How would you describe this ring?
u/Powerful-Eggplant-98 — 2 hours ago
r/Weddingsunder10k
Newly engaged, planning a wedding in western Washington($15k total)
Hello! My partner and I just got engaged and are starting to plan for summer 2027. We’re planning on roughly 80-100 guests and are looking for a venue and any advice! Would be happy with anywhere between Bellingham and Olympia. We’d ideally like an outdoor ceremony and either indoor or tented space for the reception. I’m hoping not to spend more than about $5k on the venue.
Any advice for planning and narrowing down options would be helpful!
u/gayasme — 4 hours ago
Should I have chosen the fitted dress?
Went shopping with my mom thought I would get a lace fitted dress but ended up getting a satin Aline. But now I’m worried I made the wrong choice. I also have very bad body issues so was worried I would feel self conscious in the tight one on wedding day which I didn’t want. Also thought the all lace was a little much on me.
Need opinions thank you in advance!
u/Some-Still-7162 — 8 hours ago
Essence of Australia sizing HELP!!!
I’m a street size US 18, hoping to lose a little bit of weight my wedding is May 2027. Would this dress fit me? I’m open to doing alterations!!! I’m having trouble finding/reading their sizing chart
u/wtrmlnredbull — 9 hours ago
▲ 14 r/Weddingsunder10k
(2k)Had anybody ordered catering but only food and picked it up and brought to reception?
Were planning on doing a very small wedding at church. 30-40 people if that. Also we're planning on doing our reception in the reception hall at church which saves us so much money. We were wanting catering but only picking up food from a local restaurant. How did you manage with getting mass food and serving? Any ideas on how to do this?
u/Spare-Cry7273 — 11 hours ago
▲ 14 r/Weddingsunder10k
10k July Wedding Advice
Don’t purchase a lot of hand held fans, people didn’t use them.
We needed more bags of ice, keep lots on hand!
Bring lots of containers, super important for top of cake and left over food.
People loved the Candy Bar!!! So inexpensive instead of appetizers.
The MUSIC is so important! Our Playlist was a hit!
Dos Equis was a lover for beer, we ran out!
Don’t have a big table for presents most people bring cards!
Any questions let be know!! ❤️❤️
u/AttorneyDapper1732 — 7 hours ago
“Reception” Family Gathering
I am recently engaged and I’m super excited, however, my Fiance and I both don’t like spotlights. We are planning to do a courthouse wedding, very intimate, just us.
but I’m my mom’s only remaining daughter. She wants us to have a small something. I was thinking about renting a giant lakeside cabin in the woods in October and just inviting both sides of the family to come spend the night since a lot are out of town. How can I make this wedding like without it being too over the top and cheesy with 20 people trapped in a cabin for two days?
Side note: I would like to get to wear a wedding dress somehow but I’m uncertain if a fancy wedding dress would be appropriate for just the courthouse? Or do I wear it for pictures around the cabin so I can have wedding photos with my mom? I’m really not sure how to do this. All I know is that I don’t want to pay a ton of money for a traditional venue. Help? 😭
Edit: Just trying to figure out a flow of events I guess? Would dinner and a fire/series of toasts and pictures be fine or is that just not enough to gather a ton of people for?
u/Common-Guest-4081 — 10 hours ago
[20k All-In] Colorado mountain outdoor venues for small destination wedding?
Hi everyone!
My fiancé and I are planning a destination wedding in Colorado for 30–40 guests, and we’re hoping to keep our total budget under $20k (excluding flights). Guests will be paying for their own accommodations.
We’re actually flying to Colorado at the end of this month to tour venues. So far, we have tours scheduled at Pikes Peak Ranch, Black Canyon Inn, and Venue on the Rocks. Right now, Pikes Peak Ranch is at the top of our list because it checks almost everything we’re looking for, but we’re worried it may end up being more than we’d like to spend.
Our ideal venue would have:
• Outdoor ceremony and reception in the same location (no room flip)
• Panoramic mountain views with an open meadow/lawn feel
• Outdoor dinner under string lights with space for a dance floor
• Tables and chairs included
• Flexible vendor policy (or a great preferred vendor list)
BYO alcohol would be a huge plus, but we’re open to reasonably priced in-house bar options
• On-site lodging (or nearby cabins/lodges) would be a big bonus
We’re open to Woodland Park, Colorado Springs, Monument, Palmer Lake, Estes Park, or anywhere within about 2–3 hours of Denver.
Our dream vibe is an intimate backyard estate, ranch, or lodge with stunning mountain views—not a ballroom or a traditional rustic barn.
If you’ve gotten married in Colorado or know of any hidden gems that fit this vibe, I’d love your recommendations! We’d also appreciate any advice on whether hiring a partial wedding planner/coordinator is worth it for a destination wedding, especially to help with logistics and vendor coordination since we’re planning everything from out of state. Thank you so much!
u/Limp-Presentation434 — 10 hours ago
(10K) Disposable 9x13 cake pans that look nice enough for a wedding?
I’m making my own cakes for my wedding as the dessert. I want to make 4 flavors of 9x13 sheet cakes but am having trouble figuring out pans. I don’t want to bring my own, as it’s a hassle for clean up and I don’t want them scratched. I’m having trouble finding disposable pans with lids that don’t just look like shiny foil. Suggestions?
u/phlfem — 12 hours ago
VRBO wedding under $10k tips
Just booked a VRBO in Clearwater, Fl for our wedding in November ‘27! It was $7k for three nights and will sleep 36 of our guests.
My only goal is to now keep photographer, food, and transportation for our guests staying at a nearby hotel around $3k to stay around my $10k total budget.
Any tips and local vendor recommendations welcome!
u/Miserable_Syrup_3256 — 6 hours ago
(10k) Opinions on grazing table vs full dinner
Hello all! I have a guest list of about 80, and am debating whether to do a full buffet style dinner or just a heavy grazing/charcuterie table.
We are having an afternoon/evening wedding in a small church and the reception in the local community center a block away. The rough draft timeline is for the ceremony to be around 4:30, cocktail hour, and dinner around 6, followed by cake and dancing. We will serve alcohol as well.
While I want to make sure we take care of our guests well, I also don’t want them to feel stuck in their seats. Hoping to create a more social, mingling environment, but I also know that is kind of what cocktail hour is for.
Keep tables toward the edges of the room? Ideas for how to get people up from their tables if they are older or not big on dancing?
Would love some insight if anyone has any experience or tips!
Thank y’all for the insight! I was definitely leaning towards a dinner, especially due to the alcohol and out of town guests. I’ll do a late night snack as well.
u/BOTWgoat — 16 hours ago
Rethinking our wedding
I would love some advice on this and see if other brides have had similar experiences. My fiancé and I booked our wedding venue for summer of 2027. We only toured one venue and I absolutely fell in love with it. It’s a flower farm and we would plan to camp the whole weekend with all of our closest family and friends. It really is a dream and so so stunning.
What I’m struggling with is the price and already having regret that we are spending so much for 1 day. We have the opportunity to go to Peru this fall but with the wedding we will likely need to say no (an experience I would otherwise try to make work). I originally wanted a micro wedding and then a big party (either the day of or a week or so after) that all of our family and friends could go to. Instead with this setup we would have everything in one day with around 75 people. My fiancé has a big family but mine is relatively small but people would be incredibly upset if there aren’t invited to the ceremony. We have also already told a lot of people about what we were planning for our wedding and the venue we booked so I don’t know if it’s too late to change
My questions:
- Other brides, did you ever regret your venue choice and change while planning?
- Did you regret not having a bigger wedding? Has anybody regretted having a smaller wedding?
- Thoughts on micro weddings/ how many people makes sense before just jumping to a bigger wedding
Any other advice would be so helpful!!
Edit: I definitely described the “camping” wrong. In no way would this be a required thing. The bridal party and close family would stay the day before (they want to) and all guests have the OPTION to stay the second night if they want to. There is also the option to bring trailers/ car camp or just make sure they have a DD and go home since the venue is 40 minutes from most of our guests in any direction. The camping area is full tree cover and we are in western Washington so most of our hottest days are few and far between.
u/bkingslake — 14 hours ago
(20k) Family Reunion Reception
My fiancée (34f) and I (31f) are getting married in a private ceremony in March 2027. The thought of a big wedding didn’t feel right to us; however, we love our extended family and friends dearly, and they all want to celebrate us. I know they’ll be sad we won’t be having a big wedding, but we still want to find a way to celebrate with them.
Queue the casual reception.
Our idea is to have a family reunion style reception. Not a new concept, but a lot of posts on here are from a few years ago, so I’m hoping to get some fresh ideas and perspectives.
The reception will take place June 2027 in Central IL at venue (already booked) that has indoor and outdoor space. It’s out in the country (not a barn), so the outside space is very generous. There’s also a concrete slab in the back with a painted half court for basketball, as well as pickleball lines! We will be inviting around 200 people, and I expect many of them will RSVP yes, so maybe around 150-160 people will attend.
My fiancée and I will look nice, but we will not be dressed in full wedding attire. We will express to our guests that this is a casual affair. We are BBQ lovers, so we plan to use a caterer that does BBQ. Venue and catering together will be ~11k.
We won’t be using a DJ. We have our own audio equipment, and the venue has an AV system.
Here’s where we need help brainstorming:
What should we call the event? We really don’t like the sound of “reception” and have been calling it a “celebration” when planning. Any other suggestions? How would you phrase it on save the dates and invitations?
What can we do to make the event fun? There will be young kids there, so we’re thinking of things to do for them, too. We’ve thought of a field/sports day with yard games and basketball/pickleball. Coloring station for kids. Tarot card reading, magician, ice cream or lemonade stand, audio guestbook are some other items.
Would you hire a coordinator for day of? Or would you assign some trusted family members to assist? We just want to make sure that we as newlyweds aren’t doing anything the day of.
We want this to take place during the day. What time do you think would be the best to hold the event? We’re thinking it would be somewhere between 3-5 hours.
With it being more open form, we’re struggling to come up with an agenda or plan of events/activities. Any thoughts/suggestions?
Love to all out there planning their special day(s)!
u/FirefighterFull7197 — 14 hours ago
▲ 19 r/Weddingsunder10k
$14k How much have you been quoted for catering?
Just got our catering quote and it kinda blew us away in a bad way. It’s around $8000 which is over half of our budget. This is one of the most affordable places in my area. This quote also includes 2 bartenders, linens, flatware, dinnerware, the set up/take down and service. Maybe this is a good cost for all those things, but I’m just feeling like it’s crazy to spend over 50% of our budget in this area and am feeling lost on what else to do.
Edit: thank you everyone for your input. I made this post immediately after getting the quote and seeing $8k was just very shocking at first, but after reading all your comments and taking time to let the breakdown of the other included items sink in, I understand that this is a reasonable percentage to spend on catering and that this is a good deal. It was very helpful to have comparisons from others!
u/catznratz — 1 day ago
(£10k) Venue suggests
We’ve just got engaged and are looking to get married September 2027! Ideally we’re looking for a barn wedding but anything rustic vibes fits us perfectly.
We have a £10,000 budget for everything but are struggling to find a venue and catering that fits. Most are around £8k just for venue and food!
Any suggestions or tips would be great!
Looking in the East Midlands
u/Hot-Commercial6046 — 15 hours ago
recently engaged (<10K)
best advice for a young couple trying to plan a fairly cheap wedding? I have a big family so I would like to have them there, what are ways to save in budget? ideally I would like to budget less than 10k, or including my dress. additionally, it all feels overwhelming, so where should I start?
u/Alive-Jicama-5583 — 1 day ago
($15k) Cost breakdown for wedding in HCOL US city
I had my wedding this past Sunday and it was fantastic! I wanted to share our budget breakdown - ours might be a touch different than others because we did minimal DIY, skipped certain things and splurged on others.
Location: Chicago, so HCOL.
Guest count: 32. Originally invited 36 but had a few who couldn’t make it. We're both older, have small immediate families, aren't super close to our extended families, and have a small circle of friends, so the guest list didn’t need much editing. Everyone is right: guest count is what drives budget priorities. Nobody cared that it was on a Sunday.
Budget: ~$15k, half parents and in-laws, half us.
Planner: free. We did most of the planning and venue booking, and one of my besties and my sister insisted on helping so we let them take on a little bit. Type A bestie did a lot of day-of coordinating and LOVED it, and sister picked up my cake and dropped it off at the reception venue.
Dress: $2100. I worked with a local designer to make a completely bespoke custom dress that we're going to dye eventually - I wanted something I could wear again.
Suit: $550. Husband bought an off-the-rack linen suit from Buck Mason, which fits perfectly into his current wardrobe so he'll get many more wears out of it.
Accessories: around $100, including bag, shoes and jewelry. Husband used his own tie, jewelry, shoes, etc.
Printed goods and signage: $350. This includes save the dates + full invitation suite + stamps, menus, event signage, bar sign, and placecards. This is the only part we truly DIYed - I designed everything and had them printed online with Catprint, Vistaprint and LCI Paper. I made the event signage with panels of translucent colored plexiglass and window clings. Printed goods are not everyone's priority, but it was important to us as I'm a designer and art director by trade.
HMU: $300. I keep my head shaved so no hair budget, haha. MUA is a freelance artist who did my makeup when he did my BFF's wedding, so I knew and trusted his skills. We did a more colorful (but not alt style), k-beauty inspired look, instead of typical soft glam. He is a magician istg, because I'm oily as hell, cried a bunch, and the day was humid and warm. At the end of the night I basically looked the same, minus a little lip color. Worth every penny.
Transportation: ~$100. We just took Ubers between venues and home.
Ceremony venue: $1200. We reserved a protected nature area within a park here for a private, family-only ceremony. The private permit included staff to close the area for an hour, and the photo permit is included with this option. It was pretty magical to have the whole place to ourselves with no interruptions from strangers, which would have totally happened because it took a while for staff to clear out nosy stragglers.
Officiant: free. My best friend got ordained online and officiated the ceremony, which was maybe 5 minutes long. That gave us the rest of the hour for photos.
Reception: $6950. We chose an all inclusive venue run by my favorite restaurant. Sunday night was half the price of Friday or Saturday, so we ran it by our family and friends and they were cool with it. Zero regrets, everything was amazing. The space was already beautiful so no extra decor needed. Furniture, linens, candles, setup and teardown, event coordinator, on-site coordinator/captain, and wait staff were included. An hour of passed apps, 3 course family style meal, a dessert table with 4 kinds of desserts + coffee service, and alcohol tallied by consumption (all NA drinks were free, and we got to pick 2 signature drinks). They made a frankly awesome looking Mac and cheese meal for the kids menu, and were very meticulous about addressing food restrictions. Their level of care and detail is something we were willing to pay for. Example: when we made our entrance, staff set aside a whole plate of apps for us so we wouldn’t miss out on them, and got drinks in our hands ASAP. The food itself was bonkers and multiple people told us it was the best wedding food they’d ever had. They packed us leftovers, too! Tax, service fees and tip are included in the total.
Cake: $120 for a 6” cake from an Instagram baker with an impressive bakery and restaurant background. We originally planned to do something more low key, like a Whole Foods cake, but since it was only for cutting and photos, we figured it might as well look cool. She made it with custom flavors (matcha chiffon, espresso frosting, chocolate ganache) and decorated it with wavy piped frosting in fun colors, pearls and flowers that matched our florals. It was thankfully both cool AND delicious, light and not too sweet. Surprisingly, it was big enough that staff served it alongside the other desserts and everyone got a piece. No cake cutting fee, either.
Photography: $2450. This is something we were picky about because we both have art backgrounds, and my husband in particular is a fine art photographer. He really wanted to work with someone who shot only film and had a more fine art approach (light leaks, double exposures, etc). Instagram came through again and we found a wonderful photographer who shot 35mm, medium format, polaroid and Super 8. We had her for 3 hours and it was the perfect amount of time - she was actually there through most of dinner. She’s a total pro, wasn’t in our way, and had already worked a lot with our reception venue because she’s also a planner!
Entertainment: free. It was a chill dinner party vibe, so no dance floor or anything. My husband meticulously curated the playlist for months, which was on Apple Music and played through the venue’s A/V system.
Flowers: $1600. We prioritized real flowers - we love flowers, get them weekly and floristry is a hobby of mine. We worked with a freelance florist who did my best friend’s wedding last year, and developed an à la carte plan. We had personals (bouquet and boutonnière), and a dozen bud vases + larger arrangements for the reception. She’s super talented and got our more sculptural vision right away. This included an unbelievable floral “purse” bouquet, constructed with wire and a hoop. Gave away a lot of flowers to neighbors afterwards and are composting the rest.
Tl:dr we had a smaller guest list so we could invest in more elevated aspects, while completely eliminating elements that didn’t speak to us (wedding party, dancing, traditional ceremony, etc).
u/_rocketships — 2 days ago
how to go from 'how i want this to feel' to 'how should this look'
hi all! I am planning my wedding but I am trying to plan it more as a party or event rather than a wedding. weddings have become so crazy, and I want to return to a more simple wedding vibe so I'm trying to think of how I would plan it if it were just a fun party with all my loved ones! we're getting married at my childhood church which is, for better or worse, an ugly megachurch lol. it is what it is and it's too big to hide so i'm trying to figure out how to make it work with what we have!
but mostly the reason for the post is that i have a very distinct sense of how i want the wedding to FEEL but no real idea of how to translate that feeling to decor or a space. is this something anyone has a knack for and would be willing to advise on??
pictures below of the ceremony space (auditorium) and reception space (first two pics - youth group area) and then screenshots of the pinterest board for the feeling i'm going for. thank you in advance for any help!
u/Correct_Local9446 — 1 day ago
▲ 13 r/Weddingsunder10k
I have a question: What's the most promising/useful wedding souvenir you have ever received?
I'm stuck on what to get for the guest souvenirs. I don't want it to be something that gets thrown away the next day. Useful and should last long but I want to avoid figurine kind of things.
Appreciate your response and help.
u/Gold-Primary4795 — 3 days ago
▲ 12 r/Weddingsunder10k
Which wedding seems best?
Hi everyone! I'm early into the wedding planning process and I'm debating between 2 wedding options! I would love input from anyone about what the best way to go is!
Option 1: 12k
- prettier venue
- Sunday date
- 1 hour away
- 85 guest cap
- amazing alcohol
- okay food
- more restrictions
Option 2: 13.5-14k
- venue less pretty (reception in tent)
- Saturdays date
- local, 10 minutes away
- no guest cap, but want around 100 guests
- amazing food
- decent alcohol
- less restrictions
To me, option 1 will look better for a lower price, but I'm worried about some of the other logistics. Option 2 costs a bit more, but may be easier? I really just want to have a pretty, nice, and joyful wedding!
Any advice?
u/OrdinaryPromotion255 — 2 days ago