As for a wedding, reception and honeymoon what would you rather do?

Ok say your on a really tight budget what would you rather do?





1. a really simple wedding and reception with not many decorations or much spent on food. also with fake flowers.


and a really cheap honeymoon thats not that far away from home and only stil about 3 nights





2.get married with just about 60 guests present no decorations just some fake flowers. and a smal reception after. and a nice honeymoon at the beach for 5 nights in a really nice hotel





3. nice wedding and reception both with no honeymoon.





4. simple wedding no reception and a nice honeymoon








*im just having a hard time deciding what to do and ant your opinion. BTB 06-07-08

As for a wedding, reception and honeymoon what would you rather do?
I believe that our families made us who we are and thus, deserve to see who we're becoming. There's no way I would elope or even call off the reception. I would do a small wedding, small reception (I don't like fake flowers, so I would do maybe something with ribbons and candles), and a decent honeymoon. For the reception, have it in a local park and cook your own food, or have your attendants + parents each bring something. For the honeymoon - there's no reason to spend $500 a night on some fancy hotel. Spend $150 at a nice place a couple hours away and just enjoy each other's company. Check out all the local sites you never took the time to see.





PS. I love your wedding date!
Reply:it depends what is important to you. i paid for my own wedding, sit down dinner, all the trimmings because it was terribly important to me. we waited several years to go on a honeymoon. a wedding with no reception is very tricky and i strongly do not recommend it. a wedding with a punch and cake reception is done in some areas, and frowned upon in others.





you asked, so i vote for :





nice wedding and reception. honeymoon later.
Reply:elope
Reply:We chose to host 200 guests to a traditional wedding and reception, and not have a honeymoon.


We didn't shackup before we got married, so it was just a thrill to move in together, and start our life as husband and wife - that was honeymoon enough!


So my vote is for number 3! You have your whole lives together to take a trip somewhere!
Reply:I would have a small simple wedding and then what is left use that for the honeymoon. I have to say that smaller wedding are more fun and intimate. You get to spend time with those people you really enjoy and party also.





Congrats and good luck!





(oh I guess my answer is #4)
Reply:A ceremony on the beach at the destination of your choosing--just the two of you, followed by a prolonged honeymoon. My hubby and I did this and it was sensational!
Reply:Hi Emma and congratulations on your upcoming wedding!





You have a tough choice, I can see. Hopefully I can help.





How about option #5. How about a simple wedding, simple reception and nice honeymoon. I hope I can help you with some ideas.





The first thing is...I have no idea where you live! Were you looking at


~ a church wedding/reception?


~ a church wedding and reception elsewhere?


~ Non-church wedding/reception?


You don't say...and it really doesn't matter. The only reason being is that IF you were to marry in a church, usually most churches have fellowship halls that you can use for a reception, which saves LOTS.





I think that you can have a simple wedding and a simple reception....which can BOTH be elegant and beautiful! Remember...it is NOT how much you spend that makes you more or less married.





So....venue first. Really the only difference between a church and non-church is the cost to "rent" a space if not at a church unless this was going to be at someone's home/backyard. That is also an option and can be done very nicely. The only thing about a home wedding/reception would be the cost to rent tables and chairs.





OK...I hope that you live by a Walmart, Costco, Target, Dollar Tree....if so, you are in luck! I live in a small town and I have all of those here (except Costco).





~ Have a small wedding with only 1 attendant each (maid of honor and best man). That saves money on attendant's gifts. Have a flower girl and ring bearer if you want.





~ Keep the guest list to about 60-100





~ What I would suggest would be to have an early afternoon wedding, say at 2 p.m. and then have a dessert reception following. This can be done so elegantly.





~ Invitations: Get a boxed set of invitations from Michael's, Hobby Lobby, Target, etc. A set of 50 costs $25 and then with postage (.41/each) the total for invitations and stamps would be about $46. (That is figuring on mailing all 50 invites.) Remember there are usually 2 people on an invitation (or more depending on if it's a family.) I would save the money and NOT do RSVP's....(an extra .41/each)...just assume everyone will come.





~ Minister/judge/justice of the peace/wedding officiants's fee: $100 (could be less)





~ Marriage license fee: Every state is different - $50?





~ Dress: Here is where you can save a substantial amount of money. I would limit youself to $150-$175 for a dress and shoes! I know, I know....that sounds ridiculous, but you can find gowns on target.com; jcpenney.com and also davids bridal for $100 (or less on Target!) Or, search Ebay. I LOVE the "vintage" gowns on Ebay. They are SO pretty! Check it out! Some go for $20! You can save a substantial amount of money if you are willing to look around and go "outside the box" for your gown. Look at thrift stores, etc. My local thrift store just received a ton of NEW gowns from a bridal store going out of business! Also buy your shoes at Payless!!





~ Photographer - get a family member or pay someone for just a few hours time.





~ Tux/suit for the groom- $100





~ Flowers: Again, do you live by a Walmart, Costco or a Publix grocery store? You are in luck. At my local Walmart you can buy a dozen roses for $10. Look around...that is cheaper than silks! Go to any thrift store and look for vases like these:


http://www.tias.com/cgi-bin/google.fcgi/...





These vases are at ALL thrift stores and they usually sell for about 25 cents. Get enough for the tables at the reception and buy some roses at Walmart, Costco, etc. and put two in each vase with some greens (also at Walmart). This will look so much nicer than no decorations or fake flowers.





Also....for you and your maid of honor, groom and best man: How about 6 roses for you, 3 for your "maid", 2 for the groom's boutonniere and 1 for the best man's boutonniere. Look online how to make your own bouquets and boutonnieres. It is really easy! You can do all this for about $20.....$10 for the dozen roses and $10 for floral tape, ribbon, etc.





OK....THE RECEPTION:





Why not a "dessert reception?" Look online...many brides are doing this now. It can be very elegant! Simply serve cake (maybe have 2 small ones of different flavors) and make up a variety of bars: brownies, 7-layer bars, lemon bars, cream cheese bars, raspberry bars. Have a fruit tray and maybe some cheeses %26amp; crackers (for those that don't like sweets). Serve with coffee, tea and punch! Your done!!


If you live by a Dollar Tree, they have some really nice "silver trays" that you can use for the desserts. They are really nice...and, of couse, are only $1.





Maybe it's because I am very thrifty and I live in a town with many discount and dollar stores....but I think you can have an elegant wedding, a simple and elegant dessert reception for about $1,000 or less (depending on clothing chosen and what you have to "rent" like tables, chairs, etc.)





~ DON'T do favors or "table cameras"...both are a waste of money.





~ Gifts for your attendants - $40...$20/each for maid of honor and best man. Get them a gift certificate to a store or something like that.





~ Rehearsal? Simply have a rehearsal and then do pizza for you, groom, maid of honor and best man. Leave it at that!





Good luck and I hope you have a beautiful wedding and a fabulous honeymoon! Remember that an "budget wedding" is NOT a "cheap wedding"....there is a difference.





Simply look around and see what options you have!
Reply:My date is 06.07.08 as well. Congrats to you!





This is what I would do if I were you:





Outside ceremony (park?), as many people as you really want to invite, then cake and punch reception to follow, possibly at the park as well, or at a friend's home or a cheaper hall somewhere near the park. Minimal decorations at both, especially if outside, just pick somewhere outside with tons of greenery or flowers.





Very simple, very elegant, not too expensive!





The reception would be where you spent the most money and a cake and punch reception can be very beautiful for significantly less money. The cake could be, say no more than 500dollars (but probably way less if you don't want something majorly extravagent), and the punch would be very inexpensive as well. In fact, for my reception, my mother rented a punch fountain (so beautiful!) for $40. You can do a lot of cheap if you know how!





Then, with all that money you save, you can go on a nicer honeymoon, OR save it up to put towards future expenses, a house, or something else.





Just some thoughts for you!
Reply:ELOPE THERE IS YOUR HONEYMOON THEN HAVE A NICE RECEPTION WHEN YOU GET HOME
Reply:Small wedding and reception and a nicer honeymoon. Sounds like you and your fiance are paying for everything. If your parents are paying for the wedding, then he should be paying for the honeymoon. So, is that a possiblity?
Reply:I think #2 is the best compromise of all of them. Possibly #1. You can always go on a nice first anniversary trip instead of an incredible honeymoon.