Hello ladies...

Im new to the board..just happened to come across it while looking up some information.
My wedding is set for April 5, 2008 in Portsmouth VA
I live in Atlanta so its been a little difficult planning from another state.

Ive found so much information here on this board
You all are so very talented, open with you opinions and so willing to help each other out.

I look forward to chatting with you all and hopefully finding some new friends.

Well let me be the first to welcome and congradulate you. I know that you will find all the questions to any of your answers on this page. Once again welcome.

Welcome Mrs. Potts!

Welcome. Yes, it can be extremely difficult to plan a wedding from another state. Rest assured the ladies on here will give you plenty of help.

Welcome 2 the sisterhood!

Congrats and Welcome Mrs. Potts!

Welcome, I too am planning from a different state. I live in Philly and am planning my wedding in WV so I understand your pain for sure. But this board is a great place for ideas and helpful hints.

Thank you ladies....
I plan on spending a good deal of time on this board...especially reading through the DIY topics.

Hi, everyone

I am new to the board. I have been surfing different site to come up with ideas and advice in planning my wedding. I never knew it was such a big headache trying to get everything together. I don't know where to begin.

Our wedding is set for November 22, 2008 in Brooklyn, NY and we have set a budget of $5,000. If I could have it done for less then that I would be happy. I don't want a big wedding, just a small one with 50 people or less. We are in the process of saving for a home so I don't want to waste thousands of dollar for 1 day.

I am looking forward to hearing everyone's advice

Unfortunately I am not too familiar with that area, however if you can plan a wedding with a budget of only 5000 girl help me.

Hi Ivery, as a Wedding Planner, who's done a lot of weddings in New York, I must tell you first of all that if $5,000 Max is your budget for your wedding, then The Crystal Manor is not the way to go because that's approximately what they charge for your reception and 50 people would really not worth their while, sorry to say so.

On a brighter note, you can have a very intimate wedding for the type of budget you have. You have a very small guest list and you would have to do a lot of project yourself, but you can have a very intimate, candlelight wedding in Brooklyn or elsewhere for the budget that you have in mind. Your guest list is 50 Max. Does that include your wedding party? You could find a Banquet hall, like the basement of a church or if your church have a Dining area, speak with your pastor about having it. Most of the time, it would be donated to you, if you're a faithful member of the church and you could just give them a love offering for the use of the church's dining hall. Thereby saving on the exhorbitant fee of having a hall that would cost you a minimum of $1,500. Another alternative is to look for a restaurant that would charge you $20 per plate for your reception and have them give you part of the room and with your guests, that would be about $1,000.

Whichever way you choose to go, with a lot of planning and attention to every detail, you can have that intimate wedding you dream of for the budget that you've preset.

Good luck to you

Welcome Ivery!!! Congrats on your upcoming wedding. We have a motto around here, your day your way. Are you getting married in a church? Where do you want to have your reception? Are you having both at the same location? How many people are in your bridal party? Give us a few more details so the ladies can do what they do best -- give some awesome advice.

I got married in a church and had my reception at a restaurant. They had a banquet room upstairs and it was much cheaper than doing a catering hall. In any event I wish you all the best.

housewife147 wrote:

Unfortunately I am not too familiar with that area, however if you can plan a wedding with a budget of only 5000 girl help me.

My wedding budget is a little over $5000. Alot of shopping around and DIY projects help alot. My wedding/reception is at a Knights of Columbus which saved me alot even with a bar

Hello everyone:

Thank you for replying. I am not having a church wedding and I want to hold the cermony & reception together in brooklyn. I known my budget is limited to $5,000 and we decided to get married on 11/22/08 which is his birthday. My wedding party consist of my Maid of Honor,1BrideMan,1Groomman,1flowergirl who is my younger daughter.

But I have three other daughters that are 12, and two 7 year olds, who I want to incorpated them into the cermony as junior bridemaids but my bestfriend said they are not old enough for that.

My guest list is set for 50; which included children. My finacee and I want the wedding to be small. Even though my sister who is my maid of honor is trying to add on family I don't talk, she is trying to guilt me into add on to the list.

My family is from Jamaica, West Indies and I need somewhere that will not have a problem with the music that is being played (Reggae or Dancehall).

Basically, I don't know what I am doing, not a clue. I don't have a color theme for the bridal party or decoration,and what kind of flowers or cake to have. My dress I know I want it to be either a empire or aline cut with some kind of color on it. The wedding I want it to be simply, nice and not have it look cheap, and also not have my family making snide comments and talking trash to other people.

Okay sister, first and foremost, take a deep breath. You've come to the right place to vent. We're all here for you and will make suggestions as much as we're allowed.

Budget of $5,000 for a wedding for 50 guests max ~ not a problem

Secondly, do not let anyone guilt you into anything. The bottom line is it's your day and you will have it your way. And you should say so to your sister that if she wants to invite other people other than yours and your FH can afford, than she will have to come out of pocket herself for the additional expenses. I mean, why should you be out thousands of dollars to accommodate people that you don't even know well enough for it to matter.

Ok, on the wedding gown ~ you chould check out David Bridals periodically. They've been having $99 gown sales since last summer and it's still going on from time to time. You just have to catch it when it happen and run on the first day that you notice it. To wait a few days means that you will not find anything at all for the $99 and they will try to sell you on some other, be it, fabulous gowns.

I think you have a marvelous idea about having the wedding/reception at the same place. That will certainly save you a bundle. Since it's in New York and Novembers in New York are frigid. So a friend's backyard is so out of question. Why not look into a little chapel for the ceremony? You'll find that it'll only cost you a few hundred dollars to have the ceremony there. I know that you probably want to party on the reception, be that you're from the carribean, look for hotels with smaller banquet rooms or even a theater that would be willing to have you rent their reception hall for like $500 or so. I know you have a lot of phone calls to make and your budget is limited in a city like New York to cover everything in the winter, no less, but trust me, you can do it. And I will be making some phone calls on your behalf and see what I come up with for you as well. Keep checking with us here at Vibride. We'll get you out. You'll see.

Find a place that will allow you to bring your own food. You could give $200 to a well-trusted friend and ask her or him to cook for your wedding. Then you could go to Costco, Sams or BJs and buy the things that you need for her to cook the food. You'll find it all at BJs. I once did a wedding like yours went to BJs and spent $150 including plates, plastic items to serve everyone and everybody was happy and the guest list was 72. So, you can definitely do this, with a lot of planning and no procrastinations. For the flowers, I can get you flowers for your entire bridal party under $300 in Brooklyn.

Your 12 year old daughter is old enough to be your junior bridesmaid, but I agree with your sister that the 7 year old is just too young but maybe, she could be an additional flowergirl.

With your sisters here at vibride, your wedding will be the talk of Brooklyn, but I want you to be tough and put your foot down right now. This is your day! Your vision!!! Everyone could just fall in line or be replaced. Don't stress yourself out. You deserve to be happy, so get to it already and plan. We have 9 months of planning to go,so, I will check my vendors and get back with you with some ideas and maybe, you might like them. Good luck to you sister!!!

Welcome to the site ladies!