I need suggestions on budgeting a wedding?
I am budgeting a wedding for 5,000 in Central Illinois and I can't find a cheap place to have the wedding ceremony at. I want it to be beautiful rather indoor or outdoors. I am also needing suggestions with ways to budget and any other suggestions are very welcomed. However, I do not want to go to Chicago for the wedding like some have already suggested. Thanks! :)
two words: WEDDING PLANNER
The Knot has a free wedding program and lots or articles to offer up suggestions. Is your budget for $5000, or are you planning a wedding for 5,000 people? IF it's for 5,000 people, I really suggest you get a wedding planner.
Get Miss Manners' Guide to Excruciatingly Correct Behavior or any other Miss Manners book on weddings. If you turn to The Wedding Industry for guidance on what is correct (or incorrect), you will just get LIES. The Wedding Industry exists to empty your bank account, not to tell you the truth. Miss Manners isn't trying to sell anything, so you can count on her to give you the true facts about what you really to have and what you can do without.
Find some kind of local state park. The fee is normally a small price in comparison to venues. Then you just have to make sure you keep a permit. However, if your budget is small then you might want to find a fully furbished venue. Other wise you'll be paying a lot in the ways of chair rentals, port-a-potties, etc. Unless you don't mind your guests standing. You can also look into a church. They normally don't charge a lot for, it is usually a donation for the church. I've also found a sight that tells you different places for a wedding in your area: also a very tight budget of 5000 too with a little help from my fiance's parents who insisted. Look into doing something different for your wedding. I'm making streamer flowers for my reception centerpieces and if I do them right they don't look bad at all. They're cheap and they are different, double points. :) When looking for your dress, if you don't have one already, look online. Find a few you like that you can physically go in and try on. Then, if the price is better online and the site is reputable buy it off line. I got my dress at over half the price online and am very happy. Also, consider what type of food you are serving. Like, a buffet is cheaper than a three course sit down, but often has more food. And non-traditional food like Mexican can be cheaper if your venue does that kind of thing. There is a great book my fiance's sister sent to me from amazon.com (which is also a great place for discounts) Bridal Bargains .
If that 5000 is not a typo, then you will be lucky to get catering for less than $10.00 a head, that works out at $50,000.00 to start with. If your talking about that much money, you may find hiring a professional organiser to be cost effective, they can get discounts because there regular customers for certain wedding items. Here are some links that may be cost is a major concern, then your in for some hard decisions, just having the necessary facilities for that many people, will stretch most venues, you will almost certainly need some form of child care, if the laws over there are the same s in England, that will need 1 qualified nurse per 12 to 15 children. An out door venue will have a major draw back. Finding parking for that many cars, getting that many cars parked before the ceremony is over. Your best bet will be a large venue capable of holding at least 6000 to 7000 people, unless you intend to rent the whole place. They will have parking for that many cars. Will have toilet facilities for that many people. With luck will have a child care centre as well. This is an undertaking little short of a minor invasion, I wish you all the happiness in the world, but for once im glad im not some one younger. You for instance. My very best to you and your loved ones, all 5000 of them. CDR
Check botanical gardens, state parks, wineries, or other venues like that. (I don't know the cost, but Allerton Park near Monticello - by Champaign - hosts weddings.) Receptions can be at Vet or KC halls, church halls, hotels, etc. Chicago would be outrageously expensive. I think the botanical gardens in STL are beautiful, but that's not central or Illinois, lol. There are, however, botanical gardens elsewhere. Best ways to budget: - Limit your guest list. Fewer guests means less money spent. - Have your reception at a non-dinner time with just a cake and punch reception. If your reception is at lunch or dinner time, guests will expect a full lunch or dinner meal. - Limit alcohol. Either use tickets so guests get one or two drinks instead of a whole open bar, or limit it to just beer and wine. But please, for the love of everything, serve water and maybe soda for free. (At the last wedding I went to, I was pregnant and they were making people pay for water -- but hey, beer was free! I was so mad.) - Use an MP3 player instead of hiring a DJ. - If you're okay with a smaller number of available guests, try getting married on a week day or in the evening, where the rental costs are likely to be less. - Nix the limo ride, party favors, chair covers, etc. I really liked the budget planner from TheKnot.com and used it for my own wedding. It had a lot of things I didn't think about. Call around and check prices. If people have to travel, look into booking a block of hotel rooms at a discount. The one thing I WOULD make sure I paid good money for would be photographs. That, to me, was the best way to remember our wedding. I knew we'd never watch the wedding video again (and most people don't care to do so, but they love to look at pictures), so we made sure to buy the photos our wedding planner took and they were fantastic. It may be tempting to put cameras on the guest tables and have them capture your wedding, but you won't get all the shots you want and trust me, drunk Uncle Bernie is not so good with the camera.
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