Our DIY wedding for under 5,000!

When we started to plan our wedding I had NO clue things could add up so quickly and that some of the prices for the smallest things were so big! I found it all ridiculous and so annoying! No way was I going to pay out the wazoo for things we would NEVER use again.

So, we set our budget for 5,000 for everything and vowed not to go over that no matter what. We invited 130 people and planned for 100 on the actual wedding day.

We decided, as a couple, what was most important to us, what was worth the splurge and what we were willing to cut corners on. 

Here is how we did things and I apologize if I left anything out (still new to this ). Hopefully you can find it helpful in some way.

Venue: This was the most expensive BUT the great thing about this place was that they allowed us to bring in our own vendors! This is something to consider when looking for a venue. A lot of places only allow you to go through their vendors and that is where hidden costs start to come into play.
Our venue also had a lot of tables and chairs included in the price so we ended up not having to rent so many. Another perk was that the venue had a sound system already in place and so we were able to Ipod most of the wedding.
Stationary: We made our own and used "vintage" postage to save some MAJOR money. It was unique, cheap and actually came out quite pretty.

  This is how I asked my Flower girl and Ring bearer to be in our wedding. Their own little "invitations" if you will. I found some cute stuff on the cheap to put in the boxes and I wrote a letter to the Flower girl and my Husband wrote one to the Ring bearer. They were heartfelt and the kids loved them! I did something similar for my Bridesmaids as well.

Food/Drinks: We decided to cook ALL of our own food! I know, crazy right? However, we had a lot of great help. Our friends came over the day before the wedding to help and my Husband's friends cooked the brisket the day of. It was a teeny stressful but the savings overshadowed that and the food came out AMAZING!
We served Brisket, beans, Potato salad and green beans. Tortilla chips were set out with my Mother in law's DELICIOUS homemade salsa for cocktail hour. We put the salsa in little mason jars and those doubled as our wedding favors.
We had wine, beer and margaritas and everything was self serve. I found an awesome deal on the wine at a local farmers market and bought 12 bottles each, red and white. We had a keg of beer and also a margarita machine. Also, bottled water and sweet tea for the people who didn't drink alcohol ( which wasn't many )

Cakes: I dislike wedding cakes ( personal preference) so I didn't want to spend a lot on something WE wouldn't enjoy ( selfish, but it was our wedding ) We got some cupcakes from our favorite local bakery and they were so yummy and we were able to get custom flavors!
The Grooms cake was just plain fun, and again, we went with a local bakery and got a fantastic deal. It was a bit of a splurge but worth it when I saw how much he loved it.

Margarita and Mojito cupcakes

Decor: We made most of the decor and found a lot of items at thrift stores.  I found the burlap for the table runners at a craft supply store and used a coupon for 50% off. The centerpiece boxes are actually empty wine boxes which I used paper mache and paint to give it a terra cotta look. The candles we found at goodwill and some were donated. We decided to use a chalkboard instead of paper programs and our flowers were donated by family members.

Here is a break down of all the expenses: 

Invites/save the dates/postage - 70.00

The Venue -1200.00

Food- 200.00 ( all the meat was free via my lovely Mother in law)

Beer/Margaritas - 340.00

Wine -80.00 

Grooms cake - 150.00 

Cupcakes - 150.00

Plates/utensils/mason jars - 170.00

Rentals - 200.00 (tables, chairs, etc..)

Photography - 250 ( Thanks to my very talented Sister in law)

Dress/shoes- 600.00 (via shop on Etsy)

Grooms attire - Free (gift certificate)

Officiant/ Marriage License- 220.00

Rings- 720.00

Decor -120.00

Wedding party gifts-150.00

Flowers- free 

Mariachis- 300.00 ( we just HAD to have them)

For a Grand Total of aprox. 4,920.00

I really tried to make sure and include everything. Little things towards the end can sneak up on you. 

I'm sure we could have spent way less, but in the end, we stayed under budget and had an extremely fun and memorable day. Don't be afraid to ask for help. I was surprised and touched to see our friends and family members come together to help us out. Without them we could never have pulled it off.

Bottom line, you can have a FABULOUS and fun wedding on a budget and don't let anyone tell you any different! 

                                                      xoxo,

                                                          Nia