You can have a very special dream wedding at affordable prices. To make the most of your wedding, start with an affordable budget, then work within it to make your wedding the best for you and your future spouse. Next, decide on your venue and add as many do it yourself ideas (DIY) that you can to make it a pleasant environment for you and your guests.
There are some factors that can reduce the majority of your budget.
For several reasons, the most important item is the wedding venue / reception. If you can find a location with an open catering policy, you can really save money. Here are some questions you should ask first:
Does the wedding venue hold a reception?
If you have both the wedding venue and reception in one place, not only is this a tremendous savings, but it’s likely to be a more enjoyable event for you and your guests. The bride and groom should prefer this because it cuts down on travel time. Family and friends want this scenario because, if you move to a different location for the reception, some of the guests will start leaving.
Does the wedding reception allow outside caterers?
In many cases this is the most expensive element of the wedding. Being forced to use a preferred caterer or in-house kitchen usually leads to oversized expenses; often you’re charged per attendee and only offered a limited menu. This is where your budget can explode. We strongly recommend you select a reception venue that allows open catering so you have an unlimited selection of vendors and foods available and you can match everything to your wedding theme.
Remember the second highest cost in your budget is the catering or food to be served to your guests. Affordable Dream Wedding, for example, offers you the flexibility to use any outside catering company to serve from their kitchen. This is a great opportunity to make food choices that save time and money. Also they give you the flexibility to do your own food if you choose. There are many wedding venues that only allow you to use their own caterers or a selected few. At Hubbard Chapel it’s your choice, so this can help lower the costs of your menu plan for all your guests.
Some couples organize potlucks where they bring in all their own food from their families which can vary from a sandwich bar to a soup bar. Also this gives the whole family a chance to be involved in preparing food for the day, to help the couple put their wedding day together, from the parents to the grandparents. We have also seen wedding events where they asked their favorite food carts from the area to bring in catering as well as local restaurants– some of whom brought their finest linen and beautiful desserts. You can even serve your family’s traditional foods that speak to your heritage such as hazelnuts, strawberries or traditional meats. It is your choice and this can regulate the cost of your wedding greatly.
If you have liquor, use an outside vendor
Like the food, liquor can be very expensive. The best plan is to do it yourself but it’s getting much harder today because you need to know someone with a liquor license. Still, hiring out is almost always a lower cost decision than being forced to pay for an in-house option.
Large saving on flowers
Flower choices for your decor is another way to lessen the cost of your wedding. You may dream of lots of flowers to adorn your wedding on your special day but in reality the cost can really put you over budget. The reason you can cut way down on your flowers at Affordable Dream Wedding at Hubbard Chapel is because of the quaint beauty of this venue. When thinking of your centerpieces at each table, instead of using a huge floral spray, just let the decor of the 127 year old church impress.
Another idea to lower costs is to use more greenery and less flower volume. The simpleness of one long stem rose is very elegant as well. Making your centerpieces using a spray of flowers with some battery operated lights on each table is a very elegant and money saving idea. Less conventional decorative touches, such as branches or berries, can be just as elegant and striking as traditional flowers, at a fraction of the cost. If being more simplified in your decor is part of an overall theme, no one will know the couple had a tight budget.
Be creative and think outside the box when it comes to saving at your wedding. When you find a venue that has the chapel and reception hall all at the same site, you’ve started saving money right at the planning stage.
Affordable Dream Weddings/Hubbard Chapel is a 127 year old “Pioneer Wedding Chapel” venue that caters to both those needs in your planning. We have been voted Best Wedding Venue in Oregon three years in a row. Our prices are very affordable when you compare us to other venues in the Portland and Salem corridor. Our guests repeatedly comment on our affordable prices when they come for a tour.
Remember your wedding is supposed to be a once-in-a-lifetime event and you want it to be a happy moment in time, a special day that you reflect back on forever. So stick to the realistic budget that you and your family agreed on. Our best advice is to make the planning of your venue and food a top priority, as these two decisions are the most costly expenditures of your whole day.
Come for a tour of our Award Winning Affordable Dream Weddings/Hubbard Chapel in Hubbard, Oregon to see if this is a venue that will help your special day stay on budget and give you a moment you will never forget.
Call or email Carrie at Hubbard Chapel to schedule a tour:
2934 H St, Hubbard, OR 97032
503-459-1267
hubbardchapel@gmail.com
