Love this simply savvy DIY $2,000 wedding! This couple chose a time to get married that was in between meal times so they didn’t have to spend more money on food and beverages! I love the DIY paper flowers in the bride and bridesmaids bouquets, and the simple decor really helped keep costs down. Hope you enjoy this simply savvy wedding! xoxo-Jessica

Aaron & Breanne

December 8, 2012

Columbia, SC, Church of the Apostles

What was your budget? If you are able, give us a rough breakdown of how you spent your budget.

Our original budget was as cheap as possible.

Venue – Home church was $400 for wedding and reception (partly paid by parents of the Bride)

Food – We chose the time (2pm) to avoid mealtimes. So finger foods and a coffee/hot chocolate bar were provided by friends and family. Plus around $200 (parents of the Bride)

Decorations – around $400 (Parents of the Bride)

Flowers – FREE – He made flowers for the bridal party out of discarded books.

Bridal Dress & Accessories – She used her older sister’s dress. $160 for an adjustment, shoes, and slip.

Groom’s Tux & Accessories: – He had parts of a tux already from past events, so we bought the rest of the pieces for $90

Groomsmen – $47 for matching ties they got to keep. Other than that the bridal party wore black on black for the guys and black cocktail dresses for the ladies (of their own choosing).

DJ – FREE – friend with a laptop

Sound – FREE – gift from a friend (system and tech)

Ceremony Pianist – $150

Save-the-dates $103

Invitations – around $50 (parents of the Bride got a friend to print them for the price of the paper)

Programs – $100

Exit Sparklers – $87

Photographer (all-day wedding coverage) – Cousin owns a photography business. $80 for a special lens rental.

Gifts for Wedding Party – $34

Our Total: $ 1,001
Overall Total: $ 1,851

How many guests did you have?

150

What creative or personal aspects did you include in your wedding?

The groom made the bridal party’s bouquets out of discarded books, as well as making the “guest book” out of tree rings.

As for a personal touch, we decided we didn’t want to do any of the traditional reception events. We weren’t going to throw the bouquet he made and we figured it’d be nice to talk to as many people as we could instead of being watched by them. So we went for a strawberry shortcake bar instead of a cake and intermittent dancing instead of first dances.

What was the biggest thing you did to save money?

Got bride’s dress from her older sister, made the flowers ourselves, and did the reception at the church instead of finding a second venue. We chose the time (2pm) to avoid mealtimes. So finger foods and a coffee/hot chocolate bar were provided by friends and family. Plus around $200 (parents of the Bride)

What’s the best advice you have for planning your wedding now that you’re on the other side?

Things will go wrong, but you’ll end up married either way, and that’s the important bit. Do your best to let the little things go…and try even harder to let go of the big things.

What was your biggest splurge?

Edible Arrangements. Although the brides parents paid for them, they ran around $300. It did save us money in the long run though to roll some of the decorations and food into one purchase.

What was your favorite detail?

I think our favorite thing about the wedding was its personal feel. From the hot chocolate to the strawberry shortcake to the hand made bouquets to the laid back atmosphere. Everything felt like us.

What is the most memorable moment of your day?

We did a first look and photos before the ceremony. It was nice to see each other and take a breath before the wedding. Not to mention it took a lot of pressure and time out of the transition between wedding and reception.

VENDORS

http://www.ediblearrangements.com/
http://photographybyhaileyk.com/
http://www.apostlescolumbia.org/

_________________ Thanks for reading Super Savvy $2,000 Wedding from: The Budget Savvy Bride

Looking for more budget savvy weddings? Visit our Real Weddings gallery! Need to find some DIY projects to save you money and create beautiful details? Check out our DIY project gallery! Connect with The Budget Savvy Bride on the web: Pinterest :: Twitter :: Facebook ::

Welcome to another edition of the BSWOW! This week’s wedding comes from Texas and has a teeny tiny budget of $2,000– but I don’t think you can tell at ALL! Stephanie and Frankie did alot themselves and it saved them a ton of money but still looked absolutely fabulous! I love the mismatched bridesmaid dresses and the popcorn bar– how CUTE is that? Hope you enjoy this installment of our wedding of the week! xoxo-Jessica

Stephanie + Frankie

September 17, 2011

Palestine, Texas at Palestine Church |  Reception at Lee Loveless Photography Studio.

What was your budget? If you are able, give us a rough breakdown of how you spent your budget.

How many guests did you have?

What creative or personal aspects did you include in your wedding?

Peaches were incorporated in the decor to reference my home state (Georgia) because they also went well with my colors

My husband and I saw the movie ‘Up’ when it first came out, with a group of friends, and that was when he realized from the way I looked at him one time during the movie, that I actually liked him. He later bought me the movie when it came out on dvd. Part of our engagement shoot was ‘Up’ themed, and we used a small cardboard house prop from that, for cards at the wedding reception.

What was the biggest thing you did to save money?

What’s the best advice you have for planning your wedding now that you’re on the other side?

• -Be FLEXIBLE. Your plans will change and the focus needs to be on the overall goal of beginning a happy marriage. 
• -Go to premarital counseling – planning a pretty party is not the most important part of preparing to walk down the aisle.
• -Cherish being engaged with your fiancé – Don’t feel bad about putting down the projects and spending some time together.
• -Don’t try and plan everything overnight
• -Don’t rush and sacrifice details in order to finish something – Enjoy the process ( I slapped a swirly stamp on our invitations when designing them because I was in a hurry. Later I regretted this because it changed the whole look of the invitation )
• -Delegate ( I didn’t assign someone to pick up a special order food item for the reception, and it was completely forgotten until after the wedding )
• -Confirm details repeatedly or closer to your wedding date. I had musicians, food helpers, etc disappearing at the last minute because they thought they weren’t needed anymore. Also the order of songs during our wedding ceremony was mixed up because I didn’t think it was necessary to review.
• In the end, everything flies by so quickly you won’t notice much being out of place on the big day. So having details nailed down ahead of time is huge. BUT don’t stress the things that don’t work out. They become great memories to laugh about later Like how paper plates with blue flowers ended up in my wedding reception.

What was your biggest splurge?

It was all BEYOND affordable. We found great deals with a bit of looking. We also have many amazing, talented, and generous friends that made planning a wedding in less than 4 months very doable, and even enjoyable! We kept it simple and that made it work

What was your favorite detail?

What is the most memorable moment of your day?

O my goodness, where to start…My husband and I had our first kiss on the lips after being pronounced man and wife, so that was definitely a highlight

Getting to see him before the wedding, at our First Look, and showing him his ring for the first time with what I had had engraved on the inside, was a very special moment.

In the middle of everyone dancing at our reception he suddenly picked me up and spun me around, which set everyone to cheering. It epitomized the joy of finally being married  :)

Please also include a list of all your vendors including any website links.

_________________ Thanks for reading Stephanie + Frankie : Texas Budget Wedding by Lee Loveless Photography Studio from: The Budget Savvy Bride

Looking for more budget savvy weddings? Visit our Real Weddings gallery! Need to find some DIY projects to save you money and create beautiful details? Check out our DIY project gallery! Connect with The Budget Savvy Bride on the web: Pinterest :: Twitter :: Facebook ::

Okay so let’s be honest, we all like weddings with cute little handmade details, and this wedding has more than a few for you. But the thing that I LOVE about this wedding is the emotions captured by talented photographer Meghan Christine. Matthew & Lindsay look so utterly happy- every smile, every tear radiates the joy of this day so much more than some fancy centerpiece. You can tell these two are really in love and Meghan captured their day so beautifully. Lindsay’s advice about keeping things simple is so valuable, and their wedding day is just as lovely as any other I’ve featured here. I must say I feel a secret sisterhood with other brides who had rainy wedding days— on such a special day there is nothing that can bring you down, trust me! Lindsay, thanks for sharing your day with us!

Lindsay and Matthew

December 18, 2011

Canoga Park, CA

What was your budget? If you are able, give us a rough breakdown of how you spent your budget.

Our budget was about $2200

-Dress: $500

-Cupcakes: $200

-Décor: $150

-Photography: $900

-Accessories/Other: $300

-Venue: Free- our church

How many guests did you have?

We ended up having between 70-85 people

What creative or personal aspects did you include in your wedding?

We love trees and keys, so we made these “chandelier trees” out of sticks and hung keys from them and then hung these “trees” at the front of the church.  We also wanted to make the ceremony and reception feel very cozy so we focused on bringing in aspects of a home, such as doors, books, vintage fabrics, etc.

What was the biggest thing you did to save money?

We kept it really simple!  We saw a wedding that hung paper and lights ($60 total) from the ceiling and we decided that was perfect for transforming the reception hall and for making the ceremony very dramatic.  We also used doors that were collected from the street and attached to wooden stands to add an artistic flair that cost very little.  We also had a reception between the lunch and dinner hour so that we wouldn’t need to feed a whole meal to our guest (we like finger foods anyways!) and that made it more relaxed but also much cheaper.

What’s the best advice you have for planning your wedding now that you’re on the other side?

Keeping it simple (and continuing to tell yourself that) is key!  It is true that the day of, you are just happy to be getting all fancy and marrying your best friend and all the things you could stress about don’t really matter.  Being creative is also really fun and makes your wedding very unique, but don’t go overboard trying to do every cool thing you find on a blog;)

What was your biggest splurge?

Our photographer, my dress and the cupcakes…but my parents graciously paid for the dress and my aunt and uncle kindly paid for the cupcakes! We are both into photography so we knew that the pictures were super important and we were fortunate to know a photographer from our church who does amazing pictures but is beginning her business and we got lucky!

What was your favorite detail?

Wow, I loved all the décor but something special we did instead of a guestbook was have a guest tree where people add a fingerprint and sign their name on a tree (that was drawn by my grandmother!) and then we get to keep it and hang it on our wall!

What is the most memorable moment of your day?

Right after my husband and I said our vows, we took communion and it was wonderful to have those 5 minutes to just shut everything else out and not be rushing to be somewhere and just reflect with one another on the day.  Take any time you can find!

Vendors:

Photography: Meghan Christine Photography

Gown: David’s Bridal

Cupcakes: Rose Bakery

_________________ Thanks for reading Matthew + Lindsay by Meghan Christine Photography from: The Budget Savvy Bride

Looking for more budget savvy weddings? Visit our Real Weddings gallery! Need to find some DIY projects to save you money and create beautiful details? Check out our DIY project gallery! Connect with The Budget Savvy Bride on the web: Pinterest :: Twitter :: Facebook ::

What was your budget? If you are able, give us a rough breakdown of how you spent your budget.

My budget was 500 dollars. My mother paid for the cost to rent out the banquet room which was 400. I found my dress off the rack for 100 dollars at The Bridal Store off of Capital Blvd. I believe I spent 10 dollars on my shoes and 20 dollars on jewelry. My husband’s family paid for the food which was 800 dollars. All the decorations, photos, music, my bouquet and surprise extras were provided by Mrs. Terry Spicer of Spiced Elegance.

How many guests did you have?

We had a total of 25 guest

What creative or personal aspects did you include in your wedding?

Since time was a huge factor, we decided to just have our closest family members to attend. The ceremony would remind one of a tribal wedding were everyone is gathered around standing, watching us say our vows.

What was the biggest thing you did to save money?

First we prayed to God that everything would work out since our budget was really tight. We really did not have any money to spend on anything, but God always provides. My mother had an awesome connection through Mrs. Spicer and she worked miracles.

What’s the best advice you have for planning your wedding now that you’re on the other side?

I would tell bride and groom to-bes to not stress over what you don’t have for your wedding. Originally we were going Downtown. Then, of course, family got involved. If family wants to help, let them help. They feel left out if you don’t. Our wedding was going to be in a church office with 10 people, including me and Antwon. Yes, most females have a vision of what their wedding day would be like, but be thankful for what you’ve found, which is a life time of love and support.

What was your biggest splurge?

I would have to say that the venue, The Cardinal Room, was the biggest splurge. It’s located at the very top of what used to be the highest building in Downtown Raleigh. The view is amazing.

What was your favorite detail?

I would have to say the “Sweetheart Table” that Mrs. Spicer thought of was the best detail. Lord knows I love my family, but after I finally married Antwon I just wanted it to be us for the rest of that day! It was just the two of us. We had candles, flowers, ribbons. It was nice. All of the details were a surprise and beautifully executed.

What is the most memorable moment of your day?

The most memorable moment of our day would have to be when I was coming down the stairs and Danny Mccullers was playing “I Found Love”, by Bebe Winans. I looked down and I saw Antwon’s feet, I was like, “Ok, here come the tears”. I knew I would cry, but not that soon. I took another few steps and saw him looking at me and I just couldn’t hold them in. I still get tears just thinking about that moment.

Photographer: DeShelia Spann Photography

Event Planner: Spiced Elegance Wedding & Event Planner

Musicians: Danny Mac Music

Reception Venue: Cardinal Club

_________________ Thanks for reading Intimate North Carolina Wedding from: The Budget Savvy Bride

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This installment of the Budget Savvy Wedding of the Week is SUPER budget savvy! In fact, it’s the LOWEST priced wedding we’ve ever featured! But what it lacked in budget, it makes up for in craftiness! Charissa and Alex pulled together a $2,000 wedding for their 50 guests! They did lots of DIY and rounded up friends and family to assist along the way! I think my favorite details are the jewels in the trees, her fabric bouquet and her DIY hair flower! This is why I preach the DIY gospel, folks- it just saves you money!! Hope you enjoy this installment of the BS-WOW!

What was your budget?

$2,000.00 for 50 people
Breakdown:

Venue: free – (We got married at my uncles house)
Rentals: $350.00 – (This included tables, chairs & linens)
Music: free – (We used an ipod for the ceremony and reception music)
Attire: $850.00 – (Brides dress $474.00, alterations $100.00, hair flower $5.00, brides shoes $11.00, grooms suit $200.00, men’s ties $60.00 (which the groom silk screened a special design on) – the bridesmaids wore dresses and shoes that they already owned)
Food/Alcohol: $300.00 – (We served fruit that the groom cut up the night before the wedding along with fruit dips, cookies and lemon bars. My aunt made homemade sangria for the occasion and we had champagne for toasting)
Cake: free – (My maid of honor and another friend worked very hard creating our cake for us)
Photography: free – (I happen to have a friend and a cousin that are both photographers. They both were very kind to offer to do our photos for us as a wedding gift)
Flowers: $55.00 (We made the bridesmaids bouquets and all of the boutonnieres out of forever flowers that I bought half priced at hobby lobby and added a few feathers and tied with ribbon)
Invitations: $70.00 – (We found pre-designed invites at Target for $25.00 (for 50) and printed them ourselves at home. stamps for RSVP cards and invites were $45.00.)
Favors: 40.00 – (It is very hot in August in Texas, so we chose to use hand fans as favors. I went to Michael’s with a 40% off coupon on three different days to puchase fans and then tied ribbon in our wedding colors to them.)
Decorations: $300.00 – (The groom strung white Christmas lights in all of the trees. My mom tied glass beads to ribbon that we strung from the trees (she made over 100!). We didn’t use flowers for centerpieces, we purchased picture frames for $1.00 each at Michael’s and painted them black. Inside each frame was either a postcard from the groom’s grandmother or an engagement picture. I found great little metal pieces of art in the garden department at Hobby Lobby that were on clearance anywhere from $0.97 to $4.50. We hung a chandelier (that we already owned)in the tree above the sweetheart table.)

What creative or personal aspects did you include in your wedding?

Everything was made by my husband or I or a close friend/family member.

What was the biggest thing you did to save money?

Our friends and family pitched in and helped with everything. Everything was handmade with love just for our day. We were lucky to have a relative that was willing to let us get married at his home for free.

What's the best advice you have for planning your wedding now that you're on the other side?

Use your resources! I realize that not every bride has photography friends or the DIY gene, but a little hot glue and some ribbon go along way. And if a friend or family member offers to help, let them. Don’t be afraid to go to the craft store with coupons and search the clearance aisle. Most importantly don’t get so lost in the details that you forget what the day is all about. At the end of the day no one will notice but you if something isn’t the right shade or if your card box never made it to the gift table.

What was your biggest splurge?

My dress was $474.00 plus alterations, it’s the reason we didn’t elope. We originally planned on a small ceremony with our two best friends followed by dinner and a honeymoon. A friend and I went dress shopping for an “elopement dress” and I wasn’t having any luck. The dress consultant said “I think there is a dress here that is made just for you” I tried it on and the words out of my mother were “I guess we are having a wedding!” It just felt like THE DRESS!!

What was your favorite detail?

I can’t decide! When I say that we made everything, I mean everything. I found my shoes on clearance at Kohls for $11.00, but they were silver, so my then fiance dyed them pink for me. My bouquet was made of fabric rosettes that one of my bridesmaids made (it even had fabric pieces of her wedding shawl included along with my grandmothers antique brooches). My MOH made our cake and it was amazing! My mother and I stayed up the night before the wedding and made my hair flower out of feathers from her cockatoo.

What is the most memorable moment of your day?

One of our dear friends got ordained so that he could preform the ceremony, he was so nervous! It was absolutely adorable. We chose to do a sand ceremony and he was shaking the whole time. I don’t think anyone noticed but my husband and I, but it was just too sweet.

Vendors:

gown: Alfred Angelo
dress alterations: Customary Couture
grooms suit: Mens Warehouse
photos: Cari Wible Photography & Laura Ashley Photography
hair/makeup: Michelle Wilbur

_________________ Thanks for reading Charissa + Alex from: The Budget Savvy Bride

Looking for more budget savvy weddings? Visit our Real Weddings gallery! Need to find some DIY projects to save you money and create beautiful details? Check out our DIY project gallery! Connect with The Budget Savvy Bride on the web: Pinterest :: Twitter :: Facebook ::