Inexpensive Wedding Reception Ideas?

[tinkyy]

A place to live together, a car, and a ring. That leaves us without furniture and no $$$ for a lavish over the top wedding reception.

Traditional church wedding & sit-down dinner with dancing for about 100-125 is the ideal

BUT we don''t have a million bucks and it seems like a bit of a waste of $$,
any tips on cutting corners and making our day special but still being able to buy furniture after it''s done?

Any good wedding/planning book or magazine suggestions, also?

 

[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...

 

[njc]

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...

A lot of do-it-yourself comes to mind when saving money. Another option for flowers besides costco is if there is a flower wholesaler near by you could go to. Maybe you have an aunt or cousin that loves to cook and would be willing to make food for you at cost. Do you know someone with a fabulous yard or view that would be willing to share? A friend that is a DJ or in band that could use the practice and getting their name out? I see weddings as a great time to call in favors and get hooked up with any connections you might have!

A friend recently got married and her dad is a principal. They used his music teachers band who uses the school to practice in (they were AWESOME!), another teacher bakes on the side and made a GORGEOUS 3-tier wedding cake with a to-die-for icing and a neighbor has a limo business on the side. They all gave their services AT COST. They were all great and professional and if you hadnt known the truth would have thought they spent a fortune on those services!

Good Luck!