Hey, K., I can surely relate. My husband and I paid for most of our wedding ourselves. We had a small gathering in a cousin's backyard near White Rock Lake. Their yard was huge and very private. We rented arches, tables & chairs and a carpeted runway from Ducky Bob's. My husband's cousin prepared some appetizers and I asked several friends to bring additional food stuff. We purchased cases of wine at a discount from a local liquor store and a keg of beer. Bridesmaids dresses were all made by my sister in law. Both cakes were made by someone who works out of her home for only about $200, including shipping. Our neighbor who is a florist did the flowers, and as a wedding gift she didn't charge us for the men's bootineers. I purchased glass bowls and floating candles at Michael's for centerpieces. I ordered my invitations through a lady who works out of her home. A co-worker did a balloon arch and several other bunches of balloons for me.
Here's the best part: I got my beautiful wedding dress at Mockingbird Bridal for $390. They have a huge sale once a year and girls literally are standing in line outside the door with coffee in hand waiting for it to open. Because the store is so tiny they only allow 12 people in at a time and you can only try on 5 dresses at a time. I was among the first 12 that morning and found exactly what I was looking for. You might want to call them and ask when their big sale is.
When you're doing your wedding yourself the most important thing to remember is to make sure your Maid or Matron of Honor has a list of what needs to be done that day prior to the wedding. I didn't do that and when I got there someone had already dispursed the corsages to the men but they didn't go to the right people. The mother's didn't get to carry their roses down the aisle, because no one gave them to them. Someone lost the floating candles and there was only water floating in the bowl. People kept saying, "Where's the fish".
We spent the night at a local hotel in a suite and negotiated a special price. We didn't take our honeymoon until the next year. All in all I'd say we spent about $2,000, give or take a few bucks. The best investment was the dress.
I've been to several weddings that did not offer a dinner, appetizers or a buffet of any kind. They simply had an afternoon or evening wedding and only had cake, punch, coffee and some nuts scattered about. I used to be in the meeting planning business and most hotels will not charge you a room rental as long as you order so much $$ in food. Sometimes you can even negotiate a free suite if you use their hotel for the reception/event.
