How to Plan a Wedding on a Small Budget of $1,000

Last updated on August 29, 2024

Getting married is not cheap! But we’re guessing the most important thing isn’t how much you spend. It’s about who you’re spending your life with! If you can come up with $1,000, then we have some thrifty and creative wedding ideas on a budget.

Plan the guest list

In order to plan a wedding for under $1,000, you have to work on keeping the guest list small. Remember, as your guest list grows, so do your food and venue costs. Keep it intimate and invite people who really matter to you.

For our planning purposes below, we’ll keep the wedding guest list at 100 people. We’re also including higher-priced options in case you can save money in some areas and splurge in others!

🧾 Running Total: $0

Choose the wedding venue

Finding an inexpensive venue is as easy as looking in your own backyard! Or your parents’ or friends’ backyards. Backyard weddings are intimate, romantic, and, most of all, cheap. Think about how you could create a wedding space using the places you already love the most.

Public spaces are another budget-friendly option. Consider local parks or beaches for a venue! You may have to pay a small rental or location fee, but they are usually very affordable and vary by city. Check with your local park board for permits needed and pricing. National parks are a bit more pricey, ranging from $50-$200 based on the location.

If you prefer a church ceremony, those fees vary by location and size of the church and usually start at $100. However, if it’s the church you or one of your family members attend, you may be able to get married for much less or even for free. College or university chapels are often great options because they’re pretty but not as expensive to rent.

Venue Total: $0-$200

🧾 Running Total: $0-$200

Find an officiant

Even if you’re having a simple wedding ceremony, it’s nice to have someone to guide the nuptials. Having a friend or family member get ordained online is the budget-friendly way to go (it’s free!), so start thinking about who would be a good fit. If you prefer a professional, you can book an officiant for between $200-$400, depending on your ceremony. Learn more about how much a wedding officiant costs.

Officiant Total: $0-$200

🧾 Running Total: $0-$400

Order the invitations

After you’ve got the venue and guest list set, it’s time to order the wedding invitations for your big day! Luckily this can be a very minimal cost. Check out online ordering from Zazzle.com to find photo invitations for as low as $0.35 a piece! That will certainly make your wedding budget happy.

If you’re a green bride, think about paperless invitations. You can plan your entire wedding, manage RSVPs, send online invitations, and more, all for free at WithJoy.com.

Invitations Total: $0-$100

🧾 Running Total: $0-$500

Set up your seating

Your planning process must include seating arrangements during the ceremony and reception. For outdoor ceremony and reception seating, get creative. An outdoor wedding with hay bales with donated throw blankets is budget-friendly and gives perfect rustic vibes. Hay bales cost about $3 a piece and can seat 2-3 people.

You can also check with your church or social clubs to see about borrowing chairs for the day. If you must rent chairs, you can get simple plastic folding chairs for around $1.25 each, and 4-foot plastic folding tables for about $6 each. With the right table linens, no one will know they’re plastic. Of course, if you’re in a church, pews are included.

Seating Total: $125-$150

🧾 Running Total: $125-$650

Cook up the menu

Food is generally one of the biggest wedding costs, especially when using a caterer. If you truly want to plan a wedding on a small budget, you’ll most likely need to make the food yourself.

👉 Helpful planning tips: 31 Essential Questions to Ask a Caterer

Warehouse retailers such as Sam’s or Costco are great resources for buying good food in bulk. Another resource is FoodServiceDirect.com, but allow a couple of weeks for shipping.

Frozen mini quiches, shrimp, or meatballs are perfect for an appetizer buffet. Mini petit fours, cake pops, or chocolate-covered strawberries are inexpensive but don’t look that way! When buying “mini” foods, remember to allow for 2-3 of each item per person. For this “bought in bulk” mini-app buffet, plan on spending about $3 per person.

Other low-cost food buffet ideas:

• Have a morning wedding with a donut or bagel bar
• Set up a popcorn bar
• Host a hotdog roast with s’mores

Depending on your food, you can serve pitchers of iced tea, juice, lemonade, or other simple and inexpensive drinks.

If you opt to serve alcohol, Aldi stores have amazing deals on wine ($3 a bottle anyone?) and craft beer. You can also serve premixed drinks in glass dispensers to save even more money. For a morning wedding, coffee and juice are simple and inexpensive.

Food Total: $125-$300

Beverage Total: $100-$150

🧾 Running Total: $350-$1,100

Make your own wedding cake

You can save a ton of money on your wedding by getting a little creative! It’s fairly simple to turn a gaudy grocery store cake into something fit for a wedding. The easiest way is to scrape off any tacky decorative piping and smooth it all out. Add some fresh flowers to take it from grocery to gorgeous.

You can buy a few different cakes and arrange them on the dessert table to make a bigger statement. This option will probably cost you between $50-$75, depending on where you get the cake and how many you buy. “Naked cakes” are currently trending and are super easy for the DIY bride to make. Since they don’t focus on elaborate frosting, there’s no extreme skill involved. Add natural elements like flowers, berries, greenery, or wood for a charming, rustic cake.

Opting for a cupcake tower or two instead of a cake can save some money, too. Practice your piping skills before you start and keep your colors classic, like white, ivory, or some other neutral that works with your palette. The key to making something look expensive is to keep it simple! Plan on spending about $50 for $150 on cupcakes.

Cake Total: $50-$75

🧾 Running Total: $400-$1,175

Pick the perfect wedding dress

When you’re planning a wedding on a small budget, you have to be a pretty laid-back bride. You’re not likely to get a designer dress, but there are still some beautiful options! Check out these elegant finds from David’s Bridal for under $100 each:

You can also look for after-season white prom gowns or rent your dress for the day. JJ’s House has wedding dresses to rent starting under $80, or if you’re not superstitious, you can buy used dresses from PreownedWeddingDresses.com. Find deals on shoes through retailers like Payless.com or Amazon.com!

Wedding Dress and Shoes’ Total: $150

🧾 Running Total: $550-$1,325

Dress the groom

Unless you can find a local deal, tuxedos may be out of the question for a budget wedding. But a well-fitting suit will make your groom look just as handsome! Pair it with a classic white shirt, a tie in your color scheme, and fun socks, and he’ll be set. And bonus, he can wear it again! Search places like JC Penney or Men’s Wearhouse for clearance deals or suits for around $100. If you’re super thrifty, checking out your local Goodwill or used clothing stores can unearth some hidden treasures. If you’re set on renting a tux, it is possible to find great deals, but you may have to increase your budget a bit. We found these 9-piece packages at Men’s Wearhouse for $229:

Tux or Suit Total: $100-$230

🧾 Running Total: $650-$1,555

Find the bridal party looks

Your friends and family will have to help pitch in when you’re trying to plan a wedding for under $1,000. The wedding party attire is no exception. It’s generally customary for the wedding party to pay for their own dresses and tuxes, so they likely won’t be surprised when you ask this. But if you’re saving money, they should too! Keep their attire simple and search for flattering colors and fits for both. We promise, your pictures won’t show whether a dress cost $50 or $250. They’ll look beautiful, regardless! You can find amazing prices on simple dresses at Azazie.com. We found these pretty dresses for about $100 apiece:

Wedding Party Attire: $0

🧾 Running Total: $650-$1,555

Create your floral arrangements

Another costly item for weddings is flowers, both for bouquets and centerpieces. The only way to save money here is to buy in bulk and do it yourself. Keeping your bouquet and centerpieces simple and modern makes this totally doable! An excellent resource is GlobalRose.com. You can get roses for about $1 per stem and carnations for about $0.70 per stem.

Buy some simple ribbon and wrap it around your bouquets to complete the look. Recruit your crafty friends or check out a YouTube tutorial on making boutonnieres and corsages. Almost any craft store sells floral tape and pins to make them for just a few dollars.

Plan on 15-20 flowers for the bridal bouquet, 10-12 for bridesmaids, 2-3 per corsage, and 1-2 per boutonnieres. For our budget example, we’ll use 3 bridesmaids, 3 groomsmen, 4 parents, 4 grandparents, and 2 ushers. Learn more about how much wedding flowers cost.

For your centerpieces or extra decoration, mason jars filled with roses are a rustic and classic choice for DIY wedding decor. Find a dozen quart-sized jars for $19 on OrientalTrading.com, which should be more than enough for an intimate wedding. You can also mix and match vases from your home and borrow them from friends and family. It looks cute and eclectic if things are a little mismatched.

🌼 You might also like: How to Plan a Beautiful Boho Wedding

Flowers Total: $150-$175

🧾 Running Total: $800-$1,730

Book the entertainment

You don’t have much room left to pay for entertainment when you want to plan a wedding for under $1,000. If you’re friends with a band or singer, check with them about donating a couple of hours to your reception. Be sure to cover their food and drinks! If you have a little wiggle room in your budget, you can book a solo musician such as a guitarist or violinist for the ceremony for around $150-$200 per hour.

Creating your own playlist and plugging it into a simple PA system is the next best thing. Ask around to borrow a PA system, or rent one from Sparkplug for about $50-$80 a day.

🎻 For more ideas: Find the Best Wedding Performers for Any Budget

Entertainment Total: $0-$200

🧾 Running Total: $800-$1,930

💵 Pro tip: If you do book professional services, don’t forget to budget a little extra for dispersing appropriate tips. Check out this handy guide for tipping your wedding vendors.

Plan the photos

You can’t plan a wedding and then go without capturing all of the awesome moments! If you can make room in your budget, hiring a professional photographer is the best way to go. They can tailor a package to fit your budget and help you get the most important shots of the day.

If you absolutely can’t afford a pro, chances are, you have a friend who is or knows a budding photographer. Most of the time, they just want some experience or to build their portfolio! These photographers are perfect because they’re passionate and affordable.

Post your request on Facebook and let your friends share to help find someone. If you know someone willing to take the pictures but lack the equipment, ATSRentals saves the day. You can rent awesome cameras for about $160 for a weekend and there are tons of YouTube tutorials to learn how to use them properly.

📷 Read this: How Much Does a Wedding Photographer Cost?

Photography Total: $0-$1,000

🧾 GRAND TOTAL: $800-$2,930

To plan a wedding for under $1,000 is not for the faint of heart. But with time, creativity, and flexibility, it can be done! The main thing to remember is that it’s your wedding day. Don’t stress; enjoy it!

Want to use some of your wedding budget to book professional services or entertainment? Find something fabulous at GigSalad.