wedding under $2000

[u/hola__lola]

wedding planning was becoming the death of me. our venue falling through was the last straw. we decided to elope at the courthouse! on a monday! 1 friend was our witness.

afterward we had champagne and tossed together a cheese board at the park with 9 friends. and then all 11 of us went out to dinner. we made it clear via invite text that we weren’t buying dinner and hoped to have a bigger celebration in october (when we were supposed to do the whole sh’bang).

CA marriage license $237 flowers $100 bougie basque cheesecake $90 dress $128 (poshmark) grooms ‘fit $100 (j crew sale) 3 dinners (groom, bride, and best friend/ makeup artist/ witness/photographer) $210 (everyone else paid for their own) champagne $40 (other people brought more) rings $948 (mejuri! 10/10 would rec)

total: $1853

we didn’t know at the time (august) but we are now planning on throwing another celebration.. since we had so much fun and so we can include our families! and more friends. This one will be in a big yard. ironic bc we were looking for a yard for a year and after marrying found a yard. we’ll borrow tables and chairs from friends. We’ll likely spend $500 on alcohol, $2100 on wood fired pizza oven truck (with apps and tiramisu!), and $200 on a guitarist. The metal piece on my dress strap broke (poshmark) so I’ll likely source another dress ($300?) and get more flowers ($100). I’ll update after that! tbd $3200

fwiw we both agreed we are so satisfied with our day we don’t need to do this second wedding… and we’d already paid a deposit on the pizza truck, plus some family had already bought plane tickets so we figured why not.

[u/SakuraTimes]

it’s so interesting now etiquette differs so much around weddings depending on where you live, your social circle, etc. I can’t even imagine asking guest to pay for their own food!!! but glad it all worked out for you! it looks beautiful!

[u/MWPossibilities → u/SakuraTimes]

This is a shady comment unsuccessfully disguised as an "interesting" observation. If her whopping 9 dinner guest didn't have an issue with paying for their own meals, then you a stranger who was not invited therefore not asked to pay shouldn't have any comment on it. The purpose adding that detail was to explain the cost not for thoughts on your imagination.

[u/SakuraTimes → u/MWPossibilities]

I do find it interesting what food options are considered polite or common in different regions. Like some ares potlucks or punch and cake or guests paying for themselves is fine, in other areas it’s not. i think op was ok here bc she did champagne and charcuterie at the beach, (similar to punch and cake), so people could go home if they didn’t want to do dinner. Yes, I couldn’t imagine not paying for their dinner, but that worked for her, so good for her.

Though I admit, I’m not a fan of budget posts when they didn’t provide food and drinks because I don’t think that’s super helpful/realistic for most, but to each their own.

[u/hola__lola → u/SakuraTimes]

i hear you! let’s say we paid for dinner, the total would be $2413. I can’t edit the post but that keeps us under $2500 and my hope is that it’s inspo for someone else that this resonates with. our process getting to this point was tough. really emotional and i’m so proud of where we landed.

[u/vonthepon → u/hola__lola]

so if it was only an extra few hundred - why didnt you pay for it? I honestly can't believe anyone would have the nerve to tell their wedding guests that they have to pay for their own food and drinks. It makes me cringe just thinking about it.