Wedding Reception on a Budget!!!

$500 for a reception isn't much, but you can probably pull it off! I would have a dessert reception following the wedding, perhaps in the church basement? Lots of churches will rent out the basement for a nominal fee after the ceremony. You could get a nice wedding cake along with other desserts like eclairs, chocolate covered strawberries etc. We did a cupcake wedding cake and we had relatives bake and decorate the cupcakes. A dessert reception wouldn't be as costly as a dinner reception--unless you have relatives willing to pitch in and make it a potluck. We didn't pay for a DJ, we used an iPod mix and everyone had fun dancing!

With lots of family volunteers, you could keep costs down and I know family loves to help! Just know that when family helps, you have to do it their way a little bit.

Congrats to your sister!

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go to http://ruffledblog.com/ or http://www.diybride.com/ ... they have toooons of cheap yet beautiful wedding ideas :)

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My husband and i got married in our back yard. We bought a canopy and a gazebo and borrowed chairs and tables. We did a buffet style for the food (purchased from GFS and Sam's Club). I cannot get my head around the cost of wedding cakes so I bought several nice cakes and displayed them on a cake table and called it good.

I can't help you with the flowers but you can buy cheap linens from Sam's Club and GFS.

Have fun, it will be beautiful no matter what and the important thing is your sister and her fiance sharing this special day with the people they care about.

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we spent less than $500 on our entire wedding and reception together. we got tables and chairs from a local church, we mixed fresh flowers with silk, and I got my dress at a prom shop instead of a wedding shop. also if you have the reception in a shelter in a state park instead of a hall it is only about $45 tp rent it for the whole day

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maybe you or friends could make a lot of stuff yourselves. if anyone is crafty at all.... check out etsy.com, search for ummmm i dont know, homemade weddings or something like that, you will prob get some ideas.... just have fun and low stress will be a great gift to anyone :)

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Hit the library or bookstore for help. I found a book in 1997 to help me plan - 1001 ways to save $ and still have a fabulous wedding. If she has friends with time or talent, ask if they would be willing to give THAT as the wedding gift (one of my friend made my bridesmaids dresses for my present, another did the flowers as my present, some others decorated, etc.).

Depending on how many people are attending, that'll determine how far your reception budget will go. $500 isn't much, so light food will go farthest, and I expect a BETWEEN meal reception will be best (not lunch or dinner).

For the linens, it may be cheaper to get white for the main color, and then get smaller overlays of the pink/yellow.

Good luck and have fun!

I can tell you people usually order too much wedding cake.... save money by only ordering two rounds for the cake itself and for the rest do a sheetcake..... no one will see it and it's easy for the staff (or whomever) to cut up and have ready..
additionally, maybe only consider those flowers for her bouquet..... flowers get expensive....... if you are doing the flowers yourself, then go to a flowermart.. most cities have them and talk to a growers... see if u can get a deal .. also, this might sound CRAZY.... but the thrift shops have the same vases by the dozen(s) that many florists use.. you can buy up a bunch for CHEAP.....clean them and do the flowers yourself.. if Plumeria is too expensive., then just do the same color theme but a less expensive flower..
also, where is the reception to be held??? indoors, outdoors??

Holy smokes! $500 for a reception budget and fresh flowers. That is going to be tough! You may need to skip the dinner and provide Hors d'œuvre.

Check craft stores for silk plumeria flowers. If you can find some then get a couple of clear bowls and fill them with colored pebbles and blooms. South Coast Plaza does a garden show in early April that features nurseries from all over Southern California, they may have info on some of the nurseries for live plants. I've seen plumeria trees at the show in bloom. Also, talk to a local nursery about getting a discount if you promote them at the reception or to the church.

Pasta, Salad and Bread on a budget can feed alot of people and still be nice. I went to a wedding that was only going to serve appetizers and I told her to put on the menu no dinner because most people expect to eat at a wedding and they decided on the above menu ( I think they even brought the pasta from pizza hut or warehouse club and i was yummy and nobody knew it was on a budget she even served in the square colored paper plates which dressed it up a bit. Good luck.

Hi JSarah, I posted this earlier this week:
Weddings don't have to be anything other than exactly what YOU want.

When my husband and I got married we has already lived together for about 5 years, we had everything we needed (actually 2 of everything we we moved in together! LOL) So when we got married we really wanted...NOTHING other than a really nice honeymoon/vacation. So that is what we asked for. My mom was a bit upset but she got over it.

We planned a very simple wedding in the park and hired a justice of the peace for $100. invited friends and family to our outdoor wedding. I made my invitations (I did mail them out) with a simple request, "we have all the "stuff" we need, the only thing we don't have is our honeymoon. Of course gifts are always optional, but if you choose to gift us a gift, please consider a donation to our dram honey moon. Please call (name of travel agent) for more info." We set up a travel agency to take "gift" from our guests.

Our dinner was at a local restaurant. My mother insisted on paying for some immediately family members but in the invitation it said "if you would like to join us for dinner, we will be going to (name of restaurant here). The cost is $20 per adult and kids under 12 are free. There will be a seafood buffet. RSVP to my mom. We had 56 people joined us.

Then we rented a hall for a dance. It cost $250, about 150 people came. We had out munchies and a cash bar. We ordered pizza at midnight based on the number of people who were still there as our "late lunch" (cost us less than $100 with tip). Our DJ was a gift from an aunt (it was her son-in-law!)

We had a great night, the party was wonderful and almost everyone who came gave us cash or the "receipt" from the travel agent. Not only did we pay for a week in Jamaica, we were able to put a bit away for our first anniversary trip.

B.
Family Success Coach