How to have
A 5000 Dollar Wedding
BUDGET BRIDES: You ONLY NEED These 5 Things for Your Wedding
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well hello lovely humans and welcome
back to my channel in this week's video
we are going to be talking about the
very basics that you need at your event
and this is for all my people out there
who are ballin on a budget and you're
trying to figure out what do you have to
have at your wedding this whole video
was actually inspired by I did a Q&A on
our JW coordination Instagram last week
and someone said I have three thousand
dollars for my wedding what do I do like
how do what do I focus on and that is
honestly kind of stuck with me for days
it's kind of all I can think about and I
thought why not just make a video let's
just make a video and dive into what you
absolutely have to have at your way what
are the basics like what are the things
if you have a very very limited budget
what do you need to focus on so I came
up with five things that you have to
have at your wedding with two bonus ones
but five is catchy er so that's what
we're gonna put in the title okay okay
so without further ado let's just jump
right on into it
[Music]
if you are balling on a budget and you
want to have a successful wedding day
the first thing that you have to do and
this is gonna sound so dumb okay like
I'm aware of that this probably like yes
everyone's gonna know this but you have
to have a spot to hold it you have to
have a location this can be a backyard
this can be your local church or
synagogue this can be a park a public
park those are very very inexpensive to
get married at but first and foremost
you got to have a spot and when you're
looking around for a place to host your
wedding make sure that that place has an
appropriate amount of restrooms this is
a very basic thing but oftentimes gets
overlooked you will need one restroom
for every 35 to 50 people so if you're
inviting 150 guests then you're probably
gonna need about three restrooms if not
more and picking the location doesn't
have to be expensive you do not have to
break the bank and put $10,000 down on a
venue I'm not knocking those who have
chosen to do that but right now I'm
speaking to my brides and grooms who are
operating on a budget that will not
allow them to do that the next thing you
have to have at your event is some sort
of food and beverage now I'm not saying
you have to serve a five-course meal
absolutely not and I'm also not saying
that you have to serve alcohol but there
is this preconceived notion that people
will be served something to eat at your
event instead of doing a plate of dinner
you can opt for a buffet also when
looking around for food options try to
look for something that's not meat based
whether that's a personal preference or
dietary restriction that's up to you but
financially speaking if you opt for
something that is grain or vegetable
based it's going to be a lot cheaper so
if you go with pasta that's gonna be
super affordable if you go with the taco
guy who supplements the tacos with beans
and rice that's gonna be so much more
affordable than steak and potatoes for
absolutely every guest you could also do
an appetizer and dessert only reception
like you don't have to serve a full meal
you will need to go really heavy on
those appetizers and you will need to
let your guests know beforehand either
on your invitation or on your website or
both you do need to communicate that
this like a full meal will not be served
and the way you would phrase that is an
appetizer only reception to follow nice
easy way of being like we're not feeding
you a full meal okay okay and as far as
the beverages are concerned you don't
have to have alcohol if you choose to
have alcohol I would suggest going beer
and wine
only because that's gonna be a lot more
affordable than trying to figure out all
the hard alcohol is involved and then
the mixers that go with those but if you
choose to forego alcohol entirely you
can just do something as simple as water
ice tea and lemonade's that way there's
something to suit almost every taste and
you don't need to go out of your way to
buy sodas or other fun drinks when
people can hey they can even make their
own Arnold Arnold Palmer hey why is that
so hard for me to say I Arnold Palmer
item number three of what you will
absolutely need for your event is some
sort of seating now you can choose to do
a standing only ceremony and if you do
that make sure it's really fast because
you don't want people standing in the
high heels for forty-five minutes like
that's just cruel and unusual punishment
so if you're going to have a standing
only ceremony be sure to keep it brief
and then when it comes to the reception
ideally tables and chairs with a linen
on top would be the perfect scenario
however if you are staring down the
barrel of a $3,000 budget renting all of
those items is going to be a lot more
difficult so I would suggest when you're
looking at venues look for places that
already have tables and chairs included
and as far as seating goes you don't
even have to have tables and chairs you
can go creative and have a picnic
wedding instead just borrow a bunch of
blankets from your own home from your
family from your friends and have people
just enjoy a beautiful day lounging on
the grass somewhere on a cute little
blanket because it's such a vibe and
it's really really cute and that same
thread actually kind of skipping back to
the food for just a minute you can do a
potluck style reception if you want to
some people are like hard pass I'm not
doing it that doesn't feel right to me
that just feels weird I don't want
people to bring food to our wedding and
other people are thinking that's genius
especially if it's a picnic it has like
a casual relaxed fun vibe to it like you
know your family and your friends way
better than I do but if they're the
right type of people a potluck could be
a great option for you the only thing I
will say about seating is you will need
to make sure that you have chairs and
tables available for those who can't sit
on the ground or stand for extended
periods of time the floor thing that
you're going to need to have is
something to wear you do not need to buy
a $5,000 dress and then spend $1,200 on
alterations if you choose to do that
with your finances that is completely up
to you but again this is for my people
who just don't have that kind of wiggle
room or I choose
not to spend that kind of money in these
areas of their life you can buy a
secondhand dress I did that and I
absolutely loved it you can rent a dress
you can borrow a dress you can go to
David's Bridal for their $99 sale and
find yourself a gorgeous dress to wear
heck you could probably even thrift a
dress for really really inexpensive and
then get it altered so it fits you like
a glove and still save a whole lot of
money and if you're wearing a suit
definitely rent instead of purchasing
you just need something to wear it
doesn't even have to be white it doesn't
even have to be a dress you can wear a
pantsuit you can wear black you could
wear pink it doesn't matter so whatever
color that is or whatever style that is
that's up to you but you're definitely
gonna want something unique to wear for
your wedding day and last but not least
number five some way to capture the
memories now of course I highly
recommend hiring an experienced
photographer because then your gosh-darn
ear guaranteed to get amazing photos
from your wedding day so if there's one
splurge make it be the one thing other
than the marriage that you're taking
away from this and let it be the photos
now a couple of quick tips to make a
professional photographer more
affordable see if you can cut the amount
of hours that they would be willing to
be there instead of an eight-hour
package go for a six hour package or
maybe even a five hour package I will
say we did the wedding with a four-hour
package and that was a little bit rough
that was like that was a lot to get
through in a short amount of time but
you can always ask a photographer to
come for a shorter period of time the
worst they can say is no and then you'll
find someone else for your wedding day
now if you can't afford a professional
photographer definitely have a wedding
hashtag and encourage your guests to
take photos we all know that I'm a huge
fan of unplugged ceremonies like I'm not
subtle about it I love them but if you
don't have money for a photographer then
you don't have money for a photographer
and that is the moment that you're gonna
have your friends and family take photos
for you instead but if you utilize a
hashtag then that's a great way for to
encourage people to take more photos for
you it also wouldn't hurt to designate
one family member or friend with a DSLR
or some sort of fancy camera and just a
modicum of editing skills to take photos
for you now before I have any
photographers getting at me in the
comments if y'all have been around my
channel for even a short period of time
thing that I will always preach is is
the value of a professional in each and
every field the value of a professional
photographer the value of a professional
videographers the value of a
full-service catering team you guys they
are fantastic companies to work with yes
but if you don't have the money you
don't have the money so I'm not knocking
professional photography if you have the
room in your budget to make that work I
highly encourage you to do so notice I'm
not even saying a coordinator at this
point I'm pushing you towards photo like
if there's one thing that you're gonna
take away from your day it's your
photography so if there's one splurge
with a smaller budget I would say let
that be it and then the last two things
that are kind of like bonus so we'll
call this number six and number seven
number six would be some sort of music
again I think that DJ's are unsung
heroes of wedding days for me working
with a good DJ will make or break a
wedding day like it just is it's it's a
fantastic partnership and I love love
love and just care for and cherish
wedding DJs so much because I love them
so much but if you choose to add music
to your wedding day and you can't afford
to or choose not to hire a DJ you can
use a couple of speakers and a Spotify
playlist in fact Spotify has an option
where you can crossfade your songs
during the reception time where it can
actually sound like it's you know
blending from one song to the next that
gives it a slightly more elevated feel
which is great for you just to like
polish it up a little bit just to make
it feel a little bit more professional
and number seven would be flowers you do
not need flowers for your wedding day
you do not have to have them if you are
seating guests at tables though the
table will feel a little empty in the
middle if there isn't something there so
it might be worth considering doing some
sort of centerpiece whether it's those
dollar trees cylindrical glass vases
with some floating candles in them girl
do it that's amazing those are gorgeous
and it's a great way to ground the
middle of your table so they do look a
little empty without it but you don't
need to walk down the aisle with a
bouquet of flowers and you don't need to
get florals for your bridal party either
if y'all owe me flowers are one of my
favorite parts of a wedding day and I'm
full-on giving you permission to say you
don't have to do them now if there is
room in your budget to hire a
professional for any of these categories
that I have mentioned whether that be a
professional venue or a professional
caterer it will be less work for you and
a lot of people will see the
you in that at the end of the day it
comes down to the budget that you have
and your priorities now of course I'd be
remiss if I didn't say this because I am
a pretty big advocate of this the number
one thing that kills your budget and I
did a whole video about it I'm gonna
link it up here the number one thing
that kills your budget is your guest
count if you have 225 people it's gonna
cost you astronomically more than if you
had 75 people just some food for thought
if you are working with a ten thousand
dollar budget or less consider trimming
your guest count because you will be
able to do more with that money now if
this is you if I'm saying all of these
things and you're like just feeling a
sense of relief and like you're being
led off the wedding hook because you
just don't have to do all the things
that you thought you had to do one I'm
so sorry that the industry has made you
feel like you have to spend money on all
these things and two I'm so happy that
you are here in this moment that I can
just give you permission to be like just
do five of these things and you'll be
fine look you'll be totally fine I
created the master plan with you in mind
so if you are if you feel like you are
drowning if you feel like you don't know
what you're doing if you feel like you
just need some guidance and while this
channel I know I'm sure is helpful you
just wish you had something concrete to
work with please utilize the master plan
for those who you don't know I will
leave a link up here it is a it's an
online course that I created where I can
be your online wedding planner for as
little as $1.99 for six months or $2.99
for twelve months it is for the people
who can't afford even a consultation
with a planner it's for the people who
can't afford to hire a day of
coordinator it's for my people because
that was me when I got married so I want
you guys to know that I'm never gonna
lose sight of the budget brides as my
business grows and changes and our
prices rise higher and higher and as I
become less available for people's
events and other planners on my team are
starting to really take over even though
my business is growing like I want you
guys to always have a resource and
that's what the master plan is there's
value in professionals in each and every
field we are in no way knocking
professional photographers or caterers
or DJs I love them they make my life
better but we have to be realistic
sometimes and recognize that 80% of
people getting married in the United
States cannot afford any sort of
planning at all whatsoever and they also
can't afford a $5,000 photographer and
they can't afford a $15,000 venue or
$12,000 catering bill so just keep these
five things in mind maybe seven if you
want to toss those two in and it promise
you as long as you let go of any
preconceived notions that you had for
what your wedding day should look like
and you relax and just enjoy your family
and friends it will be memorable no
matter how much you spent that god that
got a teensy bit ranty um I just I love
you guys and I want you to feel like
your wedding days is a success so if you
just do these few things if that's all
you can afford to do it's going to be a
beautiful day so that's all we have for
today folks thank you so much for
stopping by I hope this has inspired you
I hope it encourages you I hope you
leave this video big like I freaking got
this and if there's still any stress or
any concerns or you want some more
guidance I highly encourage you to check
out the master plan this is like this is
I have like human babies but this is
like my baby I'm very proud of it and I
know it's going to be an amazing amazing
tool for you check it out I'll leave a
link below there's a 30-day money-back
guarantee so if you jump into the course
and you're like nah this isn't for me I
will refund you your money like that's
how much I believe in this if you
haven't done so already like this video
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for the modern-day pride and until next
week bye guys
