How To Accomplish A Gorgeous Wedding For Only $2,000

Landon and I dated for 2.5 months before we got engaged and then were married 2.5 months later! Not your typical love story I’d say…

During our season of dating, we were intentional about getting to know each other and preparing for marriage. We both saw the purpose of dating to result in marriage, so we were intentional from the beginning.

In our season of engagement, we were even more intentional about preparing for marriage and we knew one thing: We wanted to plan for our marriage and not just our wedding!

Weddings last a day, but your marriage will last much longer beyond that.

We decided that to set up our lives for success, we would be intentional about preparing for what marriage looked like in the future, which included pre-marital counseling. And we would be less intentional about our wedding.

Don’t get me wrong, we still wanted our wedding to be magical, gorgeous, and the best day of our lives – we just didn’t want to pour all our resources into it and be left with an unhappy marriage in the end.

So, we got down to work. We decided on a $1,000 budget for our wedding, but after it was all said and done, it ended up being closer to $2,000. Not too shabby I’d say!

But before I share with you exactly how we did it, be sure to check out the other posts in this series, where I share all about our love story!

1. Our Love Story
2. Why We Waited To Kiss and Have Sex Till Marriage
3. 4 Practical Dating Tips for Christian Women In Their Early 20’s
4. The 7 Best Christian Books You Need To Read Before Marriage
5. How To Accomplish A Gorgeous Wedding For Only $2,000
6. How To Easily Prevent Pregnancy Without Birth Control
7. 6 Things I Learned In The First Three Months Of Marriage
8. 13 Surprising Benefits When You Get Married Young
9. How To Plan A Remote Honeymoon In The Mountains
10. How To Keep Your House Clean With Puppies

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Let’s get started!

1. PEOPLE

Let’s be honest, your guests cost you money! From the venue to the food, the parking, favors, and oh so much more. The more people you have at your wedding the more money it is going to be, it is that simple.

So, if you want to save money, and have a wedding for only $2,000, then you are going to need to limit the people you invite.

This has both pros and cons.

For our wedding, we invited only immediate family – parents, siblings (with their spouses), and grandparents. Was it hard not having some of my best friends there? For sure. Was it hard not having all my cousins and aunts and uncles to celebrate with? 100%

But we did come up with a solution for this, which I will share in a little bit!

While it was hard, it was also incredibly stress-less and worry-free not having a lot of guests. And we were able to create many memories with those closest to us. An intimate wedding is what made my wedding so fun, enjoyable, and the best day of my life.

First, consider how many people you want to invite and how large your family is. For us, we couldn’t invite just one aunt or uncle, because then it would be unfair to not invite them all. But, maybe you only have one set and you are able to invite them. Everyone’s situation will be different.

Overall, we invited about 30 people and only about 20 were able to make it due to distance. Besides family, our photographer, videographer, musicians, and flower girls were also there – most of which were very close to friends to us. My twin sister was the maid of honor and my husbands’ brother was the best man. My husband’s other brother was the officiant. (We didn’t have to spend money on that either!)

For us, it was a perfect size. Consider between 15-30 people for a wedding for only $2,000.

2. LOCATION

What is more gorgeous than the great outdoors?

If you want a wedding for only $2,000 consider getting married somewhere outside. Gardens, parks, rivers, forests, etc. are all drop-dead gorgeous on their own and will not need extra decorations to spruce the location up.

Here’s what we did.

We both loved being up north in Wisconsin, and it had a special piece in both our hearts. So, we drove up north and browsed local parks and wooded areas to see what might best fit our needs. We stumbled upon an old park in a tiny town that had a gorgeous bridge over a river.

It was nearly Labor Day weekend and no one was there during the day, so we knew it should be unoccupied during our wedding day.

We didn’t even have to reserve the space. We just showed up and got married! It seems too easy, right?

First, think about locations that mean something special to both of you. That will make your wedding location even more gorgeous – knowing that it means a great deal to you and holds valuable memories.

Then, find a local park, forest preserve, or abandoned area that is beautiful outside. Look for pavilions too in case it rains. Be aware of whose property it is and if you need to ask permission or put down a deposit to rent it out for your wedding day.

You can easily find a location that is very cheap and naturally beautiful, you just have to go out and look.

Things to remember: bugs! time of year! and parking! Don’t forget to think about the effect these will have on your wedding day.

Another hack: find an Airbnb house and have a backyard wedding. Be sure to check with the host that they allow weddings and make them aware. This is becoming very popular and worth checking on.

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3. EVENTS

You may not want to exclude all your family to have a wedding for only $2,000. But, here’s another option to consider…

We had an intimate wedding with 20 people in northern Wisconsin. A month later, my husband’s mother hosted a reception for us at our church in Illinois one week, and the next week, my parents hosted a reception in my hometown in Michigan.

After setting up a wedding website on theknot.com, we sent e-vites to all our friends and family about the receptions. We let them know that we were having an intimate, private wedding up north but we would love for them to celebrate with us at a simple reception.

It was a great way for everyone to celebrate with us, and it meant that we didn’t have to limit our guest list! We invited everyone that had ever played a role in our lives, because well, we could.

The Illinois reception was more of an open-house come and go whenever you please style, while the Michigan reception was a very traditional wedding reception style, with cake cutting, a first dance, and all the traditions.

My husband and I love that we did our wedding this way and wouldn’t change anything at all. We were able to spend our own $2,000 just as we saw fit and make our wedding exactly what we wanted it to be, while it also allowed our parents to bless us and celebrate as they would like to celebrate.

If you want a wedding for only $2,000 consider asking a parent or someone else who would like to bless you to throw you a wedding reception shortly after your wedding. It will honor them and give you the flexibility to plan an intimate, gorgeous wedding.

We sent all our invites online through Paperless Post (our wedding) and Punchbowl (our receptions). They were very cheap or free!

For our rehearsal dinner, all we did was throw a fun little get-together at the park we were getting married the night before. Our siblings brought snacks, we played some volleyball and caught up, and ran through our plan for the next day. It was fun and simple.

4. CLOTHING

One of the next biggest costs of a wedding is the wedding dress. Sometimes I can’t believe how much money people spend on a dress you wear for one day! It’s true – you can have a gorgeous wedding dress and get a great deal on it too.

I didn’t go to any wedding boutique shops, any retail stores, or have the “say yes to the dress” moment, and I love that I did that way. I saved so much money and the dress meant so much to me because no one else overrode my decision with their opinion.

So what did I do? Here’s my secret: Poshmark

I searched for a dress on the clothing re-sale app and found an Anthropology bridal gown from their BHLDN line I loved. Someone else had purchased it and barely worn it and was selling it for only $100! It looked to be about my size so I made an offer and the seller accepted.

When it arrived, it fit perfectly! I thought, “It can’t be this easy!”

I did end up hemming the bottom slightly, once I decided on my shoes. But, that was a quick decision too.

I wore my favorite shoes: my knock-off Birkenstocks. They were so comfy and, I didn’t have to pay a single extra dime for them. Plus they were “so me”, as my sisters said.

Going into my wedding day I knew that I would feel completely myself, and I did. It was amazing, and I have never felt more gorgeous. I know it was because I kept it simple, and easy, and only wore what I loved.

My veil was also from Poshmark. It was originally over $50 at least, and I purchased it for only $7. It was perfect for the look and simplicity I was going for, and it made me feel beautiful.

My husband wore a suit he already owned and we found a vest and tie at Kohl’s to match. He bought fun socks to wear with his best man as a gift, but otherwise, his outfit was nearly free as well!

My maid-of-honor wore something she already owned as well. Having only one person stand up for each of us means we didn’t have to color coordinate anything and it saved us a lot of money so we could have a wedding for only $2,000.

5. FLOWERS

This is where I share one of my favorite tidbits: splurge on the thing that really matters to you. (Notice, I said “thing”, not “things”).

For me, that was the flowers. I absolutely love flowers and they were the things I cared most about on my wedding day. I knew I could do really cheap flowers, like pick them from a garden or go to the grocery store, and they would still look gorgeous.

But I really didn’t want to. I wanted the flowers I dreamed of for my wedding day. And if it wasn’t for my husband pushing me to splurge on them, I might have regretted not getting the wedding bouquet I dreamed of.

After finding our park up north, we went to the local small flower shop in the next town and asked if she could put together a simple bouquet for me, my maid of honor, two boutonnieres, and flower petals for the flower girls. It ended up being around $350 dollars.

In our initial $1,000 budget this intimidated me. But, it was entirely worth it. It made my day everything I wanted and more. So, don’t be scared to expand your budget on one thing that will make it that much more special.

6. FOOD

This was easier than we thought, thanks to our amazing siblings. We asked a few of them to go to the store and grab snacks for the night before and then burgers to grill out at the park after our wedding with condiments and sides.

They ran to the store, loaded it up, and I Venmo-ed them the cost. Super simple, and super easy. And it only ended up being $340.

We initially thought about catering food, but I have a gluten and dairy allergy, so it became expensive fast. Plus, when we thought about grilling out at the park, we realized it is something fun for everyone to participate in together and be a wonderful time of hanging out together.

It was fun to have our siblings making the food and then all eating together after. It brought us together and kept the day cheap and stress-free.

I’ve also heard of people renting out a room in a restaurant for after, which could also be a great way to save money and then no one has to worry about the cooking or clean-up after!

7. MUSIC, PHOTOGRAPHY, & VIDEOGRAPHY

Our friends at our church who play the violin and piano were so supportive and played for us on our wedding day at no charge. It was amazing because they knew us, what we liked, and what we wanted. We told them the songs we were thinking of, and they made them come alive for us.

Bonus: their three daughters were our flower girls, and we loved that they could be a part of our wedding!

We sent them a thank you gift card after and double-dated one evening, but overall we had free music!

Now for photography, I’m sure this is something you probably don’t want to skimp on because most people don’t! Your photos are going to last for decades to come and you want to be sure you do it right, but it seems most photographers charge an arm and a leg.

For our photographer, I did my research online. I looked up wedding photographers in the area, big and small in terms of tenure in the business, and sent them each an email or message on Facebook or Instagram with this pitch:

Hi ___! I am having a small wedding with only 30 immediate family members up north in Wisconsin on Sept 14 at a park! Is this an opportunity you are interested in? (: I would only need about 2 hours of coverage…just the ceremony, family pictures, and a couple of pictures after, and am looking to stay within the budget at around $500.

And sure enough, after just a few messages, I get a reply! I checked out her website again to be sure she would do a good job and I was set!

Most photographers want to charge over $1,000 just for a couple of hours, so you may have to keep pitching for a while. But, if you keep pitching and explain that you have to stay within budget, I am sure someone will bite.

Keeping your photography budget to around $500 is key for good pictures while also having a wedding for only $2,000.

For our videographer, we didn’t even have to pitch to anyone. One of Landon’s friends is a videographer and he was gracious enough to come and do it for free. It was fantastic to have his support.

All in all, use your resources, ask around for family friends that may do the work for a discount or free, and stay within budget.

TIPS:

Skip everything else. Keep it simple. Everything extra is unnecessary and brings stress to your special day. When it’s simple, it ends up being more gorgeous because it’s more meaningful.

Create a budget beforehand and stick to it. Be realistic and splurge on one thing that means a lot to you. Ask around for friends and family to help in the areas that they are gifted in. Most people really do want to help.

Have a small intimate wedding and consider having a reception or two after where more friends and family can celebrate with you after you are already married.

Starting your marriage in debt is one of the worst decisions you can do. Only spend money on what you can afford and you’ll set up your life for success.

I have zero regrets about the way we did our wedding. It was absolutely gorgeous, and I made so many memories. I’ve heard from lots of people that they hardly remember their wedding day because there were so many people to greet and so many things calling for their attention.

I planned my whole wedding on a weekend and didn’t even have to worry about the details beforehand. So many people the week before were asking if I was stressed trying to finish up the last-minute details, and I just said that, no, I didn’t have any details and I had nothing to worry about. Most people didn’t know how to reply to that haha.

Everything was stress and worry-free. It was fun and enjoyable, and it was “us.”

Did you have a wedding for only $2,000? Do you have any frugal wedding tips I missed? Share them in the comments below, I’d love to hear them!

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Kelsey at GoodPointGrandma

Hey there, I'm Kelsey! I'm so glad you are here. I'm a 20-something helping you live your most fulfilling life. I hope you'll join me in this old-fashioned & simple lifestyle!

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