It was honestly out of desperation to save money but it turned out great! It was like a big family/friends get together and it was a fun bonding experience for the groomsmen as well. The BBQ was like 5’x10’ so we were all cooking together and visiting/drinking. We also picked the park since it was going to be earlier and people wouldn’t drink much.
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LOL! In the Kirby Cove wedding, the groom’s parents are Mormon, so an OH-free wedding. Hack #2) Become Mormon for the day! Let the guests (and minister) BYOB on the sly. (BTW, Lombardi’s provided the Tri-tip, and it was great, but we all felt we could do it ourselves, if we had to do it all over again).
Let me guess-you’re from “that” part of Europe 
haha
BTW-If I were you, I would put that money down on a house instead of treating your invited guests, sorry folks-our future is much more important than a wedding celebration. Just make it a small closest family and friends and be done with less than $10K Flip a Wrangler and pay for it CASH
Yeah, moms will always want to NOT be embarrassed and what will people say/think but it’s your future and she should understand why you make these choices… she was probably on you TO GET married for a while 
no pun intended
Whichever way you go, just make the best of it…Congrats
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Planning a wedding on a tight budget is a good marriage test for compromise and conflict resolution.
I know multiple couples that split during the planning process. Better then than after
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Get the word out that you prefer cash, maybe just tell couple of your close friends and let them spread the word. My wedding eons ago I was able to recoup two thirds of the total costs. Didn’t hurt in our culture we got some gold coins when it was less than 400 an ounce.
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I don’t think people give gifts anymore it’s all cash. That’s what the wedding shower is more about. I returned about 50% of that stuff to and was about to completely stock the kitchen with nice stuff that I actually wanted
Sounded like it. Cash is king and it does help a lot. I got $$$ from my brother whereas my sister in law gifted a Piaget that I don’t think kept its value. Hundreds just to keep it running.
Another good hack. Express has good wedding suits for cheap. I paid like $200 and have used it many times for other black tie events. If you want to go even cheaper h&m or primary. The wedding dress is a whole other story. 2-3k for something she will never wear again. That’s only good for keeping her in shape. Have her try it on once a year on your anniversary
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Metro Detroit, Camaro, large wedding… I’m going with Chaldean 
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Another ‘interesting’ idea: use an existing event, like an annual family reunion and inviting the other family. Informing anyone about a wedding taking place can be optional.
Just got married in April, saved 10% having it on a Friday. Everything adds up quickly, brace yourself lol. No wedding party, eliminated the typical formalities. If I’m spending that money, I want to party not hear speeches for 30 min and stopping the whole night to watch me cut a cake.
We spent more on convenience items like having our invitation lady print the address’ on the envelopes for invitations and thank you cards.
We didn’t want buffet style so we chose a trio meal with chicken steak and fish for all so we didn’t have to track food choices.
Middle east 
but thank you for the advice! I wish we could make it 50-100 people lol
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hit the nail on the head. although scats and cats are more the norm
We saved a ton of money by getting a student videographer and a student quartet band. Cost about 1/5 - 1/10 of the ‘professionals.’ This was 2014 however.
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How did it come out? Did you like it or wish you got a “professional”?
We had a civil ceremony at the San Diego County Clerk’s office.
Rings were from Blue Nile.
We had two Amex cards with Blue Nile spending offers. I ordered the rings separately so I could pay with two different cards / use both offers.
10 years later, if we had to do it over again we would spend less on the rings.
All of the wedding nonsense is an incredible waste of money.
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Also, don’t get ripped off on men’s Tungsten rings. They are usually $20-40 on amazon and $150-700 in jewelry stores (most were $300-500)
Edit- also, $20 replacement is nice as all of my 5 groomsmen had lost their wedding rings within 6 months of their weddings lol. I ended up buying two (different looks) but i’ve somehow never lost the original despite how bad I am about losing shit.
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Yes but you my brother do not shop at westborn or parkway lol
I saved even more by having none of that shit.
Lol is parkway still a thing after the federal indictment that came down?