My Inexpensive Wedding Story
By Becky Arganbright
Most girls know by the age of 12 what kind of wedding they want. They have everything picked out from what their wedding dress will look like to the husband they will marry. I didn’t have a clue. And I still didn’t have a clue at the age of 28, when the saleslady at the wedding shop was asking me what I wanted for a wedding dress.
One thing that I did know was that I wanted an inexpensive wedding. While I didn’t want to have a “garage sale wedding”, I also didn’t want to spend the average of $20,000 either. Not that I even had that sort of money. But still, I wanted the white dress, the nice reception, the food and DJ. So I had to find a way to make it happen without going broke.
* Beg for Money. The first thing I did was figure out a budget of $5000. Then I made a list of everything (mainly the basics) that I wanted at the wedding and did the total cost. The last thing I did was beg my parents for some help. It was agreed that I would do what I could by saving portions of my own paycheck for the wedding, and that my parents would help with the rest, provided that it was nothing “too frivolous.” What they ended up helping with was the dress (not too frivolous—a girls gotta have something to wear, right?) and the food (people have got to eat!) But I did my part by selecting a dress that was fairly inexpensive ($300 at David’s Bridal) and I did a lot of shopping around for caterers by going to wedding shows and internet searches. Once my parents looked at the prices and menu, they agreed to feed us.
* The Church and Reception Site. The church was the easiest and cheapest. I was a member of our parish so there was nothing to pay. The reception site, however, was more expensive, but I paid for it myself. I loved the place, because it was at a park with a small but elegant building with big floor to ceiling windows, two fireplaces on each end of the room, and a cobblestone floor. It was a very simple building with two rooms you could rent (or make it into one large room by removing the dividing wall) and a small reception hall in the front where beverages could be served. Outside, the guests could mingle as they stood on the balcony with their drinks, overlooking the pond as the groomsmen and bridesmaids went paddle boating. There was also a path that led around the park as well as a gazebo for weddings and a golf course. I could have gone with something cheaper, like just renting a hall for $100, but like I said, I loved this place. It was $700, but it was worth every penny and one of my bridesmaids told me recently that every time she hears of someone planning a wedding, she suggests the reception site as a place for their wedding too.
* Make the Cake. People warned me that making my own wedding cake could lead to disaster due to stress and inexperience, but after looking at a lot of prices of wedding cakes, I figured I could do it myself for half the money. I went to Michaels and picked out my cake accessories, including the frosting. I also picked out designs for the decorations on the cake, purposely choosing very simple designs for a simple but classy look, and also to save me from getting in over my head. Making my own wedding cake was actually relaxing for me. I had everything planned out as to what days I would bake, and what days I would frost and decorate. I even planned out what I would do with frozen food so I had room for the cake (I stored it in my parents fridge, much to their surprise.) On the big day, I had a bridesmaid drive while I held the one of the cakes and straddled the other with my feet, making sure it didn’t slide all over the ground. At the reception, we assembled the cake. It actually turned out really well, and a few people didn’t know that it was home made.
* The Centerpieces. One thing that I was real proud of was my centerpieces. Instead of doing the traditional flowers or candles, I bullied my fiancé into taking pictures of us during our one year of engagement. All these pictures had to signify how we spent our time together; whether it was by kayaking, fishing, going to our drive-in movie, going to the State Fair or even how we celebrated the holidays together. In each picture, we held up a sign. The first picture we took said “Table 1”; the second picture was “Table 2” and so on. (We also would find people to take the pictures for us so that we were both in it.) While this could be embarrassing sometimes as people would call out as they passed by “Table 1!” as we waited for the Good Samaritan to hurry up and take our picture, I was really glad we did it. We printed the pictures out on our computer and framed them in 8x10 clear photo frames. I then decorated each frame with some lace and flowers on each corner. On the long awaited for day, we placed each picture in the center of each table, so the guests would know where to sit. Thus, I had my centerpieces, and the guests had fun milling about as they waited to eat, looking at each picture.
* The Photographer. I met a nice lady through my sister in law who agreed to take our pictures for our wedding for free. The deal would be that she could use our wedding pictures for her website and growing business, and that I would pay for the cost of film. I looked at the pictures she took and saw that it was the best deal I ever heard of, considering photographers are over $1000 or more. We arranged that I would pay her on the day of the wedding, after she took our pictures. However, a misunderstanding occurred between the photographer and I that I still haven’t figured out. I don’t know if it was just nerves or what, but she seemed very nervous and teary, not seeming to know what was expected of her. And I, the nervous bride, didn’t know what to tell her except to “just take pictures”; since I figured that she as a photographer should have some idea of what was expected. She told me she would come back after the wedding to take our pictures and I told her that would be fine. Amazingly, she never came back. I got stood up by my Photographer! No phone call or anything. I was mystified more than angry, wondering what I did to offend her. In fact, that was all I could think of during the entire wedding! But my two brothers and our friends saved the day, for they all brought their fancy digital cameras and took pictures of us both at the wedding, and the reception site. The pictures turned out better than I could’ve hoped—and it was all for free! So really, it worked out for the best, although I still don’t know what happened with the Photographer.
* The Limo. Or I should say, not the limo. I had always wanted to ride in a limo, having never had that luxury. But it was so ridiculously expensive, considering that you had to rent the limo for a minimum of 3 hours, when really we would only need the limo for the ride to the reception. I did a lot of searching and calling and found that they all were pretty much the same with the same rates. I was really disappointed at the thought of riding off in style in my fiancé‘s Chevy truck (no offence, Dennis). But Dennis and I put our heads together and came up with the idea of renting a luxury car—a Cadillac Seville. At first, I wasn’t that excited about it, but when I saw the car and the leather seats and all its “fun stuff” I was happy. Plus, we got to rent it for two days whereas; we’d have the limo for only a half hour. The best part was renting it was an actually reasonable price. Dennis was pretty sad to see it go.
And that was my wedding. I could have cut costs a lot deeper, but I think it all comes down to what you want, and how much you want to spend on what you want. There was piece of advice everyone constantly told me while I was engaged: “Plan your wedding, but have fun with it!” And I did.
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