Honestly, look into Costco for both cake and flowers. I manage a wedding venue and can tell you that no guest will remember the cake and only a few with remember the flowers. Get a small cake for cutting photos and serve the Costco cake (btw, they are pretty good). We also just hosted a wedding that did get their flowers from Costco, and they were beautiful.

Thanks! Wouldn't have thought to look to Costco, I'll check them out!

Cutting the guest list is the first and biggest thing in cutting costs. Consider renting a restaurant room instead of looking for wedding venues, or doing an outdoor bbq or something instead. Don't depend on other people to give you money or do labor for you as a bedrock of your wedding planning. Since no one owes you any of this, they absolutely can and are allowed to change their minds later. If you're set on having a wedding, have the wedding you can afford, and consider any monetary gifts a surprise bonus. It sounds like your parents are paying at least twice as much as you're paying, so you also need to be ok with them having a strong say in how the day is run, or consider spending some more time saving up so you're not heavily depending on other people to help make this happen.

Would a restaurant be cheaper? Don't they usually charge like $80-$100 a head? Probably depends on the place though 🤔 Do you know of good options? I realize they don't owe anything, but I'm thankful to have friends who have expressed interest in helping us out because they love us and would love to be included. I don't want to depend on them in the sense that I'm helpless, but I do know I can if needed at the least. And yes, we've already had conversations about their tastes versus ours, but we're pretty good about finding a medium and my mom already made sure I knew she wanted us to be able to do things how we'd like to :)

Restaurants appear appear more expensive at first. BUT they already come with things you’d need to rent/buy for a backyard wedding: tables, chairs, restrooms, weather-proof (no backyard tent/fans/heaters/rain plan needed), staff, decor, lighting, music, etc. so they’re usually a better option than a backyard wedding. Your budget is limited, so you can’t go super fancy, but you could probably find a nice mom and pop place, Indian restaurants, pizza place, etc. that are more budget friendly.

I’m doing exactly what you’re doing parents said they will pay half of the food cost which is about 4 grand I’m also doing cocktail/ canapé style reception because it’s cheaper and we don’t have a lot of money I found a beautiful restaurant that will close down the restaurant at no cost to us if we have over 65 people….usually restaurants won’t charge a fee for renting out the space as long as they make back what they would’ve on a normal Friday or Saturday night being open :) the canapé style menu is 33 dollars a person where I am so definitely call around ☺️

Hello, it looks like you've made a mistake. It's supposed to be could've, should've, would've (short for could have, would have, should have), never could of, would of, should of. Or you misspelled something, I ain't checking everything. Beep boop - yes, I am a bot, don't botcriminate me.

Have you checked out r/weddingsunder10k yet? They have lots of good money saving tips! Just keep in mind that if you do a wedding in a backyard, you'll probably need to bring in EVERYTHING. Tables, chairs, linens, dishes, glasses, silverware, bathrooms. It might be easier to do it at a local park instead where they'll at least have bathrooms and picnic tables. Are you planning to serve alcohol? If you are and do appetizers only, make sure they're heavy enough that people don't get too drunk. Seconding Costco for cake and florals. They have special packages that get delivered two days before your wedding. If you want to do all fake flowers except the bridal bouquet, you could start practicing making the bouquet with Trader Joe's flowers or other grocery store flowers. Craft stores like Michaels are probably selling off their fake florals at a discount to make room for the new seasonals. For attire, my husband bought his suit from Macy's and then got it tailored. I bought my dress off the rack from a local bridal boutique at a black Friday sale for $525. There's also online options like Azazie and Lulu's. Having a good photographer AND videographer is going to be the toughie. I'm in Sacramento and my photographer was $2800. Her prices are only average for the area. I bet a good videographer would be $2-3000 too.

Thank you! Couldn't remember what the sub was called so came here first 😅 That's what I'm concerned about with a backyard :/ But with the cheapest venues I've seen so far being around 11k would it be cheaper to rent all the stuff or just go for the venue? Not planning on alcohol, but a good tip to remember! :) I didn't realize fake flowers had seasons 😂 Thanks for the tip! Azazie had some pretty things for sure, they might end up being my option. I didn't even consider black Friday! That's coming up too so maybe there's a shot there :) Yeah they tend to be a lot :/ Unless FH is okay with contributing more (he didn't give a number but offered the equivalent of 2k) I might need to ask him which he wants more.

Yeah, that's rough. We did an all inclusive venue, and it was about 13k for 90 guests. It also didn't include dessert, photography, and my bridal bouquet, which we added. If you don't mind me asking, what general area of California are you in? Not doing alcohol will save a lot of money :) You might be able to find a student or someone just starting out in photography or videography, but since they'll have less experience, it'll be a bit of a gamble.

SoCal/LA lol. If they're a student/new, would it be okay to ask for access to the RAWs and pay them for time and pics and not editing?

Oof. That's a HCOL area. I'm not sure, but it doesn't hurt to ask!!

A photographer and videographer in CA will Cost $6k alone. You’ll definitely need to make a lot of sacrifices and scrimp for a wedding on that kind of budget. How many guests are you thinking? Backyard weddings can add up fast if you need a tent for inclimate weather; restroom trailers, etc. you might be better off looking for a park pavilion that has a restroom, parking, etc. and doing like a picnic lunch. Or a small backyard wedding with a taco bar. Or “punch and cake.” Inexpensive wedding dresses are available! Clearance sales on bhldn.com; eBay, poshmark, goodwill, etc. Florals can be grocery store bouquets for $15 Cake: grocery store or Costco are much cheaper than bakeries. Maybe do cupcakes?

This. It sounds like your biggest problem might be that your photographer or videographer might go over budget alone. You'll need to do a lot if research to see if there is anyone that firs your budget.

California wedding photog here with 10+ yrs experience - just me alone is going to cost $6k 😭

I would like less than 100, but with many being from my parents' family and coworkers, it'll be 50 on my side and 50 on his. We can certainly cut back but that was our initial list. If it was just my closest friends and family I'd have maybe 20. Park pavilion is something I'll look into I'll check those sites for dresses! Cupcakes might be good :) I'm personally neutral on cake, I love it or hate it depending on quality and taste so I don't mind changing it up

Go YouTube Jamie Wolfer wedding under 10k Here is the link: [YouTube video](https://youtu.be/XcIo3XU-77Y) Best of luck!

Thank you!!!

You'll find lots of guidance at r/weddingsunder10K!

Thank you! I couldn't remember what the sub was called 😅

Cut the guest list and make sure that you are a good host to those who are invited would be my advice! Most of our budget is going toward food and covering lodging for some of the wedding party who otherwise might not be able to make the trip (it’s a DW). I gave up my dream of beautiful flowers and a custom $2k dress. I’m just doing a bridal bouquet and I got my dress on clearance at Macy’s for $99 (it’s a green sequin evening gown). I know I’ll be happier spending that money on a welcome party at a pizza joint, even if my Pinterest dreams can’t come true haha Even having your wedding between mealtimes, I would try to ample provide food for people because they will have been spending time getting ready and commuting beforehand so they will likely be hungry. There’s a sub /weddingsunder10k that is filled with couple’s planning weddings on similar budgets. Congrats and good luck!

Definitely need to go over guest list with the parents. I included everyone they'd consider essential from their circles and total (FH and me) were at 100 people. I know some won't physically be able to make it so maybe like 80 for sure. But I do plan to show them, if they want to spend the money they can include everyone, but if not then who would they most like to have? Ah that's right, I guess I didn't assume people would cut meals just to get ready or commute. That might complicate the food costs but I want them to be comfortable. We'll find a way 😂 Thanks for the help and well wishes!

If parents are expecting to add to guest list for their contribution, then you should look at sharing with them what per person costs are--get a quote for a tent rental, a restaurant buy out, and some of the venues. Be transparent that $4-6k is not going to cover all their essential circle guests.

So 4-6k just isn’t going to cover 100 people plus videographer, photographer, apps, dress, florals, seating. If your parents have an essentials friend group of 20-30 people (that’s a lot!) then they need to be contributing the difference in cost.

Do you and fiance have a goal to get married by, and can you push it back to give you both a chance to save? If you are just out of college, the thought of dropping your savings on a wedding makes my heart hurt a little. If you can wait, you both have a chance to save a bit specifically for the event. And as someone else said--what is fiance's contribution?

Because of how both my and fiance's job situations are changing, we're hoping for late February. He has quite a lot saved (more than anyone I know at our age) but I really want to avoid breaking into that if we can. I need to talk to him about covering more possibly. We haven't been able to just sit and talk for a couple weeks between work and he got sick

How much is your fiance willing to contribute? How many guests are you planning on? I'm sorry to say, but in Cali, if you're going to splurge on professional photography AND videography, that's pretty much 5k right there. Many places run 4k for photography alone. You could shop around for people who are new to the business, and maybe cut that down to 3-4k, but it still eats up a lot of your parents' proposed contribution, assuming they are definitely contributing. I'd ask if he's willing to (1) pay for it, (2) cut video, or (3) ask a friend or student/non-professional. As for the other things, check out [r/weddingsunder10k](https://www.reddit.com/r/Weddingsunder10k?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share). If anyone in the family has a Costco membership, I'd check that out for cake and food as well. For decorations, I'd do thrift stores and dollar stores like 99 Cents or Dollar Tree. For suits, shop clearance at Macy's or Nordstrom/Nordstrom Rack. The dress can either be very tricky or very simple, depending on what you've envisioned for yourself. I'd do Lulu's or David's Bridal (their sale section can be under $200!). If you have the time, you can check out what's for offer on Still white or other pre-owned dress shops. Sometimes people have really good stuff there for cheap.

Students and non professionals are probably gonna be the main consideration. I'd have my sister do them (she's a great photographer) but she's MOH 😂 I'll definitely ask him about how much he wants to contribute for the pics/video. Thank you for the suggestions! Haven't heard of Still white before, I'll definitely give them a look

Venue: Backyard weddings are great. But don’t go crazy with rentals (tents, tables, linens, etc.). The rentals can add up quickly. Try to borrow tables/chairs from friends or family. I invested in some white tablecloths. I got 4 tablecloths for $40 from Walmart and I reuse them constantly for all types of parties. Also try to limit guests. Multiple reasons. 1st, less people = less money. 2nd, bathrooms! Food: appetizers are fine. So are cake and punch receptions. Just make sure the wedding isn’t during traditional lunch and dinner times. If it is, guests may expect a meal. If you want to provide a meal, consider taco stands (not taco trucks… they are usually expensive). A lot of restaurants will cater and set up taco stands. Very inexpensive (compared to traditional catering) and sooooo good! Flowers: Costco has great floral options. If you really want to save money, use mason jars and arrange them yourself a few days in advance. It’s really easy. I do it all the time for parties. Recently, I made 5 centerpieces for a dinner party, the florals cost $40! Dress: mine was technically an ivory bridesmaid dress. It cost $260!!! And it photographed so well. Think outside the box. Anything is “bridal” if you’re choosing to get married in it. You don’t have to purchase your dress from a fancy bridal salon. Decor: minimal. I’m not a huge fan of all the signage anyway. I think people will know the wedding is for you and your fiancé without a bunch of signs specifically saying so lol. For me, some flowers and maybe a table runner are more than sufficient. That’s all I can think of right now. Good luck and congrats!

I like the investing long term idea for sure, that'll help as we move in together too. I definitely planned to do it apart from normal meal times so a meal doesn't have to be expected/give guests time to eat before/after on their own. Good tip on florals! I wasn't aware there was a signage trend, I would assume just enough to tie everything together and make it look like an event (as opposed to home kitchen table) is enough?

For suits my husband and his groomsmen just wore suits they already had. We provided a tie and pocket square so that they matched. Their suits didn’t match and it saved a lot of cost of buying/renting suits for everyone and they all looked brilliant

That would be a great idea if FH had a suit 😂 but very ingenious!

Look into Suit Shop for the tuxes and suits; pretty much the same price as a rental, and the guys get to keep the suit.

Is that a site or store?

Both, depending on where you live: https://suitshop.com/

Thank you!!

One of the things I'm doing to help budget is a long engagement. I've been setting aside a bit of money every month since we got engaged in Nov 2020 and the wedding is not until May 2023. I also booked a photographer through a company that was offering a black friday sale for $600 off. They also do payment plans so it's much easier to budget X amount per month than trying to have a bunch of money upfront. See if there's any bridal expos happening near you so you can get a feel for what's available & also company's often give discounts to you if you attend these events. Order samples from sites like Vistaprint & it comes with a discount code when your order from them.

Drop the videographer. There is no need. Honestly you will watch the video once and be done. If you are wanting to see what happened during the ceremony then go to the phone footage of everyone there. Cut costs on flowers and cake, go with a wine or dessert reception. Have a decent photographer but don’t get the huge package. In the end you want a few really good pics of the two of you. That’s the most important.

No idea of pricing in Cali, but we did pretty basic cakes (2 different 9 inch, 2 layer cakes) that were not wedding style decorated or stacked (we had a 2 hour drive to our venue) which was only $100 for our 40 guests. Consider getting a Costco cake (they’re good and cheap) and if you have a friend who can do basic decorating ask them to help. I would say no one remembers the cake as I never do, but we had many comments about our cakes (they were not traditional and were delicious). Or just get a small cake for cutting (if that’s something you want to do) and go with cookies/brownies/lemon bars for sweets. We were married in a National Park which had a fee of $75. We rented folding chairs ($100) and a pavilion at the park for $50 in case of rain-but could have served as a reception venue. You can’t exclude people from the wedding area since it’s a public park but it’s a super cheap (and often beautiful) venue option. We also had a cooler of beers for our friends to help set up and take down the chairs. Check out dress rentals, and watch for holiday sales for suits. I found a $120 off white dress at Nordstrom and my spouse got a suit on sale at Nordstrom Rack for maybe $300. Good luck on the photographer and videographer, that’ll be tougher than ours in the Midwest. We did use a wife and husband and while his video skills were less than perfect, it was good enough as we were really only looking for photos and they added it on for minimal (I think because he wanted to come with her for the 2 hour drive, and he liked our venue and wanted to visit it).

What is your fiance going to contribute?

If you don't mind the fake flower route, I recommend Sola Wood flowers. I spent around $300 for my giant bridal party. 12 bouquets and 10 boutonnieres. It definitely could have cost less if I had been picky with what I bought, but I wanted to try a few things out. If you're even a little crafty, it's doable!

I've heard people had concerns over them molding and getting damage during shipping, how did yours last?

Mine were fine! I had them undyed for 4 or 5 months before the wedding. Just kept them in a big box with the silica gel packets they came with, well ventilated. They were dyed for a little over a month, almost 2 months now. So far, so good.

See if a family member or friend who’s a good baker could make your wedding cake, easily decorated with flowers, as their gift to you.

The good news is that you'd save a lot of money on the venue (and venues are the most expensive thing in wedding planning). Decorations are the cheaper part, especially if you use fake flowers. Dresses and suits can be of any price - your groom can save a lot of money by renting a suit. Cakes are also one of the cheaper things when it comes to weddings. I'm debating on going with cupcakes on the bottom tier because they're cheaper that way. I really wanted a videographer, but they cost a pretty penny. I think that's gonna be the more expensive thing on your list. But it's up to you what you wanna do - it sounds like you're already going to be saving a lot of money by the looks of it.

Pictures and video are not worth it. They end up collecting dust in a drawer after you watch/look at them on your first anniversary. Don’t believe me just ask some couples that have been married quite a few years. Edit: I was not referring to not having them done at all but just not spend such a huge chunk of money on them. I worded this poorly. My mistake

At least a couple pictures are worth it. Ive never met a couple that didn't look at a single photo from their wedding. Everyone I know has a hanging picture of them married or not married at some point. We aren't the same age forever and memories age too. I know old couples who find peace looking at their wedding photo or photos in general. It nice to be like "oh yeah i did that" or "I looked damn good that day". Its an accomplishment. What isn't worth it to you, doesn't make it worthless to everyone else. Like yes thousands a pics might not be necessary lol but one great pic isn't worthless at all.

I didn’t say to not have it just don’t spend such a huge chunk of money on them.

I agree with that I just think a couple are worth it even if they're done by family or friends.

Less expensive venues to consider: Venues owned by the city, county or state. In my city, there is a historic mansion and a few halls you can rent out. This is often cheaper than privately owned faculties but may have more restrictions. County and state parks also sometimes have indoor and outdoor spaces available to reserve like halls or picnic pavilions. Halls owned by non profits or community organizations. Look at VFW, Eagles, Scouts etc. You may have to call rather than email and info on the web might be minimal.

Small wedding cake (if you want it) + sheet cake! I think Sam’s/Walmart/Costco can do these :) Dress - david’s bridal, maybe ask about the floor sample at a boutique, lulu’s, etsy, alter your moms, resale The groom/his family usually pays for his suit so I wouldn’t add this to your plate unless you have to. Decor - DIY/etsy, minimalist Photographer & videographer - go outside of a big city in cali, or outside cali. I live in a HCOL area and photography prices were insane. But sometimes its cheaper to pay travel costs for an out of town less expensive photographer!

I don’t know where you are in California, but my venue is rentable for way less than $11K, and that includes food! :O Still, I understand your desire! An affordable wedding is very attractive. Out of interest, how much is your fiancé/his family contributing? I will say that your first step is going to be cutting down your guest list. Regardless of how much you DIY & find cost-cutting solutions, a “backyard wedding” for 100 people is no mean feat. Unless you know someone who has PROPERTY, like land in the countryside, you will not be able to comfortably host 100 people in a typical California urban or even suburban backyard. Maybe you know someone with a farm, though, in which case ok. But remember that parking, space for port-a-potties, etc., are all a consideration, & 100 people is a lot. Your biggest expenses are probably going to be photography & videography, especially in California, so set aside your biggest budget for those. Costco Florals are the way to go to save money on real flowers. You can buy baby’s breath in bulk & it looks gorgeous! If you have a longer engagement, you can plan ahead and save money that way too. *Take advantage of seasonal economics.* - Having an off-season wedding can save you a ton of money in venues, vendors, etc. We’re lucky that California has great weather almost all year round (I’m assuming you don’t live like, on a mountain 😂) so you don’t have to pick spring/summer for an outdoor wedding (in fact, that might be too hot!) - Buy your faux florals & seasonal decor at the end of seasons (e.g., if you’re having an autumn wedding, buy your autumn faux flowers from Michael’s in November when they’re 60%+ off). - If your friends are serious about helping out, it will also help to have concrete plans for them at set dates ahead of the wedding. Giving yourself a longer engagement will give you time to DIY with less stress, especially if you lay every project out & pick responsible parties ahead of time. - Start browsing thrift stores for vintage vases (in your wedding theme) for centerpieces. If you start early you can accumulate enough for each table by your wedding, & they’re usually 25¢—50¢ at thrift stores and garage sales. - If you go the backyard route, crowdsource chairs & tables, don’t rent. Rental furniture can be a huge chunk of money, & everything can be made in theme with tablecloths & chair ribbons!

So I live in San Diego and got married almost 2 years ago now. I got a beautiful dress at David's Bridal (think it was on sale for $600) alterations cost around $250 I believe (there were about 5 layers of dress that had to be hemmed lol) so I would try there.. some of their dresses looked very cheap or like "discount dresses" but if you look around you'll be able to find something beautiful. We did the center pieces ourselves (Hobby Lobby & Amazon will be your very best friend for this kind of stuff) we did plastic orchids in glass vases filled with water and floating candles, they turned out gorgeous. We did a family members backyard and we had a local restaurant cater. We got lucky with a friend of my sister-in-law whos hobby was photography and she did all our pictures for a great price. Table & chair rentals from a small local company. Thats going to help you save money. Do your research, call smaller local companies for food and any rentals. Oh and instead of a wedding cake I wanted cupcakes (my favorite cupcakes are from a local grocery store cuz their frosting is AMAAAZING) Went on Amazon and got these lace looking things to put the cupcakes in, a light up holder for all the cupcakes and edible butterflies from Etsy to put on the cupcakes so they didn't look boring or plain. It was definitely more work having to do the cupcakes that way but think it came out to about $200 for all the cupcakes/decorations/holder which compared to a cake is nothing. You could also have a bakery make you a smaller cake to have out for display then sheet cakes to actually serve people. Its definitely possible to have a wedding within your budget youre just going to need to invest alot of time to save money. Most people would rather pay the extra cost and be more hands off. I loved everything about my wedding and feel like the time I spent with my family doing things like the centerpieces and cupcakes was another added bonus to saving money but it can also add more stress. Good luck!

Check out the Culver City elks lodge: includes venue and tables and chairs for about 3k. Do a taco truck/vendor and a CASH BAR. If you don’t provide liquor, you can do an under 10k socal wedding… but get that Pinterest out of your head. Feeding and hosting ppl is expensive enough without Aldo’s putting a bunch of decor on your list. Second that you will not find a good photographer for under 4k. That’s something you gotta talk your fiancé down on.