Help me plan my wedding

just for the last few posts, i want to remind people that she said her FILs are kinda uppity. considering my FILs are the same way (and dont get me wrong, i love them dearly especially because they offered to pay for 100% of my reception, which is turning out to be my dream wedding, because they are adding tons of upgrades i never woulda picked because they are so pricey), im gonna go ahead and make an educated guess that things like family cooking, buffet style, and plastic silverware and paper plates aint gonna fly.

when i even mentioned a buffet style meal for my own wedding, my FMIL almost shit herself and said NO flat out right away because "it wasnt classy" - i personally think there is NOTHING wrong with a buffet, especially because it can save a lot of money. but i dont think that her inlaws are going to even remotely consider something thats potluck oriented unfortunately.

glen, i think there are so many things we can do to make your wedding work with the amount of money you have to work with if they will give you the 5K plus a little extra they were going to throw into the RD, and if you & james can put in 2-3K (while i know might be tough) you could do something really cool. i really think in all honestly you should skip the restaurant, its a huge unnecessary expense that is going to put you way over budget. if theres any way you can move the church ceremony back by a couple hours, that would be awesome. if not, you could still do just some heavy appetizers to avoid serving an actual full meal, and cocktails in the backyard scene. there are enough of us here to help you research how to get the cheapest table/chair rentals and linens, etc etc. love you girl, anything you need, just let me know. we can help you with decoration ideas for the outside if you can get us some photos.

have you even thought about what you might do for invitations? i would be more than happy to design something for you to print at home, if you look at my blog, i did my own civil ceremony invites and i actually like those better than the ones i paid big bucks for for the DW.

Ok so I was thinking about this and then it hit me.... DUH I am doing a reception here which I was given a 5k budget for. My FI and I will probably put about 2-3k of our own money in. In my opinion, this reception is going to awesome, and many of you know given the past couple threads that mine are "uppity" too.

So I know you dont have tons of time but with everyones help on here it can turn out completely amazing and something YOU want..... you have to remember its YOUR wedding day not their. And unfortunately since they are being so controlling about the whole wedding issue it would be good to come to a happy medium to you are both happy.

So my 5k-7k wedding is including:

All Table and chair rentals- I just got the cheapest ones I could find and then rented covers so you cant see all the marks and scuffs.

I went to a local resturant which I love and told them my situation. They set up a menu and will cater it, have servers clean up and everything.

We are buying our own alcohol and hiring a bartender (ONLY because he takes full responsibilities of all the legalities if someone were to leave drunk/car accident and so on).

We made all our centerpieces (super easy)

A grocery store is putting together floral arrangements for the centerpieces (much cheaper than a florist, and are doing an awesome job not tacky in any way.)

Cake which you can find really cheap.... or they are even doing the new cup cake idea where its put on tiers. I dont know if you FILs would allow it but could be much less expensive and very cute

Also I dont know if you are thinking of doing a photographer, but at a good friends of mines wedding they had a small budget to work with and went to the local high school and spoke with the teacher and asked who the best photographer was... gave the kid $250 for the night and thepics were AMAZING.

Just a couple thoughts. Theres no doubt you cant make this work and be completely happy!

Everyone has given some great suggestions . Personally, since I am a worrier and I would be watching the weather channel if it were going to rain or not, I would find a cheaper restaurant, that way, no worries about renting chairs, tables, and weather.

I am sure everything is going to fall into place and you will have a beautiful weddng.

sarah great idea about the cupcakes. i had a friend who had a really low budget wedding that turned out great. she did the cupcakes to serve the guests, and still had a little cake for her and her hubby to cut. here is what they looked like

and if you wanna get your own cakestand, jen posted a link about hers from PBK yesterday, but here's a link to it, on sale for 29.99 right now.

it looks like this

pottery barn kids | cake stand

and macy's has something similar from the martha stewart collection that looks like this

Macy*s - Martha Stewart Collection - Martha Stewart Collection Whiteware Cake Stands

and then target (with the french pronunciation, lets keep it classy ladies) has this lovely number, check out the price!

String of Pearls Cake Stand : Target

and in terms of cupcake stands, if you dont know anyone you can borrow one from, you could get something like this:

Good Cook Cupcake Stacker/Stand : Target

or this

Wilton Cupcakes and More Stand - Silvertone (Holds 23) : Target

glenda, i am offering to be your personal wedding planner if you need anything. girl you are going to be sorry you asked for help from this overachiever right here! LOL

I just read through everything here & I have to say that all you ladies are so wonderful with all your suggestions & offers of help! I can't imagine any other place where someone could get so much help & "back up" from so many people!!! I know it wasn't anyones intention to gain praise by offering their help, but I think everyone needs to pat themselves on the back for being such wonderful & caring people!!! You're all amazing!!!

As for me, I'm a little far away to be much help with anything... but if you need help with any DIY projects, I'm you're girl! I'm currently unemployed & have to search for enough things to do in a day so I don't go crazy!

Looks to me like you're going to end up with a wonderful reception!!!

Saraha ~ Great suggestions! I love the idea of hiring a photographer from a HS. FI's little bro is an aspiring photographer just out of HS and he has an amazing camera and takes really good pics! I think this is a terrific idea and also does something great for the kid who's doing it! LOVE IT!

Any local cullinary colleges where you could get some last year students to do the catering aspect? Or like some said previously, go to a restaurant with your budget and work the menu from there. What about hospitallity college? Might be able to snag some serving staff from there at a good price.

Also, not sure if at your universities down in the US the food service companies do off campus event catering like they do here in Canada. I worked as a special events waitress in university. If memory serves me correctly, we did some gorgeous weddings and black tie affairs with great food. That may also be an option for saving money on the catering.