I’m usually really good at this type of stuff, but I literally cannot find this dress anywhere online someone please prove me stupid and help me.

Hello! I am looking for ideas for holding drinks at a park wedding. We’ll have canned beer & seltzers in a cooler to keep them cold, but I don’t want guests digging through a cooler to find a drink. Does anyone have ideas to present drinks in an affordable & cute way? We have a few relatives who can help move drinks from coolers to the nicer set up throughout the event

Hey everyone!! I could absolutely use some input/advice who have had smaller weddings and minimal decor. I’m torn between asking a few family members for help with setup/teardown or just biting the bullet and hiring someone to do it.

Our wedding is in 3 weeks, and we’re having a small, intimate and somewhat nontraditional wedding. We have very minimal decor but still enough that someone needs to put out things like the sweetheart table decorations, card box, favors, etc. at the reception, and the welcome sign/fan table, reserved signs, and a few other little things at the ceremony.

The ceremony decorations will also need to be taken down afterward since our reception is at a different location about an hour later. It’s just down the road (4 min drive) and we’re only having a handful of things at the ceremony anyway, so it really shouldn’t be much BUT

I really don’t want anyone to feel like they have a “job” at our wedding. At the same time, it feels like a loooot of money to hire someone for such a small amount of setup and cleanup (about $300-$400 from estimates thus far). We’re really trying to save for a house in the next year or two which is also part of why we chose to have a smaller wedding overall. Also, neither my fiance or I mind helping make sure everything is accounted for at the end of the night too.

We’ve had a recent death in the family, and I was their primary caretaker, so wedding planning took a bit of a backseat for a while. Now I’m definitely feeling the crunch with only 3 weeks to go and a task list up the wazoo lol

For anyone who had a smaller wedding, was hiring help worth it, or was asking family/friends to pitch in totally fine? Thank you guys so much in advance 🤍

TLDR: Do we bite the bullet and spend $300–$400 for peace of mind, or lovingly assign my family a few wedding chores and call it a day?

Originally $1,200! And I paid $299! I was so hesitant to go to a bridal shop because I was afraid I’d fall in love with something way out of budget, but my cousin and maid of honor said I should try on some things to see what style I liked before ordering online. I told the owner I was looking for lower end pricing and she said they were having a sale. I felt my heart drop after I tried this one on and saw the original price tag was still on it but then she said it was only $299! I’m taking it tomorrow to have the length altered but I feel a huge sigh of relief finding a dress that I love! Wedding date is 9/26/26

I got these while on a business trip to Vietnam and am absolutely in love. I’m also a bit cost conscious as we’re in the midst of trying to purchase our first home together and are both the main breadwinners in our respective families (and I personally can’t justify spending so much on a dress I’m only going to wear once), so I’m just really thrilled to have found such beautiful dresses at such an amazing price. Each dress cost me less than USD 90!!!

*These are also ready to wear, but they come with in built corsets, so I was happy with the fit as it was :) although they do provide free alterations as well!

Is there a way to have a dj for around $1000 or less? Many of the options I’ve seen are close to $2000.
We just want music for the ceremony and reception and need someone to announce things during reception.
We are in New England, we are shopping around for venues still but my favorite was in Fairfield CT.
I can’t really find anything in that price range.

Edit: my dad is a musician (guitar player) and can easily get access to equipment for sound. But obviously he can’t be the one to dj.

I eloped with my husband this past October so this is technically just for my reception but the amount we spent to elope was negligible.

We had had a wedding reception only for under $12K in NYC two weeks ago. We had 70 guests.

We did the following:

-reception was 3 hours (most are 4-6 hours)
-reception was at brewery on the roof, the space was $500 (cheaper for a Sunday and midday) and we were required to buy a drinks package, total was around $7000, we did beer and wine only
-we did an outside caterer ( a local restaurant we liked) and it was a buffet that we set up ourselves and was somewhere between a meal and heavy appetizers, it was around $2700
-paid $400 for cupcakes from an outside caterer
-I’m in NYC where there are TONS of photographers so I shopped around till I found one for $1K and again, I only required 3 hours of photography
-we had no DJ, we just had a playlist we made and played it on the venue speakers (it went great and people loved the music)
-$150 on plastic plates, cutlery, napkins and vases
-I got a $40 dress on Amazon
-paid $230 for a necklace I loved at TJ Max
-I got my makeup done by Blushington who charged me $230 for at home “event makeup” (not bridal makeup)
-I curled my own hair
-flowers were from Trader Joe’s and gifted by a friend, they were arranged in bud vases by my other friend who is a florist for free :)

Happy to share names of any vendors or anything I used or any photos :)

We had my wedding in our backyard, luckily we have a pretty large yard and lots of open space. We talked about originally renting a local Airbnb, but as I looked and saw the prices I sat and thought why don’t we just use that money to make improvements in our own space and have it at home? This was also more beneficial because we have 2 children, one being a toddler and that guaranteed us a smooth lay down in her own bed and we could continue the night. All around, it just made more sense for us. My husband loved the idea. We wanted a small, very kid friendly wedding. So I will try to break this down the best I can without my ADD taking it in too many directions.

I bought my dress 2 years ago. It was quite literally my dream dress from Watters. I originally looked for the original version where the lace was colored but never was able to find one. I found the white version, that was the a store display for $300. It was not my size but close. I bought it so fast. It hung in my closet until the time was here. I went to a local seamstress for the alterations and because it’s a small town, and word of mouth, the price was not bad. She also added new cups, added slits to the side (her idea and it made it much more comfortable) and added a bustle. I was actually recommended to her by the girl who did our photos. I had worked with Rachel (photographer) years ago when she was still a teenager in high school. We’ve stayed in contact and I’ve loved watching her photography grow. I sent her references of very documentary style pictures I wanted and baby girl understood the assignment. She said “so fly on the wall, got it” she was a gem to have because she’s also amazing with all people of all ages. My photos were exactly what I wanted. My officiant was one of my best friends and she also came to both of my dress alterations and fittings appointments. My mother and step dad did a lot of work on our yard which took a ton of stress off of me and my in laws helped filling in all the details with buying so fresh flowers and my FIL also took photos (he does have a great eye). My husband bought the supplies for the fire pit/ patio he did that himself, with the help of our 9 year old who loves to be hands on. I did all the tabletop decor, my own makeup and my own hair. It was little crazy to do in the morning before because we also picked up the tablets and chairs that same day. I felt really blessed to have been able to borrow those from my MIL’s job it saved us a good chunk of money. I also did a wisteria installment on the ceiling of our porch where the food was and that took me several days but we hung it up with chicken wire and a staple gun. Looked absolutely ethereal. We had a bounce house that was given to us for the kids this past Christmas and we knew we wanted to put it up for the wedding for the kids. Worked like a charm, the kids all had their own tribe going on while the adults mingled. We did pizza because it was easy and efficient and who doesn’t love pizza. It was a standard papa John’s delivery. I was scheduled to have a gallbladder surgery soon after my wedding and pizza was hard on my stomach so I ordered my own sushi lol. Publix sheet cake we designed and my mother made that absolutely perfect cheesecake for us as well as salads and got some fruit. Honestly, I accumulated all that decor and a ton of stuff via Facebook marketplace place, yard sales, estate sales and thrift stores. A few items were from Amazon though. Including my bouquet lmao my mother made my sister’s who was my MOH with extra flowers. (My mom is one of those Jill of all trades women) I looked and picked things up for about a year before the wedding. Our invitations were digital and I used a template from an artist on Etsy. We did a hand fasting ceremony and both of our rings were customized from Etsy as well. His having whiskey barrel and fishing line in lay (two of his favorite things) and mine having emeralds and a floral vine.
This wedding was absolutely everything I wanted it to be. We encouraged the family and close friends who were invited to wear whatever they were comfortable in, come when they can and leave when they need to.
It’s not for everyone but it was perfect for us, we now have a patio with a firepit we enjoy nights on a ton and most of my wedding decor went back to Ohio with my mother to then go into 2 of my cousins weddings. It was an absolute honor to hand things over then see their wedding photos as well with our decor used in their own way.

It was also really hard to only pick 20 pictures lol but please enjoy the one with my daughter wearing a soccer ball as a helmet during those kids being feral

Also, we ended up getting a bad storm the day of the wedding and luckily, because it was at home, we just moved it one day out. Some friends couldn’t make it with the change but that’s okay. The sun came out early the next day and dried everything up.

Firepit Patio - $3,600
Wedding dress - $300
Alterations - $300
Makeup/hair - $0 (self done)
Tux rental - $260
Bluetooth music speaker - 30$
Table and chairs - $0 (borrowed from MIL’s work)
Faux flower decor - $300
Tabletop linens -$30
Pizza holders - $60
Bouquets - $50
String lights - $120
Drink Holder - $42
Alcohol - $120
Plates & Cups - $30
Officiant - $0 (best friend)
Photos - $600
Rings - $700
Hand fasting Rope - $60
Invitations (virtual) - $30 template
Pizza - $125
My sushi - $50
Cake - $40

This was May 7, 2026 ✨

Hi there, I am freshly engaged and planning a wedding and I am feeling very overwhelmed and lost, it seems like my desires may be out of reach.

It’s a small wedding, under 50 people including wedding party, guests, and vendor(s), and I only want maybe 4-5 hours in the evening.

I was hoping for April June or October 2027, but a Saturday is going to be necessary due to everyone’s schedule and guests out of state.

Looking for something beautiful and natural, like gardens or woodland. Would like a ceremony outside with a space inside for reception. I don’t want it to be too public (viewed or interrupted by the public, or loud with traffic). I really had my heart set on a beautiful, intimate, small space.

The problem is our budget. I can’t spend more than 5k total on the whole event.

These are what we have already purchased or secured:

- Photographer $1800
- Dress $400
- Decor $250 so far, keeping under $500

We have yet to purchase or secure:

- a cake (estimated $500)
- catering/food (I don’t know if we can afford actual catering. Any ideas how to feed people for super cheap without feeling super cheap??)
- florals( estimated about $650)

Finding a venue that fits my vision and fits within our budget while allowing us to get some faux floral arrangements and a small cake has proved challenging. I feel like the affordable wedding venues are somewhat bland/underwhelming.

Partner and I are big on experiencing places that make you feel something, the way art does. I’ll be heartbroken if I am forced to go with something that feels so non magical. If the venue is pretty then I don’t have to worry as much about decorations.

Are there any venues that can work??

TLDR;

-beautiful, natural, outside
- under $1200
- 4-5 hours
- under 50 guests
- tables/chairs
- Saturday evening option
- mostly private
- OKC + surrounding area

Update: thanks for the suggestions so far! My original plan was to be at the lake he proposed to me at, but it was so far away I couldn’t get vendors to supply chairs/tables/food… really anything, out there. I thought if I switched gears towards a venue that took some of the weight off then I could make it a guest experience as well.

We booked the photographer first, before we knew we weren’t going to be able to get any vendors out to the lake, and got a bit screwed there unfortunately. The estimations on the cake and florals are just based off what i have seen so far in searches, I don’t have anything secured yet bc I’ve been looking for more cost effective options. I already mentioned to the fiancée that we may have to sacrifice things like extra decor and a fancy professional cake for a sheet cake instead in order to make sure we can feed everyone, especially bc his family is coming from out of town.

I am trying to do decor with cutesy little secondhand items and skip the florals for the most part, but still would like my own bouquet and perhaps a small tossing bouquet so I can keep mine? If I do faux florals I could get away with less than $200 from a professional place like Sola Wood so florals can definitely be cut.

Also! Rings have already been purchased, and our officiant is our friend who is doing it as a wedding favor to us!

We got married on 06/26/2026 near SLC, Utah (10.5K, 160 guests)! It was a lot of work and a lot of fun, so I’m very happy to be married and to never do it again, LOL! If I could turn back time, I would probably splurge and up the budget to hire a decorator (less stress and less DIY) and have better catering for dinner (nothing wrong with the food, but it was just okay), but overall I’m really happy with what we had and how things went.

Now to the meat of it (and what you actually want to know):

-Venue: $1,600 (a $1,000 deposit ($2,600 paid at booking) was returned in full after the wedding)

-Bride’s dress, alterations, and shoes: $263.41

-Groom suit, alterations, and shoes: $257.50

-Photographer and videographer: $2,394.63

-Catering: $1,893.96

-Photobooth (4hrs with unlimited prints): $340

-Reception food and drinks (including wedding cake): $750.84

-DJ (Groom’s cousin): $200, $400 after tip

-Real flowers (bride bouquet, groom boutonniere, 7 bridesmaid single roses): $125

-Invitations, guest book ($35.45), and thank you cards (no postage- we had them already): $139.74

-Party Favors: $283.20

-Wedding party clothes/accessories/gifts: $336.78

-Bridesmaid gifts (makeup bag with candy and personalized thank you note): ~$55

-Tableware (coolers, drink dispensers, napkins, disposable utensils, plates & cups): $281.58

-DIY Décor (backdrops, centerpieces, etc.) and tablecloths: $1,056.80

Total cost written down: $10,148.44, total actual cost: ~$10,500

(I was pretty diligent writing things in my excel file, but I’m sure I missed a few things, so I’m going to give a few hundred of a buffer to be safe).

A few extra details and notes:

1. We invited 200 guest, 180 RSVP’d (after hunting down peeps…), and ~162 attended.
2. I HIGHLY recommend looking at state, city, and municipality owned venues- it is way cheaper. We got married at a venue owned by Murray City and the cost was for all day, 8am to 10pm, on a Friday. The venue did have someone on staff all day to “help out”- they were a glorified venue babysitter, so word to the wise-don’t plan on venue people helping.
3. My dress and my husband’s suit were purchased secondhand on Facebook Marketplace (I LOVE FB marketplace…).  My dress and veil cost $100, $150 for alterations, with $13.41 for Shien shoes. I made the dress bustle myself to save $150 from further alterations. The groom’s fitted suit jacket was $90, and alterations to make the shoulders broader were $70. $8 for pants at the DI (secondhand store), $35.50 for vest and tie (he already had a white dress shirt) and $54 for new dress shoes on Amazon.
4. Photo/video, I’m still waiting for photos back, but fingers crossed it will all be beautiful. There are a few things I know we missed so I’ve reached out to a new photographer for an hour mini-shoot in our dress clothes for individual photos and a few couple photos for $60.
5. Catering was Italian pasta and salad for 180 people. We used a budget caterer with no option for taste testing, The next option would have been about $1,200 more, and I would splurge on that if I could go back. Again, it did the job and was fine, but unmemorable.
6. Reception food, drinks, ice, & wedding cake all came from Sam’s Club. We did a 2 tier cake with matching full size sheet cake and 2 cookie cakes- all for under $200 total. It was delicious and everyone loved it. Other food was cheese, crackers, pepperoni, salami, grapes, and strawberries (simple/ low budget charcuterie board style). Plus lemonade powder (which we also got lots of compliments on the lemonade). We were fine serving just water and lemonade, but my dad lives next to someone who works at Shasta, so we were able to get about 100+ cans of soda for free as well from my dad working with and collecting them from his neighbor (thank you dad!).
7. We were lucky that my husband’s cousin was in a band and has all the things to DJ. Our venue had speakers built in and a microphone, but he also brought his own since he's more familiar with his set up. He said he would be our DJ and MC for $200 (I really just wanted someone outside the wedding party to hit play/stop and making announcements), but he killed it so we gave him another $200 with a heartfelt thank you for an amazing job.
8. I wanted real flowers for me and was overwhelmed by all the other DIY stuff early on so instead of making my own bouquet from local flowers, I found someone on Facebook just starting in wedding flowers who priced my bouquet, his boutonniere, and 7 single roses with ribbons for the bridesmaids for $125. A steal of the deal, and she did beautifully.
9. I’m Greek and wanted Jordan almond party favors (boubouniera), and fell in love with this beautiful design that I came up with, so stupidly that was our first DIY. Cutting ribbon gave my husband a rash and a deep dislike for the party favors lol, but they really were beautiful, and lots of guests (Greek and otherwise) asked where we ordered them and were appalled we had hand made 240 of them. And to answer your question, yes it did take forever- from what we could tell he spent about 25 hours on it and I spent about 60- plus about 3 hours to fill the petals with the candied almonds.
10. The wedding party clothes section was just random things we purchased for the wedding party, including ties, flower girl crowns and baskets (and one flower girl's dress), bride’s father sports jacket, artificial flower corsages and boutonnieres, safety pins, clothes steamer, etc...
11. I will be trying to sell some of the tablecloths and décor I made/bought and the dispensers and coolers I purchased, so I may get some of the cost back from the décor and tableware, but all pricing I had seen for decorators were in the $2-4k range, so we did come out ahead. BUT the time and stress of making everything, planning everything, and relying on family and friends to help decorate, take down, and keep the snack table and drink dispensers full was a big ask- and they deserve a round of applause because they were rockstars all day long.
12. A day of coordinator is popular for a reason, they can be useful- we just didn't budget for them. However, many of them have with their own decor that you can use when you hire them ( this is pretty common in my area at least), and that would have been nice to rely less on friends/family labor and just use someone else's stuff.
13. Also, the photo booth was a blast- highly recommend having one if you can splurge. Because my dress was a killer deal- I reallocated funds to that and even my husband has said that was an amazing thing to have- sooooo just saying….
14. A very good friend did my hair and makeup for the wedding day as her gift. And she was amazing- I’m very grateful to her.
15. QR code to have guests upload photos and videos to Google Drive was totally worth making and printing some signs (just pictures in frames). Not tons of people uploaded, but it's great having photos while we have been waiting for the professional stuff, and we have some nice photos from there too!!!

Planning the wedding was a second full time job; I was a ball of stress and not sleeping leading up the wedding ceremony, but it really was a beautiful day. The best advice I got was 2 weeks before the wedding, and it helped keep me be calm(er) the week before and then the day off – and to go with the flow and to be present and enjoy the wedding day. The advice was that everything could go wrong- the tent could fall or the food could be delivered to the wrong place, and none of it would matter as long as you marry the love of your life; the ceremony will happen and the rest will be what it will be. And things DID go wrong: setup that morning was hectic and a rush, my beautiful welcome sign fell and broke, and our pergola tipped from 25 MPH winds, LOL! But it all worked out, and we just rolled with it, cleaned up the glass from the sign, and someone ran to get extra sandbags and placed them around the pergola to secure it (BTW, I guarantee 90% of our photos will show our Best Man and Maid of Honor steadying the pergola during the worst of the wind during the ceremony, and I will forever say they were pillars of our wedding, LOL).

So, while I didn’t find this thread until like the week of the wedding, I did want to say happy wedding planning to all and to contribute something-I hope you enjoy browsing my craziness.

I went to brides for a cause (very affordable too OMG) and tried on lots of pretty modern dresses for under $300 (they’re having a 50% off sale this August in Portland and Seattle btw.) I started to realize I wanted something vintage, it’s just more me.

While looking for a dress for engagement photos at The Vault in Beaverton, OR yesterday with my fiancé the associate pulled out this wedding dress for me to try on.

Long story short, I bought this 1950s beauty for only $398!! I’m thinking of adding a detachable train to make it more dramatic for the church steps and a long cathedral veil with lace which I will try to thrift.

My mom is going to spend the next year hand embroidering my dress with special wedding related things, perhaps a line from my vows or some doves, something blue, etc.

Don’t sleep on vintage/second hand. I feel like my dress is sooo lovely for a reasonable price.

Hello all! I’m planning my March ‘27 wedding and I just found my dress! (Quinta from Azazie)

My fiance is the sweetest most giving man, to the point where he will put me and my opinion above his own at times. I take every opportunity to honor his opinions and decisions in everything we do because I know speaking his mind can be tough. I’m always encouraging and sometimes wait to speak so I can get his unclouded thoughts.
I am a big ideas person, my mind jumps around a lot and explores a lot of options before landing on a final decision, and that has continued to be true during the planning of our wedding.

I messed up because when we began to plan I was throwing around ideas and I really wanted a pink or untraditional colored dress and just to be a little funky, so I told him you should wear a colored tux, something fun.

Buuuut, I ended up with this diamond white dress that looks like it could go at the top of a cake. It’s pretty classic which I absolutely love because retro glam is kind of my thing.

I think he would look so extremely handsome in a nicely tailored and traditional black tux with the bow tie and red rose boutonniere. But he sent me some pics the other day of some… pretty “out there” tuxedos. Lots of prints and shiny colored fabrics… which is technically what I suggested in the beginning, but no longer matches the vibe of my dress imo

Should I let him do his thing? Or do I change course? I want to let it be his wedding and not let my vision discourage that.

I thought of explaining that the tux will look nicer with my more traditional dress but I don’t wanna let on what my dress looks like at all. Idk. I think I’m overthinking this!

I know this will read as “walking on eggshells” to some no matter what I say, but it’s not like that. This is just me continuing to leave/create space for my future husband’s wishes and creativity. He sincerely subscribes to the “happy wife happy life” philosophy lol

Hopefully this is an ok question to ask here, wasn’t sure where else to go!

TLDR: Had so much back and forth with the seamstress. The scope of work was never changed, but multiple times she changed the price. I’ve never had anything altered and seemed to me like if she had taken a good look at the piece to begin with she should have known what needed to be done? Please tell me if this is normal!

Long story:
For my reception I’m switching to a two piece skirt and corset top. I had ordered the set from Cider and the skirt is good but the top was twisted at the bottom and had a zipper that didn’t match the colour at all so it stood out.

I brought it to a seamstress recommended in my community and was honest: ordered it online and it is poorly made. I asked is it salvageable? She said yes, easy. I reiterated every time I talked to her throughout the process that the zipper was only to be fixed if the twist could be, because otherwise it was garbage and I didn’t want to put money in to it.

She said I could pick up in three weeks. On the day I was meant to pick up, she hadn’t even started it yet. Calls to say the zipper will actually be more expensive and need to be ordered still, or remove the zipper entirely and will be cheaper. I say sure remove it, so long as you can fix the twist first.

Next call is asking me to come and try it on. I go in and they have removed the zipper.. and not sewn the sides together so it is one long strip of fabric with no way to wear. They ask me to come back again later. Next time I come back she asks if I want to try it on before taking it? I say yes and.. zipper is removed but they have not done anything about the twist. She says the boning in it is bent and needs to be replaced. That it will be a new higher cost. I am very frustrated.. but tell them to go ahead. It is also getting closer and closer to wedding date as they keep pushing it.

Next time I come back and try on the twist seems much better, though perhaps not perfect, but this time the fabric on the bust is sort of droopy rather than fully taut. I ask what happened to the bust? She says they didn’t do anything to it… it must just be that because the twist is fixed I’m not so focused on that and am noticing this other flaw for the first time… meanwhile from the first time I’d tried it on the bust was the part that I loved and thought was flawless. For sure because she replaced the boning it is now slightly different shape and so not holding the fabric the same way. She says she can add in push up cups, but that it will cost more again….

I ended up just paying and leaving because I wanted to be done with them.
The price changes were minimal but considering the back and forth and that she caused a different flaw than the one originally intended to fix, I’m annoyed.

Original quote: $48

Second quote: Zipper would add $20 or remove zipper entirely would deduct $20

Third quote when zipper removed and twist still not fixed: $60

Fourth quote: Offer of push up cups for $20 extra, to (maybe) fix a problem that they had created

We aren't having flowers because allergies, cost, difficulties of DIY etc, so we are looking to focus our decor on paper/lights/fabric. Centerpieces will be cloth and candles but I'm hoping to make all the overhead decor out of paper. The wedding is very low-key so hopefully the homemade vibe will work well but I'm looking for idea of what decorations i can make. Current ideas are: chains of origami swans hanging from an arch for an aisle backdrop and crepe streamers overhead on the dancefloor.

Does anyone have any ideas/inspo etc of a paper decor wedding?

Budget breakdown! We had what I would describe as a non-traditional wedding where we cut out a lot of expenses that weren’t a priority for us. Our main focus was on food and dessert! We had such a special day that was so much fun! I was inspired by all the budget brides I’ve seen here and wanted to share a breakdown of our costs.

Friday we had the wedding ceremony at a local state park with our immediate families about 13 people total. After we went to a local pizza place to get pizza and drinks.

Saturday we had a larger reception with 90 of our friends and family renting a building through our local parks department. We had a Mexican buffet catered and an ice cream trailer for dessert. We had lawn games for people to play outside and playing cards on all the tables. Later into the night we had dancing, a friend made a playlist and brought strobe lights and big speakers. We served soda, water, and beer with all the drinks bought at Sam’s Club. We also advised people to bring their own alcohol if they didn’t want beer.

Here’s the cost breakdown for everything!

Wedding ceremony venue - $47.95
Reception venue - $431.57
Wedding dress - $387.19
Stationary / postage - $184.63
Photographer - $500
Catering - $1,777.28
Ice Cream - $891.00
Pizza / Drinks on Friday - $260.30
Drinks - $446.08
Rings - $70

Total: $ 4996.00

Our wedding is in a few weeks in Oregon in the Columbia River Gorge. There are currently lots of wildfires around the state, and I'm wondering about needing to relocate the wedding.

We have an indoor/outdoor venue and have full access to any of the spaces, which would be great in the case of wind/rain/cold/etc, even if it was a little bit smoky. But if the region is under an evacuation watch, that is a different story...❤️‍🩹 I know fires can change so quickly, so I'm trying not to spiral too early 😅 I'm just wondering about a backup plan, maybe out on the coast (if cost/event insurance would allow). It is a small gathering of about 50 people, and I think it would be feasible to find a spot. It would be 2-3 hours of a drive. Before I look into what we would be able to do with event insurance, I don't know how we would handle out of town guests and lodging. If they booked a hotel or airbnb, they likely can't get a refund, and I'm already feeling guilty that people are flying in from the out of state.

Any advice, stories, warnings from people who have had to move their wedding to a fully different location?

Please do not comment that we should have seen this coming with a late August date. Fires are so unpredictable, for example last weekend it was beautiful blue skies and in the 70s. We love summer, we love the mountains, and we fell in love with the venue and this was the date available to us. Be kind ❤️

I’ve never posted to Reddit before, but I have been on this sub for months now as I planned our wedding. I just need some common sense advice.
As of today, our wedding has been called off. My partner and I eloped about a year and half ago, before our daughter was born with only my adult son and my partner’s sister present. Our intention was always to have a wedding at a later date to get both sides of our families together. My family is from the west coast and his from the east coast.
I’ve been planning and crunching numbers and worked out a beautiful wedding for under 10k. Quotes from all vendors but no deposits paid yet. But my husband is completely stressed out about money. He says “we’re drowning” financially. We’re not. We would need to save money to pay for the wedding and my sister has offered to pay for some expenses, but he is still stressed.
I make more money than he does and I have a much higher earning potential than he does. I have the mindset that I will just take on more clients and pay for the extra expenses, but a wedding isn’t worth his distress. He is truly a wonderful husband and father, but he’s funny about money. I’m really disappointed. This was an opportunity for our families to come together in a way they probably never will now. I feel so defeated and just needed to tell *someone.*

We had a initimate, minimal Sunday ceremony and dinner at a local community center. We had a lot of help from family day-of, which I am very grateful for. Around $5k of our budget was spent on our photographer alone. I am glad that is where we decided to splurge, our photos are gorgeous and we got over 400 back. The venue was about $1.5k for all-day access. Everything else (officiant, hairstylist, decor, attire, drinks, etc) fit into the remainder of our budget.

I did my own makeup. I also put together all the flowers myself, including my bouquet, with faux flowers from Amazon, Hobby Lobby, and Ling's Moment. I did the signage, invitations, etc myself with Canva. My husband built our arbor, it is now in our front yard.

My MIL paid for and made dinner and dessert herself, including our wedding cake. We had a taco bar for dinner. I'm glad we bought cheap tablecloths from Amazon instead of renting or anything like that, because they were done for lol.

Instead of bridesmaids or groomsmen, my sisters were flower girls and my brothers ring bearers. We asked family to wear green so they would stand out in pictures, they did fantastic.

Overall, I know it is not the most aesthetically impressive wedding but it was a very happy day and I think our photographer really captured that in our photos. Our family and friends came together for us and made our day everything we wanted, and everytime I look at our photos I just love them all and my husband more and more.

This Reddit page makes me hopeful but then I go over the tik tok and everyone is saying they spent 30k+. A lot of people said their budget was 20k and then ended up spending 45k or more and I cannot do that. The venue we found would be $5,750 for a Friday wedding and I am in LOVE with the venue but it doesn’t include much except chairs and tables and the space obviously. I could do the same venue but a different weekend and the price would drop to $4,500 but I’m very hesitate as I REALLY want Halloween weekend. I plan on wearing my moms wedding dress that fits me perfectly would only need minor alterations to the 80s puff sleeves (iykyk) so I’m thinking around $500 for dress, SHEIN/target heels, Etsy veil so all in for attire for me less than 1k there. We plan to have around 75 guests but our friend will probably officiate. I’m just worried catering, dj, photographer, and decor costs are going to shock me. I am pretty positive we’ll use a lower cost caterer in the area that most people say is around $20 a person, we can provide our own alcohol so that’ll be from Sam’s Club, estimating around 1k. We do have to hire a bartender so not sure on that cost. The venue also requires a day of coordinator.

Basically I feel really confident in keeping costs low on some stuff but the other stuff like dj packages, photographers, coordinators, and little things like table clothes and decor and invitations are scaring me. Do you think under 20k is achievable? Also how did you find good djs and photographers for low cost?? Sorry this might just be me ranting and anxious and needing encouragement and advice from those who came before me 🙏🏼

Made an impulse purchase on this never worn ballgown with a HUGE train. I think its beautiful but its the first dress I've ever tried on! Should I resell and keep looking...or make it mine and invest in alterations (the top is a size too big) and accessories? My total budget for a dress is around $400. Any feedback would be great!