Newbie Budget Bride

[BoSoxChick]

Hello everyone, my name is Shannon and I have been lurking at the forum for some time now. I decided it was time to join up and get some dialogue going! I am on the fence currently between having a more traditional wedding and a destination wedding. I am on a much lower budget than most of the couples on here and I'm trying to figure out if a destination wedding is even possible for me.

 

Other than being a frantic bride-to-be, I am an online teacher (grades K-3rd), a community theatre actress and a Red Sox fan. I'm very excited to be here and very eager to learn from others. So, any budget brides out there please please PLEASE PM me with ideas, locations, and any other money saving tips! I would greatly appreciate the help.

[Lola99]

Hi Shannon,

 

Congratulations! To keep our wedding budget down, we are doing a lot of the items ourselves (welcome bags, invitations). As well, the resort we are going to offers wedding packages that include the bouquet, wedding decorations, cake and dinner at ala carte restaurant.

 

Good luck planning!

[Thomasjsgirl]

Welcome Shannon! One of the benefits of having a destination wedding is the cost savings. If you compare what it would cost to have an at-home wedding where pretty much everyone invited will attend, vs. a DW where perhaps 25% of those invited will attend, that cuts your budget significantly. Just something to keep in mind while you decide what to do. Even if you chose an at-home wedding, you'll find tons of do-it-yourself ideas on here that will help keep your costs down as well.

 

Good luck and happy planning!

[*Meagan*]

Hi Shannon! There are a lot of budget brides on here and there are great and easy ways to stick to your budget! Do some searches and you will find some really helpful threads! Congrats and happy planning!

[lizconemac]

Hey Shannon! Welcome! I've found one of the benefits of planning a destination wedding is that it's about 1/4th of the cost of a local wedding (maybe even less). Not only is the general cost of the wedding less, but fewer guests will attend (that is, I don't have to invite a lot of acquaintances I'd feel pressured to invite if I had a local wedding - just family and close friends). I'm getting married in Maui in August and have found their site fees and restaurant prices really reasonable. There are a lot of brides on this forum who are budgeting so it's been really helpful for me!

[Mrs.B]

Congrats and welcome to the forum! There are a lot of great ideas in the DIY Forum that will help you stay within your budget. Happy Planning!

[Mere]

Congratulations to you! Welcome to the forum. The search function is awesome! Good Luck and Happy Planning!

[JanineA]

Hi Shannon, there is alot of info on here to help you stick to your budget and everyone is cutting costs where they can regardless of their budget. Welcome to the forum and do a few seraches I sure you'll find some great tips and suggestions. Happy planning!

[elisha0607]

Hi Shannon, I am a Yankees fan and my Fiance is a Red Sox fan- makes our relationship very interesting- this is my DIY cake topper inspiration: http://www.topperswithglitz.com/blog.../07/ny_b-4.jpg

I would say a great way to keep the budget low is to have your wedding at an all-inclusive. Their packages tend to be low and you can host your dinners at their many restaurants w/o the added cost of going off-site. the other thing is to use the vendors the resort suggests- they are always a LOT cheaper. and the biggest thing-- cut down on decorations, use the beautiful atmosphere of the destination be all the decoration you need, thats the whole draw of a DW to begin with. GOODLUCK!

[BoSoxChick]

Thank you for all of the great responses! I appreciate you all pointing me in the right direction. I spent most of the night looking (*cough*obsessiing*cough*) over different resorts and gathering together some ideas of what I liked and what I didn't. This site has been a lifesaver!

 

Thank you again for the warm welcomes! I'm very excited to be here.