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How To Find Free & Cheap Wedding Venues | Wedding On A Budget Video #9
hey hey welcome back to the you're
pretty piñas YouTube channel I'm tired
Jones Williamson financial and lifestyle
success coach welcome back to my channel
and also welcome back to the wedding on
a budget series I am so excited that we
are nearing the end of this series this
is the second to the last video and so
if you have not caught one through eight
it is some good stuff in there we've
talked about other different aspects on
how to successfully execute a wedding on
a smaller budget I say about fifty five
hundred dollars that is what my husband
and I spent on our wedding of our dreams
and our original budget was seven
thousand so we which is a smaller budget
than thirty five forty thousand which
most Americans spend on a wedding so
even seven thousand dollar budget would
have been great and we came in under
that using these tips and tricks and
tools so make sure you grab your
checklist and also your wedding budget
tracker in the description box below you
can use that link and also check out our
wedding highlight video if you have not
done so so where you can see our fifty
five hundred dollar wedding on a budget
that we just had back in February of
2020 and it was amazing goes awesome I
still look at those photos and videos
because I just want to be taken back it
was just such a great time such a great
time today's topic is going to be about
your wedding ceremony and reception
venues and how to make sure that that is
a low budget item in your budget alright
remember going back to the budget
aspects of it we are not spending a ton
of money on certain things in this
wedding we are spreading the amount of
money that we spend on each item or each
line item each key item in our budget
evenly right so for us one thing that
was extremely important was I'm sorry I
got changes lighting it's too much there
we go the third came out and it
completely like washed me out that was
weird so one thing that was really
important for us is like I said in
previous videos is that we wanted a big
wedding ceremony so where we can invite
anybody and everybody and we didn't have
to exclude anyone but then we wanted a
private smaller wedding reception
because that's when the big bucks start
getting spit if you starting to pay for
a lot of people to eat to sit if you
need a bigger video and you need a
wedding venue instead of like a small
venue that you could just get for a
couple of hundred dollars a night that's
when things start getting tricky so for
us we had our wedding ceremony at our
church home the reason why we chose a
church because this church was already
big enough my church home was already
big enough to seat 800 to a thousand
people right because that's what we get
anywhere on any given Sunday right I
don't make a Church but it's a large
sized church to where it will
accommodate the amount of people we had
on our wedding ceremony guest list and
if you are didn't see the wedding guest
list and the wedding invitation video I
believe that is video number 6 I want to
say I'm looking at my notes nope that's
a video number for number seven video
number seven check out video number
seven was all about sending digital
invites successfully and also paring
down that guest list and you're getting
your wedding ceremony guesses verses
your wedding reception guest list in
order to accomplish a $5,500 wedding
having a huge reception is not going to
be the best bet having a big ceremony
where everybody can come it's great and
then a small reception where you have 50
to 75 people that will be your best bet
because remember catering costs the
amount of linens that you need the
amount of decor and on the tables that
you need the amount of chairs that you
need to rent and even how big or small
the space that you need it will get
bigger and bigger the amount of money
that you're spend will get bigger and
bigger as the more people you tackle
into that reception guest list all right
so our wedding reception was actually
at a fellowship hall of my dad's church
so my dad's church home is different
than my church home and he goes to a
church where it's a small church and
then they have on the other side of town
they had what they call a fellowship
center which is what they usually do for
all of like their small gatherings their
uh their yearly like summer picnic and
things like that when you walk in it's
definitely not picturesque it is not
what they were advertised as a wedding
venue right and so the amount of money
that it costs to rent it for a few hours
is going to be substantially less
because I got keep saying once you tack
on the word wedding on to something
prices start rising up but if you go
somewhere where it is a space and you
can transform it on your own and that is
your best bet you're gonna come out of
less money and so my dad spent four
hundred and fifty dollars plus $150
refundable fee that he got out of that
450 all together that was it we spent
five hundred dollars on renting the
ceremony space my home church five
hundred dollars with $150 deductible
that we refundable reducta below that we
got back that was it right
beautiful beautiful time and what I did
was and we went on and I keep wedding
deck keep wedding vendors and video I
talked about the key wedding video
vendors that I use one of them was an
event decorator so basically I took
these playing spaces that's not equipped
to host a wedding and I hired a
decorator she charged me $15 all
together that's including her fee and
the amount that she needs to rent all of
the items that we needed in order to
make the space look aesthetically
pleasing and decorated in linens and
chairs and you know votive candles and
pillars and you know everything you know
tablescapes this the sweetheart table
everything she did was under $1500 and
we just had her decorate the wedding
ceremony and the wedding reception and
it was beautiful like I
I posted on social media and I've been
posting on social media on both my
Instagram in my facebook both are at you
are pretty pities pictures from our
wedding and everybody's like oh my god
where did you get married at where does
your reception can I have the name if
you would have seen and walked into
these spaces beforehand you'll be like
I'm not getting married here and this
isn't suitable for a beautiful wedding
but you have to have the vision first
and then have somebody like an avid
decorator or you can DIY if you're
creative and you're great at that have
the vision to where you could create the
atmosphere that you want with some up
lighting with some tablescapes with you
know your centerpieces with different
types of chairs and what they offer you
can really transform a blank canvas into
something beautiful and you save
thousands right the first wedding and
reception video that I rep reception
venue that I wanted cost five thousand
dollars in February that was their
offseason price and if you want anything
extra you have to pay up above that five
thousand dollars that's the whole budget
I spent for my wedding that was just
about to be for the venue isn't that
crazy
right but when I went somewhere else I
got a beautiful beautiful turnout and I
spent five hundred bucks on the ceremony
five hundred bucks on the reception
venue and then we pay somebody $1,500 to
decorate both of them plus pay her for
her labor and she she she tore down
she's cheap set up and she tore down on
her own we didn't have to do anything
before or after it was amazing amazing
amazing amazing alright so I wanted you
to remember that when it comes to
shopping for your wedding ceremony and
wedding reception venues keep in mind
that number one like I've been saying
before this is one day and it's a party
people are not really checking for your
reception and your wedding venues like
again what I'm still hearing feedback
about my wedding I I hear about the
decor I hear about the food and I hear
about like our wedding vows change and
house into
mento it was because we are blending a
family and it was a really beautiful
like emotional moment that me and my my
bonus daughter my stepdaughter by
beautiful daughter had during the
ceremony where she and I both start
crying because she does look up to me a
lot and she was so excited that her guy
was marrying me and it was just don't
even get me in tears I don't even want
to go go into it but anyway so those are
the things people remember they're not
saying oh my gosh we're sure uh you know
that was weird that she used this church
that's not suitable for a wedding or why
did she choose this place for her
reception
nobody cares the food was good but music
was good the atmosphere is good it was
beautifully decorated they were warm cuz
it was a winter wedding everybody was
able to dress their best and have a good
time the cake was good nobody really was
worried about the building that it was
in and whether or not it was suitable
for a wedding or if it was a a wedding
center anything like that so don't get
that in your head that you absolutely
need to go somewhere that's already says
a wedding venue so remember that the
wedding ceremony lasts 35 to 40 minutes
35 minutes to an hour
wedding reception last four to six hours
and so you need to place your time
attention and energy as such right so
for our wedding ceremony we did minimal
decorations it was a lot but it was
enough but it was minimal and then our
reception was four to six hours we
really played up the reception hall and
made sure that everything was beautiful
there because people were going to be
spending more time there right so I
always remember that too here's some
other great budget-friendly ceremony
venues so if you are in a place that's
warmer or if you're trying to get
married in a season that is a little bit
the weather is nicer outside you can use
the beach you could use a sublet you can
use the city hall steps I've seen some
really cute weddings where people are
dressed to the nines groomsmen
bridesmaids everything and they're in
the in front of the city hall building
downtown and then they take really
downtown pictures and then after that
you can go to a restaurant that you've
liked you know privately arranged for
you to have your private reception where
y'all could just sit down and eat and
then you could cover the food bill that
is a great low-budget way to have a
wedding and I think a super chic and a
super fun super out the box I really
like that idea if we got married in the
spring or summer I probably wouldn't get
that idea where everybody is dressed to
the nines but we're on the City Hall
steps and then we all go down to like a
really nice private restaurant that
we've like rinse it out for a couple of
hundred or maybe even a thousand dollars
for like forty five people that would be
so fun I like that idea you can use a
large mansion a backyard
of a large mansion this was another idea
I played we'd had we got married in the
spring and summer I would have Airbnb a
large house or a large mansion or a mini
mansion here in my area for a few
hundred dollars for just one day and
then I would have had a backyard wedding
that was super pretty high like the
white foldable chairs all over the
players would like the river swag going
ahead
you know flowers already probably would
already be out but have like pillars on
the grass and then people sit down on
the grass on the picket chairs and then
we would have had like an arch or
something and we would have gotten
married to have like a makeshift aisle
down there with my red roses down the
aisle like I would have had a backyard
ceremony in the spring or summer I think
that is just very pretty very good thing
to do so if you are in a climate to
where you can do that pretty much any
time of year that's definitely a good
option and then your reception could be
right there you can bring caterers in
and have them set up in the the kitchen
and then y'all can either eat inside and
then bring your food outside they can
serve the food while it's outside and
you can have you know the caterers serve
while they're cooking girl buffet style
listen I'm here for it you can do
picturesque parks I seen people do it in
parks I've seen people do it at the
villians indoors remember you
churches you have small banquet halls
that typically don't cater to weddings
again don't go nowhere to where they God
they all separate wedding prices no
we're not doing that right government
buildings anything that's not geared
towards weddings again the moment they
say oh this is a premier wedding venue
you paying three to five thousand just
for a day that is your budget we are not
doing that right you need to be able to
spend your money intentionally so you
don't have to break the bank and here's
some great reception venues outdoor
tents on a grass a small Country Club
shaded forces parts I am like I said if
you are in the springtime and the
mosquitos or the gnats all of that
aren't really out yet because I
typically don't come out to the evening
you can have your stuff during the day
every member of restaurants is a good
way I've seen people who have a brunch
as a reception and then they go to their
wedding ceremony outside or they have
their wedding ceremony on a beautiful
summer morning that's still cool outside
but it's like 70 something degrees
everybody's and flowy dresses and you
know we're outside taking pictures
that's eight or nine ten o'clock in the
morning and then you go to brunch at
eleven at a restaurant either y'all can
cover the bill as part of your wedding
budget or everybody can cover their own
bill especially if it's a private small
party how beautiful would that be what a
beautiful day would that be to have your
wedding like we don't have to spend
thousands and thousands and break the
bank for a wedding like you can think
outside the box all right some things I
told you to think about I want you to
think about is where do you have
connections and memberships at reduced
rates so when we started brainstorming
for wedding venues I do that we had our
my home church that I was coming from
and going to my husband's church
eventually but I knew at our current
church we could host a large a larger
ceremony of 200 to 300 people and we got
a reduced rate of $500 since I was a
partner or a member of the
and then for the reception of my dad he
was a member at a church and we got the
reception hall or their fellowship cause
what they call it for $450 that was a
membership rate right so where can you
go to where you have access to low rates
is it a Country Club you are already
affiliated with are you already working
in a park or forest that you already
have connections to do you know somebody
who works for the city that you're
working for or parks and recs to where
you can get discounts and different
things like that kind of gets your name
slid in there kind of get on the good
list think about that
be sure that the reception venue can
seamlessly serve dinner food and drinks
right so especially when you're thinking
about doing outside weddings you want it
to be seamless like although this is
going to be budget-friendly this is
still an experience that you want and a
party that you want people to come away
with very excited and happy so you want
to make sure that whoever you choose as
your caterers make sure that they're
equipped to serve outside they're
equipped to keep food hot outside that
they're cooked to kid keep bugs away or
anything else anything that goes along
with having a wedding at the beach or
having a wedding outside or in a forest
or in a tent or whatever the case is as
you start thinking out the box think
about all the nuances that goes into
pulling it off seamlessly and make sure
all your vendors are able to accommodate
that right let's see if I have anything
else on my notes one thing I did was
order and purchase up lighting so in the
wedding reception venue that we used it
was like bleak bland lighting and so my
BJ which most DJ's apparently have up
lighting that they could bring with them
for a little bit of extra charge some
people included in their rates always
make sure to get up lighting so for us
it was very bland so we got some white
up lighting then we also got a little
bit of red up
and then when the lights went down after
9 p.m. the dancefloor opened we have
some other different like blue and red
colorful up lighting that just really
set the ambience in the mood it was so
excited it was so good so always make
sure to think about up lighting if you
have a boring venue space up lighting is
your friend alright um let's see oh if
you have a large wedding ceremony guest
list and a small reception guest list
meaning that everybody who is invited to
the wedding research wedding ceremony is
not invited to the wedding reception
your best bet is to not have it in the
same place right so the reason why we
had our wedding reception our wedding
ceremony at the church and then we had
our wedding reception or wedding
reception at a private fellowship hall
is because it's very hard to kick people
out is very rude it's not polite and so
your best bet is to separate the two
right and so everybody who is going
who's invited to the ceremony they have
directions and time to be at the
ceremony and then there's people who
invited to receive money and reception
they got the information for both the
reception and the ceremony and those who
don't have the information to the
reception guess what they don't show up
because they don't know where it is if I
would have had it in the same space it
would have been very hard they would
have been like oh no I just attended to
see the wedding ceremony why am I not
going to the reception they will
automatically assume that they just
transitioned into the reception portion
and that's not the case so for me I
would highly suggest if you are going to
have it to where there's only a selects
you going to your private reception
dinner to make sure that they do not
that they do not come by separating the
two ceremony separating the two parts of
your day alright that is all I have if
you have any questions or comments about
what we talked about today please drop
them in a
don't forget to grab your wedding on a
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tracker please also subscribe and hit
that like button on your way out thank
you so much for watching and I will see
you in the last video video number 10 in
the next video bye bye
