Ideas for Cheapest Wedding Ever=)

How many guests?
My husband's family is a huge traditional Catholic family so all the aunties contribute to the food which saves a lot of money for many young couples (same with showers and anniversary parties, these things are rarely fully catered.)
For dancing, see if you can find an up and coming young DJ rather than using an established and more pricey professional (many college students do this and they are GREAT and cheap!)
Get on Pinterest, you'll find a million ideas there!

Mine cost about $200 for food and liquor, took place in my living room in the afternoon, and there was dancing.

In a beautiful back yard, with a tent for possible bad weather.
We skipped the photographer and passed out those disposable cameras and got so many great candids!!

This is a rather broad question. I think the first thing you should do is make yourself a list of "wants" & "needs". Create a budget - how much do you have, what is the absolute minimum you will need to meet your "needs" & then what you have left over you can use to customize your "wants".

An example of each is:
Need - a venue for the number of guests, food & drinks, music, photography, flowers, etc.
Want - an evening location for dancing (you CAN dance in the afternoon, but it sounds like you would prefer an evening event), specific flowers, professional photographer studio, etc.

Once you have some things narrowed down, then you can get more specific with ideas.

I'll J. put out the obvious - easy cheap wedding would be to have an officiant come to a home location (your/his folks house), with a backyard ceremony, awesome BBQ with beer & pop, rent a tent & play music til the cows come home. Ask a friend with photography skills to take pictures, & put all your music on an iPod ahead of time. Get Aunt Suzy to round up family/friends to bring a dish to share, & J. enjoy the day celebrating with the people who are important to you both!

My marriage 30 years ago might be one of the cheapest celebrations on record, but it was so sweet and joyful.

We got married in a fig orchard in southern CA, asked about 3 dozen good friends to bring a potluck delight and favorite music, but no gifts (didn't need stuff or have a place to put it), I picked wildflowers on the way there for spectacular arrangements (I've arranged flowers forever for friends), and we provided drinks, soft and hard. I had designed invites and programs, and a friend volunteered to photograph. I made wedding vests for my beloved and M., and we wore them with jeans.

We had a Quaker ceremony with the clerk of the local meeting officiating/signing documents. In Quaker fashion, we did not exchange rings. (I have in recent years chosen a triplet of delicate rose-gold bands that are meaningful to M.; husb still doesn't like to wear jewelry.)

Everyone came dressed in comfortable, festive clothing, and we ate, danced and celebrated for hours. My best girlfriend had serious doubts about our plans, but agreed with guests later that it was the happiest, most relaxed and spirited wedding they had ever attended.

I don't know whether anyone else can use any of these ideas. But total cost to us AND guests for their contributions were easily under $300 total (might cost twice that today). My memories of that day are priceless.

My daughter got married with all the trimmings, very high stress for everybody who contributed, and very expensive. But I expect she needed to impress her dad's side of the family, which includes some very wealthy people. I guess I'm pretty geeky, because I don't see the point. The wedding is for the bride and groom first and foremost. What will make you happy? That's where your greatest focus, planning and expenditure should be.

Depends on how many corners you are willing to cut.

Do you know anyone with a lovely yard. Use someone's backyard for the ceremony and reception.

Serve only an assortment of appetizers and alcohol...and then cake. Have a small "wedding cake" which will be cheaper....then serve from Costco sheet cakes.

Don't go formal with all the wedding party attire. J. give everyone a color scheme and tell them to show up in whatever they find.

I think if you let go of your "ideal" wedding image that the magazines and tv shows promote and instead focus on the commitment you two are making then the day will be less stressful...less about the cost.

I love simple weddings...simple receptions. I don't want to see a huge production. I want to see mature people focused on the commitment and family they are creating together at the altar.

Good luck and best wishes!!!

Wow! Under 3k or even under 2k is a lot of money. My daughter was married at a really nice hotel for under 1k. She could've had music and dancing which would've brought up the cost.

We reserved a banquet room which was decorated like a wine cellar. The hotel provided hor deorves and wine. We could've had hard liquor but chose not to. We brought the cake, purchased at a high end bakery. Flowers came from Safeway.

We did have a professional photographer and spent more on pictures than we'd planned. This is cost that can vary. We used recorded music.

We bought her dress at David's Bridal for J. a couple of hundred. It was really nice and surprisingly was very similar to one that she'd sketched ahead of time. We found a gorgeous bridesmaid dress on sale at Macy's. The men's tuxedos were rented by the groom and so aren't included in the cost.

Why can't there be music and dancing in the afternoon, if that will reduce the cost. Tea dances from the early 1900's were in the afternoon. I suggest a tea dance theme would be fun.

The wedding was small. Around 25 guests. Of course if you're inviting hundred or more you have to increase the costs but you can still do it for under 2-3k.

Ours was inexpensive.

I bought a prom dress after prom when they were all on sale so I got a gorgeous $350 dress for $100 and it looked J. like a wedding dress.

We rented a hall and decorated it ourselves. The hall had alcohol, but it actually wasn't that expensive. We had food catered in from a local Chinese restaurant. Everyone thought it was fun to eat wedding food with chopsticks.

My mom and aunt baked cupcakes instead of a wedding cake and we used a lovely tiered cake stand.

We bought all our plates and such at the dollar store.

Instead of a DJ we rented a sound system and played our iPod. Everyone had a great time dancing and singing karaoke.

For flowers we got bouquets of roses and other flowers from Cosco and we put them into bouquets ourselves. We wrapped the bottoms with ribbons. They looked professional and were a fraction of the price! The most expensive part was the corsages, boutineers and the flower girl basket that we had to get professionally done.

It was beautiful, intimate, with lots of creative, handmade decorations. It's amazing what you can do with tulle, white Christmas lights (bought after Christmas on sale!) and paper lanterns. Now that there's Pinterest, I'm sure you can find lots of pretty handmade decoration ideas! I wish I had Pinterest back then!

Congrats! Ours was under 2k for everything, Tux rental included.

Hubby and I paid for most of our wedding ourselves, total about $1500. Dress (homemade) & cake (walmart) were provided by generous family members. Photos (semi-professional & amateur) and music (piano & flute) were provided by generous friends. We used the campus chapel ($200), hired the Justice of the Peace ($200), rented a conference room at a hotel ($250), bought the flowers to make bouquets (walmart roses $100), and made our own food (we got married the Saturday after thanksgiving and had traditional Thanksgiving meal for the reception = $250). We rented 2 tuxes (groom & best man) and bought inexpensive coordinating dresses for the bridesmaids (our sisters x3) = $300. Hmm.. oh, and the remaining $200 was hotel rooms for a few out-of-town family members. No decorations, or frou-frou for us! Family, friends, food, and fun!
We had an off-season very small scale wedding. About 50 guests. Very low-key, but beautiful, memorable, and fun! So, yes, it *can* be done! :)

Actually, the cheapest ever was my BIL. Married by a JOP in their front yard, and then dinner at a steak house.

For your question, it would help to know the time frame (May, June, July),etc...

Example, July - get married on 4th of July, in the evening at a park where there is a band concert. Everyone brings their own drinks/ potluck.
Or go out on the river on a dinner cruise with a party of about 20 people. Dance on the boat, on the river, watching the fireworks.

Totally doable!

I spent >$5K on mine AND it included a vacation...a week long stay in a beautiful beach house RIGHT on the beach for M. and my immediate family (I had my kids before I was married) and a delicious crab feast (bought crab from a local guy directly off his boat), my BIL was the 'cook' and I had my FIL be the photographer (it's his hobby and he is really good)...I only spent $500 on my dress at David's and it was stunning, J. go in with your budget and you will be surprised with what they bring out to you! Bought a small wedding cake, a 'cake for two' as they are called (for J. M. and husband) through a big grocery chain (I worked at one in my area and J. called the one in the destination we were gonna be at) and then made chocolate covered strawberries (that I placed on a beautiful 4 tiered silver thingy which I sprinkled with flower petals) for everyone else, they were a huge hit! I bought my flowers at the grocery store and made (my mom did most of the work on those) my own flower arrangements that were my favorite part! I rented tables and stand up heaters (it gets cold at night on the beach) from a local company. Bought canisters and candles from the dollar store and Michael's craft store and white twinkle lights after christmas when they were on HUGE sale! It was beautiful, truly!

It J. takes a lot of pre-planning. Get organized and make a list of your 'must haves' and start looking for your venue, once you have that you should be golden! Most importantly enlist your family and friends to help you! That is the key! I am sure you are surrounded by many people who love you and who each have unique skills and can and would probably love to help you!!

My BIL was the cook, FIL the photographer, my nephew made the playlist and was in charge of music, my BIL played the wedding march on the guitar, my sister and one of my cousins did my hair and make-up, my mom did my flower arrangements and she is wonderful at calligraphy so she did the invitations, etc. etc. You get the idea!

Good Luck!

Our wedding was at a hall where we could bring our own liquor. That saved us a TON of money!
I also made simple favors that everyone really enjoyed and they were cheap=Chocolate covered pretzels, in a cellophane bag w/ a cute tag w/ our names and date on them that we bought plain, and printed on our computer.
I made our centerpeices for around $100, fake flowers but turned out great. Hit up a craft store. Michaels, Catans, Hobby Lobby.
Buffet style is always cheaper then sit down. Depending on where your wedding is held you could make your own food and heat it in the kitchen of the reception if that is offered. My sister did that for her wedding.
We did our wedding ourselves. While it was a lot of work, it turned out great and we had a blast! It can be done!!!
Look around for a young "up and coming" D.J. to save some $$ too!
Good luck!

We did a 5hr wedding/reception for 150 guests for under $8K. A friend sponsored us at a club, so we only paid for what we consumed (no rental fee, no fee for table cloths, etc) - their menu options ranged from pizza to surf & turf (we did chicken/pizza/fries for kids and food stations for adults).
- It was afternoon (lighter food, beer/wine only).
- Simple invites.
- The bridesmaids carried baskets (4 for $1) filled with beautiful greens (to save on flowers).
- The ring bearer carried two callalilies (sp?) with the rings - those were later given to the woman who set us up on our first date.
- My BIL did our wedding music with a CD player. We had a DJ for 4 hours.
- I created a dress from 3 patterns and had a seamstress make it ($250 total, including fabric/supplies). I was too curvy to fit into any of the Davids Bridal sale dresses.
- I got my shoes at DSW for $30 when the prom shoes went on clearance.
- I made my earrings and necklace.
- The rehearsal dinner was J. wedding party/spouses/kids and was BBQ style with burgers, hot dogs, etc. .
- A friend did my makedup.
- A friend did the pics.
- A friend did the video.
- We had a tiny gluten free cake for us, and the rest had cupcakes displayed on a tier thing from a friend. We didn't do a grooms cake.
- I made the programs with paper from Staples, printing 3 per letter-size page.
- The centerpieces were baskets (same ones from dollar store) filled with greens and a single gerbera daisy.
- We skipped announcing all the folks in the wedding party, we skipped the garter toss, we skipped the bouquet toss (all to save time for the DJ).
- My flowers were a bunch of long stems of whatever was in season (some were given to our great uncle married the longest, the rest were dried then put in a shadow box hanging in our living room).
- The thank you cards were simple.
- The box to hold cards/cash gifts was a picnic basket that my husband wired to only open 1".

I know I'm forgetting something, but maybe some of those help? Good luck!

Why can't you have music and dancing in the afternoon. Budgeted amount would help us give you ideas. Are we talking $500 or $5000. J. saw your budget. Foot your local firehouse or ambulance corp. sometimes they have a rec room you can rent for about $200. DJ a out $700. Food you can do
As inexpensive as you need it to be. Or ou can do a champagne and cake reception.

Congrats on the engagement!

The #1 easiest way is to limit the # of people who are coming to it. Pared down guest list and J. a Maid/Matron of Honor and Best Man, and of course your flower girl, since I'm sure your daughter would love to do that, instead of a whole wedding party entourage.

Make your daughter's flower girl dress something that she can use over and over again.

Maybe you have a great local bar & char house or something where you can go on a night with live music and dancing that'll allow you to block off a section for your reception. Then you can J. do appetizers and cash bar.

Go to the library and borrow "Bridal Bargains" it will tell you everything you need to know!

Neither of my weddings cost very much.

Next to the cost of your dress the flowers will be the highest cost. Go to Hobby Lobby or Micheals and look at the bridal area. They will have some books on how to do your own flowers. They are so easy you'll never believe you can do it but you can. If you can't do it maybe hubby to be would be adept.

Or keep it simple and only carry a single red rose with some ribbons and lace streamers hanging from it. I had small lace fans with a couple of carnations, some baby's breath, and a bit of greenery for my last one.

If you serve alchol you will need to up your budget or make everyone pay for their own. Alcohol is about $3 per drink when you hire it done, if not more, then there is tipping the servers, if anyone breaks a glass, etc....the cost can add up so quickly.

So if you do your reception at a non alcohol place you will save a lot of money.

Look for a dress in consignment shop or even goodwill.

A friend's or family member's yard would be good, but talk to your church about the money constraints, they may be able to work with you.

Wedding 'cupcakes' instead of fancy cake.

Mine was pretty cheap!

My dress was $120. I got it at www.kissbrides.com and everybody kept commenting (And still comments) on how beautiful my dress was. They have a lot of negative reviews but I was happy with their service so I will recommend them. Or you could look around at local thrift stores, they usually have something. Or Craigslist would also have something.

Hubby's tux was around $150... His groomsmen got the same tux at the same place but paid for their own tux's. I don't remember where they got them though.

My bridesmaids also paid for their own dresses but they were $99 each, and also found on www.kissbrides.com. A few of my bridesmaids had to have alterations on their dresses but I think it was more because of their body type than of bad dress making.

The photographer, which my parents paid for, was $500. Again, I suggest looking on Craigslist. I J. started my photography business and am offering completely free photography (Even for weddings) as a way to get my name out there. You might find something like thy in your area.

We had the ceremony in my grandparents backyard, so that was free.

The chair rental was under $100.

We had the reception in the bar/lounge area of our local bowling alley (It was a special area in the back specifically for parties and stuff). That was another $500. The guests were able to buy their own drinks at the bar

We found the officiant/minister online and he was another $200.

My mom works at the local high school and we got the food through them for $150 (My mom cooked it all and her friend served it)

We made the cake ourselves and the ingredients for that was under $50

The DJ was $150

We got the decorations at a dollar store and put them up ourselves for under $50

So... Pretty cheap in the realm of weddings! But still very very beautiful :)

M:

Do a Friday night wedding.

Ask friends to help you make the centerpieces for your tables. You can go to Michael's or Hobby Lobby and buy fake flowers (use your coupons) and make them yourself. Hit Freecylce.com for clear vases (people are getting rid of them all the time). or go to garage sales and purchase vases that way.

Use rocks or water. My nephew J. got married on Sunday in Vegas. The venue was "cheaper" because it was an "off day" - Friday and Sunday's are considered "OFF". Their centerpieces were tall crystal vases - and the bouquets were sitting on the top - so people could still see each other through the vase and around the room.

Get a DJ instead of a band.

If you have great friends who want to celebrate with you? Ask them to help celebrate with food as well and make a potluck reception.

There is a lot you can do. J. because it's not expensive doesn't mean it can't be beautiful.

Good luck!! May God grant you many happy years together!!

Check out Craigslist for inexpensive vendors!

We got married in a national park. Stunningly beautiful setting, sunset over the Pacific. The ceremony took place on a porch overlooking the ocean, but the reception was in a rinky-dink little snack bar / burger shack type place. The snack bar owner let us use the space on the condition that she cater it, and the food was fine -- not spectacular, but who cares.

There was NO cost for the space, though we did have to pay for a permit and insurance. The catering wound up being really cheap. We got wine from Trader Joe's or something -- maybe one step up from Two Buck Chuck. We have friends who are musicians, so they made up this little rag-tag jazz combo. They didn't play that long, though -- like, three songs. A friend took photos, and we paid to have them developed. An artist friend did a sketch for the invitations, I designed and typeset them, and J. took them to the printer down the street. We made a wedding canopy literally with four sticks and some gauzy white fabric -- the groomsmen held it up (this last one is a Jewish tradition).

We also kept the guest list small -- J. under 100 people.

I had my gown made by a dressmaker, which is about the cost of a midrange gown, but it was custom-made. Another idea I considered was looking for a funky vintage gown. Another idea (not from my own wedding) is to ask the bridesmaids each to wear a little black dress and then buy them each a beautiful shawl or something -- more useful for them in the future, more striking and interesting in the ceremony. The men J. wore black suits, not tuxes. We didn't do favors at all, and we didn't have assigned seating; everyone J. sort of squeezed in.

We did have standard wedding flowers and a standard cake, and those were both the most expensive and the most boring part of the whole thing. Our officiant also charged quite a bit, but that's a long story.

ETA. Total cost was a little over $25,000, but that was 12 years ago.

go on Davids Bridal and register for My Event. You put in your budget and then eliminate the things you don't want or don't want to include in your budget - ie. is your dress, his suit/tux, rings, etc.
Having the ceremony and reception at the same location will save one site rental fees. Choose a location (probably outdoors) where you can take advantage of the scenery.
If you plan for later, you could J. offer appetizers and drinks. Find a place that allows you to do a keg.

One option we looked at was a riverboat cruise - it was 3 hours and could be done on your budget. Think outside the box a little.

Destination or local? What are you trying to include? Time of year? These are all things to consider. You are in a prime location to have a wedding outdoors utilizing our nation’s historical places as your backdrop. I’ve been to Gettysburg PA, I’ve seen a wedding at the “looking pool” in DC, The better question to ask would be what is your interest? Once you’ve established that build a wedding off this, set a budget and stick to it.
I wanted a wedding on the beach, a “destination” of sorts wedding where people could come, stay and hang out for the weekend. I had mine in on the beach in Ocean City (and with the destruction recently I am sure you could book something this summer for Cheap)for 10k but then again that was EVERYTHING to include hotel, plane tickets for family out of town, food the entire weekend ect.

I pulled off a pretty inexpensive wedding. I had approx 100 guests. I found a historic masion (it was fine but not super-fab or anything!) that is owned by the county and they rent it out by the day. I think I paid about $600 to rent it for the day. That way I was able to hire all of my own vendors. Lots of wedding venues have catering, etc that is tied to them or owned by them, and you have to use it if you use their venue. Find an independent venue you can rent and then supply your own vendors. I was even able to supply my own alcohol. I paid the caterer extra to set up a bar and serve it, but I saved a ton by buying it myself wholesale. I got my flowers from Giant (the grocery store) they did a great job! They were wildflowers... inexpensive but very pretty! I also got my cake from Giant. It tasted great! By far the biggest expense was catering. I did a pretty full menu... you need to go see several and ask for suggestions. There is lots of ways to cut down costs. I think folks that have 40k weddings are crazy. Mine was classy and fun and cost M. about $6k total for 100 guests. Good luck!

I am now noticing you really aren't that far away! I used Waverly Mansion in Marriottsville MD. I'm sure thats too far for your wedding, but maybe it could give you ideas...

Ours was 15 years ago. My mom made my dress out of upholstery fabric for under $300, and it was exactly what I wanted. We made all of the center pieces, bouquets, favors ect. out of silk flowers from a discount craft store. We got married on a Friday when no one was thinking to do that (most places around here don't discount for that anymore.) We had 120 people at a century old barn converted to a party center. Top shelf open bar, appetizers, upgraded linens, hurricane globes on tables with our centerpieces and sit down dinner with prime rib, chicken marsala, stuffed shells, potatoes, veggies, salad, rolls for $50 a person. We also got married there, no extra charge for that. My uncle who is a lawyer was appointed judge for a day and married us...J. gave him a thank you gift. For the ceremony and dinner we had 2 ancient violinists play, cost $100. Photographer was $900 top package and discount for a Friday. Dancing 4 hours to DJ discount at $45 per hour. I wrote our ceremony and people still talk about our wedding! Oh and we bought 6 individual 10" round layer cakes and 1 8" round layer cake. Each was frosted in a different pattern and each was a different flavor. We had them displayed on different height pedestals. The 8" was our topper. Total cost delivered was $80.

A friend J. got married in her brother's backyard. Whole family pitched in on food. She wore a white summery dress with flowers in her hair. Bridesmaids all wore sun dresses. Folding chairs and tables were probably rented from the fire station or community hall for pennies.

Make what ever you can and call in favors!

My first wedding cost about $3k with the traditional church wedding at 7:00 pm (to skip big dinner), inexpensive flowers & cake, reception in church basement and dance at the local place in my small town. Cash bar.

Second wedding cost $1.5k including dress, suit, rings, everything. $400 dress, inexpensive rings (no diamonds), no bridesmaids or groomsman, his kids were our flower girl/ring bearer, music was a classical guitarist, flowers simple, volunteer photographer, lunch (11:00 am wedding) was a 6 foot party sub from Subway. Memories...priceless!

Music and dancing aren't allowed in the afternoon? I sure hope that's a local law....

A friend from school, originally from Pennsylvania, got married at Washington Crossing Historic Park. I don't know how far that is from you, but I remember it was only about 20 minutes outside of New Hope. It was absolutely beautifully done and the park was the perfect place for an outdoor wedding, if you're into that type of thing. They had a nice pavillion, to shade from the sun and in case of rain.

Best wishes.

Not sure of how much it would cost, but you could try this B&B. Stayed there years ago. They have a barn space that's probably beautiful. It's not too far from where you are. There are also so many B&Bs in your area. Check to see what spaces they offer. You didn't say how many people. Also, I wouldn't automatically disqualify a daytime event. You can do a beautiful brunch and still have music and dancing & alcohol.
http://www.ashmillfarm.com/weddings/

The two biggest money factors are if a meal is served and the size of your guest list.
All inclusive venues mark up food and beverage like crazy. So the best bang for you buck is to have it at someones house. I had my wedding and reception on my parents property, hired an outside caterer, bought my own wine and made our own play list (used a friend for a DJ). That said, we still spent $15,000 and at least $3000 of it was catering. I rented a tent, dance floor, dishes, tables and chairs.
my guest list was 150 and i put most my money into photography ($5,000).

If I had to do it over again and I had 3 k, we'd have it at someones house, it would be pot luck, I'd have a friend do the photography. I'd keep my guest list to 50 or less.

Have it in someone's backyard. And you can totally have music and dancing in the afternoon! My wedding was outside from 12 - 6 and we had plenty of dancing.

If you want cheap, you really need to do it somewhere that you don't have to pay for the venue. And, if it's outside, it cuts way down on decorating costs.

Spend your $ on things that you absolutely must have!!!!

Photographer
Liquor
Food
DJ
Dress, shoes, hair
Tux
Cake

Perform wedding ceremony and reception at same venue
Buffet style food at your reception. Perhaps finger foods.
Provide beer and wine.
Find a relative or friend of a friend to DJ
If possible, do it outdoors and decorate. I've seen a lot of backyard receptions and they were beautiful and lots of fun. Families love helping with these bc it allows them to be apart of your special day.

Good luck

Buy a beautiful dress-I will sell you mine for $1000, rent a tux, take 50 people out for a three course dinner, buy a simple cake, serve your selection of beer, wine & champagne, hand the restaurant your music selection and have fun!

We got married in Las Vegas. We invited friends and close family, but of course by its very nature a destination wedding will really pare down the guest list for you. :) The great thing is, any wedding chapel you go to (we got married at Paris Las Vegas) is already decorated, so you don't have to pay for church flowers. Every chapel employs a wedding planner who can coordinate the details for you. The city registrar is open 24/7, so getting a marriage license is very simple. And no matter where you have the reception (we went to Mon Ami Gabi in Paris - perfect view of the Bellagio fountains, and they made keepsake menus for us to take home), they have all the alcohol you can afford. And then, your guests will entertain themselves for the rest of the weekend so you don't have to worry about it. ;) I think all in all, including my dress, our rings, plane tickets, hotel, the whole wedding, and reception, we were right around $10K. Granted, we had fewer than 20 people there, but still. They all still talk about how much fun our wedding was, so we got a lot of bang for our buck in Las Vegas!

How many people?
What is cheapest? About how much.

My wedding was abut $27 a plate, 120 poeple.. total (including part of the honeymoon) it was about $12k.

You need more details to what you are looking for.

not from your area so I cant recommend specific, but look for a place for brunch. yes you can totally drink if you need too but it will be lighter because it is brunch and brunch food can be cheap! J. limit the seafood and meat. but it is also going to be based on how many people you invite too...