Wedding on a Dime

Oh please do not use silk or plastic flowers. Focus on greenery which will look so much more elegant. Depending on what month the wedding is, you can even use magnolia blossoms....find a friend who has a tree! They can be used everywhere...they are elegant and smell heavenly. Try using gold organza (wired)or ivory ribbon with the magnolia. Use seasonal flowers and even consider using fruit. A variety of simple glass jars and cake stands filled with green apples or lemons can look elegant. You can freeze distilled water and rose petals in milk cartons to later place bottles of wine in (or even vodka) that can look absolutely beautiful.

Consider a high noon wedding followed by brunch. A garden or natural setting can also be a nice option and not cost a lot. Some hotels will do the entire event for a flat fee. Have the bride and the attendants wear simple but elegant dresses.

No need to have "favors". These can become truly tacky and are an unnecessary waste of time and resources to construct. A simple tiny white box of jordan almonds tied with a beautiful satin ribbon placed in the middle of each plate is fine if you HAVE to put something there. Most of the very upscale weddings I have attended do NOT have favors at all.

Don't dismiss the Martha Stewart wedding magazing for great inspitation. Many of her ideas are beautiful, elegant and amazingly simple (using easy to find items).

You can have a tasteful wedding without spending a fortune. I would personally stay far, far away from the Michaels and hobby lobby crafty-style wedding. Horrors.

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Mrs. S..
There is a web site called-Wedding on a dime! Did you know that? Yes, and it is awesome. Meanwhile, believe it or not Martha Stewart has a great selection of low pricing ideas that you could do as well. On arrangements/floral and etc. Then w/your crafty ideas, I just know you are going to do just well. Your local 99 Cent stores, sell vases by the boxes,they come in all shapes and forms. Sometimes you can get flowers that could be used at 10cents also, to help make somthing. What is her theme? What exactally are you trying to create, and maybe I could help more. I would love to research for you. This could be magical, yet a elegant wedding, w/very little.

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I used silk flowers for all of our bouquets, arrangements, boutennieres, etc. Michael's has 50% off floral sales, so that's when I would get my flowers. And they had lots of free idea booklets (of course that was about 7 years ago in Lubbock, but you never know...)

If she has the wedding at an off-time, then they won't have to worry about serving a meal, just cake with tea & coffee. We also didn't have any booze at our wedding, which saved a ton of money! We're not drinkers, and neither are our families so it wasn't a big deal. Our friends who wanted to drink went out after the reception.

David's Bridal has $99 gown sales, which is great if you can find a gown you like. I had a couple friends who were the same size & getting married around the same time, so they went in together to buy a dress, then sold it to another bride-to-be afterwards. It's not for everyone, but it worked out great for all 3 of them! If it's not a terribly formal wedding, she could also get a nice dress off the rack in a department store. A simple sheath or something similar would cost $100s less than at a bridal store. =o)

There were a lot of traditional things that we eliminated because we felt they are unneccessary and we didn't care. No one seemed to notice the difference. Favors, champagne toast (see previous comment about alcohol)... I'm sure there were other things, but that's all I can think of off the top of my head. My theory is: if you don't want to do it, don't do it just because it's tradition.

Keep it small! That was the biggest fight for us because our families wanted to invite the whole world (and make us pay for it), so we really had to stand our ground on that one.

I had a lot of friends who had beautiful weddings for hardly any money out of pocket because friends & family pitched in and volunteered with things they could make/do- cake, invites, food, flower arrangements, etc. And then it was really special because everyone was involved in creating the experience.

Congrats to your friend on her daughter's wedding. What an exciting time!

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We went to a wedding where the favors were little homemade recipe booklets containing 4 recipes -- one from each of the grandmothers. All they needed to do was xerox them on nice paper and they tied them together with some curly ribbon (with a hole punched in the corner). Cute, meaningful keepsake that is inexpensive. The cover had their names and the date, etc. I think the recipes were about 1/4 page size. You can use cardstock if you want to upgrade it and spend a little more, but that's not even necessary. You can also do cardstock for just the cover. The cheap curly ribbon can add all the color you need.

I just thought of one more thing--I think it might have been my sister who did this awhile back. If you get married in a church where more than one wedding is planned that day, you can ask the other bride about sharing (and splitting the cost) of any floral decorations for the church (not what you're carrying, but what's used to decorate).

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Someone already said this but I want to repeat it.

Don't let the couple skimp on the photographer!! The pictures are the ONLY thing you will have left to remember the day.

HUGS!!

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I know you will probably get a lot of suggestions for silk flowers - but I have to tell you, there is no substitute for the real thing. Fresh flowers, lots of candles, and tulle go a long way. Also - bolts of ribbon in a color that matches the bridesmaids can be found at Garden Ridge or other craft stores and tied around the corners of table clothes and draped around mantles, stairwells, etc. Combine ribbon, tulle, grape leaf vines or any vine - even jasmine from your garden. I've seen a couple of inexpensive favors that look nice on tables - such as heart shpaed cookie cutters tied with a ribbons and message, and a pack of seeds with a message tied on that says "Our Love Grows - and couple's name. If you did a garden theme - you could even do potted plants as center peices in low tin containers and then replant them in the couple's flower beds while they are on their honeymoon. Good luck!

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For favors, we put several Hersheys kisses in a plastic spoon, wrapped it it netting tied with a pretty ribbon. Attached was a paper (matching the ribbon) that said "A spoonful of kisses from the Mister and Misses." Cheap, easy and yummy. :)

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Hello,

I am a wedding planner, and there are many ways to save money.

The first and easiest way is to married on an odd day of the week. Even Sundays are cheaper then Saturdays.

Keep guest count low, food is number 1 cost.

Also caterer may have package deals. Ask them a lot questions on what else they can offer you. Some may have linens, centerpieaces, cake stands, cake cutting, all inculded.

Also, think about used or craiglist. Especially for the simple things as flutes, knifes, books, etc. Even the brides dress. She may be very suprised what is on there. Then put it back on CL's and sell it again

Have wedding all in one location!

Let me know if I can help you with anything else.

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For my wedding, I bought oblong trays at Hobby Lobby....they had some that were silver and some that were gold.....I found them in the front area when you first walk in among all the decor and knick knack "sit around" stuff..... (hope that makes sense). Anyway, I bought candles of three different heights....sometimes Michaels runs unscented ivory and white candles for cheap in their bins in the aisles. Then I bought the flat glass marble/rocks....bought some at Arnies, but actually found a boat load by happenstance at Walgreens in their seasonal clearance. I bought some 1/2" ribbon and wrapped a simple band around each candle and glued it with aileen's glue. However, after I was halfway, I decided it would probably looked better to wrap around and do a simple knot with two short angled ends just sticking whichever way they land.....kinda the symbol of "tying the knot".....but, I was too far into it. Anyway, Put the three sizes of candles in the center of the tray and sprinkle some marble rocks around it. I also caught the silk rose petals on sale at Michaels and sprinkled those on the centerpiece and around it on the table. YOu can add some greenery too if you wanted, not too much, just a touch. Our florist actually added some flowers and greenery to ours, but silk is fine and just greenery is fine. (Believe it or not, HUBBY was the one insistant on all fresh florals!)

As for other stuff.....ebay, ebay, ebay. I bought A LOT of my wedding stuff on ebay.

Good luck.....hope this helps.....

I helped a friend of mine do a wedding at very low cost. She was getting married at christmas, so the church was already decorated which was nice. She found a really nice dress at Dillard's for like $100 or so. We just set up two tables in the back of the church with a cake that I think she ordered from randalls, it was good and low cost. I dipped strawberries in chocolate and borrowed this great tiered silver platter. I froze grapes and put them out as well. Some of the groom's family made sandwich trays, and cheese and cracker trays as well. I know another bride who got those meatballs at Sam's and served those along with fruit trays etc. Basically a buffett spread with fruit, crackers, some kind of sweet, cheeses etc will be the cheapest and is really nice. As all the ladies have said hobby lobby and michaels are your best friend!! You can even get plastic serving plates that look like silver platters and they look good. I think my friend where I dipped the strawberries had a $500 budget! I wish you all the best!

We paid for our own wedding and did it with very little money. I would go shopping at Michael's kraft store on there dollar days. We used the ivy bowls with glass beads and a candle. We tied ribbon around the top and put the fake daisies aroud on the table. That is just one idea. Different craft stores have differnt sales. We did 53 center pieces @ $3.00 a piece.

As someone who paid for their own wedding, I say this, save the dime and let the kids use it on their honeymoon. The wedding ceremony is special and if done in a church, then your really shouldn't need much decoration and as for the reception, well, family and friend really could care less about the decorations. They are there to have a great time and celebrate with the couple. We simply put down plastic over the tables for easy cleanup and ran colored ribbon down the middle. Twenty something years later, I don't regret it. WE had over 200 attend and we got about 3 extra nights on our honeymoon with the saved money. Those memories are worth more to me than what the hall looked like for those few hours. Best of Luck.

Centerpiece idea or decorating around the tables: wrap little gift boxes with paper and add the ribbon color of your theme.

just one ad on. One of the responses had a spoon with hershey kisses on them. The ones I have seen have the saying "A spoonful of love and a couple of kisses, from Robert & Susan, the new Mr. & Mrs."
You got a lot of ideas. Good luck

I have to agree to watch the Hobby Lobby and Michael's ads. Every now and then they will put the whole wedding section on 40-50% off. Not to mention most weeks they each have a 40-50% off coupon on their ad or in email (so sign up for their emails). Also Micheal's will have a coupon on the bottom of your receipt that is good for 40-50% off a regular price something the following week (has good for dates on it).

I did this when I got married for decor and invitations. Printing our own invitations at home was super easy and saved a TON of money. If you are able to start shopping early enough you should be able to get most anything you need via the coupons or ad sales.

Good luck and have fun!!!

When I did my wedding my inexpensive flowers were just the white flowers that we spray painted them and they came out beautiful.. Garden Ridge has many flowers that are vey inexpensive.

Also, you can always go to nature, on the side of the road you can always use the flowers that look like fans add babys breath and the spray painted flowers.

Gosh!! there are so many ideas.

Good Luck!!

S.,

We just decorated for my sisters wedding and we were able to find some ideas from Dollar Tree. We bought some pretty bowls and put greenery around them and put tea light candles in them. We bought table cloths and silverware also from the Dollar Tree.

Here is the best and least expensive decorating tool I have found. Go to Dollar Tree-get wedding gift bags, wedding tissue paper and shredded mylar. You open the gift bags and stuff two sheets of tissue so it's "poofy" out of the top, and spread the shredded mylar around the bottom. It is a very festive and inexpensive table top decoration. For the actual ceremony I recommend green plants, lights, lots of candles-beg and borrow! The flowers that are carried can also double as table top decorations. I have always bought most of my supplies at Goodwill-vases and ect. Good luck!

Since I make craft items, I made my own arrangements including bridal/maid bouquets, table arrangement, hair accessories, boutineers (sp?). We too were on a tight budget, the dress would've only cost around $20 as my mom was supposed to make it & found some great satin on sale for $1/yard but she ended up changing her mind at the last minute so we had to buy a dress. As for making the arrangements, I always do my shopping at Hobby Lobby, sometimes Jo-Ann's Fabrics (they're always having sales). I actually also shopped at WalMart for my flowers too since Hobby Lobby didn't have enough for what I needed. Hobby Lobby has coupons online & most of the time they're 40% off one reg. priced item per day. I found a wedding arrangements instruction booklet that I liked there in the floral/wedding dept & just purchased the flowers & accessories (parts to put them together) that I wanted & followed the directions. I will say though, you may hafta purchase extra 'filler' like leaves, etc as mine came out kinda bare even though I had the right amount so I had to fill in blank spots w/extra leaves but they came out really nice & looked just fine. I can email you photo if you'd like. We just made simple maids bouquets & boutineers for the men. You can make those by taking some Baby's Breath & a rose/carnation/whatever flower, or flowers, & 'tie' it together w/ribbon. You may hafta use the green floral tape to really tie it together to make it stay but then just put some pretty ribbon over that & it works fine. Before finding the book, I just looked at bridal magazines or arrangements in flower shops to get an idea of what I wanted & ended up liking what was in the book. Hobby Lobby has most of what you need like making the bouquets/arrangements, sachets for birdseed or other party favors, etc. Those are some suggestions I have for you. If you live in the Katy area or nearby & would like some assistance or extra pointers, we can get together or you can just write if you'd like, just send me a personal message, I'd be happy to help in that respect if needed. Good luck!

On Saturday, Katie Brown's Workshop (on 18.2 - the CREATE channel) was dedicated solely to inexpensive ideas for decorations & food for a wedding.
I made my own candles for the tables. Both Michaels & Hobby Lobby carry the candlemaking supplies & I'm sure you can find other places. Instead of buying a candle mold, I bought several heart shaped METAL cookie cutters. You wrap foil tightly around the outside of the cookie cutter (to create a bottom) before placing the wick and pouring in the melted parafin. Once completely cooled, you have a floating candle that should last the duration of the meal plus some. For a pillar candle, you would just stack the cookie cutters before wrapping them in foil.
You can also make several without wicks, clip a straight portion off of a metal coat hanger, heat it and run it through the center of each one. String each one onto a long wick turning each layer slightly for a taller candle with a different look.
Another expense cutter we utilized was disposable cameras. There was a professional photographer there for a few of the traditional shots during the ceremony but, for the reception, a disposable camera was placed on each table. The guests were encouraged to use the cameras for candid shots. Coupons good for half price developing dropped off with the film and we had dvds & prints of some really good shots back before the kids were back from the honeymoon!
I also made all the pew decorations, the headdress for the flower girl, the ring bearer's pillow, the buttoneers and a wreath of interlocking rings (hung on the wall behind the buffet style finger foods). You can get a detailed instruction book (with pictures!) and all the supplies at the craft store. Silk is cheaper than real in this instance.
Instead of an elaborate meal, we served a variety of finger foods. Savings on the food was enough to cover the cost of the catering.

S., check out your local dollar stores. Our Dollar Tree has all kinds of wedding items for just a dollar! They have the small bubbles bottles for wedding favors, they have ribbons, streamers, the little cards with a bell on a ribbon inside a cut-out heart to ring so the bride and groom will kiss...they have tons of things to help! All for people on a budget! Its what my husbands neice used to stay in her budget for her wedding.

Dollar tree has all kinds of glass vases and potpourri bowls etc. You might be surprised at what you'd find there.

One thought for the bridesmaid's bouquets would be to use a single flower with a longer ribbon tied on trailing down. Something that makes a statement like a calla lily.

Watch Hobby Lobby's sale ads and load up on the half off sales... My wedding cost half of what it should have because I bought everything there half off and did it myself. Good luck, and remember it's not about the stuff, it's about a marriage!

I am currently taking a wedding planning course, but my specialty and majority of my experience is in wedding design and decoration. I make custom centerpieces and floral arrangements. I get a majority of my supplies at Michael's, Hobby Lobby and Garden Ridge. If you are needing silk flowers Garden Ridge is the place to go, they also have lots of candle ideas there. Michael's is where you want to go for ribbon, although I've also found some ribbon at Wal-mart believe it or not!

There is also a party warehouse called Arne's in Houston, this is the place to go for table cloths, plates, table ware etc!!
http://www.arneswarehouse.com/

Unfortunately they are still closed due to Ike but it may pay to keep an eye out for when the open.

It really depends on the theme, look etc that you are going for. They have paper table cloths with a plastic backing that are reasonable and look like real table cloths. I used these for a wedding last year and they looked really nice. You can use patterned craft paper under the center pieces in place of a doilie.

The dollar store is also a great place to go. If you want to use mirrors under a floral arrangement just get some cheap mirrors at the dollar store and take them out of the frame.

Mis matched centerpieces can also be nice, such as if you can't find all the same vase, mirror, etc. Just tie all the colors together with the flowers and ribbons!

I'm sure you will pull it all together! It would help to know exactly what you are looking for themewise. If you need more suggestions let me know!

My only thought right now is looking at Hobby Lobby for ideas, they have a couple isles of wedding deco stuff, so I'm sure you could find some ideas, and their supplies are usually very inexpensive =)

First off, I read your 'a little about me' and what a fantastic life you have!! Your hubby is a chef? That is so great!! I am also a graphic designer and I can appreciate that you want to do some creative details for your friends wedding. :)

You have received some great advice and I would like to add three other ideas...

First, when I got married, I was not big into the 'tulle' aspect of the wedding. I came around to it when my aunt used Christmas lights (white on white electrical cord) under the tulle on the tables. It was so neat...so 'sparkly'! It added a texture to the set-up that was very reasonable in cost.

Second, if you have a Costco membership, their flowers are beautiful! They are a lot cheaper than what I have seen around and for $15 you can get a bouquet that could be split up into 3 bouquets!

Third, has the bride already purchased her bridesmaid gifts or the jewelry for herself? She can get it all FREE by booking a Lia Sophia party. Okay, okay, yes, I sell Lia Sophia but in all honesty I have had brides walk away with $300 in free jewelry! All they have to do is host a party, invite all their friends and have a great time playing Queen for the evening with all the jewelry!! ;-) If you wanted to, you could host the party and as a gift, give her the hostess benefits! (or keep a little for yourself) www.liasophia.com/jodimccreary

I will keep thinking of other ideas and in the meantime, if you want to know more about the jewelry, let me know!

Good Luck!!

J.

You can save $ by not using flowers in your centerpieces. I have seen wide shallow bowls with the pretty glass rocks (the colors of her wedding)in the bottom and floating candles in the top. Any large craft store will have these "bowls" pretty cheap. Party stores are great places to find colored paper goods. Costco & Sams have those clear plastic disposable plates that are quite swanky for an economical price. I would look there as well for any buffet items. The bakery in our Sam's (austin) is better than Costco. They probably do wedding cakes. Good luck to you. I "bought" my whole wedding for 1K including my dress. It was great and I had 60 people. I wish they had had a Wedding on a dime website when I was doing this.

Congrats on the upcoming wedding. I can't recall the web sit that I used a year ago to help me budget for my wedding but here's a similar one:
http://budgetdreamweddings.com/

If you are in the Austin area, I know of a beautiful restaurant and event center that would do the entire event (wedding and reception) for under $1500.

There's also a place in the Austin area that provides free wedding gowns/shoes/make-up/jewelry/etc. (on loan, of course) to ladies who can't afford their own.

Regardless of where you're located, cutting down on the # of guests attending will greatly decrease your wedding reception bill. Also, there's nothing wrong w/ having the wedding and/or reception at someone's house if they have a big enough interior or yard.

I'm sure you'll lots of great ideas from the other mamasource gals in here.
Best of luck on the upcoming wedding! :)
-Jen

You've gotten some wonderful ideas just a little note to add, Michaels and Hobby Lobby have great stuff, if you sign up online and get their ads (Sunday papers)you'll get lots of coupons and Hobby Lobby puts their coupons and ads on the back of the Sunday comics. Good Luck!

I just recently got married in May 09. I planned our wedding in 2 months and we were on a budget as well. I used oriental trading(www.orientaltrading.com) for most of my stuff. They have a wedding section that has everything you could think of. If your friend is in need of a GREAT photgrapher and one that has great prices check out morgancorrynphotography.com
Micheals and hobby lobby has great stuff as well.

Instead of buying vases for center pieces I bought IKEA beer glasses -- much cheaper than vases and they are tall and skinny. I also searched dollar bins at Micheal's for bulk decorations cheap.

Candles -- they make for a nice decoration and you can find votives online cheap.