Transcript:
Well, hello, lovely humans and welcome back to my channel in this week’s video. We are going to be talking about the very basics that you need at your event, and this is for all my people out there. Who are Ballin on a budget and you’re trying to figure out? What do you have to have at your wedding? This whole video was actually inspired by. I did a Q&A on our JW coordination Instagram last week. And someone said I have three thousand dollars for my wedding. What do I do like? How do what do I focus on? And that is honestly kind of stuck with me for days. It’s kind of all I can think about, and I thought why not just make a video lets. Just make a video and dive into what you absolutely have to have at your way. What are the basics like? What are the things? If you have a very very limited budget. What do you need to focus on? So I came up with five things that you have to have at your wedding with two bonus ones, but five is catchy. Er, so that’s what we’re gonna put in the title, Okay, okay, so without further ado, Let’s just jump right on into it. [MUSIC] If you are balling on a budget and you want to have a successful wedding day, the first thing that you have to do and this is gonna sound so dumb. Okay, like I’m aware of that. This probably like, yes. Everyone’s gonna know this, but you have to have a spot to hold it. You have to have a location. This can be a backyard. This can be your local church or synagogue. This can be a park, a public park. Those are very, very inexpensive to get married at, but first and foremost, you got to have a spot and when you’re looking around for a place to host your wedding, make sure that that place has an appropriate amount of restrooms. This is a very basic thing, but oftentimes gets overlooked. You will need one restroom for every 35 to 50 people. So if you’re inviting 150 guests, then you’re probably gonna need about three restrooms. If not more and picking the location doesn’t have to be expensive. You do not have to break the bank and put $10,000 down on a venue. I’m not knocking those who have chosen to do that, but right now I’m speaking to my brides and grooms who are operating on a budget that will not allow them to do that. The next thing you have to have at your event is some sort of food and beverage now. I’m not saying you have to serve a five-course meal. Absolutely not, and I’m also not saying that you have to serve alcohol, but there is this preconceived notion that people will be served. Something to eat at your event. Instead of doing a plate of dinner you can opt for a buffet. Also, when looking around for food options. Try to look for something that’s not meat based whether that’s a personal preference or dietary restriction, that’s up to you, but financially speaking if you opt for something that is grain or vegetable based, it’s going to be a lot cheaper, So if you go with pasta, that’s gonna be super affordable. If you go with the taco guy who supplements the tacos with beans and rice, that’s gonna be so much more affordable than steak and potatoes for absolutely every guest. You could also do an appetizer and dessert. Only reception like you don’t have to serve a full meal. You will need to go really heavy on those appetizers, and you will need to let your guests know beforehand, either on your invitation or on your website or both, you do need to communicate that this like a full meal will not be served and the way you would phrase that is an appetizer, only reception to follow nice, easy way of being like, we’re not feeding you a full meal. Okay, okay, And as far as the beverages are concerned, you don’t have to have alcohol if you choose to have alcohol. I would suggest going beer and wine only because that’s gonna be a lot more affordable than trying to figure out all the hard alcohol is involved and then the mixers that go with those. But if you choose to forego alcohol entirely, you can just do something as simple as water, ice, tea and lemonade’s that way. There’s something to suit almost every taste, and you don’t need to go out of your way to buy sodas or other fun drinks when people can. Hey, they can even make their own. Arnold Arnold Palmer. Hey, why is that so hard for me to say? I Arnold Palmer. Item number. Three of what you will absolutely need for. Your event is some sort of seating now. You can choose to do a standing only ceremony, and if you do that, make sure it’s really fast because you don’t want people standing in the high heels for forty-five minutes like that’s just cruel and unusual punishment. So if you’re going to have a standing only ceremony, be sure to keep it brief, and then when it comes to the reception, ideally, tables and chairs with a linen on top would be the perfect scenario, however, if you are staring down the barrel of a $3,000 budget renting, all of those items is going to be a lot more difficult, so I would suggest when you’re looking at venues. Look for places that already have tables and chairs included and as far as seating goes, you don’t even have to have tables and chairs. You can go creative and have a picnic wedding instead. Just borrow a bunch of blankets from your own home from your family from your friends and have people just enjoy a beautiful day lounging on the grass somewhere on a cute little blanket, because it’s such a vibe, and it’s really, really cute and that same thread actually kind of skipping back to the food for just a minute. You can do a potluck style reception. If you want to. Some people are like hard pass. I’m not doing it that doesn’t feel right to me. That just feels weird. I don’t want people to bring food to our wedding. And other people are thinking that’s genius, especially if it’s a picnic, it has like a casual, relaxed, fun vibe to it, like you know, your family and your friends way better than I do, but if they’re the right type of people, a potluck could be a great option for you. The only thing I will say about seating is you will need to make sure that you have chairs and tables available for those who can’t sit on the ground or stand for extended periods of time. The floor thing that you’re going to need to have is something to wear. You do not need to buy a $5,000 dress and then spend $1,200 on alterations. If you choose to do that with your finances, that is completely up to you, but again, this is for my people who just don’t have that kind of wiggle room, or I choose not to spend that kind of money in these areas of their life. You can buy a secondhand dress. I did that and I absolutely loved it. You can rent a dress. You can borrow a dress you can go to. David’s Bridal for their $99 sale and find yourself a gorgeous dress to wear heck, you could probably even thrift a dress for really, really inexpensive and then get it altered, so it fits you like a glove and still save a whole lot of money, and if you’re wearing a suit, definitely rent instead of purchasing, you just need something to wear. It doesn’t even have to be white. It doesn’t even have to be a dress. You can wear a pantsuit. You can wear black. You could wear pink. It doesn’t matter so whatever color that is or whatever style that is, that’s up to you, but you’re definitely gonna want something unique to wear for your wedding day and last, but not least number five some way to capture the memories. Now, of course. I highly recommend hiring an experienced photographer because then your gosh-darn ear guaranteed to get amazing photos from your wedding day. So if there’s one splurge, make it be the one thing other than the marriage that you’re taking away from this and let it be the photos now a couple of quick tips to make a professional photographer more affordable. See if you can cut the amount of hours that they would be willing to be there. Instead of an eight-hour package, go for a six hour package or maybe even a five hour package. I will say we did the wedding with a four-hour package and that was a little bit rough. That was like that was a lot to get through in a short amount of time, but you can always ask a photographer to come for a shorter period of time. The worst they can say is no and then you’ll. Find someone else for your wedding day now. If you can’t afford a professional photographer, definitely have a wedding hashtag and encourage your guests to take photos. We all know that. I’m a huge fan of unplugged ceremonies like I’m not subtle about it. I love them, but if you don’t have money for a photographer, then you don’t have money for a photographer, and that is the moment that you’re gonna have your friends and family take photos for you instead, but if you utilize a hashtag, then that’s a great way for to encourage people to take more photos for you. It also wouldn’t hurt to designate one family member or friend with a DSLR or some sort of fancy camera and just a modicum of editing skills to take photos for you now before I have any photographers getting at me in the comments if yall have been around my channel for even a short period of time thing that I will always preach is is the value of a professional in each and every field, the value of a professional photographer, the value of a professional videographers, the value of a full-service catering team. You guys, they are fantastic companies to work with. Yes, But if you don’t have the money, you don’t have the money, so I’m not knocking professional photography if you have the room in your budget to make that work. I highly encourage you to do so notice. I’m not even saying a coordinator at this point. I’m pushing you towards photo like if there’s one thing that you’re gonna take away from your day, It’s your photography. So if there’s one splurge with a smaller budget, I would say let that be it, and then the last two things that are kind of like bonus, so we’ll call this number six and number seven number six would be some sort of music again. I think that Djs are unsung heroes of wedding days for me. Working with a good DJ will make or break a wedding day like it just is. It’s it’s a fantastic partnership, and I love love love and just care for and cherish wedding Djs so much because I love them so much, but if you choose to add music to your wedding day and you can’t afford to or choose not to hire a DJ, you can use a couple of speakers and a Spotify playlist. In fact, Spotify has an option where you can crossfade your songs during the reception time where it can actually sound like it’s, you know, blending from one song to the next that gives it a slightly more elevated feel, which is great for you just to, like polish it up a little bit just to make it feel a little bit more professional and number seven would be flowers. You do not need flowers for your wedding day. You do not have to have them. If you are seating guests at tables, though, the table will feel a little empty in the middle. If there isn’t something there, so it might be worth considering doing some sort of centerpiece, whether it’s those dollar trees, cylindrical glass vases with some floating candles in them girl, do it, that’s amazing. Those are gorgeous, and it’s a great way to ground the middle of your table, so they do look a little empty without it, but you don’t need to walk down the aisle with a bouquet of flowers, and you don’t need to get florals for your bridal party either if yall owe me. Flowers are one of my favorite parts of a wedding day and I’m full-on giving you permission to say you don’t have to do them now. If there is room in your budget to hire a professional for any of these categories that I have mentioned whether that be a professional venue or a professional caterer. It will be less work for you and a lot of people will see the you in that at the end of the day. It comes down to the budget that you have and your priorities now, of course. I’d be remiss if I didn’t say this because I am a pretty big advocate of this. The number one thing that kills your budget and I did a whole video about it. I’m gonna link it up here. The number one thing that kills your budget. Is your guest count? If you have 225 people, it’s gonna cost you astronomically more than if you had 75 people just some food for thought if you are working with a ten thousand dollar budget or less. Consider trimming your guest count because you will be able to do more with that money. Now if this is you if I’m saying all of these things, and you’re like, just feeling a sense of relief and like you’re being led off the wedding hook because you just don’t have to do all the things that you thought you had to do one. I’m so sorry that the industry has made you feel like you have to spend money on all these things and two Im. So happy that you are here in this moment that I can just give you permission to be like, just do five of these things, and you’ll be fine. Look, you’ll be totally fine. I created the master plan with you in mind. So if you are, if you feel like you are drowning, If you feel like you don’t know what you’re doing. If you feel like you just need some guidance and while this channel. I know I’m sure is helpful. You just wish you had something concrete to work with. Please utilize the master plan for those who you don’t know. I will leave a link up here. It is a it’s an online course that I created where I can be your online wedding planner for as little as $1.99 for six months or $2.99 for twelve months, it is for the people who can’t afford even a consultation with a planner. It’s for the people who can’t afford to hire a day of coordinator. It’s for my people because that was me when I got married, so I want you guys to know that I’m never gonna lose sight of the budget brides as my business grows and changes and our prices rise higher and higher and as I become less available for people’s events and other planners on my team are starting to really take over, even though my business is growing like I want you guys to always have a resource, and that’s what the master plan is. There’s value in professionals in each and every field we are in no way knocking professional photographers or caterers or Djs. I love them. They make my life better. But we have to be realistic, sometimes and recognize that 80% of people getting married in the United States cannot afford any sort of planning at all whatsoever, and they also can’t afford a $5,000 photographer, and they can’t afford a $15,000 venue or $12,000 catering bill. So just keep these five things in mind. Maybe seven, if you want to toss those two in and it promise you as long as you let go of any preconceived notions that you had for what your wedding day should look like and you relax and just enjoy your family and friends, It will be memorable, No matter how much you spent that God that got a teensy bit ranty, um? I just I love you guys, and I want you to feel like your wedding. Days is a success. So if you just do these few things. If that’s all you can afford to do, it’s going to be a beautiful day, so that’s all we have for today, folks. Thank you so much for stopping by. I hope this has inspired you. I hope it encourages you. I hope you leave this video big like I freaking got this. And if there’s still any stress or any concerns or you want some more guidance? I highly encourage you to check out the master plan. This is like this is. I have like human babies, but this is like my baby. I’m very proud of it and I know it’s going to be an amazing, amazing tool for you. Check it out! I’ll leave a link below. There’s a 30-day money-back guarantee. So if you jump into the course, and you’re like, Nah, this isn’t for me. I will refund you your money like that’s how much I believe in this. If you haven’t done so already like this video because you like the video and subscribe to this channel for more tips and tricks for the modern-day pride. And until next week, bye, guys.