Planning an Event on a Budget
Alright, quite a few readers need your help! You see, I’ve received numerous emails asking how to plan an event on a budget. Since I have so many smart and savvy readers, I thought instead of answering myself, I’d go ahead and ask for your tips and ideas!
Here are a few of the emails I’ve received:
“Hi Collin, I know that you are extremely busy but I was hoping you could give me some tips on planning a wedding on a budget. Any insight is greatly appreciated! Thank you :)”
“I am wondering if I can get some ideas from you and your readers on something… My parents are celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary this April and I am wanting to host a dinner/open house in their honor. It has been a tough 25 years and they are amazing parents and grandparents to my children. My question is how do I do something elegant and wonderful, but minimizing my costs. I need some creative ideas for this party.”
“Hey Collin! I’m wondering if you have any ideas on cheap food for my daughter’s birthday party. She’ll be 1 in a few weeks and I can’t for the life of me find any inexpensive sandwich platters or meats, cheeses, etc. There will be about 40 people including kids and parents and I don’t have any ideas on how to make both groups happy. Thanks!”
“My daughter is a Junior in High School and was invited to the prom.I do not have much $ to spend on a dress and was hoping you might have some ideas for us. We have been to the thrift shops and Craigslist but we haven’t had any luck yet. Any help would be appreciated.”
“My son is turning 3 in March, and I am looking for suggestions for a birthday party for him. We would love to have this in a location other than our home and I could really use some suggestions.”
Any Ideas or suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Thanks so much for your help!
No one says you have to have a meal at a birthday party. Just do a mid day party form 2-4 and have snacks and a cake. Or even something fun like a “candy buffett”. Have spread of different candy (which you can get with coupons or even the dollar store) for super cheap. Or have an ice cream social.
All 4 of my kids have summer b-days and i love it… we have a pool party in teh back yard and last year we got a huge bouncing pool/water slide with water cannons at Sams Club for $300… 2 months later that bouncer went on sale for $177 .. i took my recipt back to the store and got $123 back… now for the next 2-3 years the kids will have the same bouncer/pool/water slide thing and i wont be spending any money…. for renting entertainmet… Kids love it and i love the fact that i dont have to run around and try to entertain everyone….
For the wedding planner… the most efficient wedding I’ve seen is on a blog at http://www.younghouselove.com. Check out that and click on the “wedding” tab. Although you may not want a wedding in your backyard, they had some excellent cost cutting ideas. For example: it was cheaper to by silverware at IKEA than it was to rent some. Then they donated it after the wedding. Hope this helps.
We just celebrated my daughter’s first birthday and had a monkey theme. I decorated with yellow and brown things and instead of having cake, we had banana splits. So easy and much cheaper than cake!
Well, it might not be for everyone, but here’s what my husband and I did for our wedding.
First, we eloped. (This was way cheap, but might not be for everyone).
Second, afterwards, we had a reception/celebration at a local park. It was $50 to rent the pavilion. We went to Cosco and bought a big sheet cake ($30) and hot dogs, hamburgers, potato chips, pretzels, soda, juice and fixings (about $150 or $200). We ordered the paper goods in bulk online – just white plates, napkins, tablecloths and cups. ($25 with the shipping). I also took a thing of printer paper and brought some crayons and markers I had lying about. (probably $5 for the paper and who knows what for the crayons and markers).
We did an evite invitation (and asked for no gifts). About 100 or 150 people came, half of whom were under 10 (I teach at a dance studio – LOTS OF KIDS).
Total: Less than $300.
The best part was that we had the kids draw us pictures of what they thought our wedding looked like as presents. Made a great scrapbook!
as far as birthdays i’ve usually pick a theme and just do solid color plates/napkins/cups etc…sometimes maybe a plastic tablecloth or balloon w/ the theme just to tie it all in! as far as food….hotdogs are easy and cheap! you can also get a chicken finger tray from walmart then cut them up into thirds….makes it go alot further! also – forget sodas…make tea, lemonade or koolaid! i usually just go to hobby lobby and buy solid color paper to make invites usually a 12″ x 12″ pc of scrapbook paper is 25cent and i can make 3-4 invites out of it then use cute fonts and print my own! or evite…its FREE!! for cake…make a small round or square one then do cupcakes !
as far as wedding…it all depends on what you have in mind. I work at a party rental store and offer free advice all the time when people call looking for various vendors! also get a subscription to a couple of wedding mags like real simple or martha stewart…find a neat decoration and try to make it yourself! the trend these days is down home/at home/ small budget so don’t think you have to have the taj mahal just to be married! GOOD LUCK!!!
why so many exclamation points makes it kind of hard to read
For prom, check out the selection at Target. Nice, youthful dresses around $30.00. Go to Target.com and type in Prom into the search box. Also check out Nordstrom.com sale and Bluefly.com for off price deisgner dresses.
check target’s dress clearance for bridesmaids. I got my bridesmaid dresses for $4 clearance and they were black strapless, and knee length black. You could also use them for prom dresses.
Oops. forgot to give you the link to their clearance…. sorry
https://www.target.com/New-Clearance-Dresses-Women/b/ref=sc_fe_l_1/189-3000724-4786104?ie=UTF8&node=1272512011
The reception is 50% of the cost, so start to save there. Go to your local park & rec website and there are many beautiful public spaces you can rent for next to nothing. Also look at Museums,
private Art Galleries, Historic Buildings that are not traditional loactions. You can get a good rate & it will be unique.
Have a “HEARTY APPETIZER ” reception and save money on food. Have only 1 signature drink and look for wine on sale over the holiday time period.
Look for a dress on Ebay. Be sure to go to your local bridal shop & try on the different designers. That way you know what you like and what size you need to by. Also, try Macy’s & Nordstrom. They mark down dresses seasonally and do carry wedding style dresses.
Go to your local farmers market and find a florist. They will be able to provide your flowers for a fraction of the cost.
Check out Etsy.com for beautiful, custom handcrafted inviations that are affordable!
For our wedding, we did an outdoor ceremony at a local park, we lived in the same city so there was no fee to reserve the park, we only had to pay the pastor that married us. Flowers are easy to do on your own, day before I went to Costco where you can get 2 doz roses for 15 I think, just put them in a pretty bunch and wrap ribbon around stems.
Rather than having our reception at a hall, we had it at one of our favorite local restaurants. We ended up paying $11 per person, with drinks, coffee tea, and a chocolate fountain to keep everyone entertained while we had pictures done. Also.. forget expensive floral arrangements for the tables. Go for something that means something two the two of you. My hubby and I met at a Starbucks… so we filled glass cylinders with coffee beans and put votive cups in the middle.. turned out cute and the room smelled yummy! For favors we did coffee scoops with ribbon tied around them and a lil” note that said “thanks a latte.”
For my son’s 1st birthday we had the party in our church fellowship hall (free location and big enough for our huge crowd). We did a construction theme. Decor was black plastic table cloths with yellow duct tape, dashed to look like roads. I found some small inexpensive orange cones ($2.50 for 6- Target dollar bin) for the table also to add to the decor. Made some signs out of poster board. I ordered construction hats from Oriental Trading and even used some of the hats as bowls with small kid shovels as spoon/servers. We did pizza. It’s easy and pleases all crowds with no worry of sides and a bunch of fixins. I called around to all pizza places around town to get price quotes on who could give me the best deal. We did have a cake, but I also did a toy dump truck with brownies in the back to appear as dirt. Truck was then a toy for my son and there are always deals on brownies. Then as far as having things for the kids to do, I set up “work areas” with different contruction themed things. Made a homemade game out of stickers and posterboard. Sat out little tape measures for kids to measure pretaped areas. These areas weren’t so much a hit to the kids, but the big area with a house, dump truck and little cars all made out of boxes with construction dress up things and tools. The kids loved it! I called my local Lowes and got range and refridgerator boxes donated to me for free. We spray painted them, however I wouldn’t recommend it because it got a little more costly than we would have liked and didn’t give me the look I had hoped for! I got a lot of complements and had a total blast planning it! I did just colored plates,napkins, plasticware to save in cost also. Themed plates are expensive, especially if it’s a big party. We invited over 100 people all including kids too. Oh yeah and my treat bags were brown lunch sacs with some themed stuff inside (my fav was the 2 choc. donuts/spare tires). Check out the internet for awesome creative ideas. Let your imagination go. No need to rent some expensive place to have fun. Plus the price you pay for the rush you get to me is so not worth it!
I love this idea for my sons first birthday. Thanks for sharing.
Weddings…search the web, Dollar Stores, Oriental Trading, Big Lots store clearance at Michaels or Joann Fabrics (plus use their weekly ad coupons for reg merchandise). You can also be crafty and make decorations with your Bridesmaids and use handy web sites like Martha Stewart for ideas.
Anniversary & Birthday Parties….if you have a Gordons Foods they have alot of food for lil $ and they have coupons that you can usually save $5 oR $10 on a $50 or more purchase, or go to Sams or Costco for some nice cakes and food also. Oriental Trading once again has some items you could use for various occasions for a decent price. I would maybe buy some Dove Bliss candies and package them up cute and hand out for the Anniversary Party as to say 25 Blissful Years of Marriage!
Birthday Party Locations: Indoor Putt-Putt, Bowling Alleys, Movie Theaters, Kids Zones like Chuck E Cheese & Little Ceasers etc, McDonalds Playhouse, Recreational Center in your neighborhood, Skating Station.
Hope these scattered ideas help
I am getting married in May and am determined to do as much as I can with my new couponing skills. I have been stockpiling chinet plates and napkins for free or almost free. I am going to have hearty appetizers and will use coupons to buy food and drinks. Always use coupons at Michael’s and JoAnn’s to get invites and decorations. Flowers are going to be bought the day of at a local farmers market and tied up with Ribbon I got on sale.
I am actually getting excited to see how much I can save and still have a great wedding!
i am so glad collin did this article because i am also looking for some ideas.
my daughter will be turning 21 on 2/8 she is in college.
i never had the chance to give a b-day party growing up. (you know those girly ones).
as i was a single mom, well she has grown into one awesome amazing young lady.
and with the biggest heart i’ve ever known and i really wants to make her feel special
even though i am unemployed at the moment.
i would really love if you ladies would like to share some ideas that would be great.
i have a max budget of $600 to spend i know thats not alot but i really wants to do something special for her.
thanks.
When I turned 16 my Dad threw me a surprise party, and the best part of it was the scrap book that he bought, and everyone signed to say something good about me. He also had my friends bring pics if they could, and took pictures of the party, which I put in the book. I am 40 years old now, and still look at that book every now and then.
$600 could go a very long way if you invited her closest friends…. how many could she have? Make a great dinner at home, then treat them all to a pedicure or something together.
For $600 you could rent a beach house off season ( if you are near the coast) and do a girls weekend there. I’m in SC, and some of them sleep 30 people!
Good luck,,,,, your a GREAT Mom!
This is just an idea and without knowing you or your daughter, this may not be for you. But I think this is the cutest ‘gift’ idea for a 21st birthday.
My friend’s mom put together a basket with 21 fruity alcoholic bottles (anything from margaritas, flavored beer, daquiri’s, etc.) and then tied a $1 scratch lotto ticket on each bottle. I figure you can get away with this for around $40.
I think it’s unique and fun way to celebrate the big 2-1! Also, for my 21st my mom blew up my driver’s license picture (at Kinko’s) and put it on a poster board for me to carry around to the bars. It was hilarious and all of my friends signed the back of it. Again, may not be for you or your daughter, but I had to share! 🙂
We rented a limo with a few of my closest friends and bar hopped all night–such fun.
guess what i love this idea she’s been asking if i would have a drink with her when she turns 21 to celebrate her legall to. but i don’t drink at all so this is even a little easier on the mind for me i know she will go to have that drink with or without me.
so question where would i get these at at regular store or liquor store not too sure any help on names of brand would be great.
thanks.
Any liquor store will have a section of ‘fruity drinks’. They will be in bottles, probably 6 packs – so you could do 3-4 six packs of different kinds. Most people that work in liquor stores will be able to help you out or at least point you in the right direction. Just explain to them what you are wanting to do. There will be a lot of varieties, so you should be able to choose the cheapest kinds. **Smirnoff makes a spritzer that comes in many flavors and I’ve even bought the ‘value pack’. It’s a 12 pack of bottles with different flavors – probably around $10-$13?? Also, MIke’s Hard Lemonade comes in lots of flavors. Hope that helps!!
Grocery stores carry these too (depending on your state probably)… however, the selection will not be as good. Grocery stores may be cheaper though since the liquor content is not as high. (at least it’s not in KS)
Let me know if you have other questions! Callie
there are lots of students in massage school and beauty school who need and are required to practice. you could hire them to come and do a spa night. Thow in a chocolate fountain and drinks and you have one great evening
I love the idea of a spa night. With $600 you could even rent a hotel room for the girls to have their night in. If you don’t have a local massage school, call your local nail places. I know where I get pedicures, you can have parties there and it is very reasonable. You just choose what services the girls will get and that determines the price.
To the Prom dress dilemma: I am now 24 and when I was in High school my mom and I did the same thrift shop and goodwill search for dresses & no such luck. We actually ended up in the clearance section of Von Maur (similar to macy’s) and found a dress for $5 and the cashier gave us a coupon for 50% off our purchase. I got a beautiful prom dress for $2.50!!!! I would suggest checking out the clearance sections in high end stores like Nordstrom, Von Maur, Macy’s, Dillards, etc. I have been shopping their markdowns ever since and have scored some really awesome deals.
For the 3 year olds birthday… we just did this in October for my son (also turned 3) We contacted the local fire department and they were happy to have us come for a tour. They let the kids sit in the fire trucks, did a “friendly firefighter” presentation (went from regular uniform to completely dressed – mask and all, so that the kids would learn not to be afraid of the firefighters when they’re dressed in full gear), showed the kids all the equipment (my son especially liked the chainsaws & jaws of life) and toured the living quarters. They gave us sticker badges, fireman hats and gift bags… best of all it was completely free! We did pizza & cupcakes at our house afterward, but if we had wanted to do cake & ice cream there, they would have let us decorate up their meeting room for it! As far as supplies, we just got red & white plastic tablecloths, red balloons, streamers & plates at the dollar store. The kids loved it!
That is such a great idea! I may have to do that next year for my son when he turns 3.
I threw a hug combo B Day party for 4 people who had birthdays in my family within a week or so apart form each other. It was an Elmo theme, because my daughter was turning 2, Nephew 16, Uncle 32, and her sitter at the time 24… so I made up this “Elmo Amazing Race game”, where you had to find the “Elmo Keeper” to get the next clue, do whatever it was on the card to get your next clue. We broke up into 3 teams, each team starting out at a different “Elmo Station throughout our local County Park ( which was Free). One station included the playground area, where my husband was sitting in a little kid house, but they had to do the obstical course to find him, another was a cupcake decorating station, and the third was a ballon making game and flying an actual kite. The winning team got to come up and their kids get their goodie bags, then everyone else. We did Burgers, dogs, potato salad, beans and an emormous cake that I made. I kept her 3 year old party low key, at home family only, but there were many calls as to where the next big Birthday party would be. I did all this for about 80 people for about $200 total, GREAT gift bags and all! Be creative…. your party is as big or as small as you make it! What a good time!
For the prom dresses check Deb Shops they usually have really awesome dresses on the cheap. I got my full size ball gown for 60 bucks! Also check out bridal shops clearance racks or sometimes even the bridesmaids dresses. You can get some AWESOME deals there!!. Forever21 has tons of dresses for under 40 dollars!
On Craigslist dont forget to search bridesmaids gowns as well 🙂
http://www.15dollarstore.com nothing is more then 15 dollars and they have some CUTE! short dresses
I also just typed cheap dresses into Amazon and got tons and tons of amazing cute dresses!!
For her jewelry try to borrow from your friends if that does not work out then you can always get cheap sparkly stuff from walmart, target, or Claires!
For our wedding I found an incredible price on a “relocation” cruise from Cananda to the Hawaiian Islands… 11 days, 6 days at sea, and 5 days in port to different islands. I booked this and did our wedding theme as a Luau. It was a blast! We got married inthe garden at an Abby, then had the reception at a military hall that my friend reserved for me. It was only like $75 or so. I made all the food, cake, etc…. it was a bit crazy, but we had a great time. I went online and ordered a big econo pack of Hawaiian flowers, flown in fresh- $225, and I did the arrangements in 6 lb green bean cans, wrapped in Bananna leaves, with a floer sponge crammed in the middle. I gave them away to key guest at the end. We roasted a pig, and had way to much food! We didn’t ask for gifts, but donations for our honeymoon. It was incredible! Our friends and family gave us enough to pay for the cruise, flight and spending $$$ while on our incredible trip!! It was a wedding I will never forget!
One more thing about my wedding… I found my wedding dress at a consignment shop on super clearance for $10.50. It was PERFECT for the Luau, and was made by Black House White Market. What a STEAL…. it was consigned at the wrong time of the year is all I could think! That dress must have retailed for a couple hundred dollars!
When I got married 3 years ago, it was a fairly simple affair. We pulled it together in a day 🙂
My dress came from Whiteelegance.com It’s an LDS company and their dresses are made to be “Temple dresses” so they are modest and pretty. Mine was a little over $100, I think
My mother-in-law went to Joanne and got several bolts of tulle in pink and brown. We used several layers as table cloths (then later they were turned into tutus for my nieces) and for centerpieces I printed out several engagement pictures/dating pictures and got pretty frames from Big Lots. So afterwards, I hung them all around our house. We got frozen appetizers from Costco. We also got a couple of filled sheet cakes from Costco and a small cheesecake (for the 2 of us) from Cheesecake Factory. The morning of the wedding, my sister, mother-in-law, sisters-in-law and I went to Costco and got a bunch of flowers and tied them with pretty ribbon and tulle. We got married in my parent’s backyard, under a tree I grew up climbing (that was once the site of my treehouse) instead of an arch. All in all my wedding cost under $1200-most of which was renting chairs/tables
I think you had such wonderful ideas for your wedding. Such inspiration to make the day simple and meaningful!
For the wedding, think outside the box there are tons of places you can use FOR FREE
I was married in a fire station (free) and even scored a fire truck for a get away vehicle! (hubs is a volunteer fireman)
I bought my custom made wedding gown from Ebay for 100 dollars from china, I got to design it too! For 100 dollars after shipping
Ebay will be your best friend, we scored custom napkins for 5 dollars, also got GREAT deals on stuff to make our favors (we made glitter magnets with our names and dates on them in the shapes of fire trucks and stuff..ordered the wood cutouts on ebay) the best part is..everyone still has them!! bubbles, rose petals, votives with the clear glass holders. All of your engravables too. They are so expensive to have engraved but if you order them off Ebay you can get them cheaper and engraved FOR FREE
Dollar tree candles rock after you add some ribbon or glitter, you can also get table cloths and sooo many other things from the dollar store start making weekly trips because you never know what youll find
If you know someone that knows how to make elegant cakes ask them to make yours if not Walmart has some seriously pretty wedding cakes you can order for like 130 bucks
We are not a typical couple and did NOT want a typical wedding meal..we had a taco bar! Even came with the plates forks and glasses
If your bridesmaids are planning on getting professionals to do their hair/makeup/nails..plan to go together..I got the works FOR FREE! that way
Florists are fleeping expensive..seriously expensive..but grocery stores that do floral ARE NOT start scoping them out we saved a ton of money this way..and I mean A TON..
rexcraft.com for invites…people say its cheaper to print them yourself but after you spend the money on the paper and ink and the ribbons and what not your actually spending more and using your time..rexcraft has 100s for cheap
In the end we spent about 5k for EVERYTHING to do with our wedding and easily saved 7k
Good luck and congrats 🙂
i saw it in the comments above, and i’ll second it. i once got a prom dress from the clearance racks in sears for $4. try all the big department store clearance in your local mall and see what you can find! most of the dresses in the thrift stores i’ve seen tend to be extremely dated.
also, do you know any recent high school grads that are/were around your daughter’s size? see if one of them might have a dress they would loan you for the day. i have 2 hanging in the back of my closet still, and i’m a recent college grad. mine have been loaned to my little sister a few times.
Coupon Gal just posted a party city $10 off $30.
https://www.coupongal.net/2010/01/party-city-10-off-30-coupon.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+coupongal%2Fousd+%28Coupon+Gal%29&utm_content=Yahoo!+Mail
My son had his birthday at a park. We did not pay to reserve the awning with picnic benches but we didn’t need too! It was a great day outside and we used a picnic bench under a tree. 🙂
Sorry if I repeat anything, but I just skimmed through the previous responses…
So, event planning is a passion of mine, and while I do it amateurishly now, I hope to soon open my own business. Having said that, I’ve planned tons of events; everything from my parent’s 25th anniversary to kids birthday parties to my own wedding.
My main money-saving tip for any party, is to do as much of it as possible yourself.
For my wedding, I saved a lot of $$ by doing everything myself (along with my crack ‘team’ of my best friend & mom). Also, from the beginning, we saved on the venue by having the wedding on a Sunday (which is on ‘off’ day) and booking one facility for the ceremony and reception. We also chose a facility (it was actually a beautiful vineyard) that gave us a full 12 hours, which was a big advantage to most that give you 6-8 hours. Like I said, everything was done by us and rather than keep things ‘simple’ as is typical advice, we just kept things creative. I really utilized Martha Stewart’s wedding website, for a lot of ideas. It was much cheaper than buying those wedding magazines! ;0)
We made our own wedding programs and saved a small fortune by buying supplies from the craft stores. They turned out gorgeous! We also made our own favors. We bought some small metal tins and filled them with M&Ms in our coordinating colors (purple & silver) and also created wedding CDs (this was 8 years ago, before this was popular) downloading our favorite songs and customizing them with our engagement photo (that family took). Please don’t listen to people who will tell you to skip the favors, because they’re too expensive or unnecessary. Your guests may have come a long way to see you, bought new clothes, taken time off from work, etc. A wedding favor is a little memento that they got to be a part of your special day. Use the dollar store or even dollar section at Target. You can come up with something great for very cheap!
For the flowers, we went to a wholesale flower shop and bought everything we needed to make the bridesmaids bouquets and boutonnières (I did have them make my bouquet). I enlisted the help of my bridesmaids to put them together and they turned out amazing (and we saved a small fortune). My wedding cake was a gift from my best friend’s mom (mt second mom) who made us a gorgeous cake that would’ve have cost about $600. I would guess most of us have at least an acquaintance with someone who makes cakes (even if you can get it at a discount). There is much more I can say on this subject, but let’s just say, you can have your dream wedding and not spend a small fortune!
Kids birthday parties are an absolute favorite of mine! I joke that I only had kids so I could guarantee having parties every year. ;0) If I can stress one thing for a kids birthday party, it’s to have it at home, if possible. It really will save you a lot of money, not just on the venue, but food, drinks, transportation, etc. Also, by all means, pick a theme, but keep it simple and relevant to your child. So, don’t go with a murder-mystery party for a two year old. Also, it’s best to go with a non-character theme, so you’re not spending a ton of money of décor. Stick with something generic, like fairies, firetrucks, etc. So far, for my son, we’ve done monkeys (1st birthday), airplanes (he loved ’em!), and pirates. My daughter just had her first birthday and it was a cupcake theme. By doing these generic themes, I can make most everything myself. I make all my own decorations using my printing program (Printshop) and printing at home. I always have loot bags for the kids (again, I’m pretty passionate about this) but pick up as much as possible from the Dollar Tree or Target’s dollar section. I also use Oriental Trading company, because I can sometimes get stuff for multiple parties. Another trick of mine, is to pick the theme well in advance (I have both my kids themes picked out for next Oct & Dec already) because you can buy stuff on sale/clearance in advance to save even more. I like to have parties between food times, so between 2-4PM. You shouldn’t need as much food this way, and can keep it pretty simple. Pizza, quesadillas, chicken nuggets are great main courses, Add some chips, veggies fruit and punch and you’re not spending a lot. And, do not buy a cake! That’s where a lot of the expense goes, and you just don’t need it. I usually make a special cake for the birthday boy/girl and then make a bunch of cupcakes for guests (buy an inexpensive cupcake stand, which you can use for all your parties). Decorate them to go with the theme using candies, colored frosting or even make your own cupcake toppers.
I have several of my parties listed on my blog, so feel free to check them out for ideas!
https://turnerfamilyx4.blogspot.com/
For the mom of a 3 year old who wants a party at a location other than home…I have a friend who is doing her 3 year old’s party at Chic-Fil-A on any Tuesday night so that a kids meal is free with an adult meal purchase. And the kids LOVE the indoor play area.
For the 1 year old Birthday party… We always do hot dogs and hamburgers and people dont mind because they know it is a childrens b-day party. Also, If you have a store that does meals deals thats a great way to get amazing deals. My oldest sons birthday is near labor day weekend so our store always has a deal. Example: If you buy 2 packs of hot dogs you get everything to make them free (mustard, ketsup, relish, cheese, etc.) FREE! For his 2nd birthday I think we spent like 9 dollars and fed 40 people!
For the 3 year old Birthday party… Have you tried your local Zoo or Childrens Museum? They sometimes have packages that are pretty inexpensive. We always have our kids parties at home because I find that half the time they fall asleep before everything is done, so its just easier on me, lol.
Good Luck 🙂
Oh I forgot the Junior high dress. Try major retailers online or instore for clearence. They always have amazing deals if you dont wait until right at prom time. Also, You might try a bridal shop. I know we have an alfred angelo near us and when i got married they had a clearance rack in the back with some awesome looking dresses and they didnt look bridesmaid at all!
I forgot to mention:
Year before last, my stepdad’s parents and my mom’s parents were celebrating their 50th anniversaries in the same month. We threw them a surprise party at a local church and they let us make a donation as the rental fee. The big splurge was a local singing group that did 50s style music ( it was a 50s theme).
To save a TON of money ( there were probably about 200 people there) , we did it potluck. Everyone raved about the food and no one acted like we were “cheaping out”. Everyone wanted to pitch in and made dishes they were famous for. The family made sure that we had plenty of meat, etc. and there was tons of food for everyone.
Some of the family videoed the event. A friend helped make a slideshow with old family pics from both sides of the family which we showed at the party and then burned CDs for the guests of honor. We contacted the local paper and they even came out and covered the event!
I’ve had to throw 2 birthdays in the past year each on a VERY tight budget and the ‘teacher’ in me must have a theme, structure, decorations and be entertaining/rememberable for ALL.
My son’s 3rd birthday party was thrown at our local park this summer. We had a ‘Mickey Mouse’ theme. The park was PERFECT and (FREE); as my son already called it “Mickey’s Clubhouse.” I printed my own invites on card stock with creative ‘Hot Diggity Dog’ wording and then pulled off and glued the Mickey head shapes from the paint samples (FREE) at Home Depot for an added touch of color and cuteness. I had my sister-in-law assist me in taping more Home Depot Mickey paint samples (FREE) of various colors throughout the playground area for a seek & find game for the kiddos…kids each won a Mickey sticker as a prize for participation. I baked my own cupcakes…buying my supplies on sale AND with coupons…I used milk chocolate frosting and stuck 2 Grasshopper Keebler cookies in the top to look like Mickey ears. I then choose based on sales/coupons and heat to serve melon balls, cheese puffs and large marshmellows. To drink, I froze various colored Kool-aid flavors(CHEAP!!!) to make ice cubes and served them with Lemon-lime soda and ‘crazy’ straws — this was a favorite of the ‘BIG’ kids. Another tip is to provide small cups for your drinks, so that your ‘little’ bit will go a LONG way…
My youngest turned 1 this year and I truly wanted to throw him at 1st birthday bash similiar to his brothers 1st. We did a sports ball theme; to use items we already had — BALLS. I borrowed from our church a football banner (FREE) used for a past sermon series to line our front walk — indoor/outdoor green carpeting marking the yardage in white electrical tape. My mother-in-law ‘scored’ a life size football player cutout (FREE) from the VA Lottery that had been displayed at a local gas station — I taped a picture of the birthday boy to the face of the football helmet. I then decorated the present opening area with triangle shaped flags cut from poster board — I hung 1 flag for each month of his 1st year to our mantle and taped pictures for each month of the past year. To help with costs, I asked specific family members to assist with purchasing invites, balloons and cake — asking them to make that their gift rather than giving toys that we DON’T need…they REALLY enjoyed feeling like they were helping to make his day special! I then plan a meal of “bats and balls” to coordinate with the theme — corn dogs(bats) and used ice cream scoops to dish out the sides(balls) mashed potatoes(baseballs), baked beans(basketballs) and mac-n-cheese(tennis balls).
I actually think these parties will go down as being 2 of our families’ favorites and I too personally enjoyed being extra creative in having to ‘stretch’ of birthday budgets!
We had our son’s 1st b-day party (last December) at Chick-fil-A and had a great time. There were 13 people (including us) and we just got everyone the nugget meal. We would have gone with a nugget tray had we of had more people. We spent like $60. Chick-fil-a gave us 5 * service and they’ll either provide balloons for you, or you can bring your own balloons and they’ll blow them up for you. We had a wonderful time!
For the prom dress, there are non-profit orgs across the country that give away FREE gently worn (and sometimes new) prom dresses to girls, so see if you can find one in your area. Also, I have seen fabulous prom dresses at Marshalls and TJ Maxx for $30. And at least if needed, you could take advantage of their layaway plan.
For the Mom whose daughter was invited to prom, I work at Davids Bridal and I know that my store in OKlahoma has a clearence rack, there are lots of great styles that are around 39 to 79 dollars….. just some ideas… also if you get your prom dress there you will get discounts on shoes bra jewelry ect…. Same goes for wedding dress if anyone else needs a way to save the 99 dollar sa;e is going on and there are perks with buying at davids… lots of coupons 😉
I think it’s important to serve good food that people want to eat at a party, so hot dogs are out. Consider cheaper themes like a taco bar. Taco meat, cheese, lettuce etc, with a seven layer dip or guacamole. Or a western theme with sloppy joes and a pasta salad and chips. Also never buy a platter at the store. So expensive. cut your own veggies. For sandwich ideas get the mini croissants at sam’s and make your own chicken salad, little piece of lettuce and it looks pretty good. You can even buy good chicken salad at GFS or sam’s for around $10-$15. Sam’s cakes are pretty cheap, but if you want to go cheaper make your own cake or cupcakes and freeze them if you don’t have enough time around the time of the party. Pull them out the morning of the party and allow to thaw on the counter top. Tons of wedding cake ladies use this method.Good luck!
We had a fishing themed party and I cut out fish shapes from construction paper and let my kids decorate them. We used the $1 plastic tableclothes from the dollar store in blue and stuck the fish on them and hung some from the ceiling. It looked great and the kids were really excited about it.
When we had a firefighting theme I picked up some plastic fire trucks and plastic fire hats from the thrift store for $0.25 (I didn’t want to pay the $1 at the dollar store for them). I set those out on the table and made the firetruck cake from familyfun.com. After lunch I let the kids have the hats and trucks.
For our mother/daughter tea party I used a white table cloth and bought some fake roses in fuchsia. I pulled the flowers off the stems and lay them all over the table. I also got fuchsia paper plates and used the white tea cups I had. It looked gorgeous. The girls were so impressed and it only cost about $4.
Regarding finding an inexpensive prom dress… I highly recomment Ross, if you have one close by. My daughter was able to get a beautiful black dress for her winter formal and the price was right at $14.99. On top of that score, she found matching shoes on clearance at Payless for $7. Her look was perfect!
Check to see if your state capital building, or other govt. buildings, allow taxpayers to have their wedding there FREE (Indiana does, in downtown Indpls, & it’s beautiful). You get the added perk of the downtown area & skyline for pics.
My daughter had a Christmas wedding….great if you know the year ahead to buy decos up to 90% off! We also had lots of lights & greenery we already owned to use.
Another great, inexpensive centerpiece…email relatives to send you enlargements of THEIR wedding picture. Matted & placed on an inexpensive easel or photo stand, these also make a great conversation starter for guests. Plus the participants love being part of the reception!
So many great ideas!
For a kid’s birthday party, a cupcake party is awesome. Make cupcakes ahead of time, then let the kids frost them and have bowls of sprinkles, etc sitting around for them to use. Way cheaper than buying a cake.
And for prom dresses, American Rescue Workers have a ‘Project Esther’ in some locations for those who can’t afford all the fancy stuff. They usually provide the dress, shoes, and accessories. They have people available to alter them as needed too.
When I turned 13 my Mom took me out and spent a lot of money on new clothes for me. We also went to lunch. Just the 2 of us. I know when I was in college I had very, very little money for clothes. Possibly, she might enjoy going out with her Mom and being “spoiled” for the day. You could even go to a nearby city and stay the night with the amount of money you have to spend. Personally, I am not the type that would have felt comfortable going out with my mom drinking and I doubt my daughter will want to go out with me when she is 21. Out to a nice dinner and a cocktail would have been ok though, just my opinion.
We always serve lasagna, salad, italian bread, a few appetizers and a cake at our kids birthdays. It’s their favorite meal and it’s their day.
And to the person planning the wedding. I have never kept any of the “favors” or “trinkets” that I have been given at a wedding. The bridal couple would have been off just not spending the money on the “stuff” that ends up cluttering up someone else’s house IMO.
I just got married in July and I did everything really cheap, but very nice with a sit down dinner (appetizers,drink, salad, dessert and 3 meats), dj, dancing all night, bar, beautiful flowers, linens and photographer. I had a $30,000 wedding with 150 guests on a $6,000 budget. I could have done it for even less but this is my first marriage and last, and I’m 34 years old, so I’ve been waiting a long time for the right one. I also had family coming in from all over the country so I didn’t want to throw a small reception at church with just cake and punch. The biggest way I saved money was by using a reception hall on a military base. My father is retired military and we were able to use their facilities for free. You don’t have to have a relative that is military to do this just a friend who is retired or active who will sponser you. My dad was Navy but we used an army base because it was the closest to my house. (40 minute drive) They included dance floor, plasma tv’s for the slide show, piano, dj equipment, tables, silverware, linens, wait staff etc. (It looked just like an expensive hotel ballroom which would have cost us about $15,000 in this area) All I had to pay for was the food which was very reasonably priced. (also no tax) I did have to book this one year in advance because I was getting married in the summer and it is very popular.
I also saved money by ordering flowers from Sam’s club online, they deliver right to your door for very reasonable prices. My mom and her friends made all the flower bouquets, and table toppers decorations. I also got some flowers from local wholesale flower shop.
We hired a couple who does photography on the side from my church to take the pictures. They were about $1,500 less then the nearest competitor. They also included engagement pictures and bridal portrait and all digital rights to all pictures.
I also hired a DJ from my church who gave me a $300 discount.
I did not hire a video person but wish I had because my video did not turn out at all. I used Michael’s 40% coupon for anything I needed (aisle runner, card box, etc.)
I borrowed as much as I could from friends and family, (veil, jewerly, tiarra, unity candle, flower girl dress) This saved me so much money, the veil and tiarra alone was over $400.
I got my hair done at a local beauty school for $15, instead of $100 at a salon.
My mom purchased the cake, but I wanted to use a cake from Cosco. They have wonderful cakes for $15. I wish I had done this because our cake tasted terrible and it was $400, money wasted in my opinion.
I found lots of items I needed at the dollar store, thrift stores, yard sales (votive candle holders for all the tables, another flower girl’s dress, decorations)
I bid on a tux at a local silent auction and got it for only $25, so that saved us about $100 for my stepson’s tux. (Hubby got his for free) I purchased my dress for cheap at David’s Bridal. I had to use a church that was not mine because the army base was 40 minutes away. We picked one that was only $300 and this included everything, (sound system, ect). They even let us use their candleabra’s. Rental on that alone is $100.
I made my favors, did pink and green M&M’s in party favor boxes that I purchase cheap. Boxes on clearance for only $15 total, M&M cheap (pink from breast cancer awareness month and green from valentines day. Way cheaper than ordering them from their website. My brother did our programs, invitations, table numbers, and magnet favors with our names and dates we got married (he is a graphic designer)
The best way to save money is to give yourself plenty of time to do it. I had a year to plan and paid as I went. I payed cash for everything and picked up a part time job to pay for it. If you don’t have much time it might be better to have a wedding at a park as suggested or just elope. But if you want the big wedding you see in the magazines for very cheap it is possible.
Lots of GREAT wedding saving ideas…
We too saved on our reception costs, by booking the same night as the Miss VA Pagent. The hotels ONLY stipulations were to set up the same way they had planned(buffet style, tables, etc.), use the same DJ and be out before a certain time. Miss VA paid for the dance floor, most of the DJ fees and we even got a BIGGER ballroom than we would have been able to afford!
We too used a pair of ladies that are photographers from our church…this too worked out GREAT for us, yes, it was cheaper, but the greatest thing is that they knew most of our family and friends to get many priceless shots and memories.
I write a Blog about Planning Proms & have lots of great Articles there! I hope you can visit it and let me know what you think! Alot of Awesome Ideas here! Keep on Partyin
http://www.AwesomePromAdvice.com
Cher!
For the wedding question – we did our wedding for $5k total, and I’ve helped a few friends cut budget on their weddings! Here’s a few best ideas:
1. as a previous comment mentioned, reception is half your total cost, so that’s a great place to start! If you aren’t lucky enough to have family who will cook (as my sister in law did), think outside the box – have a brunch or luncheon instead of dinner reception (half the cost per plate!), have family-style dining instead of buffet (buffets are often MORE expensive than plated dinners), or do a dessert-only reception after a late ceremony!
2. Check local consignment shops for your dress. My friend and I found her wedding gown AND matching tiara for under $500 at a consignment shop, the dress was originally over $900 alone!
3. Make your own invitations! Craft stores often do great sales on cardstock, and scrapbooking supplies make it easy to dress up and personalize your invites! We did all of our wedding stationery for under $50. (another tip – instead of response cards with envelopes, opt for postcards! The return postage is cheaper and it will add less weight to your invitation for mailing!)
4. Unless you’re DEAD SET on having a traditional wedding cake, think outside the box! We had one 10″ precut cheesecake at each table, and our florist did a nice flower topper for each one so they doubled as the centerpieces. The reception hall provided sauces at no cost since they didn’t have to do any cake cutting. Total cost including flowers? $180 . Cupcakes make another frugal cake alternative, and look awesome on a cupcake tree!
Something else I forgot to mention… Check with local businesses about getting deals, discounts, even freebies. It NEVER hurts to ask, and you might just get a really great deal on something.
We got a giant garbage bag filled with rose petals from Costco. The lady that fills the flowers told us they just throw them out after the roses are trimmed, so told us we could just have them! we purchased some glassine envelopes for very cheap, filled them with the rose petals, sealed them with wax (used a stamp w/our initials) and each guest got one, so they could throw them at us after the ceremony.
We also hired a very inexpensive DJ, who provided a lot of extra services. The gal (they were a married couple/team) helped me and my bridesmaids get cued up for walking down the aisle & even straightened my gown for me right before I walked down the aisle! So, not only did we save a lot of money on hiring a DJ, as opposed to a band, but the extras really added up to make it an even better deal.
And, we even got someone to do our hair & makeup FREE! My mom was talking to the gal cutting her hair about a month before the wedding, and she told my mom that she loved weddings & offered her services. She actually came to us (which was about 20 miles outside of the city) and offered to do hair & makeup free for everyone in the bridal party. I even gave her a picture I got from a magazine & she replicated it perfectly. We took up a tip collection for her anyway (no way I would have let her leave empty handed) and SHE started crying. Even with the ‘tip’ it was still a huge money-saver!
So, check around for everything! Don’t be afraid to ask for a deal or if you are, assign someone to do it for you (mom, birdesmaid, etc). You’d be surprised at what you can get!
Sangria for wedding drinks! I know some people are worried about paying for a full-on bar. If you are in a situation where you can bring your own alcohol, that doesn’t mean you have to try to pay for a full-on bar. I am getting one keg of beer for the guys and for the drink I am buying bottles of “two buck chuck” to make Sangria! This wine is Charles Schwab at Trader Joes and is only $2 per bottle. Fresh and Easy also now has bottles of wine for $1.99, which I haven’t tried yet…but if anyone is concerned about taste…it’s Sangria so you’re doctoring it up anyway with fruit juices and floating fruit. I am making a white sangria and red sangria.
Costco has awesome flowers. My parents are wedding photographers and they get to see flowers and cakes and venues ALL the time and they are always so impressed with Costco’s flowers. They are cheap, too! =)
Ask your photographer’s advice – they are local and they see it all – they spend WHOLE days at weddings. They talk to the bride and groom before the wedding, during, and after. They know what venues are not worth the money and which ones are great deals, what the people are like to work with, and everything. They know what bakeries bring the cakes on time! lol They know what bridal shops had good customer service and which ones the brides get mad about. And find out if they know of anyone that would give you a deal. My parents do ad photography for florists, makeup artists, etc. Some of those people actually WANT you for their portfolios/websites. My parents have had florists make beautiful bouquets and set up a whole huge reception area JUST FOR PICTURES! They totally could hook someone up with those flowers. It is so worth asking!
Prom dresses: Do you sew or know anyone that does? I would much rather design my own dress and make it myself than try on a bazillion dresses. And, it’s way cheaper, especially with a coupon @ JoAnn Fabrics! =P I just let my daughter design her own princess dress for her 5-year-old birthday. She looked at the David’s Bridal website and told me what she liked and didn’t like and picked out her own fabric. =)