Nov
14
Mу guy аחԁ I аrе preparation tο ɡеt engaged іח January аחԁ һаνе ουr wedding іח late March/early April. Wе аrе חοt engaged now b/c һе іѕ іח Iraq until January bυt wе һе already ѕаіԁ һе wіƖƖ "pop tһе qυеѕtіοח" wһеח һе gets back. Wе аrе both ok wіtһ eloping, bυt mу sister ԁіԁ tһаt аחԁ mу family wουƖԁ bе heartbroken fοr mе tο חοt һаνе a wedding. Sο I guess wе wіƖƖ bе having a wedding, bυt want tο keep іt small. I wουƖԁ Ɩіkе ѕοmе advice οח һοw tο keep іt small, cheap, аחԁ unstressful іח such small time. All tһе preparation wіƖƖ happen between Jan-March. Wһаt аrе ехсеƖƖеחt drinks tο һаνе? I dont want tο рƖοt a whole meal. Aחу tһουɡһtѕ аrе helpful οח things I саח bе preparing fοr now! thanks!
Tags: eloping, iraq, refreshments, short time
Hi and congratulations on your upcoming date!
Here are my thoughts…..you already know you want it small, so that choice is a excellent one!! If I were you, even even if you are not "formally" engaged, I would starting looking around and deciding some things.
The first thing to choose is venue:
~ Do you want to be married in a church?
~ Do you want to be married outside?
If you want to be married outside, check out parks, pavilions, beaches, gardens, etc. If you choose to be married outside, austerely call the city where your chosen venue is located to find out fees and policies. Other options for a small wedding include a small inn or bed and breakfast. Many small inns and B&B’s do this now. They are very elegant and can usually handle a small reception. Another option is a small hotel.
Some art galleries and museums even allow weddings! Just check things out in your local area.
~ Once the venue for the ceremony has been chosen, then the reception venue needs to be chose upon. You won’t have much time if you wait until January to try to book a touch for March or April….but that’s not to say it can’t be done! I don’t know where you live or where your wedding will be, but if you are in a city, you may have difficulty booking a touch except you want to go with an off day like a Thursday or Friday. If you live in a rural area, it may not be a problem.
~ If you are having a church ceremony, most churches have a fellowship hall where you could have your reception immediately following.
~ An thought would be to have a 2 p.m. wedding with a small reception following. You already know you don’t want a meal, so this would be simple! Have a 2 p.m. wedding, and then at your reception you could supply finger sandwiches, assorted cheeses and crackers, fruit tray, nuts, cake, coffee and punch. OR….you could austerely have a dessert reception. Supply a diversity of desserts (maybe with some fruit) along with coffee and punch.
~ Another simple and stress free solution is to keep your wedding party small - 1 or 2 attendants each.
~ Everything is cheaper if you are willing to look around and go "outside the box" so to speak…..
~ Your dress: look at consignment shops, second hand stores, or, even buy one off the rack. Most marriage stores have "clearance dresses" - go to that rack! Ebay is another option with gorgeous "vintage" dresses — i just like those ones!
~ Invites: Save by printing them yourself. Go to Target, Michael’s, or Walmart and buy a boxed set. You can get a box of 50 for about $30 - maybe even cheaper. I was at Target today and noticed they have some nice ones on clearance. A 50-regard package for $12!!!! Get to Target!!!
~ Cake: Get your cake from your local grocery store - NOT a bakery. If you live by a Walmart or Costco - they have nice ones! And they are excellent too!!! Yum…
~ Have a gorgeous, simple and elegant bouquet for you and your attendants. I reckon simplicity is elegant. A few well chosen flowers (roses?) wrapped in a silk ribbon are much more elegant (and cheaper) than a huge huge bouquet.
~ I would certainly hire a professional photographer! You will doubtless only need him/her for a few hours, so the price should not be too expensive.
~ Table centerpieces: A small bowl or vase with a floating candle is ALWAYS elegant and never goes out of style. OR, a small bud vase with a few flowers and greens — simple and elegant whatever the season is.
~ Say NO to favors — a waste!
~ Say NO to table cameras — another waste. People just take goofy pictures with those.
There are soooo many ways to save. Look on other sites for low cost wedding thoughts. And remember, a "budget" wedding is NOT a "cheap" wedding. There is a difference! You CAN have an elegant wedding on a budget!
Excellent luck and I hope you have a gorgeous wedding!
Start buying the small things now, those are the items that add up quickly. All weddings no matter the size need things like table covers, table decorations, get your silk flowers if you are going that route, obviously the dress, cake top, toasting flutes, serving set, balloons, napkins. As far as beverage. Once can never go incorrect with habitual punch of hawiian punch/seven up/orange juice mixed together. bottles of water are also nice to have around for your guests. reckon about how you want your reception table to look and start buying all that stuff.
first off, you need to look at WHERE you want to get married and you need to reserve it NOW. many places book up to a year in advance. even if its just a small wedding, it has to be somewhere, and usually you have to book that well in advance to make sure there is no come forth with other people wanting that space.
if you dont want a whole meal you can always to buffet, or even a pic-nic type. drinks can be simple, champange or wine, beer, and maybe your favorite cocktail, along with sodas, water and maybe coffee.
excellent luck hun. i wish you the best. just try to not get overwhelmed. i’m not getting married until may 2009 and i’m already overstressed!!!
why not talk to your friends and get them to help you ? I am sure they would be of fantastic help to you . Have you thought about having a small reception in someones back yard ? You know get married in a civil service and have a nice backyard party . You know drinks and finger foods and have it in the afternoon that way you dont have to supply a whole meal type thing . Have plenty of drinks and finger foods . question your folks if they have tables if not then you will have to rent some tables and chairs ,depending on the number of ppl you have attending . I reckon the small party is much nicer than a huge one . excellent luck and congrats on the wedding .
You could scope out some inexpensive small halls for a small reception (like a fire house hall or church hall). You two could discuss who you want to stand with you (best man, maid/matron of honor, groomsmen and bridesmaids) and discuss colors for the marriage part and whose church to be married in. You two could pick a date and time and you could schedule the church privately and question that they not tell anyone yet as you’ve not announced it. Simple "finger foods" would be fruit and vegetable trays with those small hot dogs already in a bun and chicken fingers or nuggets and potatoe salad, pasta salad, chips & dips, and some beverages. And you could be tasting cakes at local bakeries to choose where to order your cake for the reception. and you can be checking out invitations at the local printers.
Then when the announcement is made just make sure you clarify to everyone that you will be keeping it small (and set a number up front - this is a touch you could be thinking about for the next couple of months - small as is 20 or less or 50 or less or 100 or less - (each person’s small is a small different). Excellent luck to you and God Bless your marriage.
My opinion is , I would invite my immediate family and have the wedding at the incite house and picnic food such as ham,bologna and cheese sandwich, party candies, chip, cracker,Danny-dish cookies, ginger-ale soda mix with sherbet ice-cream to drink,char-grill drum met,etc. and be merry and then go honeymoon…….
Offer:
Finger foods:
Cold cut trays, cheese, crackers and pepperoni trays, fresh fruit trays, and vegetable with dip trays (Walmart or Sam’s), Pretzels and chip trays with spinach dip. Small smookies and/or meatball trays and toothpicks.
Beverages:
Wedding punch, sodas and sparkling wine or champagne for toast. Maybe a keg of beer if having a lot of people.
Cake:
Buy it from a supermarket. They have nice wedding cakes thare and they are unexpensive. (almart, Costco etc.)
Buy your dress off the rack on Davis Marriage and have him wear his class blues or class A’s.
DYI invites. Go to AC Moores, Hobbie Lobbie or Walmart for a DIY invitation kit. All you need is a printer.
Book a church or officiant and look around for florists, nenues, photographers and DJ’s
Excellent luck and congrats
Check out "Dream Marriage Expo" Online Sept 27th - 29th
http://www.phsherri.com/dreambridalexpo.html
I am sure you will find some fantastic thoughts.
if you know you’re gonna get married… without questions in march/april… why not just set the date now… and start preparation now.
I’m sure you CAN plot a wedding in 3 months, its just simpler to have more time. Just an option.
start looking for flowers and decor now. Drinks have the cake, mints, chips, maybe finger sandwiches. Noone ever said that you have to have a full meal.
Here is one way to keep it simple…don’t buy all of the small things that make a wedding stressesful. Just go with the bare minimums. To keep it small just invite parents and siblings and grandparents. Once you start adding aunts and uncles the list grows and grows. The more guests you have the more stress you have and the more expensive it will be.
Keep everything very simple. Have hors doeuvres and cake and punch served at a small reception next. Or to keep it really simple just make dinner reservations at one of your favorite restaurants if you are going to have a very small wedding.