Hey ladies!

I'm new to the group!  FI and I decided on a $5-6k budget for our wedding.  Neither of our families are rolling in the dough, so we have to keep our budget pretty low!

Something I've been having a problem with is finding an affordable venue that doesn't look...well....trashy.  Ugh, I hate putting it that way!  Just because I don't have a ton of cash doesn't mean I should get married in a horrible looking place!

I live in the Fort Worth, TX area and I found a venue (the YWCA) to have our ceremony and reception at!  The YWCA is a historic building that was built in the 20s.  The ceremony would take place in front of the fireplace, and the reception would move upstairs.  Tons of room and beautiful cherry wood floors!  
Now I'm trying to decide if I want to have it of a Friday evening (and have the place rented out from 1pm-1am) for $2,000 or have it ALL day of a Saturday (from Noon-1am) and spend an extra $500.  

It seems like a really good deal, and we can bring in our own vendors! The only downside is having to put down 50% of the rental cost in order to book our date, and that's a good amount of cash we don't have right now.  This place books up pretty quickly because it's so beautiful and affordable, so I'm starting to get worried! :/

What do you think?! 

That seems steep to me, but you probably know your area best. My venue is at a park, and we are using tons of decor (130 yards of chiffon, to be precise) to make it look less down-home bbq and more elegant wedding. We are spending less than $700 on the venue for both the ceremony and reception. We chose to have our wedding on a Friday because it saved like $1000, and on a budget like ours, that is a huge amount. BUT we get it all day friday, not just the afternoon/evening.

I wouldn't be opposed to an outdoor wedding if the weather in North Texas wasn't so unpredictable.  Example: my future SIL had an outdoor April wedding planned...and it SNOWED.  And even in the fall, bugs are still very much a problem!  I'd rather not deal with it!

I think we decided on a Friday night wedding, and by having it a little later we can serve finger/snack foods instead of a sit down dinner.  That's another big way to save money!

 

Consider using a restaurant there are lots out there that don't charge for it.  They only thing they charge is for food and drink, usually a package deal.  Then you don't need to rent anything.  I will probably go this route.

a friend of mine has graciously offered her farm for me, so i'm spending $0 for the venue.  and if it rains, she has a beautiful barn with a wood-burning stove.  i use the term "barn" very loosely...running water, full kitchen, stained concrete floor, wet bar...you get the idea!  obviously i'm going to have to rent tables and chairs, but still...not bad considering the amount many people spend on venues.