Need Any and All Wedding Ideas!

For the reception, instead of buying expensive flower arrangements to decorate with, buy potted plants and put them in baskets (ie baskets from the dollar store, nothing expensive) and decorate the basket with a ribbon. That way after the wedding, instead of the flowers being gone, she will have plants for her new home. Tons cheaper than the florist and gives lasting enjoyment from the wedding.

If you need a wedding dress, I have a beautiful one for sale, if the bride is small, It is a size 4, halter style with a train and beaded top. The Cottage of Queen Creek does great flowers and is reasonable. Don't skimp on the photos they are priceless, but don't go overboard.

my husband and I did our wedding 11 years ago for $500. the biggest espense was for a tent and tables and chairs. i asked my very bossy sister to organize it because we were jsut going to do a justice of the peace but she insisted on doing a wedding instead so i told her she could do it all and tell me what she did, i didnt want to be involved.she did. food: i bought a quarter side of beef. it was about 300 lbs. ( we had over 400 at our wedding, and i had wanted only firends and family, lol) Icooked it a little at a time and froze it. iwill be happy to share the recipe which is very easy. she made a couple of huge pots of beans and also froze them in ziplocks. I have five siblings so she assigned something to each of them. my older brother insited on having beer so he contributed 5 kegs of beer. another sister was in charge of decorations and flowers.. another brother was in charge of the dj, and my other brother bought all paper products and ice and punch. i made my dress. we had it on my dads ranch on horseback. it was a western theme. we paid for the tent and tables and i think that was aobut 300 dolars. we didnt knowhow many people she had invited so we only got enough for 75 people. but it ddint matter because no one sat to eat all at once. it ws very casual. my mom and dad rented a jumping castle for the kids and my mom made the cake. my best man( i didnt have any girls in my court) bought the champagne and my hsubands best man bought small boot shaped shot glasses to serve it in. the other 200 we spent on taking everyone to dinner the weekend after out wedding to thank them all. my husbands family wasnt tookeen on us getting married so no one came except for his mom at the last minute and she had a blast. i guess its just the way our family is or because of my bossy sister that loves to organize stuff. we had two more weddings jsut like that as my two sisters married in the next two years. every other cose family member brought a side dish and even though i was embarrased at first when i saw people arriving with food, i saw how proud some of the older ladies were and what and awesome feast it was . my son made the invitations. i dont remember hwat all everyone did becasue i really didnt know what it was going to be like. ijsut know that i left the reception around 3 AM and there were still people dancing.

We did a Christmas theme and used poinsettias on the altar
and greenery for accents and for the reception we made a
semi-circle of Christmas trees and used crystal lights and
the white "snow" around them....you would be surprised how
beautiful you can make the red/green contrast with the white
of the bride's accessories etc....friends pitched in with
Christmas trees and it turned out not to so expensive but
looked expensive...we got little table "favors" of angels etc
from dollar stores etc.....
G.

I've been a wedding photographer for 12 years and can give you some great ideas on how to save money. if you email me where you are, i may be able to direct you to vendors who are cheaper than most. one great idea we used at my sister's wedding is to find a caterer who will give you a discount if you "advertise" for them. a tasteful slip of paper in the invite "food provided by..." or a sign on the table. restaurants are more apt to do this. chocolate fountains are still pretty trendy right now. honestly, trends now are uniqueness. i've seen ping pong tables at receptions, belly dancers, golden ice cream scoops given as favors. sparklers used for the send-off instead of bubbles is a fun thing.

I got married in Vegas for $2,000. It wasn't cheezy or tacky. It was a really elegant wedding that included most everything. Plus, it's only a few hours drive. My brother and his wife married at the Pioneer Living History Museum (chapel). Their wedding was simple, yet beautiful. They had a sunset wedding that was gorgeous. Both my wedding and my brothers were planned within a month...so it can be done. Find out what she wants and be creative financially on obtaining it. Good luck!

If you'd like an awesome DJ, check out ktsoundproductions.blogspot.com

Good luck with everything! How exciting!

First of all, is your sister located here in the area? Does she have any preferences, likes, dislikes, theme, etc.? Has she gotten her dress and what does it look like? When is the wedding (date and time) as it affect the formality of the affair? How does she feel about local vs. location wedding? Are any arrangements already made? I am able to help to some extent (have planned many weddings and received formal training in wedding planning) but need more information. I planned my own wedding (before my planner training) in Tombstone with an "Old West" theme and everything (including plane tickets and hotel rooms for out-of-state family and minister) was less than $5,000). Please feel free to contact me ###-###-####), if you would like more specific help.

I was at a wedding last weekend that was BEAUTIFUL!!! One fun idea I got from it was sparklers. They had sparklers tied to a matchbook (with the bride & grooms name). During the toast, everyone lit the sparklers...Very romantic. Good Luck!!!!

If you want flowers, look at a small local florist or a place like Safeway - we got more flowers for less than 1/4 the quote we got from a wedding florist that way.

Make sure that your photographer will give you full size digital images (or negatives) and do your own prints/album (some photographers are cheap only because they control all the images). You can save a lot of money if you have a photographer friend, but if photos are important, don't trust just anyone, and be clear about what you want (candids/formals of who, etc.).

Go to orientaltrading.com they have a lot of beautiful things for cheap.

We got El Molinito to cater my inlaws anniversary party. We planned for 30 people and got way more food than we needed. Plus it was fairly cheap and great food.

Hello,
I've got some great ideas and can rent you vases I used for my own wedding that you could use for inexpensive centerpieces. They are 3 different height glass square vases. I filled one with tulips, one with crab apples..depending on her colors you could use other things filled it with water and added a floating candle on top and the third one was filled with cranberries with another floating candle on top. I bought roses from Safeway and used only the rose petals to line the aisle and tables and cake table and such. For wedding favors I made candy apples. Granny Smith with red candy around them. I spent $.70 an apple with the wrapping and ribbon, candy, apples, and such. I've got a lot of ideas we can put together for seating cards, arrangements, decor, food, etc.. I have worked with a local wedding planner and for a very small fee can help with all the details. I planned my own wedding and can email you pictures. Let me know!
Congratulations to your sister!

You might check with East Valley Institute Technology (EVIT) culinary arts school. In 2001 they did my daughter's wedding cake for $40. The cake was tasty and pretty, too. It's very inexpensive because the students do all of the work.

http://www.evit.com/commserv/culinary/bakery/wedding0809.pdf

Good Luck!

HI! I am a wedding photographer and know a lot of different places for weddings. I am also a preferred vendor at a place called the Antique Wedding House, in Mesa. They provide everything for you in their packages! Cake, DJ, Photography, minister, etc.. It is a beautiful place and very reasonable. They do an awesome job too. You can contact them or me and I would be glad to help you! www.antiqueweddinghouse.com
www.MOONphotography.com Good Luck!

Debbie

I also had a short time to plan, and a tight budget.

Events by First Rose is a fantastic florist, and very resonably priced!

My girlfriend is a photographer. Check out her website: www.hagertyphotography.com She is amazing! She has also taken all of my son's 1st and 2nd birthday, as well as my pregnancy belly pics. Check her out! She is incredible!

My cousin just got married and they did it pretty cheap. First off, if you are doing it off site, find a cheap but reputable caterer. Also, it is ok to have a cash bar or a partially hosted/cash bar. This helps with guests over consuming as well. Center pieces and party favors can be very simple and inexpensive but elegant. You can get very inexpensive vases at Walmart & Target and then dress them up with very simple flower arrangements (this is a big trend right now). Another beautiful item for the table to help dress up cheaply are those little fake diamonds (sprikle on the tables and they glimmer with the candle light). Buffets are definitely less expensive and no less elegant. I hope this has helped. Just remember that right now, people are going with "less is more" and that really helps the budget. One last thing, silk flowers as decor around the reception area are great b/c they are much more real looking these days and then you can use them in your own home after the wedding!

you can throw out ideas to her and her husband just remember that it's their wedding....my friends and family were out of control and since my parents were helping to pay I felt obligated and ended up having a wedding that wasn't appropriate to me.
i'd suggest asking her the big question of what is most important to her/them
is it the dress
is it large or small.
is it the cake
do you want a ceremony in a church, or outside in the woods or on a beach.
sometimes it's nice to have a small ceremony and a large party/reception after.
to keep the budget down, can a family member or friend take photos instead of a professional?
making sure you ask questions and remind her of things she may not have thought about would be helpful and appreciated rather then overbearing....well you get the picture...
have a great time planning and an awesome event.

For the guest book, get a 9x9 scrapbook (where you can take pages out and then insert them into page protectors of the album) and make a bunch of pages with one or two photos per layout and spaces for guests to sign their well wishes. Everyone loves this, and it is beautiful to look at, both for guests and also for later since it is a combination of photos and greetings wishing you well. There are some sample pages from 2 different books I did on the 'my artwork' page on wenonah dot myctmh dot com (might have to go back a bit for them.) One was light blue & purple, the other was green and pink. Needless to say, you customize it to your wedding colors. Both were beautiful!

I'm assuming your sister has a minister lined up- but if she doesn't, my husband does weddings on the side.. he is a Baptist minister, but you don't have to be Baptist.
He's done many weddings and really enjoys doing them.
His number is ###-###-#### (he is camping with our 3 sons right now- he'll be back this evening).. Joel is his name.

If you have a friend who can do the cake that will save a ton of money....our cake was gorgeous and fed over 450 people. My friend only asked me to pitch in $20 for the ingredients... wow. What a deal! Also, you don't have to feed everyone. An afternoon wedding at 2 or 3 p.m. calls for cake and punch, and a few finger foods at best. I don't know why people think they need to spend $10,000 to feed everyone.

Remember people are there for your sister because they love her and want to wish her well. People with good hearts expect to go, bring a gift, and enjoy socializing. Being fed should not be at the top of the list.

A great photographer, a beautiful dress and setting, some pretty flowers, and bingo... you have a beautiful occasion to remember, and money in the bank left over for a first down payment on a house!
Good luck. Sounds stressful, but also sounds like a lot of fun!
toni

I am a traditionalist. Any neat cultural things you could include that really personalize a wedding? Forget trendy. Plain elegance in simplicity goes a long way. Budget won't matter so much if you make it special that way.
My husband is Japanese American..we had lots of red and white origami cranes on our decor. We married in his family's small Buddhist Church. The most expensive thing was feeding everyone. Good luck!

Invitations are very easy to do it yourself. Visit any scrapbook store or MIchaels etc. Very simple paper and very elegant fonts can be found for free online to print. Tie a simple but pretty ribbon on it and you are set.

ALso center pieces...you find a plethora of vases and clear glass containers at any thrift store, Savers, Goodwill etc. They do not have to match pefectly. Fill them will glass marbles or stones from a craft store and water adn float a candle in the middle. Very simple and elegant and very cost affective.

Like others have said catering does not have to be expensive. You can find restaraunts that will do it for not much, or even do it yourself.
At my high school reunion we did stations and it was much cheaper. We had a nacho bar, baked potato bar and even a dessert bar. I am sure that you can do something very similar again for not much money and everyone will be satisfied.

If you have any friends or family that can do cake decorations you can do a cupcake cake which is a new trend and much easier when it comes to serve. everyone gets a cupcake.

Someone else mentioned orientaltradingcomapny.com...lots of very nice decorating items and very cheap but not cheap looking.

Good luck...everyone has had some great advice for you and your sister!