How to Plan a Wedding for LESS Than $15k?!

[@jillhueller2418]

Amazing timing. Just got engaged 2 weeks ago and our budget is $15k. Now I can finally watch your videos and not feel like a total psycho 😂

[@Healthylifelex]

Congratulations!!🎉🍾

[@jillhueller2418]

@@Healthylifelex thank you!!

[@JenaAnnissa]

Congratulations! You can totally do it. The thing I learned when planning my tiny little wedding (it cost around $3000 total) is to really consider the things that are most important to you. My big ones were: having our closest family there, feeding them good food, and photography. We had our ceremony at a $300 Las Vegas wedding chapel and had our closest friends and family there- around 20 people. And it included the photographer! We just paid for the full photo package that came with the basic video and a beautiful photo book on top of all the digital photos, and paid the officiant separately. We then had dinner in a private room at one of our favorite restaurants. Also, I put it together in about 45 days. We were extremely blessed with the help we got from friends and family in diying decorations and floral. Also, a local seamstress altered my dress in 2 weeks.

[@Healthylifelex]

@@JenaAnnissa I live in Las Vegas and don’t want a big wedding. (I’m an introvert and don’t like being the center of attention.) This idea is so helpful. THANK YOU!!! 😀

[@JenaAnnissa]

@@Healthylifelex if you’re keeping it small, go see the Paradise Wedding Chapel Downtown. They made it so easy.

[@Kim-cj2fl]

Our budget is also 15,000 but we decided to allocate things a little bit differently so I figured I would share! Our venue is 2700 but includes tables, chairs, linens, and pretty twinkle lights. our venue is a gorgeous vineyard so you really don’t have to spend money on decorations other than some simple centerpieces. we got lucky that our venue does not charge extra to be married on a Saturday versus a Friday or Sunday, but we were prepared to do a Sunday event to save money if needed. we did opt for full-service catering, partly because it was required by our venue but also we really wanted that. Our total cost for that is approximately $5000 with stationary hors d’oeuvres, a served buffet dinner, and all real China. we are doing beer + wine and 2 signature drinks. that’s totaling $1700 with bar staff provided by the venue. our day of coordinator was also required by the venue, she comes in at $1300 for the full day and a one hour rehearsal. our photographer is new to owning her own business so we got a great deal, that totaled $1200 for eight hours +4 hours of a second shooter and an engagement shoot. our DJ is our last professional vendor and they came in at $900. That one required a little bit of negotiating - he was a recommendation by our coordinator. we are opting to skip videography and I will be DIYing all of our florals from trader joe’s (they will be super simple), dessert bar, and decor. I got my dress from David’s bridal for $600 and made sure to find some thing that required very little alteration. My fiancé will be renting a tux. our bridal party will be covering the cost of their attire. we are inviting 100 people. There is still a little wiggle room in our budget right now to add on professional hair and make up if I want to. we live in a major city and were able to save thousands on the venue by looking within a 1h radius of our home. I am super excited for our wedding and super proud we are pulling this off on such a tight budget! Thank you so much for all of your advice and help along the way ❤️

[@nicolerett]

This was so much help! Thank you!

[@stevemccarthy4713]

I would look very carefully at your photo package. In that, you truly get what you pay for. $1200 for 8 hours and the 2nd shooter and an engagement shoot........ I can tell you as a professional photographer, those that will give you the world for the cheapest rates, generally you are getting what you pay for. We cannot pay our bills, pay our taxes, pay our expenses and survive in photography for those rates. We must remember that shooting that wedding and engagement session are the public facing events. There are also days of back end work, data backups, editing and culling of your images, securing a 2nd shooter and editing their images to consider. So you might think hmmm, $1200 is a great deal for all of this. In reality, that $1200 is probably a week of work and part of that has to go to the 2nd shooter and about a quarter to a third (depending on the state you are in), will have to go out in self employment taxes. So, don't be surprised if the quality of the work you get is equivalent to the $500 or less the photographer actually walks away with for a week of work. I see lots of folks run out to Walmart and get a camera kit for a couple of hundred dollars and call themselves wedding photographers. When you are in that dark venue, you want that professional who knows what they are doing and their $5000 camera and lens combination will "see" in the dark like it is daylight. I see this happen all the time to brides that are enticed by a cheap price. If you skimp on anything, do NOT skimp on the one thing that will record the memories of your day for generations to come. There are no do-overs on your wedding day.

[@auntjosie756]

My daughter wanted her wedding at a gorgeous place but to have it on Saturday would have been $3,000.00 more. I tried to get her to do it on a Sunday but she didn't want to so we found a different hall.

[@jackiemartin7276]

Thank you for sharing! It's so great to see a budget breakdown in real life!

[@jocelynsmyth6604]

So a year later, how did it go? I hope it was lots of fun :)

[@SpellFinder]

My sister had a wedding at around $15k. They did drop catering from a local restaurant. And then hired and paid some teens from their church to serve the food at the wedding. This ended up working very well.

[@arbella89]

Well done, Jaime! 👏 pretty spot on! Some tips from a florist: Yes, flowers are super expensive (especially nowadays), but I recommend spending the bulk of your budget on your bouquet (most photographed piece), and some sort of statement flowers for either ceremony/reception backdrop (bonus points if you can repurpose the same piece(s) in both locations). Guests don't really care or even remember what their centerpieces look like. Not every table needs flowers. Maybe half or a third can have some sort of floral element, and the rest can have a candle element and/or a low cost rental item such as a lantern. Next tip is to keep the boutonnieres/corsages to a minimum. I recommend parents and grandparents. Once you start branching off into siblings, aunts and uncles... it gets expensive quickly. Costco is also a great resource for pin-on corsages/boutonnieres. They're not the cutest, but if you just need something to keep family peace... They're an affordable route to take. Just let your florist know that you will be mixing from different sources and make sure they are okay with that. Some florists have exclusivity clauses in their contracts. Final tip... keep your color scheme simple. White, pinks, purples, yellows are great options as several varieties of flowers naturally come in those shades. As soon as you start getting specific for example rose gold, mauve, or rust, it gets very tricky as only a few flowers come in those shades and they're often quite a bit more expensive than "standard" or more affordable flowers. Sorry for the essay... but I hope someone could find this helpful.

[@Bloominous]

Great advice! I would also add that repurposing bouquets to centerpieces would be a good way to get 2 for 1. Bridesmaids typically don't need the bouquets after the ceremony, so just plop them in vases and now you have centerpieces. If you don't have enough bouquets to fill all the tables, lanterns with candles and some greenery can fill the space. 💐💐💐

[@nr7701]

If you don't do Save the Dates then you should send out your invitation sooner than normal so your guests know and have time to respond (especially if they're from out of town).

[@megansimcox2699]

My life hack: botanical garden venue. We found one of The Knot‘s top rated botanical garden venues for $850 😵 The only florals purchased were my bouquet and my fiancé‘s boutonnière for $92

[@sarapelayo8237]

Just booked ours in New Orleans for next spring. It was closer to $2400 for ceremony and reception but includes tables, linens, chairs. Still struggling so much with this because I love flowers and want them all lol 😩 we might DIY

[@gwendolynrobinson3900]

The botanicals gardens here are thousands of dollars, wayyyyy beyond budget :(

[@laurenford7232]

I just got married on Saturday! Thank you Jaime for alllllllll of your help - I watched nearly every video you've posted, and many multiple times. Our wedding was wonderful - and came in under budget!. My favorite things: 1. Marrying my sweetie 2. How tasty the food and cake were (yes, we ate) 3. How easy the photographer was to work with, and made me feel at ease 4. The DJ listened to our wishes to have the music loud enough to dance to without being so loud it blows your ears off 5. How much fun our friends and family had My least favorite things: 1. My MOH got sick at the last moment and couldn't come, which was understandable if course - and heartbreaking 2. I goofed up the table numbers and it took several extra minutes to get everyone seated for dinner 3. The DJ played the wrong version of our first dance song Here's the thing: even in the moment the things that went wrong were no big deal. The venue also worked with us so we were able to video call my MOH so she could see the ceremony, and I brought a framed picture of us for the bridal party photos. So even that went okay. I loved my wedding, thanks again for all your help Jaime!

[@Healthylifelex]

Congratulations 🍾

[@makaylarose2963]

Been so excited for this video. Getting married fall of 2024 and we have budget of 15k.

[@rosec8101]

Sams club has full bridal floral options. They come completely made and ready to use. Love them highly recommend.

[@ilyssafreiburger3745]

Another great tip is to try and find an all inclusive venue. Mine is about $7000 for about 80 people. It includes the venue, food, an open bar, tables, linens, and the plates/cutlery. And a day of coordinator. This is just under half our budget but includes so many items on Jamie’s list.

[@jfloresdrums]

My fiance and I's budget was $25k but now more like $28k but we're including every single item that we're spending money on including rings, car rental, lodging etc. ( we're having a destination wedding in Guadalajara, Mx.)

[@kinettemay]

Questions 👋 I’d like to get married in my appartement. What do you (any of you) suggest I focus on ? For reference our apartment is completely empty we haven’t even moved in yet so I thought I’d be special for our immediate family and us to hold the wedding in the apartment so they can bless our union in our own home.

[@laurensauis9501]

Hi, Jamie! 🙂 Hypothetically speaking, if you included engagement and wedding rings in your wedding budget of $21,000, what percent of your budget should be spent on that?

[@alexissimon2731]

I have watched all of the other budget videos and love them! So when I saw you uploaded one for my budget I definitely screamed in excitement!

[@alyssadancer107]

This is the one I’ve been waiting for!!!! 🎉

[@tbbbbb123]

Thanks for your comments about non-rented dishware.

[@kaileynapier8424]

Your hair is looking AMAZING ❤

[@TWW808]

Yay! I've been waiting for this video! 🙌

[@JasmineJones-wh1tv]

I've been engaged for a year and can't even begin to plan because it is so daunting and all the details sounds like my worst nightmare 🙃 😭

[@itiskelpy]

Feel you, my partner and I are recently engaged but we’ve already agreed on a small 20 person elopement bc we can’t handle all the details 😂

[@JenaAnnissa]

I did the same thing- went a full year without planning. I had been excited to plan, and then got stuck when working in the guest list.

[@a1stbornunicorn]

For any budget brides looking for a good deal on an all-inclusive spot with a smaller guest count (50ish), look at local breweries, restaurants, and hotels. I also live in Central Texas and, for instance, County Line on the Lake BBQ is massive with free parking, huge outdoor and shaded grounds on the water with an enclosed private dining area. It's very beautiful, all inclusive with tables/chairs/linens/etc, a gorgeous ceremony space, and starts at just a food and beverage minimum of $3800. $400 venue fee! With the add-ons we were looking for and 50 guests it is about $7,000 but we're still shopping around bc we're expecting fewer people.

[@12Sanguine]

Yup, all inclusive venues with a minimum spend are definitely the way to go, and take away about 50 of the planning stress ❤️

[@vamieses]

Hi! I’m curious if you ended up going with this option! I just got quoted for an all inclusive hotel $500 rental, $4500 f&b minimum (plus taxes), also having 50ish guests- since it’s so similar to your comment, I’m wondering if it worked out! ❤

[@a1stbornunicorn]

​@@vamieses we did end up going with a brewery for our welcome happy hour/rehearsal and a hotel for our reception. The hotel staff were excellent and we had a wonderful time! The best part was being able to stay on-site and clean up the ballroom after having breakfast in their restaurant with family. I definitely recommend going with a hotel!

[@vamieses]

@@a1stbornunicorn aw that sounds like it was great! Congratulations! Thank you for replying, makes me lean towards that option even more since so many of us will be staying at the hotel anyway 🤩

[@MHSMagicLuver]

About save the dates, I have basically everyone out of state. I just made a free one online (I paid 1$ for one specific background) and sent it out on Facebook. I added my wedding website and asked for everyone’s addresses so I could get that together. For actual invites I don’t plan on mailing the ones for my friends who live in my same city because I could drop it off myself. Already bought stamps. My budget is about 30k but some things like save the dates, I feel this is fine. I don’t plan on spending a lot for invites either. I so far have venue (7000$), coordinator (750$), photo and video (5100$, that’s a lot for me but we actually got half price and it includes so much and their pictures are gorgeous). Aiming to find a dj 1000-1500. Our officiant is my pastor from church who married my parents so very important. cake will probably be a 300$ one from Publix (the best cakes) and then I am going to get cupcakes and then maybe some cookies from Costco (very cheap and some people might like a cookie more). Still working on catering, but would like to stay around 30$/pp. Also my dress is 1500 custom made (so won’t need alterations).

[@lehcar3209]

I honestly wonder if you could send some type of light and love to Sheischeval ( Haylay Paige) her story about the pain JLM Couture caused her. But the light she is trying to give young creators and women!!! I just was blessed with having a exclusive with her on my podcast. If you could highlight who she is becoming and get some of her shoes. It would make me so happy. This week I found out my brain tumor radiation did not work. But if I can send love and light into the world!!! How much more powerful is that

[@Joyfullychelle]

Always great info!! 🙌🏽🙌🏽💙

[@SieraLynJM]

Been engaged for less than a month, our date is October 13 2028 (a friday 🐈‍⬛). We have family and friends able to provide venue, officiating, and hair styling so far. We would like to stay somewhere around 10-15k. Obviously, we have a while to plan and narrow things down, but this was a super helpful video!

[@szechuon6971]

That’s also my birthday 🎂 great day!

[@ShrimpNation1]

If you do this video again, can you include decor and wedding gifts (for the parents of the bride and groom, the bridal party, favors, etc)

[@flowersarefun817]

The venue I’ve fallen in love with is 2400 but they have a food minimum of 7k 😢. It’s beautiful and in the French Quarter. I’ve thought about cutting the florist and Band lol. My budget is 15k too

[@sarapelayo8237]

I’m planing in New Orleans too. Curious how it’s going with you staying on budget? We just booked at City Park Botanical Garden

[@flowersarefun817]

@@sarapelayo8237 LOL the budget is now 25k

[@EmilyCheetham]

For my big brothers wedding (drink wise) they just bought a LOAD of alcohol & soft drinks and stuck it all on tables with disposable cups and had everyone self serve. Stuck all the empty bottles in bin bags and disposed/recycled after the wedding. Saved on an servers. I think if/when I get married I’d do something similar. I just want everyone to have 1 glass of champagne for toasts 🥂 and then just soft drinks everyone can self serve. It’s pretty cheep to go to discount store and buy come cartons of juice and 2L bottles of soda + a load of paper cups.

[@gwendolynrobinson3900]

This really depends on the venue, some venues don't allow self-serve alcohol at weddings. Most of the venues I've been looking at require a bartender with a license to serve even canned seltzers.

[@nicolerett]

Love this thank you!!! There was so many costs that I did not consider, slightly panicking but it will all work out🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼

[@ingridpear1882]

Happy wedding anniversary

[@leonardoicandelariojr9090]

I say if bump off the wedding officiant for a family member you can do the same with your photo.

[@mommytin5503]

Thank you so much Jamie! You are awesome.❤️

[@amyparker8177]

Cannot get link to work on network. And when I try to go by typing in site it says not found.

[@richardp2344]

Where can I find the budget calculator that you use in your videos?

[@Prairiewind18]

Amazing video. Can you do a video on finding a cheaper wedding dresses?

[@a1stbornunicorn]

Thank you for another super helpful video, Jamie! I don't see that generation tux discount code in the description, could you provide it please??

[@oceandreams97]

I have a budget of 12k and iam feeling all the stress 😢 weve been together for 10 yrs this october, and we have a 3 yr old and an almost 5 month old daughters ugh! I feel like i wont be able to make this all happen, out date is for July of next year 🙃

[@Nikabooski]

Please add Virginia planners/coordinators to your network.😊

[@stellagriffith3696]

I love how I’m watching this with a 30k budget 🤣

[@donesk3y]

Looking for all the comments but I'm here too early..

[@beatricebowles-bray6044]

It sounds like the percentages add up to 82% rather than 100%?

[@ingridpear1882]

What wedding utubers in the comment section or box below can you link to (upper right hand X's aren't currently working for me) for Canada/Ontario please? Would they be familiar with any questions such as these? There are so many differences as in the "calling of the bans" where you don't have to pay for a marriage license if your marriage is announced three Sundays in a row - whether this applies to other religious monotheistic congregations is something I would like to know if a local wedding planner is familiar with. Is it legal to buy the license and bring it to a clergy member,or are they unable to do so without the "calling of the banns" . How far in advance can the license be gotten before it expires unless the couple has been reported married in that time? This is particularly necessary information if a marriage is recognized only when performed in a religious capacity (legally I only know of requirements of a marriage certificate- but I don't know how it applies if someone underage comes married from another country/destination,or when one of the couple has foreign citizenship.) Alcohol is also something very uncommonly sold in regular grocery stores. Sobeys had a wine shelf and Superstore had maybe a few cases of beer - I've never seen it sold anywhere else except the beer store and LCBO .

[@yulygelvis8808]

And what about cero budget 😢

[@wiseapple1]

Please be careful about advising people to have a friend or family member ordained. Where I live the clerks don't check to verify if you are legally qualified to sign the marriage certificate and many online ordained officiants sign off on certificate. However, officiants who do not have proper authority to marry such as a public official or religious cleric are NOT considered a legal option. This does not rear it's head until a divorce or untimely death where you could lose many marital benefits of being a spouse such as inheritance or benefits :(

[@catherineclaire7429]

Whoa! I didn’t realize that. It would be devastating to find out you weren’t legally married. Yikes!

[@isabel7460]

My budget is $30 thousand, but we a de planning to buy a house with a nice backyard and have it there, we only inviting 50 people Your videos has been so helpful Thank you so much!

[@lionessqueen6087]

Could you do a break down cost of a small/mini wedding with a budget of 10,15 & 20 thousand dollars? I live in Northern California/southern Oregon and plan of having a wedding of about 30 people with a budget of 20k or less and would like to know where to even start. 🫠

[@misslyntheena]

Yesss I’ve been waiting for the 15k video for a while now, perfect entertainment for my 5:30am shift now 🫶🏻