Frugal wedding

[Tradd]

Not mine! ;) Various friends have asked me to help them with their wedding planning over the years as I enjoy the planning and have lots of frugal ideas from my reading over time. This wedding was yesterday.

Couple are in their early-mid 50s. Second marriage for both. They don't really need to be frugal, but they don't see the need to waste money on a wedding. Both had huge to-dos the first time around in their early 20s.

2 pm church wedding. Reception in the church hall. Cake, punch, sparkling wine/cider (TJ's has a very good sparkling cider for $4/bottle), coffee, tea. Cake was a wedding gift from a friend who was trained as a pastry chef years ago and still does cakes on the side.

Flowers in the church were simply two vases of lovely flowers from the grocery store arranged by the usual "church flower lady." One attendant each. The bride had a small homemade bouquet. Maid of honor had one pink rose surrounded by greenery and baby's breath with ribbons trailing down. Groom and best man had a single rose in their buttonholes.

Groom wore a navy suit he already had, but he did get a new tie. Bride wore a lovely sapphire blue dress. It was new and cost about $200, but it will be worn often in the future.

Bride didn't want an engagement ring, but groom gave her a lovely birthstone pendant on a nice gold chain. Wedding rings were simple gold bands ($250 total).

Including the $60 marriage license fee, and a small amount to the church for use of the hall, I don't think the couple spent much more than $1500-$2000 (including rings). Guest list was about 150. No professional photographer, but the couple asked me to shoot the wedding using their good digital DSLR camera as I've done several other times (they saw photos I had done from other weddings). That was my gift to them.

Just wanted to share for frugal inspiration for others. :)

[razz]

Simple but lovely and memorable. Those who came were there to support the couple and wish them well. Goes to prove it can be done and done well.

[danna]

The way it should be! Lovely and nice!

[crunchycon]

Well done!

[JaneV2.0]

It sounds perfect. I've never understood why people spend so much on weddings. A triumph of marketing over common sense.

[CathyA]

It sounds wonderful! I, too, never understood people spending so much on weddings........like hundreds of people who would get a 5 course meal and have 9 bridesmaids.

Mine wasn't as frugal as it could be, but it was fairly simple. We had it in our home for about 50 of our friends. The biggest expense was the food, flowers and the string quartet. My MIL and aunts helped with the food.
DD has always said that when she gets married, she just wants a big pitch-in. Great idea!

Remember when wedding receptions were just punch/cake/nuts/mints?
Tradd.....thanks for sharing. It sounded perfect!

[HappyHiker]

I've been married 47 years..and our marriage was a frugal one back in the day. Everyone was invited to the church but our reception was at a restaurant for the immediate family and wedding party (one best man, one maid of honor). I did wear a wedding gown (which I purchased at a discount as it was last season's) and my husband rented a tux.

We were on the fence about whether to have a more elaborate wedding and my Dad offered to pay for it it--or give us a check for a similar amount. We went for the check. And used it to purchase a new car for cash.
A little red convertible -- which cost all of $2000!

A friend gifted us with a wedding album of photos he took at the wedding.

Neither of us had any regrets about going frugal -- we enjoyed the heck out of our little car for years -- much more than hosting a bunch of rarely seen relatives and eating a luke-warm chicken dinner.

And no fancy honeymoon either...we drove to Cape Cod, stayed at a rustic place, and had a blast off-season, riding our bikes all over the pretty trails...no honeymoon debt.

Weddings can be really low-cost if one chooses that direction.

[Kestra]

I hate the fancy expensive weddings. And in my mind getting married is rather intimate so I only want my closest people there. First wedding was cheap, about 10 people in the backyard.

Sister's wedding was in their living room- also just immediate family.
Both were really nice.

Boyfriend agrees about the small cheap wedding thing - he told me his opinion before I'd even moved in permanently. Which was reassuring. So future wedding will also be small.