How to have a Small Intimate Wedding (under $1,500)

How to have a small intimate wedding under $1,500? One of them, as my husband says, make everyone mad. No, I’m only kidding Lol I’ll explain shortly. I’m going to show you 7 tips on how to have a small intimate wedding.

After my husband proposed, we immediately began planning for a wedding. We already knew we wanted something very small and intimate. Honestly, if we could have run off with just the two of us we would have. The thought of having a small intimate wedding was never on my radar as a young girl. Of course, like every young girl, I dreamt of Cinderella gowns and a grand ball. As I grew as an adult and grow with my husband we began to find what was true to us and what we wanted. It’s about what you and your spouse want not what everyone else says or wants for you. Anyway, let’s jump into it.

1. Pick a venue that’s costs you little to nothing.

In our love story, we made our relationship official on the beach in the summer on 2010. Throughout our dating phase we would often go to the beach at night to pray, connect, and sometimes just sit in silence to listen to the rushing waves. My husband came up with the idea of having it on the beach, and i thought wow that’s intimate and you don’t need a permit to have it on the beach. Which cost us $0

2. Do you personally know an Officiant?

Luckily for us, my father-in-law is a Pastor…well my husband’s entire family are pastors lol. So we asked him and he was more than excited and willing to marry us. Besides, not only did it cost us nothing, It added a even more intimate touch to our wedding.

3. Opt for a more simple dress & accessories

I actually went dress shopping twice. The first time I went, I tried on everything that I thought I wanted, but I don’t know it just didn’t happen for me that day and not to mention those dresses were like $1000-$1500, which was out of budget for us. I walked away that day with no dress and a lot of frustration trying to find the perfect dress within the right budget. On the second try, I found the dress from David’s Bridal, that was curve hugging and semi-trumpet. Guess what?! it was a whopping $170 with the veil included and it was so beautiful and timeless to me. I bought a belt, to bedazzle my dress from Amazon for roughly under $25.00, and a simple open toe shoe from Charlotte Russe $20. Total = $215.00

4. Narrow down your Guest List

This is what my husband meant by making everyone mad. No just kidding, but we made the choice of having a smaller and intimate wedding because that’s what fits our needs. So no, I’m not going to invite Aunt Mary Sue who lives in Peru to attend my wedding who I’ve only seen a total of once in my lifetime. I understand everyone is not comfortable doing this but if you do want a smaller wedding this helps. We did have to deal with family members feeling offended, but at the end of the day it is our day and we have to do with what we could afford. We decided to have just immediate family (parents, siblings, grandparents, aunts & uncles) and close friends. Totaling 25 people.

5.Have your reception at a restaurant

The original restaurant we wanted to have our reception was a little too small and was unable to accommodate us. There was another restaurant just a few steps off the beach where we planned on getting married. The restaurant was able to seat us all in the same section and even provide a printed menu for our guests. We spent a total of $500 for breakfast. Although we had to forfeit a DJ, dancing, and music, everyone still had a great time. I would suggest calling local restaurants that you and your fiance like and get information on what’s the largest they can seat and if they can accommodate a wedding party. Also, ask for if they do anything special for these types of events. i.e special menus, packages

6. Have a Staycation Honeymoon

Since we were trying to keep such a small budget, my husband and I didn’t mind not going anywhere fancy. We live in Florida, so the vacation destination in our state is obviously Orlando. Thankfully, our parents paid for our honeymoon which consisted of a luxury hotel, dinner dates, movies, and a live show at downtown Universal Studios; it was ultimate relaxation. In addition, my husband had a week-long performance in Portland, Maine almost a week and a half after our wedding which I was able to go to which also served as our second honeymoon. The plane ticket to Maine was $340.

7. Find a friend who is a Photographer

At the beginning of the year, I made friends with a sweet woman from a women’s bible study I was attending. She was beginning her journey in the photography business. Thankful, for her friendship, she only charged me $200 for the day and she captured some pretty amazing shots.

Now, all these tips are decisions my husband and I made based on our personal perferences. I personally do not regret having a small and intimate wedding. It was much more personal and there wasn’t a dry eye on the beach. You could feel the love as the ocean waves crashed behind us and the sun was rising before us. We knew our circumstance and we knew what we wanted. As stated earlier, your wedding day and marriage is about you and your spouse, it’s based off of what works for you two. Our goal was to not to have a great wedding but a great marriage. Although, how much money you spend on your wedding day doesn’t determine whether you will have a sucessful marriage but how much invested time you are willing to put into the marriage.