Where to start on wedding planning? Looking to save money

[tinytina]

Hello everyone,

After being engaged for about 4 years now, me and my fiance are seriously talking about a wedding happening in the not too distant future. Right now we are discussing the summer of 2011 so just about 18 months.

We want to do this wedding very frugally. I am trying not to use the word cheap. LOL! Me, my fiance, family, and friends will be doing much of the wedding ourselves. I am feeling slightly overwhelmed and unsure where I should start.

It will be a small, simple wedding. Probably for about 50 guests.

Where do I start in planning? How do I keep myself organized? How do I organize all the information, pictures, samples, etc.??? Not to mention anything I buy in advance?
What did you really like from your wedding? What would you have changed?
Any great ideas?

[gothnurse3]

I loved our wedding. The entire thing was barely over $1,000.00
It was both of ours second wedding so we knew "the show" of a wedding wasn't needed. We got married outside on family property under a white tent draped with white Christmas lights. We rented 50 white chairs and hired a band to play. The family ( his and mine) cooked and bought most of the food. We didn't do favors. We served beer and wine only. Got my flowers from a grocery store florist...much cheaper. We printed our own invites. We didn't do the normal wedding money wasting things...engraved glasses, cake cutter, fancy cake toppper. It was elegantly understated.

Congrats!!!! And remember it is about you and him....

[MacroMama]

It really all depends on what type of wedding you want. A friend wanted a cheap wedding and ended up spending around $10,000 even though they had sheet cakes from a local bakery, picked wildflowers, had a friend MC/DJ (although they did hire a contraband too), a buffet, no alcoholic drinks and a $50 wedding dress. I believe her money went towards a photographer, the band, food, renting chairs, invitations, biodegradable flatware and the rental hall.

So, it's all about what's important to you. By the way, she thought she would only spend $5,000 so be sure to get prices now to get an idea of how much it will cost you.

For our wedding, we decided not to have favors since we never missed them at weddings. Computers and Excel can be your friend if you want to be super organized. White Christmas lights can be nice for decorations and cheap if you hit an after Christmas sale or if family members have them. By the way, getting married in the summer or on a Saturday is more expensive.


Good luck and congrats!