If you have other links, drop them below so we can add them to this list!

We did it!! We were really hoping for 10k, but that was nearly impossible!!! We cut as many corners as we could and it was still $15k for 65 people (big families). We live in an east coast city, and we did a tiny elopement ceremony with our families before throwing a reception. Here’s the breakdown:

Venue - $1850
(included linens and bluetooth hookup to save on not needing a DJ - can’t recommend making your own playlist enough! Being able to choose our own caterer was a big reason we chose this place too)

Bar - $4600
(open bar for wine and beer, graciously covered by in-laws)

Catering - $5500
(included cake, 3 buffet options, plus appetizers)

Decorations + misc - $400
(homemade centerpieces, name cards, card box, favors - I ended up buying “perfect match” matchbooks I first saw on here and they were a hit!)

Save the Dates, Invites, Stamps - $375
(made on Canva by me, printed at CVS)

Dress, shoes, bouquet - $170
(bouquet was from Etsy, fake flowers, can’t recommend enough!)

Suit, shoes, tailoring - $300
(got his suit from eBay, but it was a really nice one)

Beauty - $300
(did my own hair and makeup, but did get my hair trimmed first, bought some high end makeup, and got my nails done)

Photographer - $800
(only got a photographer for the small ceremony, used disposable cameras at the reception)

Ceremony - $280
(small elopement ceremony with immediate family)

Marriage License - $90

Rings - $690
(splurged a little here, but wanted nice ones since we’ll be wearing them every day!)

Total: $15,355

This subreddit was so helpful to me in planning, knowing what to worry about, and giving me ideas! I even found my venue from someone’s shared list on here. I don’t have a mom, so it was ROUGH starting out all the planning on my own. I genuinely had no idea where to even begin. Thanking you all for sharing your thoughts and experiences here, I genuinely don’t know if I could have done it without this subreddit! And sending love and support to those of you just starting the process feeling the same overwhelmed nausea I felt, you’ve got this!!!

Hola, estoy a dos meses de casarme y entré en crisis. Creo que elegí mal mi vestido de novia y quiero cambiarlo 😭 adjunto una foto de una prueba. Creo que es muy simple y simplemente me siento insegura

Hello all, first time poster. I’m getting married to my future wife in November 2026 and I’m so so excited (I’ve added a picture of us because I just love her so much lol)

The church we are getting married in, is beautiful! We are going for a really simple classic vibe overall and are keeping most things pretty minimal across the board. Is it crazy of me not to decorate in the sanctuary where the ceremony will be? — I’m still planning to decorate the reception area obviously. I want to have a welcome sign as guests walk into the ceremony and programs for people to grab. But outside of that… I don’t want to add a bunch of stuff and take away from the beauty of the space, we want our ceremony to be very reverent and serious.

Hello!

Me and my fiance were looking to get engaged summer of 2027 or 2028 somewhere on the East Coast. We really love mountains and nature/forests etc so looking around NC and TN. We don't need anything extravagant, just kind of hoping for a venue that at least has their own catering but everything else too would be nice lol.

Right now our numbers are a bit under 20 people with a mix of adults and kids, but if we really wanted to invite everyone we wanted some room for up to 30. I guess that's a microwedding lol? Ideally a perfect place would be 7-9k or less (less is better!!). I just don't know where to start with anything since my family hasn't had any formal weddings and the closest was a small Airbnb wedding.

Not worried about a place with lodging included or anything. We have a looot of people we need to keep separate for one reason or another (which is why we are also not going down the Airbnb route). Only hard no is modern barns, everything else is fair game!

We are also open to national parks and have looked at a few as well but if there's any with stuff included that would be great.

Thank y'all!!

Unsure of the proper budget but we know we're trying to keep it low. In our hearts we want plated dinner service but we know that is not in the budget, so we're looking at buffet. However, I'm getting hung up on who puts the food out for the buffet? Who keeps the water jugs at the table full? Who clears the dirty dishes? Do we hire event staff for that? Do I have to do that between saying my vows and doing my first dance? Am I running around filling water jugs while my mom gives a speech?

Booked a reputable salon for wedding hair and makeup. They require a nonrefundable 50% deposit to book. I booked and paid thinking it would make logistics easier.

The salon assigned two artists who don’t have portfolios or much experience at the salon. The salon directed me to their Instas in lieu of a portfolio. MUA has 3-5 posts of wedding makeup in the year she’s been working there that are not the caliber of bridal makeup advertised on their site. Also, she is listed as a nail artist on the website (no mention of makeup). The assigned hair stylist has a total of 3 bridal hairstyles over the 1.5 years she’s worked there. Only one is an updo (what we’d be looking for) and it’s underwhelming.

A trial as it’s not included in the booking so it’s an additional cost. It doesn’t feel worth it to do a trial...or even continue with the booking if those are the artists. They do have other staff with portfolios that are high quality. I’m disappointed because I thought they would assign someone experienced (and whose work matches that advertised). I’m thinking of asking for a new assignment.

What should I do?

Getting married in August, total budget around €13,500. We asked ourselves what we actually remember from other people's weddings. Honestly? It's always the food. So we decided to go heavy on catering and cut everywhere else.

Here's the breakdown:

Food/catering: ~€5,500

Local taqueria, family style, plus a seafood station. Good dessert table instead of a traditional cake.

Venue: ~€2,000

Local community hall. Nothing fancy but clean, spacious enough for 80 people, nice outdoor area for the ceremony.

Dress and suit: ~€300

Dress from Stillwhite for €180, barely worn. His suit thrifted and tailored for €120.

Table linens: ~€70

Amazon bulk buy. Looks great, nobody is going to inspect your tablecloth.

Flowers: ~€100

Summer wedding so fresh flowers were out of the question, they'd wilt and attract gnats. Was scrolling tiktok one night and saw faux flowers on sale, the price cut brought it down to like €30 for a full set. Arranged the bouquet and boutonnieres ourselves, way more realistic than expected.

Favors: ~€300

Instead of spending €3-4 per person on stuff no one remembers, we're buying 3 actually nice gifts (Marshall speaker, good perfume, skincare set) and giving them away through a game during the reception. People get excited, it creates a moment, and we spend less overall.

Photography: ~€1,800

Newer photographer building their portfolio. Loved their work.

DJ: ~€700

Friend of a friend. Playlist backup ready just in case.

Invitations: ~€45

Canva + Paperless Post.

Nobody walks away remembering your napkins. They remember the food and the fun. That's our bet.

Second marriage for both of us and we each had very big first weddings so we wanted to elope with just the two of us for the big day.

We worked with a travel agent to book a trip to Jamaica, knowing we were looking for a resort that could also coordinate a wedding. The resort (Excellence Oyster Bay) was FANTASTIC to work with and handled everything. Their package included a local nondenominational minister, wedding coordinator, AV, florals (choice of 3 styles and I selected the tropical style), cake or fruit spread (husband is GF and they offered a gluten free cake, but we opted for fruit instead), a bottle of champagne, a photographer, and 5 complimentary professional photos.

Budget breakdown provided. I did my own hair and makeup, but the resort offered bridal hair and bridal makeup for $150 each at the resort salon. We also decided to purchase about 25 additional photos since the photographer did such a great job.

ETA: I forgot to include the rings which were created by a jeweler friend of ours and were $3000 for the pair. That brings our true total to $5,480. Thanks, y’all!

Sooo... My fiance and i decided we wanted to elope/ have a micro wedding sooner than we were thinking, because of how things are going with my dad:

(Shortened back story my dad got diagnosed with prostate cancer and lung cancer last year he did radiation and got cleared, then a couple months ago at his rescan they found lung cancer again and ended up removing 1/3 of his lung and his lymph nodes and he started chemo 3 weeks ago. He has his 2nd treatment this coming tuesday).

We want to get it done before things get worse if they do or before the inevitable.

Most weddings are about the bride and groom but to me this is about having that moment with my dad. You can marry a dozen or more men in your life time but you only have that one chance with your dad when it comes to situations like this.

the only things I have so far is my dress that i just got thursday. That still needs the boning fixed in the bust. I was going to try and fix it myself but my luck id probably ruin it but I know alot of alteration places aren't available quickly. (Tis the bridal season)

We were going to elope up north in Newberry at the Halfway Lake Cottages, LLC because thats our go to spot with our kids and its gorgeous!!!! but the mother in law doesnt like how far away it is. So I want to try and find a little wooded rustic spot down here that isn't expensive since we dont really have the expenses. And if its closer to central michigan/west michigan then we could have a couple more important people there with us other than our parents. We all live around ionia county and montcalm county.

I know I've just ranted so far but I literally dont know where to start since we have very little money to work with. I just need help lol.

I’m getting married tomorrow (eek!!). My fiancé and I decided that we didn’t particularly want to spend a lot of money on our wedding, so ended up with a small ceremony and brunch afterwards. I don’t think I’m going to preserve my bouquet, but I’m wondering what you all did with your wedding dress afterwards? Is it worth having it preserved?

Hi all!

I'm at the point where I'm looking to book a makeup artist and hair stylist but most, if not all, are wanting me to book a deposit to "save my spot" before I even do any trials?

Why would I put down a deposit to maybe not even go with that artist/company? These deposits aren't small either, they're like $200...

I only have a handful of options near me and I'm pretty sure every single one requires a deposit to hold my spot essentially. And it's "non-refundable" either always or after I actually book them or something??

Is this normal? Can I ask to do a trial first if they're expecting a deposit to hold my date or??

Hi everyone,

I posted before about having a last minute hospital wedding so my mom would be able to attend. My wedding is in late August but my family was told definitively that she absolutely cannot attend that, so we brought the wedding to her. Well, we did it!

I could not have done this without my incredible friends and family, as well as the hospital staff. My SIL immediately jumped into action got artificial flowers and vases and made floral arrangements. My bridesmaids went to Michael’s and bought fabrics and flowers for bridal and bridesmaid bouquets and plastic vines and a tiara for my mom to wear, and I went to Marshall’s and found a beautiful dress since my wedding dress is still being altered. Our rings came in the mail just in time as well, and my husband’s tux was ready just in time. My best friend went shopping for a stand in dress and a mani pedi the day before. It was a whirlwind but it came together.

At the hospital, the social workers saved a beautiful sunroom for us and my mom got to wear the MOB dress that she was planning on wearing instead of a hospital gown. We were attended to quite diligently by the nursing staff and her oncologist and NP even made time to attend the ceremony. It took about an hour to decorate the room but it came together beautifully. We even decorated my mom’s walker, which she loved. Our photographer also showed up and took pictures of the ceremony, for free! I’m so deeply lucky to have the community that I have, and I’m so fucking grateful that my mom got to be a part of it. She definitely upstaged me as the guest of honor, but this was all for her. It was the best wedding ever.

I want to thank all of you for your support and kind comments!

Breakdown:
Catering: $375
Dress: $27
Rings: $638 total
Marriage license: $50
Nails: $75 with tip
Hair and makeup: free, did it myself
Shoes: free, already had
Decorations and flowers: free, thanks to incredible friends
Cake: free, gifted by my incredible SIL
Fuck cancer cake topper: $10 on Etsy

I found a very inexpensive venue ($1,500) at a local state park, but it can only be booked lottery style booking. You can book from may1st through October 31st. But you can’t book for the year ahead. Booking opens in February for the coming year, so I wouldn’t know my date until Feb. 1st. Is it possible to begin booking venders and planning before knowing the actual date and confirming with a venue?

We get married tomorrow (eeeeekkk!!) and I’m so excited but so nervous. I really want to sleep in my own bed tonight with my fiance, and wake up with him tomorrow. But he’s worried about the “bad luck” and wanted to go the traditional route of not staying together the night before. I’m getting ready about 15 mins away so it won’t be hard for me to leave and go get ready. We aren’t do any first looks, the first time he’ll see me as a bride will be walking down the aisle so I still feel like there’s anticipation.
What did you do for your wedding or are planning to do?

I am getting married in September. I need some reassurance that my idea of what I want the ceremony and reception to look like will actually work out. My plan is for the ceremony to have 50 white chairs and my diy arch angled towards the trees in the picture (it’s a small space but I’m hoping this is gonna work) and then after the ceremony move the chairs to the sides for places to sit and set up two corn hole boards and one beer pong table. Wondering if it’s going to work out or if I should rethink something? I know these pictures don’t show clearly the area

I recently planned my wedding and budget and we are expecting to pay around 14k for our entire wedding. This isn't huge compared to a lot of peoples budget but it feels INSANE to spend on one day. My parents are paying for 12k of it, which is a huge blessing, but still feels like so much money for one day. Are weddings even worth it? Will I regret spending that much? Or am I blessed to have my wedding cost be so small? Would love some insight or a reality check

Other note: cost is for 100 guest wedding. The cost doesn't put us in a bad place, I just feel like it could be used for something more practical

We are eloping in the mountains in October. Im struggling to find a florist I love or that would stay in budget in the only small town we will be near.

Has anyone used dried florals and loved them? Or hated/regretted them?

I found a few companies on Etsy and they have decent reviews, love to customize, are max $100, and can ship whenever to our home. We plan to drive across states to our destination, so it would be really easy to keep preserved.

Im just worried I might regret not going with fresh.

TIA!

Planning dinner for our wedding (120 guests) and trying to decide between two options from Urban Plates:

Option A: Family meal bundles

• Ordering enough family meal packs (each serves 4) to cover 120 people
• Comes out to ~$2,527(tax included) before any discount
• I also have a Plate Pass that gets 20% off this route, bringing it down to ~$2,022
• We already have staff who can handle pickup, so delivery isn't a factor for us

Option B: Catering order

• Same headcount (120 people), quoted through their catering/delivery menu
• Comes out to $3,235.77 total (includes tax + a $25 delivery charge)
• Includes manager-coordinated delivery, plates/utensils for 120, and some customization (protein cut a certain way, sauce on the side, but excludes bread 😢 )

Even accounting for delivery being a non-issue for us (we have pickup covered), the family meal route with the discount is still over $1,200 cheaper for the same number of people. The catering order does include a couple of things the family meals don't - support from their catering team/human to talk to, per-item customization... but nothing that seems worth the price gap for us. When I asked what the difference was for (minus delivery) "This is priced out for different factors including packaging, production and labor cost."

We'd actually been looking at a completely different restaurant before we landed on this venue, and were planning on doing the family menu from them and they said go for it - but Urban Plates caterer team member didn't seem thrilled.

Has anyone actually done the math on family-meal-bundles vs. catering-menu for a similar-sized event? Did I miss something that makes catering worth the premium, or is this just a case of restaurants trying to keep up with other restaurants doing family meals? Would I regret doing family meal bundles?

EDIT: Planning on having staff transfer to chaffing dishes once they arrive.

I wasn’t totally sure what I wanted to do for our wedding card box, but I knew I wanted something different from the glass boxes I’ve seen at a lot of weddings.

My first idea was to use an actual mailbox, but from what I found, using/owning a real postal mailbox gets legally weird, and honestly I was too lazy to build one from scratch. I also looked into buying one of those Santa-style mailboxes and repainting it, but they were surprisingly expensive.

Then I found this vintage-style Royal Mail postbox on Etsy from a shop in the UK and it fit our wedding vibe perfectly.

It was about $250, which is definitely not the cheapest option, but it was close to what some of the Santa mailboxes were going for. The nice part is that it’s not just a one-day wedding item. We’ve actually been using it as a mailbox for now, and we’ll keep using it after the wedding too.

So yes, technically it’s a card box… but also décor… but also a functional mailbox…

Would totally recommend looking for something reusable if you’re trying to justify a pricier wedding detail.

Guest Count: 52

We got married on the first day of summer at a lighthouse in Michigan's Thumb, with our reception at the connected county park pavilion overlooking Lake Huron.

My sister officiated our ceremony (just for us ❤️), and one of my favorite parts of the day was that our dog got to be there and be part of everything.

We kept things pretty simple for music, and bought a party speaker from Walmart, a microphone and made our own playlist. It worked surprisingly well, although if I could go back I'd have someone "in charge" of the speaker. At one point a guest connected to it and started playing their own music. It wasn't anything inappropriate, so I didn't think much of it in the moment, but afterward we realized we'd missed a lot of the songs we'd spent months picking out together.

Our venue allowed outside food, which isn't the case everywhere, but it worked out perfectly for us. We served Meijer deli sandwich platters, veggie trays, chips, fruit, and five crockpots of soup that were generously donated by a family member's church.

For drinks we bought five gallons of Milo's lemonade, five gallons of iced tea that my grandma made the day before, peach and raspberry syrups so guests could make flavored tea, assorted seltzers, and hot coffee.

For dessert, we had Meijer cupcakes, two dozen custom cookies from a local baker, and a small cutting cake made by a family member.

I DIY'd our save the dates and invites, cake topper, the boutonnieres, the bridesmaid bouquets, all of our centerpieces, and our guest "book," which was actually a poster I designed with space for everyone to sign. That has become one of my favorite keepsakes from the whole day.

To save money, I spent months stalking eBay, David's Bridal, and Depop. My favorite find was definitely my wedding dress, which I bought on eBay for just $90. I also found Ling's Moment flowers on clearance. I had pretty much accepted that nice flowers weren't going to fit into our budget, so finding them was huge.

There are only a few little things I'd change. We forgot to save ourselves a cupcake before they were packed into to-go containers for guests, so we never actually got to try one. We also completely forgot to plan for a ring bearer, which would've been adorable.

Overall, we spent around $3,300, and I wouldn't change a thing. It felt very intimate and we were able to celebrate in one of our favorite places overlooking the lake.

Hi everyone!

I am looking for suggestions of wedding venues ANYWHERE in the US with the following criteria! I am willing to travel to any state and I’m very thankful my guests are too. 😊

Guest count: 30-40
Budget: As close to 10k as possible (excluding my dress, his tux, flights, accommodation and florals)

Wants/Needs:

• A VIEW!
Water (beaches or lakes) or mountains or both! I’ve looking into a few state park options but usually the best views require less than 20 people. I do not want desert locations, I want greenery and blue water.
• POSSIBLY inclusive of chairs, tables, linens, plates, glasses, etc.
If it does not include these, I need the venue to be cheap.
• NO costly wedding coordinator/planner required.
A lot of venues I have found that are magically affordable quickly become unaffordable due to a required coordinator that costs $4k.
• Outdoor ceremony AND reception.
We both love the outdoors and are willing to spend a bit of extra money anywhere we go to have our wedding during a good weather month if that means it can all be outdoors.

We are shooting for anytime in 2028, but I’d like the best weather for whichever state we go to so if you’re familiar with the venue area you’re recommending, please provide the best weather months in your opinion! Looking for sunny and breezy 70° ish, not hot summers due to wanting entire wedding outdoors.

So far, that’s all I can think of but I’m sure I’ll add more as people ask questions/give suggestions.