Budget Breakdown For A Cheap 400$ Wedding

Setting your priorities is the first order of business in creating a perfect wedding for you on very little money. Look at the list below. Think about the items and rank them in the order of their importance to you. Use 1 as the highest and 17 as the lowest. If you do not want an item, put an X on the line beside it. If there is something else of importance to you, list it on line 18 and number it.

1. wedding gown _________
2. shoes for bride _______
3. bouquet for bride ________
4. flowers for bridesmaids, groomsmen______
5. pillow for ring ________
6. garter for bride ________
7. rental for wedding space ________
8. rental for reception __________
9. transportation to reception_______
10. transportation from reception _____
11. wedding pictures and invitations ___
12. bridal cake _________
13. wedding book ________
14. groom's cake ________
15. food for reception _________
16. music for reception _________
17. gifts for attendants_______
18. Other:__________________

Sticking to the Budget This is the hard part. Stick to the budget--no matter what. You can do this by being practical. Since you know you only have $150 to spend on that wedding dress, don't go shopping for wedding dresses at an upper end store. You may fall in love with a dress and blow your budget. Remember, there are many, many, many beautiful dresses for sale. If you spend enough time looking, you will find the perfect dress, and you won't have to spend the first five years of your married life paying for it. It doesn't matter if you are a size 2 or a size 22, there are plenty of places to look. Here are just a few: Internet, antique shops, yard sales, new for you shops, and local newspaper ads. The key is give yourself enough time to look. Don't wait until the last minute to get the dress. Make that your first priority, but be careful. Once you have the dress, don't gain weight while going to all the wedding parties. More than one bride has had to use desperate means to squeeze into a dress bought months before the wedding.

Going Shopping When you go shopping, here are a few hints to follow to making shopping easier, quicker, and less expensive. 1. Go to the Internet first. You don't have to pay for gas or state sales tax. It is quick, it makes comparisons easy, and the merchandise is delivered to your door. 2. Take your list with you. This will be a busy time. You may not remember if you bought those gifts for the bridesmaids or if you ordered that corsage for his mother. 3. Don't waste gas money driving around. Use the yellow pages, word of mouth, and the Internet to decide which places to go. 4. Take a frugal friend with you who will help you get in a store and out of one without adding extras. Creative and Cheap Ideas No two brides have ever planned the same wedding, but here is a list of cheap and creative ideas that you may choose from when making your wedding plans.

1. Use a lot of greenery--like ferns, ivy, or pine--mixed with a few flowers.
2. Use silk instead of real flowers.
3. Buy your flowers from a grocery chain.
4. Have several cooking parties with the bridesmaids or family and freeze most of the food for the reception.
5. Pay college kids or high school seniors to serve food or park cars.
6. If your gown is long, buy your shoes at a discount store. (They won't show and you can even slip them off at the reception.)
7. Have your reception somewhere you don't have to rent or you can rent cheap, even state parks have nice shelters on lakes that are very reasonable to rent.
8. Mix wildflowers in with your other flowers or just use wildflowers for everything.
9. Use potted plants on the tables at your reception and give them to your attendants or guests.
10. Make a CD of your favorite songs for the reception, instead of a band.
11. Find out from your friends who likes to sing and play and have a jam session at the reception.
12. Buy sheets from the dollar store, sew a border around them, and use them for cheerful table clothes.
13. Put cameras around and let the guests take pictures at the reception.
14. Let someone in the family make digital camera shots and record the wedding.
15. Have a potluck reception. You may want to provide the punch or a tub of iced down drinks. Close friends and family bring different items to the reception.
16. Make your own invitations on your computer.
17. Use the digital camera to take photos of your wedding.
18. Make memory books as gifts for attendants.

Sample Wedding Budget This is a sample budget from items I actually found available on the Internet, in the local paper, and in my community.

1. wedding gown $150.00 (local newspaper)
2. shoes for bride $5.00 (2 for one sale at local discount store sale)
3. bouquet for bride $40.00 (2 dozen roses from local supermarket flowers)
4. flowers for bridesmaids, groomsmen, and others (Included with bride's bouquet cost)
5. pillow for ring $2.00 ( discounted material and thread) 6. garter for bride $2.28 (on-line)
7. rental for wedding space free (friend's place on lake)
8. rental for reception free (friend's place on lake)
9. transportation to reception free (Borrow old beat-up car that won't be ruined by shaving cream or crickets.)
10. transportation from reception (same as #9)
11. wedding pictures and invitations $70 for ink, $20 for photo paper, $33 for invitation paper (for 100 guests)
12. bridal cake $50.00 for plain white wedding cake, decorate with wild flowers, 25.00 for a white sheet cake cut up for extra pieces (A sheet cake will feed 96 people.)
13. wedding book free (Create a fun one on the computer.)
14. groom's cake free (Cake included in reception food)
15. food for reception close friends and family each bring an item for reception (You may want to tell them that this in in lieu of wedding presents.)
16. music for reception free (I had my favorite music.)
17. gifts for attendants free (create individualized books on your computer of your favorite memories about this person)

The perfect wedding with $2.72 left over! Of course, the money can be divided in a variety of different ways, depending on individual choices. The important thing to remember is that a wedding does not have to be expensive to be memorable and fun.