Inexpensive Wedding Reception Ideas?

Date: 11/15/2004 6:41:26 PM
Author: abradabra
Oh there are so many ways you could do it!  The easiest way (obviously) to cut down on reception costs is to invite fewer people.  If you had a morning ceremony and a lunch reception, you could save quite a bit of money there as well.  Or you could have a noon-ish ceremony and a afternoon reception where you just serve cake and say, finger foods (cucumber sandwiches, tea, etc.).  If you have a mid-day reception, people will have a lot less alcohol, which will be a lot cheaper.  They also wouldn't really want to dance as much (sunlight and said lack of alcohol will limit the urge drastically ), so you could just burn a few CD's to play rather than hire anyone.  Even an evening cocktail reception with finger foods rather than a meal would save you a ton.

Think about what makes a reception expensive and look for ways to make it cheaper.  For example, don't serve alcohol (or at least nothing but beer & wine), have a reception in a public garden or other area with lower (or no!) fees, don't hire a band/DJ, make your own bouquet from somewhere like Costco rather than going to a florist...

Also, if you get married on a random day (specifically Monday through Thursday of a non-holiday weekend), locations and caterers are a lot cheaper.  If you go to http://www.theknot.com/ and ask about cheap but nice reception locations, etc. on the local boards, the people there should be able to help with your area specifically!  There's also a website called http://www.fireyourweddingplanner.com/ where the girl helps brides get the wedding of their dreams on a more realistic budget.  I get the emails but didn't buy the book because I'm getting married in NH and living in DC, so I don't have the time/energy to do a lot of that smart money-saving stuff--but it could be really helpful in your case...