SS Wedding?!

[tortoise]

I have a seriously non-SS diamond ring!



Can you toss out some SS wedding ideas? We both are not interested in a big fancy wedding. I want beautiful photos, so a professional photographer is 100% a must, as is a white dress (picked out already at $150).

I'm thinking autumn 2012, but we haven't set a date. Off season so everything should be cheaper.

ANYTHING you can think of to save $ is appreciated. And TY in advance.

 

[ksalvagno]

If you keep it to family and close friends, that keeps the numbers down for feeding everyone.

If you were really ambitious, you could always make all the food yourself. Have the reception in someone's backyard/home.

Look around at the halls and see what they have to offer. Usually during off season, they include more things. Some places will include the cake and everything.

If you are having a church wedding, you could see if the church will rent out space for the reception. Many times a church hall rental is dirt cheap.

I don't know if you have seen My Big Redneck Wedding on CMT but on one of the episodes, the couple made everyone bring their own food and drinks.

 

[Wifezilla]

My girl friend sewed all the bride's maid dresses and most of her wedding dress. She only paid someone to do detail work. She also COOKED ALL THE FOOD HERSELF!

In the months before the wedding she cooked up batches of food that freeze and serve well. I think some kind of lemon chicken dish was one...also savory crepes if I remember correctly. All the food was done beforehand. On the day of the wedding I think it was her friend and her sister that actually heated and served the food. It was delicious.

Her TOTAL bill for the wedding and reception was less than $1500. I think I just paid for the fabric for my maid of honor dress. It was a while ago...LOL

 

[lorihadams]

All our plants that we used were in pots so that we could plant them later....we got tall grasses and mums of all different colors (we got married outdoors in my granny's yard in late September)

Balloons are cheap and easy decorations.

Don't buy shoes, go barefoot... you'll lose the shoes when you start dancing anyway.

We had barbeque and green beans and potato salad and fruit and sweet tea and coffee and a real country type menu and let everyone help themselves. Roast a whole pig if you have a ton of people coming. We made ours a non-alcoholic wedding because we had so many people driving long distances to make the wedding. We didn't have to worry about drunk driving issues and it saved us a ton of money.

I only had 2 bridesmaids.

Here's another idea for you....if you really want to cut down on costs have a small wedding with immediate family and friends and then later do a party for everyone and make it a potluck and BYOB!!!

congrats!!!

 

[Lady Henevere]

Ooh, congrats!

It's not hard to make pretty invitations with the papers sold in craft stores and a good printer. You can do the wedding and/or reception in a public park in a pretty location (my aunt had a wedding on the beach at sunset, for example -- it was beautiful and free). There are some other ideas on this thread .

 

[PunkinPeep]

It was out of necessity, but I think my husband and i may have had one of the cheapest weddings ever - short of going to the JP.

We rented a renovated barn in the national forest for (if i remember right) $100. We were far from a lot of family at the time, so most of our guests were from our church. We had the wedding outside (September in Ohio), lit by tiki torches, and we had the reception in the renovated barn. My mom made a small cake, decorated with flower petals, and the church members brought pot luck for the reception food.

Instead of using candles, we used the tiki torches for our "candle lighting ceremony" and lit a bonfire at the end.

My mom and i (mostly my mom) made my dress, and that fabric cost about $100.

This was 12 years ago, but still pretty good costs.

It might have qualified for a redneck wedding, i don't know. But it was simple, little fuss, and it was beautiful. And the pictures with the tiki torches and bonfire turned out really awesome!

Oh, since our wedding was so small and casual, and we were only giving invitation to locals, we made them ourselves by printing out a nice design, rolling it up and putting it inside tiny glass bottles with corks that we got at walmart for 50 cents or something. The rolled up invitations had a ribbon attached for pulling the invitation out. I think we also used those little bottles to make creative table decorations for the reception.

 

[Wifezilla]

Since it is a fall wedding, I am thinking if you have a friend with some carving skills you could make some really pretty carved pumpkin "lanterns". Go with a whole harvest theme. Bake a whole turkey or two. That will feed a lot of people! Of course if someone carves the pumpkins, you have to roast and serve the seeds

http://budgetdreamweddings.com/849/wedding-pumpkin-carving/

Mini pumpkins can also be used as votive candles. You can also use white pumpkins or other decorative looking squash if the orange is too much.

 

[tortoise]

This is a second marriage for me.

First time was in my parent's house, with a picnic reception at a park. My mom did the food and I think my brother grilled.

I had a plum colored wedding gown that I got a super sale on - less than $100. I made one bridesmaids dress, my mom made the other. I did all the flowers - silk - about $100 for brides/bridesmaids bouquet and boutinieres. I made my veil and headpiece (gorgeous). I did go barefoot (and plan to again)! I go barefoot whenever I can.

So I don't want to repeat the same!! That would freak me out. Just a little too wierd. And that is why I am set on a white dress and a professional photographer!

I am hoping to just-say-no to the wedding dance and DJ. I don't think my fiance will fight that!

I am planning on making invitations and having them printed locally. Should be cheap. Stamps will be the expensive part - depending on how many invitations we send.

I would like to have a sit-down meal, but that has got to be expensive! I also would like a photo slideshow at the reception, but that requires modern facilities.

I saw the idea of an old barn online and it sound gorgeous, but I can't think of a location. Plus my fiance probably would not go for it - he's a vet and spends lots of time in barns doing things I'd rather not think about.

I also saw a BEAUTIFUL photo in a book of a wedding in a corn field. They had mowed out a rectangle and a path and hauled a gorgeous shiny black grand piano out into the field, and rows of white chairs. It was a gorgeous photo. So pretty that I showed it to my fiance when we had only been dating for a few months.

Of course finding a corn field with a farmer who will mow out his crop (at what price?!), near an old barn that is clean and in good condition.... Finding it would be a trick. We are in dairy country - maybe I should start driving around?

My cousin had a little bit different wedding. They drove off in a boat instead of a car. And had a big bonfire instead of a rehearsal dinner. I like both ideas, but the boat doesn't go well with the cornfield/barn idea.

Potted crysanthemums are a good decor idea. I do want a few for the yard. I saw some easy mini-pumpkin candle lanterns that could be used for table centerpieces.

My brother's wedding was BIG, and they did a cake cutting ceremony with appetizers at the church, and then just family went to a reception - picnic in a park.

My family that comes would stay at my parent's house. His family is local and I would imagine his parents would host them. My sister and her family never has $ to travel, so we would have to help them out IF we want them to come.

 

[tortoise]

Mmm.... roast turkey and gravy, mashed potatoes, salad, corn, and pumpkin pie. No... pumpkin pecan pie with whipped cream. Yummy.

Thanks for the idea - that makes a menu easy. It would be possible to do at home for a small crowd or have a caterer do for a big crowd.

 

[Wildsky]

Hubby and I ran to Vegas... almost 12 years ago, we did get dressed up - my dress cost me $300 and we had a maid of honor and best man, rented the tuxes, all the family were invited and most actually showed up! (i think the Vegas was an extra pull) got lovely photos and video from the hotel we got married in.
Altogether cost us $1500