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	<title>Comments on: Ask Mike: Weddings on the cheap</title>
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		<title>By: Paula</title>
		<link>http://yanswersblog.com/index.php/archives/2009/05/12/ask-mike-weddings-on-the-cheap/comment-page-1/#comment-52948</link>
		<dc:creator>Paula</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sun, 17 May 2009 22:10:33 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://yanswersblog.com/index.php/archives/2009/05/12/ask-mike-weddings-on-the-cheap/#comment-52948</guid>
		<description>When I got married (fhe last time), I paid $800 for a very beautiful wedding which was held in an historical mansion in Tennessee.  This was a plan that included the food, access to the rooms, sparkling cider, all the tables and chairs you needed and the wonderful ambience of the house with large celing to floor mirrors, etc.  The guests were given balloons to let rise in the air as we departed.  A friend of mine had his own piano and could sing.  Each guests&#039; table had three cameras on it and one lady was the videographer.  I spent less than $1000 for the whole event - dresses included. (they were rented).  The money should be spent either for the honeymoon, or your new house.</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>When I got married (fhe last time), I paid $800 for a very beautiful wedding which was held in an historical mansion in Tennessee.  This was a plan that included the food, access to the rooms, sparkling cider, all the tables and chairs you needed and the wonderful ambience of the house with large celing to floor mirrors, etc.  The guests were given balloons to let rise in the air as we departed.  A friend of mine had his own piano and could sing.  Each guests&#8217; table had three cameras on it and one lady was the videographer.  I spent less than $1000 for the whole event &#8211; dresses included. (they were rented).  The money should be spent either for the honeymoon, or your new house.</p>
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		<title>By: Ma Shing-Chak</title>
		<link>http://yanswersblog.com/index.php/archives/2009/05/12/ask-mike-weddings-on-the-cheap/comment-page-1/#comment-52332</link>
		<dc:creator>Ma Shing-Chak</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 14 May 2009 15:31:26 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://yanswersblog.com/index.php/archives/2009/05/12/ask-mike-weddings-on-the-cheap/#comment-52332</guid>
		<description>Hey Mike,

&quot;Depending on where you live, summer is either already here or just around the corner.&quot;

You forgot Australia, mate! And, well, New Zealand, South Africa, Argentina and all the other countries far south of the equator, where people presumably walk upside-down (*wink*). Winter&#039;s just around the corner over there...</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Hey Mike,</p>
<p>&#8220;Depending on where you live, summer is either already here or just around the corner.&#8221;</p>
<p>You forgot Australia, mate! And, well, New Zealand, South Africa, Argentina and all the other countries far south of the equator, where people presumably walk upside-down (*wink*). Winter&#8217;s just around the corner over there&#8230;</p>
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		<title>By: Jennifer</title>
		<link>http://yanswersblog.com/index.php/archives/2009/05/12/ask-mike-weddings-on-the-cheap/comment-page-1/#comment-52154</link>
		<dc:creator>Jennifer</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 13 May 2009 18:37:38 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://yanswersblog.com/index.php/archives/2009/05/12/ask-mike-weddings-on-the-cheap/#comment-52154</guid>
		<description>Oh and something for the military (as I married Air Force)...  IF your man is willing to wear their Blue&#039;s to the wedding, let them..or the Army Class A&#039;s...  They are formal and nice, but if you&#039;re for jamming cake down their throat, I hope they have the common sense to take off the jacket!  But military should also ask around and see if they can get some discounts, it doesn&#039;t hurt to ask.  Some places offer discounts to active AND retired, as along as you have proof, ie a VA card for retired people or the Active Duty card.  I&#039;m from a hometown that offers a lot for the military, because its by a big Army base!  Good luck brides and remember to keep a sense of humor!</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Oh and something for the military (as I married Air Force)&#8230;  IF your man is willing to wear their Blue&#8217;s to the wedding, let them..or the Army Class A&#8217;s&#8230;  They are formal and nice, but if you&#8217;re for jamming cake down their throat, I hope they have the common sense to take off the jacket!  But military should also ask around and see if they can get some discounts, it doesn&#8217;t hurt to ask.  Some places offer discounts to active AND retired, as along as you have proof, ie a VA card for retired people or the Active Duty card.  I&#8217;m from a hometown that offers a lot for the military, because its by a big Army base!  Good luck brides and remember to keep a sense of humor!</p>
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		<title>By: Jennifer</title>
		<link>http://yanswersblog.com/index.php/archives/2009/05/12/ask-mike-weddings-on-the-cheap/comment-page-1/#comment-52153</link>
		<dc:creator>Jennifer</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 13 May 2009 18:30:48 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://yanswersblog.com/index.php/archives/2009/05/12/ask-mike-weddings-on-the-cheap/#comment-52153</guid>
		<description>I was married in 2003, a few weeks after hurricane Isabel hit my home area, HARD!  The church basement, where my reception was to be held was flooded, there was almost no electricity, among many other things.  My family was on a budget, so I tried to do the best I could.  I had no help from my in laws, who kept suggesting things that we couldn&#039;t afford.  Wish then I had spoken up and said &#039;If you want it bad enough, you&#039;ll have to pay for it.&quot;  But I didn&#039;t.  Anyways...so a week before the wedding, I didn&#039;t have anything for the reception except for a cake.  One of the ladies at my church knew I was getting worried and paniced because I didn&#039;t have my flowers done due to that hurricane.  She offered to do my flowers AND the reception!  God bless that woman, she made my day!  I had my Aunt take the pictures, only one wasn&#039;t as good as I had hoped for, but the rest were great.  We also had cameras for everyone to take pictures at the reception for us.  Another lady from my church taped the wedding, it turned out really nice, she even came before the wedding and got footage of me getting ready!  So I agree, if you have people willing to help out, use it!  I got married free because I helped around the church a lot, and didn&#039;t have to pay the reservation fee to the building.  It was so beautiful.  I&#039;ve told my hubby when we have a kid, if its a girl, we should name her Isabel after the hurricane that almost ruined my wedding!</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I was married in 2003, a few weeks after hurricane Isabel hit my home area, HARD!  The church basement, where my reception was to be held was flooded, there was almost no electricity, among many other things.  My family was on a budget, so I tried to do the best I could.  I had no help from my in laws, who kept suggesting things that we couldn&#8217;t afford.  Wish then I had spoken up and said &#8216;If you want it bad enough, you&#8217;ll have to pay for it.&#8221;  But I didn&#8217;t.  Anyways&#8230;so a week before the wedding, I didn&#8217;t have anything for the reception except for a cake.  One of the ladies at my church knew I was getting worried and paniced because I didn&#8217;t have my flowers done due to that hurricane.  She offered to do my flowers AND the reception!  God bless that woman, she made my day!  I had my Aunt take the pictures, only one wasn&#8217;t as good as I had hoped for, but the rest were great.  We also had cameras for everyone to take pictures at the reception for us.  Another lady from my church taped the wedding, it turned out really nice, she even came before the wedding and got footage of me getting ready!  So I agree, if you have people willing to help out, use it!  I got married free because I helped around the church a lot, and didn&#8217;t have to pay the reservation fee to the building.  It was so beautiful.  I&#8217;ve told my hubby when we have a kid, if its a girl, we should name her Isabel after the hurricane that almost ruined my wedding!</p>
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		<title>By: tellingitlikeitis2009</title>
		<link>http://yanswersblog.com/index.php/archives/2009/05/12/ask-mike-weddings-on-the-cheap/comment-page-1/#comment-52151</link>
		<dc:creator>tellingitlikeitis2009</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 13 May 2009 18:19:07 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://yanswersblog.com/index.php/archives/2009/05/12/ask-mike-weddings-on-the-cheap/#comment-52151</guid>
		<description>My wife and I were married in the summer of 2005, back before the economy tanked and before low-budget weddings became popular. We probably spent a total of $1500 on our wedding. We did all of the planning and arrangements ourselves, had a friend do the photography, my wonderful sister-in-law handled the bride&#039;s dress and the floral arrangements. I rented a tux from a local formal wear rental place for around $100. The biggest single expense was the after-wedding reception where we had to come up with $600 for a decent reception dinner - nothing fancy, but nice. That accounted for a good part of the $1500. We never believed in spending thousands upon thousands of dollars on a one-day event. It was a small intimate wedding with family and close friends - no more than about 25 people total not counting the pastor (it was a church wedding - Catholic) We also didn&#039;t want to go into bankrupting our families to expect them to pay for something like a big expensive wedding. The &quot;wedding industry&quot; tries to spin things to make it look like you must spend mega $$$$ to get properly married - I say rubbish. What we may do is after we have been married for ten or fifteen years successfully throw a big bash and pull out all the stops for it - hopefully by then budgets won&#039;t be as tight, and we will have our successful life together to celebrate</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>My wife and I were married in the summer of 2005, back before the economy tanked and before low-budget weddings became popular. We probably spent a total of $1500 on our wedding. We did all of the planning and arrangements ourselves, had a friend do the photography, my wonderful sister-in-law handled the bride&#8217;s dress and the floral arrangements. I rented a tux from a local formal wear rental place for around $100. The biggest single expense was the after-wedding reception where we had to come up with $600 for a decent reception dinner &#8211; nothing fancy, but nice. That accounted for a good part of the $1500. We never believed in spending thousands upon thousands of dollars on a one-day event. It was a small intimate wedding with family and close friends &#8211; no more than about 25 people total not counting the pastor (it was a church wedding &#8211; Catholic) We also didn&#8217;t want to go into bankrupting our families to expect them to pay for something like a big expensive wedding. The &#8220;wedding industry&#8221; tries to spin things to make it look like you must spend mega $$$$ to get properly married &#8211; I say rubbish. What we may do is after we have been married for ten or fifteen years successfully throw a big bash and pull out all the stops for it &#8211; hopefully by then budgets won&#8217;t be as tight, and we will have our successful life together to celebrate</p>
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		<title>By: Kari</title>
		<link>http://yanswersblog.com/index.php/archives/2009/05/12/ask-mike-weddings-on-the-cheap/comment-page-1/#comment-52141</link>
		<dc:creator>Kari</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 13 May 2009 17:45:22 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://yanswersblog.com/index.php/archives/2009/05/12/ask-mike-weddings-on-the-cheap/#comment-52141</guid>
		<description>And one more thing, don&#039;t skimp on the wedding photography. Just because we are bartering with our photographer doesn&#039;t mean we went with a cheap photographer. We found the photographer we wanted -- and worked out an arrangement with him. As far as I am concerned, it&#039;s the most important expense of the day. I would not trust my wedding photos to just anyone. A digital camera does NOT a photographer make!</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>And one more thing, don&#8217;t skimp on the wedding photography. Just because we are bartering with our photographer doesn&#8217;t mean we went with a cheap photographer. We found the photographer we wanted &#8212; and worked out an arrangement with him. As far as I am concerned, it&#8217;s the most important expense of the day. I would not trust my wedding photos to just anyone. A digital camera does NOT a photographer make!</p>
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	<item>
		<title>By: Kari</title>
		<link>http://yanswersblog.com/index.php/archives/2009/05/12/ask-mike-weddings-on-the-cheap/comment-page-1/#comment-52140</link>
		<dc:creator>Kari</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 13 May 2009 17:43:29 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://yanswersblog.com/index.php/archives/2009/05/12/ask-mike-weddings-on-the-cheap/#comment-52140</guid>
		<description>I agree, Amanda. The recession has nothing to do with our frugal (but stylish) wedding. People assume that DIY or cheap = ugly...but we are going to have an amazing wedding on a very small budget. In fact, the &quot;average&quot; wedding costs about $25,000 these days. We are spending less than $3000 on a wedding for 150 guests.

Some suggestions:

1. Rent or borrow a dress. The internet is a HUGE place. Scout those wedding boards to find a bride who just recently got married and see if any of them are open to sharing a dress with you (now that they are done with it). This is what I did -- and I ended up spending $125 on a $1000 custom dress.

2. Trade, trade, trade. I am trading for the wedding photography and all of the rental supplies.

3. Look for non-traditional locations. We are getting married in an enormous barn, built during the Civil War. The cost was $875 for the whole weekend -- Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Furthermore, find a place that doesn&#039;t force you to use their caterer, their linens, etc. That allows you to shop more effectively for those things.

4. Skip the traditional wedding favors and make your own. There are a million fantastic ideas for wedding favors that cost less than a dollar each and have more panache than a bag of Jordan almonds or God forbid, matches. Just start brainstorming with friends and do your research.

5. Get married at Christmas time. If you want a church wedding, the church will already be decorated.

6. DIY the flowers. You can order flowers in bulk from Costco and Sam&#039;s club. Find a tutorial on YouTube for making simple bouquets and you&#039;ll save yourself a ton. Ditto for the centerpieces.

7. Breakfast for dinner. Do you have a friend who loves to cook? If your venue will let you bring in your own food, consider setting up a waffle bar and a variety of sides, hot and cold. Breakfast is the cheapest meal of the day...and a box of Bisquick from GFC is about $5 and feeds 40 people.

8. Cut your guest list down. A small, elegant wedding may be your thing. Or a small, tacky wedding (do a google search on Waffle House wedding). lol! Who cares? It&#039;s your wedding!

9. Get free postcards from VistaPrint for your invitations and/or Save the Date cards. Better yet, design a beautiful email invitation and start a new trend. Who cares what people say? You&#039;re saving the earth.

10. Have the guys wear suits -- skip the tuxedos. Same with the bridesmaids. Let them pick out a dress they like in the wedding colors. They&#039;ll thank you...and you&#039;ll save them money too.

Most importantly, just THINK about what you are doing and how you can do it more cheaply. Websites like offbeatbride.com and indiebride.com are chock full of DIY brides and grooms. The major wedding sites are chock full of people wasting tons of money on unnecessary expenses -- avoid those. And good luck!</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I agree, Amanda. The recession has nothing to do with our frugal (but stylish) wedding. People assume that DIY or cheap = ugly&#8230;but we are going to have an amazing wedding on a very small budget. In fact, the &#8220;average&#8221; wedding costs about $25,000 these days. We are spending less than $3000 on a wedding for 150 guests.</p>
<p>Some suggestions:</p>
<p>1. Rent or borrow a dress. The internet is a HUGE place. Scout those wedding boards to find a bride who just recently got married and see if any of them are open to sharing a dress with you (now that they are done with it). This is what I did &#8212; and I ended up spending $125 on a $1000 custom dress.</p>
<p>2. Trade, trade, trade. I am trading for the wedding photography and all of the rental supplies.</p>
<p>3. Look for non-traditional locations. We are getting married in an enormous barn, built during the Civil War. The cost was $875 for the whole weekend &#8212; Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Furthermore, find a place that doesn&#8217;t force you to use their caterer, their linens, etc. That allows you to shop more effectively for those things.</p>
<p>4. Skip the traditional wedding favors and make your own. There are a million fantastic ideas for wedding favors that cost less than a dollar each and have more panache than a bag of Jordan almonds or God forbid, matches. Just start brainstorming with friends and do your research.</p>
<p>5. Get married at Christmas time. If you want a church wedding, the church will already be decorated.</p>
<p>6. DIY the flowers. You can order flowers in bulk from Costco and Sam&#8217;s club. Find a tutorial on YouTube for making simple bouquets and you&#8217;ll save yourself a ton. Ditto for the centerpieces.</p>
<p>7. Breakfast for dinner. Do you have a friend who loves to cook? If your venue will let you bring in your own food, consider setting up a waffle bar and a variety of sides, hot and cold. Breakfast is the cheapest meal of the day&#8230;and a box of Bisquick from GFC is about $5 and feeds 40 people.</p>
<p>8. Cut your guest list down. A small, elegant wedding may be your thing. Or a small, tacky wedding (do a google search on Waffle House wedding). lol! Who cares? It&#8217;s your wedding!</p>
<p>9. Get free postcards from VistaPrint for your invitations and/or Save the Date cards. Better yet, design a beautiful email invitation and start a new trend. Who cares what people say? You&#8217;re saving the earth.</p>
<p>10. Have the guys wear suits &#8212; skip the tuxedos. Same with the bridesmaids. Let them pick out a dress they like in the wedding colors. They&#8217;ll thank you&#8230;and you&#8217;ll save them money too.</p>
<p>Most importantly, just THINK about what you are doing and how you can do it more cheaply. Websites like offbeatbride.com and indiebride.com are chock full of DIY brides and grooms. The major wedding sites are chock full of people wasting tons of money on unnecessary expenses &#8212; avoid those. And good luck!</p>
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		<title>By: Amanda</title>
		<link>http://yanswersblog.com/index.php/archives/2009/05/12/ask-mike-weddings-on-the-cheap/comment-page-1/#comment-52129</link>
		<dc:creator>Amanda</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 13 May 2009 16:22:01 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://yanswersblog.com/index.php/archives/2009/05/12/ask-mike-weddings-on-the-cheap/#comment-52129</guid>
		<description>I&#039;m sorry, but weddings on a budget are nothing new and have nothing to do with the recession. There are those of us who have always understood the value of a dollar and chose not to throw money away on trivial wedding items, recession or not.</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I&#8217;m sorry, but weddings on a budget are nothing new and have nothing to do with the recession. There are those of us who have always understood the value of a dollar and chose not to throw money away on trivial wedding items, recession or not.</p>
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		<title>By: Cory</title>
		<link>http://yanswersblog.com/index.php/archives/2009/05/12/ask-mike-weddings-on-the-cheap/comment-page-1/#comment-52127</link>
		<dc:creator>Cory</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 13 May 2009 16:17:11 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://yanswersblog.com/index.php/archives/2009/05/12/ask-mike-weddings-on-the-cheap/#comment-52127</guid>
		<description>I got married a few yrs. ago and due to a layoff we were married on the &quot;cheap&quot;.   We had a very nice affair nothing lavish.  It was FUN and in our price range.  To cut costs- 

    Immediately, we nixed a bridal party/groomsmen to save friends/family the cost.. I hate those ugly dresses anyway!  

We had our wedding cake made by a professional but, instead of making it out of the store shop she made it at an equally impressive kitchen at home.  A $600.00 cake became $360 including delivery to the site and set-up!  Which was closer to her house anyway!

    For flowers: A family friends mother does flowers from her home... We brought our own containers we, got married in Las Vegas so naturally we brought home casino coin cups!  We used inexpensive but, colorful flowers we had 20+ arrangements + grooms flowers/bouquet and it cost w/ delivery under $100!   We also took the Vegas theme and made placecards with playing cards using &quot;labels&quot; to handwrite the guests names... We used playing cards on the tables along with poker chips/dice all pretty inexpensive.  I think we spent about $100 on decorations.. PLUS, since we brought the containers there was no rental fee and the guests took everything home.. Less clean-up!  

    My SIL as a &quot;gift&quot; made our cake topper.. We&#039;ve known each other since junior high and we all THREE worked together at Mc Donalds so she made us a hilarious McD&#039;s cake topper!  

     My wedding dress was purchased from a bridal resale shop.  Originally the dress with TRAIN was $1000 w/ train and alterations it was about $400.00

     Our favors were GOLD chocolate coins- wrapped in white toile/ribbon... I used coupons to buy the specialty chocolate- so I spent $100 on the favors for over $100 guests... 

     We went to a local Hungarian church for our reception- homemade Hungarian food... We paid $25 a head for 3 entrees (paprikash, breaded pork chops and stuffed cabbage) 2 sides and rolls, coffee/tea... We took any leftovers HOME- and people were allowed to eat as much as they wanted.... Buffet style..  This place had awesome food a great hall room and was 50% cheaper than a catered wedding hall!  

      My husband worked at a bar so we bought liquer at cost.  AND were able to return anything unopened.  Beer we bought at the wholesale club since our hall didn&#039;t allow kegs... PLUS we used mail-in-rebates and got back $100 AND returned anything unopened.... Wine we bought at a local winery near our home and spent about $100 on large bottles of good wine... 

      Our wedding was in Las Vegas and we had about 30 ppl attend those that couldn&#039;t attend we had it shown via internet through the chapel. Our wedding including flowers, transportation, pictures, internet viewing and ceremony was about $500.. The chapel was small but, very nice not cheesy.... 

     As for having someone that you know do the photography... I strongly disagree.. I used to work at a photo lab and I&#039;ve seen many pictures ruined by the inexperienced photographer... Only if you know that this person is good with his/her camera would I take that chance!  Maybe have someone take candids for additional images...!  
  
        I&#039;ve been to weddings where someone took beatuiful digital images and had them shown on  TV at the reception.. That&#039;s kinda neat.. 

         Our Dj had done my SIL&#039;s wedding a few months earlier.. So, he gave us 50% off- also go through other DJ&#039;s you&#039;ve seen and enjoyed and tell them so and so sent you and maybe you can get  a deal... Or if you know another couple getting married go with them and see the prices... 

       **One other thing.... If the place you have your reception charges a &quot;corking fee&quot; for wine or liquer.. That is a FEE charged for OPEN items.. Pay very, very close attention to this.. ONLY have him/her open when something is EMPTY or you can be his for $2-$3+ dollars per bottle of opened liquer!  My friend got socked with an additional $200 corking free for opened bottles of liquer that weren&#039;t empty!   Ditto for cake cutting fee&#039;s ASK at the hall if this is included.... Sometimes &quot;cake cutting&quot; is a set fee or per piece!  

     good luck and I hope this long list helps....</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I got married a few yrs. ago and due to a layoff we were married on the &#8220;cheap&#8221;.   We had a very nice affair nothing lavish.  It was FUN and in our price range.  To cut costs- </p>
<p>    Immediately, we nixed a bridal party/groomsmen to save friends/family the cost.. I hate those ugly dresses anyway!  </p>
<p>We had our wedding cake made by a professional but, instead of making it out of the store shop she made it at an equally impressive kitchen at home.  A $600.00 cake became $360 including delivery to the site and set-up!  Which was closer to her house anyway!</p>
<p>    For flowers: A family friends mother does flowers from her home&#8230; We brought our own containers we, got married in Las Vegas so naturally we brought home casino coin cups!  We used inexpensive but, colorful flowers we had 20+ arrangements + grooms flowers/bouquet and it cost w/ delivery under $100!   We also took the Vegas theme and made placecards with playing cards using &#8220;labels&#8221; to handwrite the guests names&#8230; We used playing cards on the tables along with poker chips/dice all pretty inexpensive.  I think we spent about $100 on decorations.. PLUS, since we brought the containers there was no rental fee and the guests took everything home.. Less clean-up!  </p>
<p>    My SIL as a &#8220;gift&#8221; made our cake topper.. We&#8217;ve known each other since junior high and we all THREE worked together at Mc Donalds so she made us a hilarious McD&#8217;s cake topper!  </p>
<p>     My wedding dress was purchased from a bridal resale shop.  Originally the dress with TRAIN was $1000 w/ train and alterations it was about $400.00</p>
<p>     Our favors were GOLD chocolate coins- wrapped in white toile/ribbon&#8230; I used coupons to buy the specialty chocolate- so I spent $100 on the favors for over $100 guests&#8230; </p>
<p>     We went to a local Hungarian church for our reception- homemade Hungarian food&#8230; We paid $25 a head for 3 entrees (paprikash, breaded pork chops and stuffed cabbage) 2 sides and rolls, coffee/tea&#8230; We took any leftovers HOME- and people were allowed to eat as much as they wanted&#8230;. Buffet style..  This place had awesome food a great hall room and was 50% cheaper than a catered wedding hall!  </p>
<p>      My husband worked at a bar so we bought liquer at cost.  AND were able to return anything unopened.  Beer we bought at the wholesale club since our hall didn&#8217;t allow kegs&#8230; PLUS we used mail-in-rebates and got back $100 AND returned anything unopened&#8230;. Wine we bought at a local winery near our home and spent about $100 on large bottles of good wine&#8230; </p>
<p>      Our wedding was in Las Vegas and we had about 30 ppl attend those that couldn&#8217;t attend we had it shown via internet through the chapel. Our wedding including flowers, transportation, pictures, internet viewing and ceremony was about $500.. The chapel was small but, very nice not cheesy&#8230;. </p>
<p>     As for having someone that you know do the photography&#8230; I strongly disagree.. I used to work at a photo lab and I&#8217;ve seen many pictures ruined by the inexperienced photographer&#8230; Only if you know that this person is good with his/her camera would I take that chance!  Maybe have someone take candids for additional images&#8230;!  </p>
<p>        I&#8217;ve been to weddings where someone took beatuiful digital images and had them shown on  TV at the reception.. That&#8217;s kinda neat.. </p>
<p>         Our Dj had done my SIL&#8217;s wedding a few months earlier.. So, he gave us 50% off- also go through other DJ&#8217;s you&#8217;ve seen and enjoyed and tell them so and so sent you and maybe you can get  a deal&#8230; Or if you know another couple getting married go with them and see the prices&#8230; </p>
<p>       **One other thing&#8230;. If the place you have your reception charges a &#8220;corking fee&#8221; for wine or liquer.. That is a FEE charged for OPEN items.. Pay very, very close attention to this.. ONLY have him/her open when something is EMPTY or you can be his for $2-$3+ dollars per bottle of opened liquer!  My friend got socked with an additional $200 corking free for opened bottles of liquer that weren&#8217;t empty!   Ditto for cake cutting fee&#8217;s ASK at the hall if this is included&#8230;. Sometimes &#8220;cake cutting&#8221; is a set fee or per piece!  </p>
<p>     good luck and I hope this long list helps&#8230;.</p>
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		<title>By: Luci</title>
		<link>http://yanswersblog.com/index.php/archives/2009/05/12/ask-mike-weddings-on-the-cheap/comment-page-1/#comment-52063</link>
		<dc:creator>Luci</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 13 May 2009 04:01:37 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://yanswersblog.com/index.php/archives/2009/05/12/ask-mike-weddings-on-the-cheap/#comment-52063</guid>
		<description>Hi again Mike.. :-)
Let me tell you about the old barter system..
When I got married in 1986, my Mom had a friend that did wedding cakes and her husband needed some drywall work done in he office...My X husband was a drywaller...
He had a good friend that was a photographer...His wedding gift to us was the photos...GORGIOUS photos...Bless his heart...
We had sortof a potluck deal...We didn&#039;t even send out any formal invitations...Me and my Mom just made a few dozen phone calls...
My dress was purchased at a prom clearance sale...Off the rack, tea length, all lace...With a satin underdress....I think I paid $75 for it...I had to have matching shoes made ofcorse...Too small, darned those things hurt...lol
Anyways, the barter system DOES still exist...Back in 1986, my beautiful wedding cost only about $275....It was very beautiful....I&#039;ve since loned that dress out to a neighbors daughter for prom and not gotten it back...Oh well...Not like I was gonna ware it again anyways...
That&#039;s my story on how I had a beautiful wedding on very little dollars...The biggest expense was on the gorgious yellow roses...That&#039;s my two cents...See ya Mike.. :-)</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Hi again Mike.. <img src='http://yanswersblog.com/newblog/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif' alt=':-)' class='wp-smiley' /><br />
Let me tell you about the old barter system..<br />
When I got married in 1986, my Mom had a friend that did wedding cakes and her husband needed some drywall work done in he office&#8230;My X husband was a drywaller&#8230;<br />
He had a good friend that was a photographer&#8230;His wedding gift to us was the photos&#8230;GORGIOUS photos&#8230;Bless his heart&#8230;<br />
We had sortof a potluck deal&#8230;We didn&#8217;t even send out any formal invitations&#8230;Me and my Mom just made a few dozen phone calls&#8230;<br />
My dress was purchased at a prom clearance sale&#8230;Off the rack, tea length, all lace&#8230;With a satin underdress&#8230;.I think I paid $75 for it&#8230;I had to have matching shoes made ofcorse&#8230;Too small, darned those things hurt&#8230;lol<br />
Anyways, the barter system DOES still exist&#8230;Back in 1986, my beautiful wedding cost only about $275&#8230;.It was very beautiful&#8230;.I&#8217;ve since loned that dress out to a neighbors daughter for prom and not gotten it back&#8230;Oh well&#8230;Not like I was gonna ware it again anyways&#8230;<br />
That&#8217;s my story on how I had a beautiful wedding on very little dollars&#8230;The biggest expense was on the gorgious yellow roses&#8230;That&#8217;s my two cents&#8230;See ya Mike.. <img src='http://yanswersblog.com/newblog/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif' alt=':-)' class='wp-smiley' /> </p>
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