Now that spring is here, the wedding season is finally starting: there are decisions to make, dressed to try on, venues to look at and money to be spent (although we might be able to help with that). We know that this is the most important day in your life, but do you really want to pay $5000 on a wedding dress that you’re only going to wear once?
If shows like Say Yes to the Dress and Randy to the Rescue make you cringe, this article is for you: we will show you how to organize 5 types of weddings without breaking the bank. Regarding the wedding dress, you can have it custom made by a good seamstress or use our David’s Bridal coupons and buy a really cute gown on discount. Whatever you do, overspending on venues, food and entertainment really shouldn’t mean a loan to the bank. After all, this is your family, this is who you are and spending recklessly is not going to change your financial situation.
In this guide...
1. Bohemian Wedding
Must haves: fresh wild flowers, a flowy wedding dress, relaxing music, unconventional vows, vintage jewelry, maybe a flower crown.
Who to enroll: if you have any fashionistas in your entourage, you better ask for their help. They will know what bohemian really means and how not to stray from your beloved wedding theme.
Venue and menu: the good thing about choosing a venue for a bohemian wedding is that the woods always seems to be the perfect venue! And there are so many financial advantages: you don’t have to rent the place, but that money will probably be spent on insect repellents (unless you want your guests to leave the wedding before hearing you saying “I do”).
But this is not your only option: a lavender field (we actually know somebody who went for this kind of wedding), an abandoned farm and so on. When it comes to food, try serving fresh and tasty dishes, like salads and chicken, but with a twist. Who says you can’t surprise your guests with an unconventional dish?
Bohemian Wedding Essentials!
2. Backyard Wedding
Must haves: a lace wedding dress, pearls, fresh roses, homemade cookies, steaks, grandma’s chicken recipe and pretty much any kind of food people in your family can bake or cook.
Who to enroll: your mother, grandmother, sisters, friends (anyone who can cook!)
Venue and menu: a decent sized backyard (it doesn’t necessarily need to be yours!) is pretty much all you need. If it’s yours or a friend’s, you won’t have to pay a dime to rent it, which is great! You’ll also need to find chairs, tables, plates, cups and so on: don’t worry if they don’t match! The more different, the better!
Regarding the food, go for an everything-homemade idea: cookies, steaks, side dishes and so on. In fact, you can offer each guest a small jar of homemade strawberry jam, for example. All these details require a lot of your time, but are less expensive than conventional products and they say a lot about who you are as a family.
A Typical Backyard Wedding!
3. Barn Wedding
Must haves: hay, cool lighting, wood, and a princess wedding dress and veil, pearls, burlap and sunflower, a naked cake.
Who to enroll: the handymen in your family, especially since you’ll need a lot of help to hang everything, fix everything and probably even design the whole electrical installation.
Venue and menu: renting an old barn is very inexpensive. If you own it, even better! If you’re doing a barn theme as well, you may want to serve all sorts of meat (beef, lamb, pork), wine, beer, cupcakes, give your guests jars of honey and make sure to have some country music in your playlist.
If the weather is nice, you can have the ceremony outside and the reception inside and kill two birds with one stone. You may also need a few items to decorate the barn, based on your theme and vision. We’ve added a few pictures to give you an idea of what each type of wedding should look like, but you can come up with your own ideas.
Who Said Barn Wedding Have to Be Boring?
4. Beach Wedding
Must haves: a flowy wedding dress, discrete makeup, comfy shoes, a loose hairdo, scented flowers in your bouquet.
Who to enroll: the boys in your family to move the chairs and tables and the girls to help decorating.
Venue and menu: if you live by the ocean and don’t need a special approval to use the beach for a few hours, you’re free to bring a few chairs and tables, decorations and a minister and you can seat your guests and get started. Now moving on to the food: don’t serve beef, pork or lamb when you’re by the sea. If you’re anywhere near the water, serve salads, sea bass, seafood. Go for easy recipes that even you could prepare and ask your family to help you cook everything.
Of course, some of them will not be taking part to the ceremony because of this, but you’ll see that they won’t say no either. Consider all the work a very valuable wedding present and try to make up to them in the future! In many cultures, the old women in the family are responsible for the food, while the old men for the drinks. This way, the young can celebrate! But we’re not the same and we generally want our entire family to celebrate with us. It’s up to you!
The Sand, the Breeze, the Vows: Perfect!
5. Retro Wedding
Must haves: a vintage wedding dress, vintage jewelry, a cool and high hairdo, red lips, a vintage car, some music to go with it and an amazing eye for the details.
Who to enroll: all your friends who understand your passion for everything that’s old and are willing to help, so don’t be surprised if the men are going to bail on you.
Venue and menu: remember all those dishes grandma used to make? Well, it’s time to use those recipes and serve similar dishes to your guests: apple pies, meat loafs, warm biscuits, gravy sauces and grilled steaks- this is the way to go! You may want to let your guests know ahead of time what kind of wedding you are having, instructing them to dress accordingly, or you may regret your decision and be the only retro person in a crowd that’s wearing modern clothes! If you don’t want your dress to look like a costume, ask everyone else to dress in a similar way.
Always a Classic Choice!
These are the 5 types of weddings anyone can plan without spending a fortune or sacrificing on fun. 90% of a good wedding is imagination and 10% is how you deal with unexpected situations, so keep calm and be unconventional, instead of spending thousands of dollars to impress people that you only get to see once a year. Stay true to who you are and learn that living within your means should apply to every aspect of your life together!
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