Ok so I am recently engaged after being with my partner for 11.5 years on planning the wedding what are some things you mom’s must haves and things you wish you would have skipped out of when planning.
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Pay for the photographer. Even if you skimp out on everything else. We paid a caterer and had an amateur photographer. You’re better off with a potluck and a professional photographer, cause that meal lasts an hour the photos you keep for a lifetime.
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Family first, Friends second. Family usually are your always to go to. I married Too young. I didn’t do it the way I dreamed but it worked at 16 &. 19… 43 years. Best Wishes.
If you want, spend money on a beautiful tiered cake as it will be in pictures, or just get a grocery store/Costco sheet cake. Or split the difference and have a small-ish wedding cake for pictures and have the kitchen serve a cut-up sheet cake for guests.
Also went to a wedding with lasagna, bread, another kind of pasta, garlic bread, grapes & tossed salad. Cheap, filling, everybody likes it.
One woman’s father had passed years before; she carried his picture down the aisle and set it at the head table.
Set a low budget and stick to it pretty closely. You’ll always go over a bit.
Another time I made chicken, tuna , 3 bean and green and fruit salads, got different kinds of bread & let people serve themselves. Cut up veggies and dip, chips, wine & beer, cold drinks & water, and cookies and coordinating paper goods finished it. Cheap, easy, filling, easy & refreshing on a warm afternoon.
Get a mic for people to speak, get mirrors & votives at the dollar store vs. flowers, or include a bud vase with a single bloom (real or fabric) & baby’s breath or greens. These are available at the dollar store or from Oriental Trading Company for cheap. Get a DJ vs. a band.
Music & dancing are always a hit. No one remembers the flowers. It’s popular now to set a color for bridesmaids dresses & shoes and let them pick their own. I knew one woman who bought fabric and had simple short-sleeve dresses made for each bridesmaid. You could go with black pants or skirts and just buy or have matching tops made. Bridesmaids can carry one flower tied with ribbon/s a larger bouquet, or a fancy object like a little purse or ornament or nothing, depending on the bride.
I had an afternoon wedding with hors d’oeuvres instead of a meal. You can even do a breakfast after a morning wedding with breakfast or brunch foods.
Or just make it a more hippie like wedding and everyone wears whatever they want.
If you have mixed drinks, pay for a couple of bartenders. If you have a sit-down dinner, maybe a bottle of red & white wine on each table can save people bunching up for drinks. You can make your own labels on the printer and stick them over labels if you’re getting cheap wine.
You must just do not get marry , after 11.5 years of being together getting marry can just ruin your relationship.
Even though I have seen it a lot , I was just joking
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I planned my parents’ 50th anniversary and renewal of vows on a budget:m. Had the ceremony in church, paid for flowers, an organist & the minister at their long-time church. Colors were blue and gold. Got blue & gold tissue paper & put them like an X in the center of each table. Got gold & blue balloons tied to gold & blue weights as centerpieces. Put gold & blue paper napkins, plates, cups, and plasticware in baskets I decorated with ribbons & flowers. Paid for a caterer, my biggest expense. Bought & brought the wine, lemonade, iced tea & champagne, put out plastic soda & wine cups, ice & let people serve themselves Had a piano player as people were pretty old & just wanted to eat & chat.
You can have a personal wedding with just family, then have a big casual party later to celebrate with everyone. My daughter got married in a park (no bridesmaids, flowers chairs or anything, a friend she knew all her life officiated) in Las Vegas, we went to Margaritaville for dinner, but she planned an entire fun weekend for immediate family and very close friends. Later in the year they rented a beach pavilion and had barbecue catered and lawn games with extended family and friends. The groom is shyer & hatted being the center of attention.
Yes to a professional photographer. But save your money for things like a house, or your parents from being in debt. If you’re fixated on an extravaganza wedding and not on many, many years of being married, you’re focusing on the wrong things.