DH Templates - how can i plan my own wedding on a $5000 and under wedding in australia?

how can i plan my own wedding on a $5000 and under wedding in australia?

any sites, that sell direct internationally, free programs, templates, bulk factory outlets anything that would help me would be much appreciated. i would like to do a lot myself but not sure where to start.

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here are a few sites I used: orientaltrading.com wrapwithus.com annsbridalbargains.com Good luck!
$5000 in Australia? Thats like having a backyard wedding party i suppose. Start with getting all your invitiations out via email. Tell everyone to BYO Just kidding... i dont have any tips but i will be looking out for the answers you get because id like to find out the same thing! G O O D L U C K
Where is Aus do you live? I am in Brisbane and can tell you that if I had planned my wedding here instead of in Toowoomba (a smaller country city out of brisbane - if you didn't know!) that it could have easily cost another $5000 or more to have the same kind of wedding. Location makes a big difference. Can't help you with factory outlets as I didn't find any that were actually cheaper than anywhere else... just keep an eye out for bargains (and if the wedding is next year then I strongly suggest doing a lot of your shopping after christmas with all the sales... worked well for us!) Also - make sure you don't invite too many people. Only invite those who are closest to you. My wedding cost $14000 and we had 80 guests... just to give you an idea.
We're in NZ and so far our wedding is at NZ$4500. It's going to be in FMIL's garden.We're having 45 guests. Invites are being designed b my brother. My dress is rather simple and it's being made for $300. I'm growing some poppies for my bouquet. Reception is a dinner of nibbles $20/head and buying booze when it's on special. We're hiring plates/glasses and tiered cake stands. No DJ, we're just creating a playlist of our fav songs on an ipod. Cupcake tower instead of a cake $150, DIY tin lanterns for the trees. Somethings we didn't include because they didn't fit in with the low key approach or we thought were a waste of money include: save the date cards, RSVP cards, programs, transport (we're staying in at the same location), no favors (or they'll be homemade), centerpieces since there are no tables. It all comes down to how many guests you want to see how much you can spend on food and pretty bits like floral centerpieces etc. Hope this helped! Congrats and good luck
I live in the US, but a lot of this still applies even if you don't have the same stores, you cna use the bulk outlet stores in your area for the ones I named: Wedding on a Budget: My husband and I were strapped for cash and had a very elegant wedding for 120 people and our friends and family said it was the best they have ever been to, this is what we did. Things we skimped on: Invitations: We purchased simple invites from Target for less than .50 an invite and printed them using pretty calligraphy font on a computer, everything down to the envelopes. They came out GREAT and no one knew the difference. Also, instead of including response cards with postage to mail back, which can get pricey. We included an email address for online replies and two phone numbers. We got a lot of response online and it was a big hit as it saved us money and everyone else the time of filling this stuff out and sending it back via snail mail. Location: we rented an empty ambulance/fire hall and decorated it to our tastes and it came out better than most fancy reception halls. The GREAT thing was, because they do a lot of weddings they had things we borrowed free of charge such as tables, chairs, a wedding arch, a mailbox for wedding cards, a cake table, et. Invest wisely and make sure you can get the most for your buck out of the location. (We did "winter wonderland" and got married in January so a lot of snow and things were half off, that helped a lot. And it turned out BEAUTIFUL.) Alcohol: If you want a really cheap alternative, don't serve it. But if that won't fly with your guests you can do what we did. We served only beer, wine, margaritas (most people pick one specialty mixed drink, that was just our choice) and we made it self serve. Invested in a wine fountain, Beer Keg and Margarita machine (rented of course) so the need to pay a bartender did not exist. If you are having it at a hotel hall you can opt for a cash bar where the guests pay for drinks but many people consider that bad taste. If that’s not an option either, cut down the amount of time in open bar. Transportation: My husband and I were very active in our local ambulance squad so we rode away with our bridal party in an ambulance and everyone thought it was great when we pulled in lights and sirens. Be creative. Do you have a friend with a vintage car that you would look awesome in driving away? Can you use something creative? Like our ambulance idea. Or does it really matter to you to have it at all? Also a cheaper option is renting a cool car for the day and having a friend drive for you and have the bridal party arrive in regular vehicles, I assure you, its your day, they shouldn't care. Photography and videoography: We asked a friend who studied video production to do that for us. And for photography we asked a photographer from a local paper to photograph our wedding, and it was at least half off. But don't skimp on these things if you can't get lucky like we did, these memories last a lifetime. Cake: We asked an experience culinary student (graduating and we sampled her work beforehand) to make our cake and it turned out wonderful and was also half off. Students do these things for grades so they are very careful and much, much, cheaper than traditional bakeries. Attire: My husband wore his army dress greens, but a good alternative is to wear a suit instead of a tux, all our attendants did and it looked just as good. Flowers: I picked "in season" flowers and went with a smaller bouquet instead of a larger one and it was beautiful and elegant. And carrying that for a while when its heavy can get on your nerves anyway. Also, for any child/ junior attendants, get carnations, not roses, they hold up much better and are cheaper. I didn’t use roses in anything but picked in season cheaper flowers that looked really neat in my boutonnieres. For the bridesmaids: My bridesmaids carried a single white rose with a purple tip trim and it looked very elegant and the floral shop jazzed it up and added stuff so it didn’t look so plain. But your girls wont care what their flowers look like. Favors: If you have a theme, go practical and go cheap. Our theme was winter, as I said. So I found porcelain ornaments for less than .50 each online, and I ordered custom ribbons off an eBay seller with our names and wedding date and hot glued it to the snowflake, they were a huge hit and looked expensive when they weren't. Another option is a "candy buffet" look those up online, they can be neat. But if you do that get smaller bags/boxes so the candy lasts. This and that extras: I bought my disposable table cameras online from ebay from a woman who didn’t use them at her wedding, same with our bubbles and cake cutting knife and I found a beautiful authentic crystal headpiece second hand for $150 less than in the bridal shop in excellent condition. We found our "unity candle" and ring bearers pillow and white basket at a craft store for 60% off what they were in the Hallmark store. Look online, its a really great resource. As for food, never skimp or not have enough, that’s not in good taste. We really wanted an evening reception s we just picked less options and less expensive options. Like 2 meats, 2 starches, vegetable, bread and salad and that was it and people had plenty of selection. And we did it buffet style which can be hit or miss because you eliminate the need for staff to serve them but you have to over estimate food since people serve themselves a lot more than a waiter would. We also got our own appetizers and desserts. we got cracker trays and shrimp cocktail from sams as well as some hot options a friend threw in the oven right before the reception and it cut down our costs. In addition to our cake we bought cream puffs (which were a HUGE hit) as well as some bakery cookies and it cut down our costs significantly. Negotiate, Negotiate, Negotiate: We had our cater throw in a carving station and table linens in at no charge, work with them, haggle and see what you can do. Another option: My friends for their second marriage had a "pot luck" where guests brought a dish and it was CONSIDERABLY cheaper. But only consider this for a informal wedding. Another option for food: Have a breakfast or brunch reception, its thousands cheaper and gives you the day to celebrate with your significant other just to yourselves. And if you do that you only have to serve champagne for alcohol for the toast. We borrowed a lot of things from friends, enlisted their talents and looked around the internet and looked second hand before buying new. I even found my dress more than half off. (I paid $300 for a $1500 dress because it was "last season," well, it could have fooled me, it was beautiful and white so what did I care...) Suggestions: For little things you need, search dollar stores or Wal-Mart or sams club before going strait to a wedding store. Dinner mints in white packages that would be $3.00 for 500 at Wal-Mart are now $5.00 for one hundred because they have a wedding bell on them. Shop away from wedding sections as much as possible. There is no difference. we even did things like asked the ambulance hall if we could clean up ourselves and took money off the rental. Entertainment: Never skimp on entertainment if you would like your guests to have a good time. An option to consider if you are having trouble affording it is to make the reception shorter. But get an experienced DJ that will match your tastes in music and will do the whole thing for you, you don't wan to have to tell your DJ what to do on your wedding day, get an experienced person whether it be a live band or DJ. Some DJ's charge less in the "off season" (that’s why we got a discount on ours) and some bands will work for considerably less also during the off season as the amount of wedding gigs are more scarce. Centerpieces: Go for balloons, candles and confetti and steer clear of flowers. A friend of mine for a beach wedding did little goldfish bowls with beta and goldfish. For our wedding we did little mini Christmas trees, flocked them ourselves and did silver ornaments and snowflakes. We bought them after the holiday and it was much much cheaper. Solicit help: If your parents offer, allow them to help. Allow relatives to give you as much help as possible if they offer, it will help them feel involved and it will help you. For example, a friend offered to pay for favors as a gift, another family member offered to get the cake. But if you're on your own, you can still have an awesome wedding on a budget. Which brings me to my last option: Have a winter wedding. Or a fall or "off season" wedding. (Not spring or summer) You can usually find everything from your wedding dress to catering and entertainment at a discount. Hope this helps, have a happy wedding!!
Where in Australia?? My wedding will cost $6000. We had originally set $5000 but my parents decided to throw in $1000 towards it, which was greatly appriciated. well i went to the shops recently and in a shop called "just crazy bargins" came across some favor boxes exactly the same as some i saw on ebay. They cost $15 on ebay plus $5 postage for a pack of 25. I found these ones for $2.50 for a pck of 10, i bought 7 packs and some ribbon all for under $25. And i they look pretty good if i do say so myself!! So look around Cheap as Chips, Crazy Clarkes, Go Lo, etc.... Also they have place cards in the same shop, just plan white with a silver border, but if you have some nice fonts on the computer or are an artistic person you can make them really lovely. They cost $2 for a pk of 25 i think, so thats $7.50 it will cost me, plus my time writing names on them in caligraphy. Also if you want cheap chocolate for your favours then wait untll after valentines day if you have enough time. Depending when your wedding is... they have lots of cheap love heart chocs on sale after the 14th feb. I am getting married In a private garden that accepts a fully tax deductable donation, so it wont cost us anything when we claim that back. Look around your local parks, or botanical gardens if you want an outdoor wedding, they dont charge much. i am thinking about having either silf flowers for my bouquet, if only a small fresh flower bquet. I havent decided yet, but flowers are not ine of my main priorities. i am thinking about something like this... http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=260187006245&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=016 and this for the bridesmaids http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=250249361900&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=015 So this seller does some great flowers at good Prices... http://stores.ebay.com.au/Flower-Land We are having our reception at our local leauges club, upstairs in their funtion room. We are members, so it will only cost us $190 for the room hire and the three course meals are only $31.90 per head. Which i think is pretty damnd good!!! If you look around the local RSL and places like that you can get a pretty good deal. We ARE getting a porfessional DJ. I have been to too many weddings where the music was crappy ad everyone sat there with a sullen bored look on their faces. So I will be spending $640 in a DJ for 6 hours. Which isnt the cheapst in the area, but i have heard great revews about him, plus he will be the MC for free. You need to invest in a good DJ to keep the reception flowing nicely. Wedding cakes are a bit pricey, so we are getting afriend of ours to make it for us. He makes wedding cakes as a hobby. But if you find them too expensive, then try a Cup cake wedding cake. It works our cheaper per person. We are skipping a professional photographer, but i am still thinking about going to my local TAFE to see if there are any Photography students that would be willing to take the photos for their portfolio. I would offer them $200 for their time and just get the copys of the photos on a disk and print them out at Big W or somewhere like that. I am decorating myself and going through a company who hire the chair covers and sashes, and will knock off $1 per chair if you want to pick them up and DIY. so thats also something to look at. Ebay has been my friend, for tulle and rose petals for decorations. I dont really know of any bulk factory outlets sorry i couldnt help you wth that. But try these sites for other things that you might need. http://www.heartsandthemes.com.au/index.cfm?menukey=1 http://www.theweddingscene.com/index.asp http://www.easyweddings.com.au/ http://stores.ebay.com.au/Bridal-Online-WEDDING-SUPERSTORE http://www.diyinvitationsensation.com/ Feel free to email me if you want anymore ideas. I havent the time right now to type them all down. Good Luck!!
You can have a beautiful wedding in that budget in Australia I reccomend finding a venue you love that has catering and decoration included in the package price. This can save you money as the corporate rates the venue will get will be much cheaper that anything you can find and most places will give you a measly discount if you don't use their services to counter the commission they would have gotten from their chosen suppliers in the end costing you more. Weekday weddings will be cheaper than weekend weddings. Saturday weddings are the most expensive as saturday evenings are the most popular due to guest in general not needing leave from work or having to work the following day meaning an early exit. Also cocktail and buffet receptions will be cheaper that sit down meals, as will breakfast or lunch weddings. Silk flowers are cheaper than the real thing. If you source your flowers from a florist they have access to the higest grade artificial flowers that are not available to public shoppers. These silk and latex flowers are manufactured to be botanically correct. They feel like real, are usually scented (or can be prior to the day), and are complete with thorns and imperfections in the petals. They are a little more expensive than the artificial flowers from dusk (maybe by $1 a bloom) but are so worth it. I got a large teardrop from this fabulous lady www.myfabflowers.weebly.com which cost me $145 and i'm so pleased with it! (i got my other bridal party flowers there too) My mum thought i had bought a real bunch to test before the day!! I got a quote from a few florists in town for the same in fresh flowers and was quoted $250 for the bouquet and another $300 if i wanted it preserved. Katie will go out of her way to find your dream flowers at an affordable price and in good time. I can't reccommend her enough and she mails all over Aus. If you want to have a look at wedding items/vendors/venues near you i reccommend www.weddingguide.com.au This is by the people who do the big bridal expos Australia wide and they have a separate section with information for everything local to your area. Click your state/territory on the left and you will be provided with info relevant to your home. For planning downloads get the wedding checklist and planning package from www.weddingvic.com.au It's in excel and SO easy to use for all stages of your planning. If you need any more tips and advice check out the forums at www.i-do.com.au They have a twins section where you can find information from brides in your area, brides getting married in the same month and year as you, budget brides, SUPER budget brides and brides in your area. There is also a whole section devoted to DIY from how-to through to where to go to find..... Other than that you can always send me an email (i'm in canberra) Good luck with your planning!