you decide to do....

I agree with Crystal in regards to having guests pay at a wedding. Most guests will not remember the dress, flowers etc., but they will remember the good time they had starting you off on your new life together. It doesn't have to be elaborate or fancy to be meaningful. You have lots of good ideas listed above. Congratulations!!
 
saving wedding $

Just a couple of suggestions:
Not sure of your wedding time frame but you can save $ on decorations if you get married in a church near the Easter or Christmas holidays since the church will already have decorations/flowers for those holidays.
A friend's daughter wore a simple off white tailored suit with a pillbox hat & small veil & had her bridesmaids wear dressy type dresses of their own choosing that could be easily worn again for any fancy occasion. The guys wore suits.
Good luck & best wishes!
Kay
 
RE: Actually, HB

Reminds me of the observation that Ginger Rogers kept up with Fred Astaire in their movie dances, but SHE did her moves backwards and in high heels!!
 
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