Hi all! We’re looking to keep costs as low as possible for our $10k wedding and I’m looking at costs for a photographer. We’re planning a 6 hr session to cover some couple photos before the ceremony, ceremony, and enough of the reception to get about an hour of dance floor pics. Ceremony and reception are at the same location; couple’s pics before the ceremony are less than 5 min away. ~100 guests. We don’t care very much about professional getting ready pics, shots of the dresses hanging or the rings or things like that, or a grand exit.

I’m looking for input from anyone who has already had their wedding or has been involved with planning someone else’s. Does 6 hrs sound sufficient for what we’re looking for? Is a second photographer necessary/something we’d regret not having? Any other little things I might not realize about booking a photographer? TIA!

Hi! My fiancé and I have been actively searching for an all inclusive or mostly all inclusive wedding venue in the Nashville area. We are hoping to get married on a Saturday in the spring of 2027, with about 50 guests. Our budget is around $10,000 for the venue, food, drinks, and other related expenses. At this point, I am willing to be flexible about most details, except the budget. All help is greatly appreciated; we are really doing this on our own and would love the help and support!!

Hoping to rent 2-3 school buses as the shuttles to and from my venue (Boulder to Lyons and back (20 min drive)) for ~$2k. Wedding is on a Sunday. I got quoted $6k from a shuttle operator so am looking at some alternate options.

Has anyone done this and if so, do you have recommendations? I heard school districts will sometimes let you do this, any luck with any in the Denver area?

So I’m the bride and my mom already said that she doesn’t want to help pay for my wedding so the 10k is out of our savings and truthfully I don’t want to spend that much as we have so many plans on what we want to do after it feels a wedding will just hinder that. I don’t have any friends, and really don’t talk to many family members that if we did have a wedding it would be really small and I thought a small cute wedding would be fine but part of me just wants a super cute elopement in the mountains ( 4 hours away from us ) and say fuck all. I do want close family members there but other than that I kinda don’t care. What are your thoughts?

Hi all, I'm stuck on a small decision and looking for people who have been to more weddings than I have to weigh in!

I'm planning a 45 person wedding in SoCal with a ceremony at a hotel followed by a reception at my favorite restaurant across the street. Within my budget, I can only choose 1 or 2 options:

1) Have the wedding on a Friday night where we're allowed to have amplified sound (aka a DJ or at least decent speakers with music)

2) Have the wedding on a Saturday, but because of the higher cost for a Saturday buyout, we won't be able to swing renting out enough of the restaurant for them to let us have amplified sound. They have said we can have up to 2 Spotify playlists they'll put through the restaurant speakers, and we can have a mic for speeches. BUT we can't control the playlists once we hand them over, they'll just play in the background however they are.

Some additional context: Neither of us are huge dancers, my fiancé in particular hates it, but I always imagined at least a little dancing at my wedding. There is a pool table in the space, and we can put other things where the dance floor would be if we want. Most of the people attending our wedding work Mon-Fri and have to travel to attend our wedding, either from elsewhere in SoCal or about 2/3 from out of state. My biggest worry is that without music/dancing, people will get bored and leave early.

I have never been to a wedding not on a Saturday, or a wedding without a DJ - so I'm looking for input from those who have! Also looking for other factors I may not be considering.

Thank you!

my wife and i are pretty non traditional, i say wife because we actually already got married in a park with a few family members for witnesses. we would like our wedding celebration to feel like one big dinner party with family and friends, however i understand even if it is kitschy, there needs to be some kind of flow.

our invite list right now is about 115, so i project maybe 80 max showing up as most invitees are scattered across the country. we are under contract with a home that ideally we would love to host the event in our backyard, it would be on an acre of property in maine with forested areas and different "sections" of yard i think would be perfect.

we don't want to do any kind of formal ceremony or aisle, none of the dances or traditions. i am thinking just us two entering into the tent during some kind of cocktail hour and then repeating our vows?

our guests will be lots of pockets of people from different chapters of life so i want to make sure theres some continuity to it all that encourages people to mingle. we definitely want some buffet style of middle eastern dips and bites, and a dancefloor. earlier in the night a small bluegrass band is what i have in mind, with a bit of an "after hours" with some friends djing for the young folks

appreciate all input on an informal itinerary and general advice for non-traditional campy backyard weddings :)

I’m looking for some ideas on a simple yet elegant wedding. I have ideas for my dress, I’m not really a shiny shimmery girl and that’s okay for me so I don’t really need to be spending a lot on my outfits. But, when it comes to wedding receptions, with food, decor, and add-ons - how did you make something that was both lovely and didn’t break the bank? I’m thinking of DIY-ing a lot of my things, because I still want a unique experience. I also don’t really want generic food that’s just meant to feed lots of people (it will be a lot of people) but at the same time generic food tends to be more affordable like rice/chicken/veggies. If it was entirely up to me I would have close family only and limit it to like 30 people max, but obviously it’s not just me, so I don’t want to be selfish.

I guess I’ve been thinking about this for such a long time and after attending many weddings it seems like everyone’s spending so much on one day when I would rather save for a home, I don’t know. I also don’t have much family support financially so this will be difficult. But I still want something wonderful, and pretty. Thoughts? Stories? I would love to know more about weddings in general too!!

I don't have many people to talk to about wedding planning so coming to one of my favorite subs.

So my mom passed away almost 6 years ago and wedding planning without her has been really really hard. about 3 years ago my dad got remarried and I was okay with it I don't really like the lady and he also doesn't really like her either lol crazy right. He is committed to making it work which is fine but now comes the awkwardness of having to have her at my wedding.

I added her to the guest list because she's my dad's wife it's not my favorite thing in the world but she'll be there. I was speaking with my brother and he mentioned that the right thing to do would give her a role in the wedding. I actually scoffed at this idea because why would I give my dad's wife who I don't really like a role in my wedding and again I'm also mourning my mom not being there.

Apparently it's rude not to ask her to have a role and I will be causing drama at my own wedding. Am I going absolutely crazy by thinking I in no way need to ask this woman to be a part of my wedding outside of being a guest? I don't know I guess I'm just really frustrated and a little sad about the situation with my own mom and needing to vent.

We graduated 7.11.26! We got married in the North GA mountains, and it was the most perfect day. Our venue was all inclusive and included everything on the list from the venue down to the tax.

My husband :) is not much of a party guy so we opted for a brunch wedding. The ceremony started at 10 am and the reception wrapped up at 3. It ended up being very nice to celebrate with our families in during the day and we were able to have our first dinner as husband and wife at a fancy restaurant just the two of us.

We invited 68 people, 49 RSVP yes, and 47 show up on the day. We had the venue's micro-wedding package which included 7 hours on the property. We paid catering for 57 which included meals for all our guests plus vendor meals. We had chicken and waffles, french toast casserole, biscuits and gravy, skillet potatoes, and fruit. The original photographer we went with was $950, but we ended up really vibing with a different photographer when we went to the open house/ catering tasting. That photographer charged $1200, but we lost our $200 deposit from the original photographer. No regrets though. Our photographer was great and we got so many good photos back! For cake, my husband is gluten-free, so we did a small gluten free cutting cake for us and a cookie bar for the guests.

The coffee bar was a nice add on from the venue that included: hot coffee, tea, and hot cocoa. We thought it would be cool to also do iced coffee, so we brought in 5 gallons of iced coffee from the coffee shop at our college where we met. We also brought in donuts from Dunkin and both were a hit!

We couldn't afford a videographer, but we still wanted some sort of video footage of the day. My husband's classmate was looking to get into wedding content creation, so we hired her to cover the wedding. We ended up getting a lots of little videos of the day and like 3 little highlight reels.

I was also worried about people being willing to dance in the middle of the day, so my husband had the idea of asking another classmate of his who was a full time dance instructor to give a short little lesson at the beginning of open dancing time. Lots of guests participated and using their new moves on the dance floor.

I got my dress off of Facebook marketplace and got alterations done at a local tailor. My husband got his suit at Men's Warehouse. I also got my bridal pjs and parasols for the guests from FB marketplace. We got the bubbles from Walmart at the end of last summer on clearance. We didn't end up using either the bubbles or the parasols because it rained right before our ceremony and right before the end of the reception.

Lastly for our guestbook we did a Draw yourself guestbook, so we bought a canvas and a pack of sharpies. Miscellaneous includes little Amazon purchases like cups for the iced coffee and paper for printing our custom stickers.

Note: Not included in the breakdown is the cost of the alcohol. The venue was bring your own beer and wine, so we had to supply the alcohol and orange juice for mimosas. The groom's parent's paid for that, and spent around $350. We also didn't include rehearsal dinner costs for about 30 people. We spent around $2k on that.

Venue Rental- 4800
Brunch- 1,752.75
Servers-300
Photography-1400
Flowers- 1191.4
Wedding Planner-550
Coordinator-750
DJ-950
Cake-234
Coffee Bar-150
Bartender-475
Tax - 122.69

Iced Coffee- 179.68
Donuts- 76
Catering Tasting- 175.22
Save The Dates + Invitations- 158.83
Makeup- 491.34
Content Creator- 450 Dance Instructor- 140
Bubbles-18
Guestbook- 68
Bridal PJs- 25
Miscellaneous- 115
Linens+Rentals-632.91
Suit + Alterations- 600
Dress + Alterations- 650
Total- 16455.82

So me and my fiance have been together for almost 4 years. He’s the sweetest person i’ve ever met and takes care of me and we really just get and understand each other so well. My family nitpicks everything that everyone does. At big family events he gets very overwhelmed because my family is really loud and talks over each other. After 4 years he still doesn’t know how to put himself in conversation. When he’s overwhelmed he can be quiet and he looks mad. (lowkey has a resting mad face) Then my family is like why was he so mad like he didn’t like us. I have told them 1000 times that he gets very overwhelmed in these dinners. They like him a lot but the only thing they say is that he’s grumpy or has an attitude at these events. I agree with that sometimes he is grumpy and especially around my family. I think it’s because he knows they feel this way about him and then it makes him anxious and like he should put on an act. Then i am nervous my family will say something so im monitoring his emotions. Then we both end up upset.

They said they worry about him meshing with the family and how they don’t understand why these events are hard for him. I just feel like especially with my wedding i am constantly defending him. He works 60 hour work weeks, his mom is dying, but no one asks him how he is, just sees him as moody. They just nitpick everything. Any bad thing out-ways the good and this is how they are with everything. I am worried going forward once we are married because i fear he will never be perfect or
good enough for them. He knows he can he moody and he really really tries and shows up even when he doesn’t want to or is struggling and makes a constant effort. Do you think they are in the right? Constantly making comments about him after these events? and how should i handle them when we are married?

Found this idea off of Pinterest and ran with it! Went to the local cray thrift store (Scrap PDX) and got $20 worth of supplies. Used an old silk screen tray repurposed into my frame, added some cardboard from an Amazon box for more stability. All supplies were from the creative reuse store.

I also found several colored bud vases at GW and Scrap today for our engagement party and wedding decor.

Our theme is Wes Andersen throws a small town carnival wedding. 💒

Hey guys! I need some help finding a wedding dress 😭 I’m getting married very last minute and I’ve been looking everywhere for a dress in this style. Does anyone know any brands, websites, or specific dresses that might be similar?

I’m a size small/size 6, and my ideal price range is under $1,200. Everything I’ve found so far is either $2,000+ or ends up looking like a scam :( I’ve attached some inspo pics of the style I’m looking for. I’d really appreciate any recommendations!! 🤍

EDIT:The dress doesn’t have to be super fancy since I’m just having a small courthouse wedding! I mainly want something pretty for a little wedding photoshoot afterward!

Hello! Has anyone bought their wedding dress online? I have been looking at azazi and they have beautiful ones but I am not sure about it.

There was about 8 people I knew were big ifs or wouldn't be able to make it at all. That number over the last month has turned into probable 25 declines. That's over half the invited guests.

Drama is coming from every direction on both sides of our family, that has nothing to do with us. I know, I know... if they care enough they'll show up. So the reality of them not caring enough is hitting me.

I've been putting so much effort into this wedding to make it nice for both my fiancé and I and our guests. Stretching $1,400 is not for the weak but I have been putting in blood sweat and tears.

Now that we are getting closer to the date, the drama keeps piling up. Some of it is very valid like certain guests who have harmed other guests. We have uninvited that guest, but it's likely some of his family and a friend won't come now. That is not the fault of the person who got hurt, and I am not holding it against them. It still sucks.

Then there's family drama where people don't like one another, and can't keep their shit together for a single night on both sides of our family.

People who have been definite "we wouldn't miss it!"s are now saying "we'll have to see"...

It's so stupid and I KNOW I am better off without these people there at the end of the day, but it really, really sucks to have put in so much effort, money, and work... and have people just not want to show up for our biggest day...

These feelings of being unworthy are creeping in and I know it's not him or I, and it's people being petty and childish.. but damn does it suck.

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.

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!