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And here we get to the touchy subject of money.
Confession: neither Mr. Bunny nor I are good with money. We both spend on pretty much whatever we want and hope that our money will last until the end of the month. Which, fortunately, it does — most of the time.
I’ve managed to sock away a couple thousand dollars, mostly from when I lived at home with my parents and from the stimulus check I got from the government last year.
Mr. B has saved up small amounts from time to time, but emergencies — a surgery earlier this year, an untimely car accident — have used up that money. Even if his proposal hadn’t been spur-of-the-moment, he wouldn’t have had the money to buy my engagement ring for a few months. (I’m still waiting for the actual ring, though it’s been picked out and he’s put half the money down.)
So we’re relying on my family for the wedding expenses. Mama Bunny has set a budget of $5,000 — and to be honest, even if she hadn’t, that was my original goal. I didn’t think that what I envisioned should cost much more than that.
But then I looked at the beautiful pictures on the wedding blogs I love so much.
And I punched my numbers (the total, plus the numbers and goals I already have in my head) into the handy budget calculators on The Knot and WeddingWire, and here’s what I came up with:
Total: $5,000
There were some costs I was forgetting when I made this original list. We need to rent chairs for the outdoor ceremony, for one.
But $1,700 for dinner for 150 people? Was that even doable?
We’re not spending money on music for the reception (instead going with my trusty iPod and pre-made playlists). I plan to DIY as much of the decor as possible. Our venue doesn’t allow alcohol, so that’s one more cost we don’t have to worry about. Our current budget, which is only slightly different than the one above, doesn’t allow room for cake, which is just fine with me and Mr. Bunny.
So $5,000 it is — for now. I’ll have to see how it all shakes out!
Brides/wives out there… did you set a budget in the beginning and stick to it? Is it possible to have a beautiful (though simple) wedding in these times for that cost?
We’re paying for it all ourselves and have been desperately trying to stay under a strict budget, but it’s been so hard. We’re having 130 people and are serving BBQ buffet, and we’re spending around TWICE what you have budgeted. Things just add up.
We’re having the wedding at a parent’s home, so we saving on a venue fee, but it ends up costing us in other ways, like chair/table/tent rentals, etc.
Never lose hope though! There are deals to be found and if you’re resourceful enough, you will make every dime stretch. Good luck!!!
Well - I’m working with exactly the same budget, so I hope it turns out okay!! It’s interesting though, that even using the same amount of money, different people spend the money in different areas: our flower budget is lower, our photography allotment is higher…
Good luck - I’m hoping a nice but simple wedding can be done for 5K, too!
We thankfully have a budget — otherwise things would be getting NASTY I’m sure for my wallet 
I think it’s totally doable…I see it EVERYDAY here on the Bee!
$1,700 for dinner for 150 people is doable but at $11 per person, it’s going to be sandwiches or barbeque rather than filet minon and caviar. Check out some of the corporate picnic types of caterers rather than the traditional caterers. Or consider inviting fewer people?
YES! It’s totally doable! My one piece of advice is to think about a less expensive dress. You can get some GREAT ones for a lot less than that!! Use the extra cash on the catering. What about doing a big bbq for dinner, have uncle joe fire up the grill and cook everyone hotdogs and hamburgers?!? I think that would be so fun!
This is our budget too. We are having our wedding outside at my FIL’s house. His mom and her best friend are insisting on making most of the food (they are both incredible cooks). We are only having around 70 people though. My sisters and I plan on making our own bouquets, buying flowers from our local farmers market. My grandmother used to make wedding cakes professionally so she will be making our cake. My future SIL is an incredible artist and in school studying art so she will be designing our invites.
So I think yes, 5000 dollars is totally doable, it just depends what you want to spend your money on and what is important to you. Are you going to be serving any sort of alcohol? I didn’t see that in the budget.
well let’s see… went from 10,000… to 12,000… to 15,000… and right now our expenses are looking closer to 20,000. :-/
We’re trying for a $5,000 wedding with 75 guests, and we’re only under budget because our ceremony/reception site is free. 150 guests is A LOT to feed for under $2,000. Does that include beverages, ice, dinnerware, etc??
The easiest way to make it work would be to do an appetizers only or dessert reception, or even a potluck. I can’t wait to hear what ideas you’ve come up with.
We did set a budget but I never even calculated the final cost because I knew we went over:( As long as you keep track of everything, I’m sure you can do it. Catering will be tough.. but if there’s a will, there’s a way!
We are doing our best to stay on what we think is a tight budget, but even though we are DIY-ing most things, the cost of projects adds up!! We have a 120 person guest list, and a bigger budget, and it is proving to be very difficult… I would recommend tyring to keep the number down, and that way, there will be less budget stress, and you will have more time on the day of to truly enjoy your guests’ company… I am even wishing we could get our numbers down, but with 100 family between us, we have got it pretty much as low as it will go. Good luck, and learn to say NO… that will help keep the budget in check!!
We ended up spending about $5,000 more than what we originally budgeted for, but our total number included everything - from the stamps to the STDs and invitations to our rings, the entire honeymoon, and my wedding day pedicure. So in reality, not too shabby…
A budget of $5,000 total is do-able, but remember, all of the small things (for DIY projects, etc) really add up. To keep it under cost, you’ll really need to do some research, but as Mrs. Champ said - where there’s a will, there’s a way!!
It all depends on what you want. I think if thats what you want to spend, you just make it work. Our biggest busget buster was our venue, so the amazing price you have on yours, should really help you out in the long run.
We made a lot of mistakes when it came to our budget. For one- we didnt set a budget really- we estimated how much the wedding we want would cost and decided we need to save that much. Since we are currently living at home, it seemed very doable, but once we decided to buy a home- lots of cuts have been made to our original budget. But thats probably a good thing, we are focusing more on what we really want.
The ONE thing that Mr. Bunny asked for in regard to the wedding was that we could invite everyone. Even though I would have preferred a smaller wedding, I knew I had to give him that.
Also, this is just the budget for what my parents are putting into the wedding. I’ve already spent a good bit of my own money on little things for DIY projects and decor. All my “spending money” that I usually would use for clothes or entertainment or whatever — has all gone to the wedding since December.
We are trying to stick to a budget of around ten to 12,000 most of the numbers were based on what things cost or what my sister spent two years ago. My parents are giving us $3000 and we have to come up with the rest. I took a 10% pay cut yesterday for three months. That’s really going to kill me as I was going to pay for a lot of little things as I went.
The appetizers suggestion is maybe good, but I am attempting to feed about the same number of people for twice what you budgeted with appetizers and finding it very difficult (especially when you include disposable plates, trying to figure out how to maintain food safety, etc). If you have a good friend who will handle catering for you for the cost of food and can do a lot of cooking there, it can be possible. One friend of mine got her entire church involved in helping with the wedding and they fed 250 people for $800. It all depends on what you have available.
for the food, here is my suggestion and i know it can be done for under $1,700. rent a commercial bbq(you can get them at $150 here in Canada, buy a whole lot of chicken quarters, pig or beef roasts and bbq it..then buy potatoes and bbq them and make some gigantic salads…i know it can be done for under $1000 as i’ve fed a camp of 200 like this for $700(the BBQ was donated)
A great way to stay within budget is to use Weddzilla.com and post what you need with your budget and vendors come to you! This way vendors already know what you are willing to spend and what not! Good luck!
Please please don’t forget tax and tip! In California, tax just went up to 9.5% which has really hurt my wallet. And gratuity is a high 18-20% on top of that!
I wrote about how to “calculate” (I use that term loosely) your wedding budget here:
http://shinyhappyweddings.blogspot.com/2009/05/source-heres-exercise-i-think-wedding.html
Unfortunately, that isn’t too far from my reality. I, like Soon2BeeMrsLewis, am looking at a budget that is almost twice what I originally thought I was going to spend…
Good luck!!
We did set a budget, but it had a couple of versions. I did a projected ideal budget (broken down into the amounts for each category) and then projected budgets that went over that by 2, 2.5 and 3%. I’m happy to report that we actually came in UNDER the original ideal budget–by almost 4%.
I think that you can definitely try to stick to your budget and cut corners, but make your wedding lovely. For us, the key to keeping the price manageable was keeping the guest list low. We set an absolute limit to the number of people who could be invited and then worked our budget from there. We also made a pact that even if those original people didn’t attend, we would not add to the guest list. As a result, our original list of 119 became 86, which gave us a huge price difference.
Don’t forget about the cost of the marriage license and rings! Good luck with everything.
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Mrs. Bunny, Columbus Age and Occupation: 24, Associate Editor/Reporter Fiance's Age and Occupation: 27, Reporter Engagement Date: September 23, 2008 Wedding Date: July 2009 Venue: Everal Barn, Westerville About Me: Organized, but messy. I love art (all kinds). I don't have any secrets. I talk a lot and listen even more. I show love by baking. I'm timid by nature, but brave when it counts. Mr. Bunny and I work at competing weekly newspapers, which makes it a little interesting trying to describe our work joys and frustrations without giving away too much before the paper comes out. In spite of that little hurdle, we've managed to build a pretty solid relationship in the short one-and-a-half years we will have been together when we tie the knot. I can't wait!
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