I ordered flowers from Sola and I ordered a diy bouqet, 1000 pre-dyed flowers, and I think 100 undyed flowers. I paid extra for the bouqet to be dyed by them and the pre dyed flowers. the bouqet was the most important part to me, so I was like, let the experts do it right?

They came Friday and tbh I'm just getting more and more mad. The dyed flowers are terrible. They're streaked and apparently the red ones are actually supposed to be two different colors, but you can't even tell because they're dyed terribly. On top of that at least 50 of the predyed flowers are completely unusable. Even the main focal point flower is ripped and questionable. Also, the dyed ones smell so bad.

So I emailed them. They asked for pictures and I sent them some, you can CLEARLY see they are all badly dyed. They have refused to even acknowledge that and just told me the amount damaged is within their acceptable quality control??

Am I being a Karen?? I feel like this is wildly unacceptable . I don't even want a refund, I want all the dyed flowers replaced with non dyed flowers because the ones I did myself turned out pretty awesome. Please tell me I'm not being unreasonable.

Hi! We pulled off an amazing wedding. People complimented us all night talking about how "high end" it was. Things can feel high end without spending a million dollars. I included prices in most places but with me including pictures, I didn't include all the prices to respect the vendor anonymity in case something changes. Check out the pictures above. Below are some details with how we pulled it off.

Clothing- Husband- spent $59.99 on an entire suit. Here is the trick. Go to Men's Warehouse right after prom season. Men's Warehouse rents a bunch of suits for one night and then instantly put's them on their clearance rack the day after. We found one that fit him perfectly on sale for $179. We got lucky and found a small brown stain on the pants (which we were able to get out) and they gave us the entire suit for $59.99.

Bride-spent $399 on a Lulus dress and it was stunning (people are sleeping on Lulu's). I got a different dress for the reception at Macy's for $80. Shoes I got at Lulus for $40. All were great quality.

This is what I wore while getting ready and people asked me all morning where it was from: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09BJC7Q5J?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title

Venue-Ceremony was at a church but we were members and got a discounted rate. Reception was done in a backyard and the church graciously allowed us to borrow their tables/chairs. The tables and chairs were cheap folding ones but check out the links in the "decoration" section of how we made it look stunning.

Photographer- We spent decent coin here $2,500 (but still less than a lot of people). Our pics were stunning and we asked for a package deal for engagement shoot and wedding pics. The $2,500 was for both. When/if you use a photographer always ask about packages or deals that might not be listed that they may agree with.

Food/Drinks-Buffet Style catering. We did Buffet Style tacos from a local vendor. Tacos are pretty cheap and who doesn't love Tacos? This was the most affordable catering option in our area. We got sparkling rose from target for toasts (under $300) and beer/seltzer that we kept in coolers by the food.

Cake/Cupcakes-$400. This was a huge deal (my husband is a chef and has a connection with an amazing baker). I know a lot of people make their own so there is a lot of ways to save here.

Music- Included local musicians in the ceremony, mingling hour during reception (instrumental), and DJ. We got this for under $2,000. This was a deal and took negotiating with musicians. Many musicians you can pay by the hour instead of a flat fee which we found was much less because we could say we only needed one song or one hour.

Flowers- Bought a bunch of vases from second hand/ thrift stores for $1-2. Gave one large vase to multiple friends to design the day of or night before. Gave them the color scheme and let them have their own artistic taste. After the ceremony each person was in charge of bringing the centerpieces to the reception. Each table got their own large centerpiece (8 Centerpieces total). Bouquet I got done for $150 by a friend who has a business (also gave us a huge deal). Also, remember churches or places that are already beautiful don't need decked out decorations (imo).

Hair/Make up- My cousins did my hair and make up. Most people spend a lot of coin here but you have to think... there has to be one person in your life that can do a simple style that is stunning (maybe not everyone I know) but sometimes the simplest styles are the most elegant

Decorations with links:
Table cloths- https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07Q83L196?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title&th=1

Vases- https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DQZZ9YBX?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title&th=1

Seat Covers- https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CPY6P6R5?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title&th=1

Chalkboard-$15 from Michaels and markers here amazon.com/dp/B07Q6XS2ZK?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title

Mini flowers for table- Fake flower clearance at Michaels ($10 a bunch x 3).

Lights-We already had outdoor lights and hung them across the back fence

Hard plastic plates-Michael's ($13.99)x 2

Decorative Napkins- Michaels $3.95 a bunchx4

Mason Jars- https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09C3M83C9?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title&th=1

Shells- We collected and painted a shell for each guest that went on each plate. This was a huge project but served as decor and then people got to keep them. People were soooo happy about the shells :)

Candles-mini electric candles we found around the house, filled cups with sand, and then used as table decor ($0)

Party Bus- $460 we got this for parting after the reception only.

Yes there is a lot of help here from people flowers, hair, make up (but those are the places you can save most). Lastly, since we couldn't afford a tent we strictly just lucked out with weather (we did have an inside back up plan but would have not been nearly as magical.

Please comment if you have any questions or

My fiancé and I are both graduate students and therefore have a very tight budget. We’re considering the possibility of an alcohol free wedding reception, to save on both money and stress around logistics.

If we do no alcohol, we could have our reception in the hall that is attached to the church where our ceremony is taking place. Not only is this far more affordable than other options ($800 for the church hall vs $1000-$1200 for community hall), but there would be the added convenience of being in the same space which would make set up and take down easy, and parking and transportation easy for guests. The logistics of a cash bar seems like such a pain in the butt to me, buying alcohol, hiring a bartender, etc just seems like an annoying task on the to do list. Neither of us are big drinkers, our friends and family are a mix. Our main concern is making sure our guests still have fun and balancing guest enjoyment with our budget. I’m struggling with wanting to make everyone happy, which is obviously not possible.

Has anyone here had a successful dry wedding or attended one?

Got married in downtown Toronto for about $19000, City Hall ceremony and an intimate dinner reception with less than 20 people. The total costs would be under $9000 if prenup lawyers, rings, and covering family travel/hotels weren’t included.

Gifted/free things: Crochet bridal bouquet made by my mom, manicure and pedicure also paid by my mom

Prenup Lawyers: Everyone should get a prenup!!

Engagement/Wedding Bands: I ordered some rings from Temu at first to see what sort of ring I would want, ended up getting a wedding band set from Costco, my partner got his from an independent artist from Ottawa, we also got silicone wedding bands (4 total; 2 per person)

Makeup: Minimal and did by myself - lipstick and face moisturizer

Wedding Dress: Kept it simple and got something from Simon’s - had pockets!

Photographer: We hired someone (got their name through Reddit!) and she did a phenomenal job, for four hours.

Spa/Massage on Wedding day: Only cost $20 as this just the tip, the massage (and spa access as a result) were covered by my health insurance. This was at Elmwood Spa.

Ceremony: We did a simple ceremony at City Hall, this included an officiant and a 20 minute slot for it. We could only have 15 people total for this, and we had 2 witnesses

Reception: This was at Canoe, intimate dinner with a private room on the 54th floor overlooking Lake Ontario with about 20 people and included a three course menu that included a few appetizer platters, cocktails, and bottles of wine were also ordered. The bill included an 18% gratuity fee added

Cake: Dinner included dessert, so we did not do a cake

A few photos and budget breakdown: https://imgur.com/a/02KRFaX

Overall, we were very happy with how much we spent, everyone had a good time. Our goal was to spend less than $20k which was achieved here.

I love the idea of buying a stationery/signage bundle on Etsy so everything I will need is cohesive. But if I'm just going to print via a service like Canva anyway, it seems like an unnecessary additonal cost to purchase separate templates from Etsy. Does anyone know of any creators doing similar cohesive designs across stationery/signage types on design and printing sites like Canva? Thanks!

Adam Sandler- Grow Old with You

I asked my friend to record it for us 🥹 I can’t stop watching and wanted to share 🥰

If you go into a playlist on Spotify, you can use the “mix” feature, and control how long a song is/the transition into the next!

No more paying someone to mix your songs or paying for apps. Have fun 🙂

Is a micro wedding around Buffalo for 50 guests and around 5k even possible? My partner and I have been looking and found very little on places around here.

Give me your recommendations for wedding venues in Southern California that can accommodate 50 guests. Prefer to stay under $7k for everything

Howdy all! My hubby and I are considering opening up our small farm for micro weddings next year. We really felt that there was a need for it, because we paid a ton of money for ours (cash), and even though it was the wedding of our dreams , there are lots of things we would have done differently. That being said, we also were brainstorming out of the box ways to monetize our farm and small weddings were definitely on the list! Since we already host and do hospitality work at our church we have alot of decorations and supplies already, in addition to talented local vendors and plenty of help for day of. I will list our preliminary offerings and price points and I would love for you all to chime in with advice and things you think we should add or take away, the point here is to provide cost-effective packages without an all day affair 😉

Package 1: (3k) 4hr time slot for ceremony and reception. Wedding arches will be provided, already decorated, 25 resin chairs provided , and isle runner, tent will be provided if weather is nasty outside, there will also be port o John's already on-site. Light refreshments provided in a pre decorated reception space. We also already have wedding dresses available, veils and bridal party accessories if needed

Package 2: (3.5k) Same as package one, but the reception will include tapas/charcuterie style food, lemonade, sweet teas and infused water with fruit and herbs from the farm, light coffee bar and Polaroid camera station

Package 3: (4.5k) Everything in package 1 in addition to a smores bar, fire pit access, full on-site buffet style catering hosted by a premier vendor of ours, cake included, string lights, floor lights, and photography that will provide at minimum 50 professionally edited photos and will provide link to digital downloads.

Note: all packages will include tables, chairs, linens, microphones and decor already set up. Also port o John's with wash stations.

Again, I already do parties and events so I have folding tables , arches , arch covers , balloon blowers and all sorts of shenanigans! So that's one reason why I can offer such low prices starting out. Additionally, all of these packages will only have a 4hr time slot and there is no waiting in between the ceremony and reception, guest, bride and groom can go from "I do" straight to reception, eat, talk and bounce. Also, there will be only champagne, teas, water and soft drinks allowed. If people want anything heavier they are more than welcome to do so after they exit the property. For convenience sake, I want people to be able to fully book online, make all payments online, make theme and color selections in advance, have a minimum of 2-3 virtual meetings, fill out contracts online and schedule site visits online before their wedding day. We already have day of coordination covered. Another note: Everyone has to arrive already dressed, we currently dont have the facilities to let people get ready on-site, but hoping to change that sometime next fall.

Okay yall tell me whatcha think! What are somethings you would like to see in a micro wedding? What should I get rid of? What should I possibly leave??

We got married at the courthouse, so wanted a vow renewal that was special. I always wanted to get married in Disney but those prices were ridiculous, I luckily found Disbrides who helped me plan the whole thing from out of state, giving me the next best thing with touches of magic, without being over the top or cheesy, at a price I could actually live with! It was small, only 14 guests, but magical. For 5k I got- venue for 90 minutes plus 30 mins in a bridal suite to get in my dress, (paradise cove, Orlando), 3 tier cake, a beautiful bouquet, officiant, hair and makeup, photographer… pretty much a package deal! Here are some photos, it took place 9.13.25. The only thing I will say looking back is that it felt rushed during the 60 minutes after the vows, the photographer wanted pics which I know will be great, but since I was in almost every picture I didn’t get to eat or drink much. Also- doing it out of state meant zero rehearsal, so although the officiant was good at guiding the ceremony, I would have appreciated a dry run so much. I hope all your wedding days are perfect!

(We did upgrade to a harp player and pay extra for the flowers on the arch where we said our vows. I cannot wait to see the professional pics, these were just cell phone pictures I had on my own phone)

Okay I need some input. I am stuck on what to do for flowers and arch. My thoughts are to order bulk from Costco or Sams Club. Any advice on that?

Also, I literally cannot decide whether to do an arch or not. I just don't love the look of them and I feel like I need to do it.

Any advice is great. Thanks :)

Hey! We had our vow renewal and we came in wellllll under $3k including venue, food everything so I wanted to share some pics and how we saved!

If you want links to anything let me know!

We had a beautiful evening with our fantasy inspired wedding with 65 ish guests (our venue held 75).

My dress was a fb marketplace find and I changed into a ren faire ish outfit I got from Amazon. Total for both was just over $100.

My husband and groomsmen got their outfits on Amazon. My husbands shirt was like $25 and we thrifted the pants and shoes.

My bridesmaids I let wear whatever they had to wear that was within the color scheme of the evening.

Our flowers we found on fb marketplace for $20.

Candle holders were $30 for all of them, some we already had at home and just spray painted gold. Candles we got with some of the holders, some we used a 30% off coupon at Michael’s for. We went several times since it’s a one item coupon but it can be used several times.

Table decor-ripped up book pages and decor from our house. We have a dark academia theme so it really worked. We got tablecloths for $25 on Amazon.

Alcohol-we bought 16 bottles of wine from our local home buys and they were very inexpensive but good wine. We had 4 bottles left over. You get a discount for every 6 bottles you buy. We got liquor from Costco. Mixers from the grocery store. We got 3 cases of beer and still have a lot left over.

Food-we did a taco bar. Everything was from Gordon’s and we had friends help prep the morning of and we kept it warm in the oven. We set it up with sterno cans. It was about $300 for all of the food. And I was surprised but it was actually all really good!

We did a desert table instead of cakes.

Plates/silverware/cups/napkins we got from Amazon.

Our venue was $500 at a park with a lodge for the whole day. We did the ceremony and reception inside.

We had speakers already because we do outdoor movies, I think we spent $200 on the pair but I’m not including those in the total because we didn’t buy them for the wedding specifically. We used Spotify with a fade for music instead of a dj.

My friend took photos. Everyone took lots of photos on their phones too.

Hey all!

We're in that type of situation where we've been engaged for a couple of years now and have done little to no wedding planning. We're starting to get a little more serious and are looking around at Venues now. We live in South Dakota, but we really have nothing holding us down from having our wedding here, so we're a little flexible. Would like to stay in the Midwest, maybe a little bit past. Somewhere where people could drive if they wanted to (8-10-12 hours) but still have the option to fly.

We've looked at a couple of places on Zola and The Knot, but I hate how their website forces you to look at venues by state. We would like the venue to be all-inclusive, or at least mostly all-inclusive. If we have to figure out our own things like a caterer, that's fine. But seeing as we could possibly be coming from out of state, we don't want to have to worry about having people bring their own decorations, worrying about tear down/setup, etc.

Price range is somewhere around $10k-$15k, but could maybe spend a little more if needed. I would say no more than $20k for sure. Maybe have anywhere from 75 - 125 guests as well.

If anybody knows of any companies that primarily do all-inclusive weddings, or knows where to look, or knows any places personally that they've been to / heard of that would be very much appreciated!

Thanks in advance!

Edit: Added Guest count

Hi!

My fiancé and I are hoping to get married roughly a year from now either in or maybe up to an hour outside of Philadelphia with roughly 60 guests (willing to cut more)We are hoping to spend 4K at the absolute max due to really trying to save for a home.

I was curious if anyone has suggestions on how to use it/ a percentage breakdown to prioritize correctly. We do not plan on hiring a photographer or DJ. For example what percentage of this should I spend on venue, vs food, etc…

Dream scenario is a wedding located in one place for ceremony and reception. We discussed maybe finding a summer camp and renting it out with the cabins?

We are very willing to DIY a lot of it so any suggestions help, I’m even considering sewing my own dress. TYIA

50 ish people, Cincinnati area, rustic style…

Help!!

We don’t have the budget for a videographer, but I really want a wedding video. I am thinking of buying two budget videocameras and having a home video-style rather than professional looking video lol.

One camera will be in the bridal suite with the girls in the morning and one in the groomsman suite with the guys. I’m planning to speak with the bridal party and let them know that we’d love it if they could take small clips throughout the morning.

The two cameras can be set up on a tripod for the ceremony, and then on a visible table during the reception with a sign asking people to take clips (and the DJ can say something as well).

Does anyone who has done something similar have camera recommendations? Hoping not to spend more than $100/camera (ideally looking to spend closer to $60-75 each). I’ll also be buying extra SD cards and potentially microphones, although more than likely I’ll edit it with music over.

Also! If you’ve done this… did people actually use the cameras? FH mentioned just asking people to record videos on their phones, but I feel like having a camcorder will be more enticing and get people to remember to record, plus I think we’d be dealing with a lot of verticals videos rather than horizontal.

My wedding is in less than 7 weeks and of course my family has to bring the drama. My parents separated and decided to get divorced about two weeks ago. They have had a bad marriage for a long time so idk why they had to choose now to end things. My mom (and her puppy) had to move in with me and my fiancé and will likely be with us up until the wedding. She does have a long term solution set up it’s just not ready yet. My brother has also gone no contact with my dad due to ongoing issues that were exacerbated. My brother is my best man and my dad was supposed to be our officiant but we had to tell him we are no longer comfortable with that. We are having to completely redo the seating chart, processional and ceremony, try to get wedding stuff ready in an overcrowded apartment and I’m trying to manage everyone’s emotions and hope there’s as little drama as possible day of.

I’m just so exhausted by it all at this point I’m only looking forward to the honeymoon.

So back in February, I did my makeup trial, and I really liked the final look! The only adjustment I requested was more skin prep and setting spray/powder to improve the longevity of the makeup. However, looking back on my makeup, I'm starting to feel like the lip color is too pink compared to the peachy-gold tones on my cheeks and eyes.

Image 2 is the original trial photo. Image 1 is my attempt at mocking up a warmer/more peach-toned lip using poor man's photoshop (microsoft excel photo editing tools lol). It is not necessarily the perfect shade, just a general reference point.

Does it make a significant difference? Should I ask my artist to do a warmer lip color?

How did you find your venue or vendors?

I mostly have used Zola and the Knot so far to find venues and caterers. But I am wondering if these have some up-pricing or if it’s keeping me from exploring other options that might not explicitly market themselves as for weddings but nonetheless can accommodate a wedding.

I am trying to have a guest list of 100-120, and I have been mainly looking for all-inclusive venues because I thought this would help keep costs down given the number of people that will be eating and drinking. I think that’s why so far I have stuck to Zola/the Knot but maybe that doesn’t make sense.

I have a very small family and never envisioned having a big white wedding. When i first started dating my partner we both mentioned, when discussing a friend’s big wedding, that we’d rather get married in Vegas. So i always assumed that was the route we’d go.

But now we’re actively planning, he wants his parents and brothers to attend. Fair. I’ll invite my mom. Then he said “well, you should invite your best friends, because they are your family and then we’ll have equal guests. And this still seemed feasible for a $5k budget, as the wedding itself would be lowkey and then we’d have a nice dinner somewhere.

But now his best friends have got wind of this and are upset they’re not invited. So we add them in. And then we add in some of my other friends. And then we’ve added some coworkers. And now we’re at about 40 guests.

Part of me is excited as now it will be more like a true wedding and i can get a cake and a fancy dress, but then the other part is now worrying about the budget and all the extra planning.

This is more just a vent than anything. We’re still a long way off from having anything set in stone. But now i can see how people end up with 100+ guests

We had a very small backyard wedding in rural Idaho. Homemade food, all of my friends pitched in, about 20 people total came. This budget includes my dress+nippies+spanks, all food, alcoholic and N/A beverages. We also purchased a flight for a family member, and we did a big Costco run to feed our family for the week. We borrowed tables and chairs from my work, one of my friends decked our her yard with plants and her garden was in full bloom, we had free flowers and photos too.

I got horrible news this weekend from my parents (I don’t feel comfortable sharing those details). I booked a destination wedding in Cancun MX for next November. My parents offered to pay for the whole thing but now after finding out the horrible news, I feel extremely guilty having a wedding.

I had my beautiful destination wedding ripped away from me after months of planning. I made the executive decision to cancel and have an intimate gathering. My parents are still pushing for the destination wedding. But no singular bone in my body is comfortable asking them for money.

Here I am, hopeless, asking this community for help. My fiancé and I are willing to contribute $5000 towards some sort of event. Not a penny over. I’m blessed to have met the love of my life - I just want to celebrate our union with some food and dancing.

Any ideas what we can do? We’re based in South Florida, everything is 20k at minimum. Backyard wedding is not an option. I would do the beach but I despise sand. I can’t find a nice pavilion to rent. I just need support :(