If you’ve started to look at venues, you’ve probably already realized that $5K is a small wedding budget. You’ll need to cut expenses and do some DIY, but if you’re committed, you can definitely plan a great wedding under 5000.

If you’re on a tight budget, it probably sounds like a dream come true. But is it? Can you really win a free wedding? Yes, you can! There’s lots of companies that regularly hold wedding sweepstakes, contests and giveaways for everything from a free wedding to wedding dresses and accessories. Some offer cash prizes or gift cards that you can use towards your wedding.

If you’ve started pricing out your wedding reception, you might be shocked by some of the costs - especially the catering!

The best way is by choosing the right caterer and making the right choices for your menu. Start by understanding a caterers service and exactly what they’ll be charging you for.

Let’s take a look at ways you can save money on your wedding reception by utilizing tips for wedding catering on a budget!

Typically, food and drinks at your wedding reception account for 50% of your entire budget. If you work out your catering costs first, you’ll be able to build a reasonable budget around that price. But how much does it cost to cater a wedding?

Below, we’ve detailed the typical costs of wedding catering, what wedding catering includes, tips on saving money on wedding catering, a guide on how to select a caterer, and more!

Lots of websites will tell you the average cost of a wedding is $33,000. But an average price doesn’t help you that much. Instead of an average price, you can do a bit of math and figure out how much your wedding will cost. See the cost breakdown for wedding venues, wedding ceremony, wedding catering and vendors. Plus sample budgets for a 10,000 wedding, a 7,000 wedding, and a 2,000 wedding.

Before 2020 a small wedding was 50 guests or less. Today that’s a big wedding! If you’re planning your wedding this year, be sure to check your local rules. Then decide how big you want your guest list to be. You could plan a small wedding with 50 guests, a very small wedding with 25 guests or a micro wedding with 10 guests.

I’m going to be super annoying here and say - it costs however much you want it to cost! Before you kill me, though, keep reading. I’m going to give you the actual numbers and sample budgets for a few different price levels. You can have a great backyard wedding with any size budget - it just depends on your style. Here’s some ideas and sample budgets for a wedding at $10,000, $7,000 and $2,000.