Dh and I got married at a justice of the peace and we did not buy new clothes, we wore jeans. We also have never had wedding rings, my parents never had wedding rings either. We did not want to go into any debt to marry. Everyone makes different choices regarding their wedding, this was ours.

Dh and I did the JP thing also.We do have rings. I am not comfortable being the center of attention o this was the way to go!

We had an outdoor wedding with the mayor presiding over us. It poured so we ended up marrying on the balcony where we held the reception. I negotiated $200 for the whole day for the beautiful building in the park. They ended up giving it to us for two days so we could clean up. We stockpiled beverages for weeks before the wedding and a friend who owned a restaurant gave us a good deal on the food for the wedding.

We had a quick and cheap wedding. :) We were married in Laughlin NV. We were living in 29 Palms CA as hubby at the time was in the Marine Corps. We married on the 7th of Feb. and he left for Okinowa on the 14th (he was gone a year!). I got a new dress, not a wedding dress just a nice dress, and hubby wore his dress blues. It was a nice, simple, inexpensive wedding. We did have rings, again inexpensive...we have since gotten new ones. We have been married for 12 years now. :)

We had a church wedding & reception. Nothing extravagant, only about 40 of our closest family & friends. We saved up for a year to pay for it, it was less than $5000 for everything. Including my dress (dh wore his dress blues), not bad :)

We had the BIG church wedding, candlelight ceremony, etc. I had the dress of my dreams (and the groom of my dreams ;) ). I had 5 bridesmaids & 1 Jr. bridesmaid. Philip had 5 groomsmen and 1 ring bearer. We probably had 300 guests. We had a reception but not a sit down dinner. Total cost: less than $3000. :) I saved on flowers (didn't have them, had ivy/ferns instead), food (did some ourselves, had a church member help), my dress (off the rack $200), the bridesmaids dresses ($99 ea. from JC Penney). Didn't skimp on the cake or the photographer.

Maybe not for everyone, but definitely for me. :)

30 years ago we had a beautifully frugal wedding.

My parents had a restaurant in a small community. We used a flier and word of mouth to invite anyone and everyone in the community. 285 people came to our wedding along with lots of family from all over the country.

We were married in April just as the flowers were starting to bloom. The ladies of the church gathered these and made wonderful flower arrangements for us. I borrowed a gorgeous wedding gown from a friends sister. The cake was a present from a decorator that was also a friend and the ladies of the church added sheet cakes and other snacks. Photos were taken by a friend who was an amateur photographer. Now a professional.

It was a wonderful day. No one was asked to do any of these things. They volunteered! And, the cost total was....$200.00! 1976 money.

Our wedding was at a culinary school. Students cooked, set up and waited tables. They were graded after the reception ;)
So we did have the sitdown dinner reception, just cheaper than at a regular function hall.

We had a very simple wedding-75 guests, church ceremony, and I catered the food. We had the reception at my inlaws.
One of the best weddings I've ever attended was a clambake on the beach-it was so much fun and not very expensive.

Ok, our wedding is our family legend, it'll be passed on for generations:lip:

Hubby and I lived together and bought a farm before we were married, we started tentatively planning a wedding, we were going to announce it to the family at a picnic, just before hubby spoke up his brother announced HE was getting married, we didn't say a word, I was not putting the family through two weddings in a year. So we put it off.

For the next year we discussed it and decided to just go to the JP and get it done, hubby was on his way home to start vacation and on the way home I answered the phone, hubbies boss, the guy that was supposed to cover hubbies vacation's father died, no vacation that year, no wedding.

SOOOO the next year, again, hubbie is on his way home to start vacation and phone rings, hubbies Grandma died, I'm beginning to feel we're NOT supposed to get married!

We decided we'd still get married, but after the funeral. Well Grandma was Catholic and no funeral that Monday, it was all Saints day. So funeral on Tues, it was a good old fashioned Polish Catholic funeral, complete with Grandmas whole bowling team! We quietly told his mom that after the funeral we were heading to a local small town where they're old minister was now working and tying the knot. Ends up that brother also had a big announcement to make, first grand baby was on the way!

K, imagine being in the basement of a funeral home having cold cuts and coffee and all the sudden mom LOUDLY announces our WEDDING and the GRAND BABY!!! Yikes! The applause probably made the poor guy in the casket upstairs sit up! LOLOL.

So we left the funeral home and headed out, got to the town early so went to Wendys and had biggie fries and biggie iced teas, then off to the church.

It was WONDERFUL!! Just hubby, myself and Reverend Jeff in the sanctuary, Rev. Jeff was so thrilled to preside that he kept stopping and looking at us and saying "I'm so HAPPY to be doing this!" "I'm so THRILLED for YOU"!!

We still celebrate with biggie fries and biggie iced teas 12 years later!:cheer4:

kj

I love hearing how innovative everyone has been. I especially like the culinary school and do it yourself catering. I recently read of a bride who had her bridesmaids take classes at the local crafts store so they could learn to cake decorate, do the flower arranging and make centerpieces for the wedding.

Frugalfarm wife I loved your story. The wait was worth it.
We had a small church wedding. Nothing fancy. My dh, MIL and my self cooked the food the night before, we decorated the the reception area in the church. Our children were our bridesmaids, matron of honor and bestman and groomsmen. They also gave us away along with our parents. It was very beautiful to us. Our granddaughters were flower girls. Cost was under $1000. Close friends and church members was about 75 people.

Ours was simple and fun. The ceremony was on a Friday evening at church (we were 18 and 20) with our closest family members and friends, in addition to lots of aunts, uncles, and young cousins by the dozen etc. I made my dress and wore flowers in my hair, we bought simple gold bands and had a reception at my parents' home. I would guess the whole wedding cost around $300. (This was in 1970.) We started frugally and have lived that way from the beginning!

We got married at the courthouse on Valentine's Day 2000 had 15 people with us, there was a reporter there and had a write up in the paper about getting married on Valentine's day. Went to my MIL where she did a huge feast and we got a small wedding cake-my mom's present to us. 8 months later we went on a honeymoon to Niagara Falls (we saved and paid for in cash), and renewed our vows, just th 2 of us, on top of Bridal Veil Falls, and spent 2 weeks hiking, wine tasting and doing all the touristy kinds of things you can do in Niagara Falls. Our room was upgraded and discounted because we got married by someone at the hotel we stayed at. Our rings we got a deal on as we used to work with the girl who sold us the rings. My dress (for the 2nd ceremony) was discounted to $90.

Such wonderful stories!!:)

We had a church wedding and reception. We had 250 guests. It was a wonderful wedding with lots of friends and family.......we celebrate 21 years on the 18th of this month!!:D

Got married in a field by a judge. Our dog was the ring bearer...we all wore shorts & tees. About 300 people...had a ball game, a bbq, and a dance. Bbq was done by family (burgers, smokies and homemade salads, desserts etc.). We had a loonie bar and no flowers or extras of anykind. Whole wedding for that many was under $1500. A great day...still talked about as the wedding of the century!!!LOL

Church wedding, small, everything cost including dress $500 dollars, Reception was at inlaws house, she paid for the food and sisterinlaws sang for free,(music). We bought the decoratins. She took allt he pics and bought duplicates.

My first wedding was a big one. Church and reception paid for by my mother and father. The only thing I bought was my wedding gown. My mother did everything I just sat back and picked out the colors, favors, which type of flowers ect..

My second wedding was at my mothers house with our families and a couple of friends. About 30 people all together. My mom made the buffet our guests took pictures. Our wedding cake was the only food that was not homemade. We were married by my minister. I did buy a new dress and dh bought a new suit. Second wedding was the charm.

My wedding was in church, and the reception was held in the fellowship hall. I splurged on the caterer, who had these big beautiful screens, amazing tables with beautifully-displayed food, and the most gorgeous wedding cake I've ever seen. We had about 100 people attend. DH and I each had 5 attendants, and his niece was our flower girl. We hired friends to sing and play the music. The total cost was about $7000. My parents paid for it. I spent approximately $1000 on my attire. DH's was rented.

We got married on my motherInlaws front yard by the JP...I wanted it to be quick and simple and just wanted to wear jeans and T shirt...but my sisterInlaw found a dress (free) with all the bells and whistles while my Husband wore his Dress Blues(he was in the Marine Corp) only a few handful of people were present...my SisterInlaw put together a beautiful reception at her house...My Husband had to leave me the next day to go back to Camp Lejeune,North Carolina..never even went on a Honeymoon..
Looking back on it now 17yrs ago come July 2nd..I wished I had a church wedding....Oh well...

married July 2nd..at 2:00 both of us age 22

Married at the courthouse in front of the JP with DH's 4 year old daughter as the witness. It was very simple. No dress, no flowers, no honeymoon, and no party. We exchanged gold bands. We told no one until after it was over. We will celebrate 20 years next month.

We got married almost 14 years ago on a cruise ship in Boston Harbor at sunset. It was the best day of my life. One hundred guests, a lovely buffet meal, great fun. My parents are traditional and they paid for the majority of it. It was about ten grand for the whole she-bang. If I had to pay for it myself, it would have been a cook-out. We were fortunate to have my parents who were very frugal and good savers to come up with the cash.

My parents paid for my smallish church wedding. We had about 75 people, candles, cake and food. We were fortunate to have DH's Aunt do the cake, and I splurged on a good photographer. Pictures cost about $700, and my entire wedding cost under $2000. Not too bad. However, if I had it to do over again, I would have a back yard wedding cookout and a big party with all my friends. Maybe we will do that for an anniversary.

DH and I did a sort of elopement. We were just going to drive to Reno for the weekend and get married and not tell anyone until we got back. I slipped and said something to a good friend of mine who immediately said she had to go along. I told DH later that day that my friend knew. I guess he took that as permission because he started telling other friends. We ended up with 15 of our friends following us to Reno, which worked out perfectly because we got married at the marriage commissioner's office which was small so me and DH plus 15 other only just fit in his office! (we didn't want to go to any wedding chapels, thats tacky to us LOL). I'm glad it worked out the way it did because another friend who came along made me a silk flower bouquet and a bouttonier (sp?) for DH, and my girl friends did my hair and makeup for me and let me borrow a dress. It ended up being alot of fun. And I think it cost around $500 for the wedding, trip and everything. (We had our honeymoon last year) We will be married for 3 years in October.

Church wedding (or my dad wouldn't have walked me down the aisle, he's just slightly Catholic) and a dinner reception with about 220.
my one neighbor is a caterer, so got a good deal there.
another neighbor rents out a chocolate fountain, so had to have that.
got the dress on sale, 1/2 off, 700 for 350. It fit perfectly, not alterations.
the ring was my grandmothers, then my mom wore it after grandma died, and since my mom passed away when I was in hs, dh and I had it reset for me.
we used a $100 off coupon for his ring.
I splurged on the photography and don't regret it a bit, I smile everyday looking at the portrait.
I tutored after school and worked nights at a daycare to pay for the stupid chair covers I wanted that I knew were not necessary, but still wanted. that money also paid for the DJ, cake, limo, invitations and flowers.
Those extra jobs made it so it was all paid off before it happened.
I still remember going to the bank a couple weeks before the wedding and the lady at the bank saying, wow, you should open a money market account. I said I'm getting married in two weeks. Everyone working started laughing, oh that money will be gone.
It was worth every penny.

We had a courthouse wedding. DH wore a new pair of jeans, I had a new dress. No family was present, two friends from work were witnesses. No reception, no honeymoon. We have been married ten years, and I am still waiting for a honeymoon, or even just a weekend in Vegas.

We married in Lake Tahoe. We set it up with a travel agent, we were married on the deck of our chalette. Me my sweetie, the camera man and the preacher. I'm not one for being the center of attention either and this worked out beautiful for us both.

I've LOVED reading all the different stories, everyone has such a unique wedding story.

Our honeymoon was a quick drive to a friends miniature horse farm in KY, perfect fun for both of us, visiting good friends and playing with mini horse babies, a zebra and donks!

We haven't had a vacation since then, but are now saving for a big blowout vacation in 8 years for our 20th!

kj

We had the big traditional church wedding. There were about 250 guests, maybe about 20 of them from DH's side--the rest was my family!
We were married by the same priest that married my parents 34 years earlier. We rented a reception hall at one of the local hotels, and had a buffet dinner. Everyone seemed to have a great time.
We paid for the whole thing ourselves. DH had been peacekeeping in the former Yugoslavia for 6 months before the wedding, so he made enough with his UN pay to pay for the wedding.
We went to Banff for our honeymoon--it was absolutely beautiful! We'd love to go back on one of our anniversaries.

My hubby and I were married outside at his grandmothers house ( she insisted). It meant alot to her that she was involved. We didn't know it at the time that she had cancer, although I believe she knew. Dh's uncle was a minister, so he preformed the wedding. My mother was a cake decorator, so I didn't need to look too far for that. My SIL's sister did our pics and was in charge of the video. The reception was at a local school in the gym ( very small town). The food was mostly potluck by our closest family members.

So far 0 money spent.

My dress was $75.00 on a deeply clearanced out off the rack.
I had my two future SIL's pick out summer dresses for bridesmaids gowns. I wanted something that they could wear again. My DH rented his tux.
DH brothers were his groomsmen they wore dress clothes. My niece was the flower girl, no special dress.
Our rings were just simple gold bands that we paid cash for.

The flowers were the only thing we had done by " professionals" it was the most expensive and most dissapointing. Looking back now I should of picked wild flowers. DH parents paid for the flowers.

Our honey moon was a week at DH aunt's camp.

Some people were against us getting married so young (we were both 18).
They thought it would be better if we waited for a few years and have a "big fancy" wedding. It was not our style to go over the top.

Some of our friends did have a "big and fancy" wedding after we were married.
Too bad they were still paying for the wedding after their divorce.

Next month will be our 17th anniversary. IMO "big and fancy" is a big waste of money. I would rather save the money on what is really important. My future with my hubby.

~Cathy~

We had a church wedding in little country church built in 1895. Think white clapboard outside with a belltower, and wrought iron gates around the little cemetary that sits behind the church. Inside it still has the original cherry plank floors and a load of old mahogany furniture in the reception rooms.

DH was married before, so he would have been thrilled with a trip to the courthouse. No such luck. He knew it was important for me to married in the church. I told him I'd plan everything and that he could have whatever level of involvement he wanted.

My mom paid for most of the wedding with DH and I picking up the rest. I told Mom I knew we would be able to plan a wonderful day without getting into the $22,000 "average" price for a wedding.

And so we did! It was more like $5000, and that included my gown, veil, & tiara, a catered meal, the "donation" to the church, minister, and music minister, my beautful Flame Calla Lily bouquet and other flowers, a professional photographer plus instant cameras on tables for the guests to snap candids (my two all time fave photos both came from the candid cameras).

My goal, from the beginning, was to have our family and friends witness us taking our vows, and to celebrate our commitment. I think one reason things went smoothly was because I knew exactly what I wanted from the day.

Mom also sent us on a 7-day cruise for our honeymoon. It was incredible. We celebrated our 3rd anniversary last month. :)

We had a church wedding with 120 guests - 100 of them invited. The rest were members of the congregation who just showed up! It was free, except I believe we paid something like $20 for the minister's time. The organist and singers volunteered their time...they were friends.

My dsis bought my wedding dress...for $160. It was on sale because the side seam had given out, there was makeup on the collar and it wasn't a frilly lacy thing which was in vogue then. The store cleaned up the makeup and I stitched up the side seam myself.

I had 3 bridesmaids. I chose my prom dress as the bridesmaid dress. It fit one of my sisters (all my bridesmaids were sisters). The others picked it up on sale for $30. I bought each of them a little bridesmaid charm for their charm bracelets as a thank-you gift.

Mom and Dad paid for the flowers.

We catered our own wedding. It was an at-home at my parents home. Never again will I let 120 people descend on my parent's home! That was a dumb move. The Burning Bush (Ladies Auxiliary) had offered to cater it in the church basement, and I, like a dummy, said 'no'!

I can't remember the total cost, but it was certainly under $500cdn. Dh and I had just graduated from university.

Jean

It was WONDERFUL!! Just hubby, myself and Reverend Jeff in the sanctuary, Rev. Jeff was so thrilled to preside that he kept stopping and looking at us and saying "I'm so HAPPY to be doing this!" "I'm so THRILLED for YOU"!!

We still celebrate with biggie fries and biggie iced teas 12 years later!

frugalfarmwife - This is just one of the most wonderful wedding stories I've heard. You made my day!

Pwm

Dh and I were together for 4 years before we got married. We were married March 29, 1999 at the justice of peace with my immediate family and his there, too. I wore a regular dress and sandals, Dh wore black slacks/white shirt/tie...he looked so handsome! It was actually very nice, the courthouse had vows made up for us that I still have and they let our family stay as long as they wanted and take pictures. Afterwards, we all we out to dinner. We've never went on a honeymoon. We have been married 7 years.

I thought when I was planning my wedding that I was being super frugal comparing mine to my friend's wedding which cost NO JOKE over $100,000.
Her dad paid for it with old family money but come on, even if I had it I couldn't do it. Mine was under 10,000.

But man, I wish I had known about this website then, I would have found some great ideas I could and would have used.

We rented out an old mansion and had a very small garden wedding (about 30guests) and had the reception inside/outside...people could wander wherever. The gardens were all in bloom and there were hanging baskets on the porch. We actually got married in the rose garden gazebo. Nothing elaborate...simple dress (tea length), my girls, a friend of dh's and bagpipes!!! It was wonderful and I wouldn't change a thing. We both have plain gold wedding bands. It doesn't take much to make me happy, as long as I'm with dh :)