My wife is awesomer than yours! She made her own dress, the bridesmaids' dresses and the tiered cake. TOTAL wedding budget: $2000 (Australian$). The ceremony and reception were in a park (a big shed type building served as the reception hall and we stood in the band stand for the ceremony), friends helped cater (high tea, not dinner), and family did music. Decorations were begged or borrowed and almost everything has been reused since! My wife altered her dress slightly and has worn it to a number of other functions. We've received a lot of compliments about our wedding and guests are often shocked when we tell them the cost. It was a country town wedding and just about invited everyone we knew. My experience was that if you focus the wedding on the union and the two people, instead of the 'day', you will have a more genuine and cheaper day. Of course, I must admit that our style may not suit everyone- but it certainly reflected how we wanted to start our life together.
The ceremony and reception were in a park (a big shed type building served as the reception hall and we stood in the band stand for the ceremony), friends helped cater (high tea, not dinner), and family did music. Decorations were begged or borrowed and almost everything has been reused since! My wife altered her dress slightly and has worn it to a number of other functions.
We've received a lot of compliments about our wedding and guests are often shocked when we tell them the cost. It was a country town wedding and just about invited everyone we knew.
My experience was that if you focus the wedding on the union and the two people, instead of the 'day', you will have a more genuine and cheaper day.
Of course, I must admit that our style may not suit everyone- but it certainly reflected how we wanted to start our life together.