MINIMAL + Budget-Friendly Wedding Planning | How Much Our Backyard Wedding Cost

In today's video I'm breaking down how much our small backyard wedding cost and ways we kept things simple, minimal, and saved money. If you're looking to have a budget-friendly wedding, I hope you find this video helpful! But no matter what kind of wedding you're planning (big or small) there are so many wonderful ways to celebrate.

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Disclaimer: This video is for informational purposes only and does not substitute or replace medical advice. All opinions expressed are my own. This description contains affiliate links, which means that if purchases are made when clicked, I’ll receive a small commission. Thank you!

Meghan Livingstone, CNP
Certified Holistic Nutritionist

[edwardsimon]

This video just puts my mind back to when I was newly wedded. My partner and I just had a court wedding, we were both minimalist and preferred saving to invest than spending. Right now we’re retired and living out best life in Springfield. Much love Meghan❤️.

[janeannclark]

My wedding was 2k with about 150 people. It can be done quite inexpensively especially if you ask family and friends to help out. I still have friends that tell me that our wedding was one of the best weddings they’ve been to.

[rachels.]

$8, 500 for 15 people is actually TWICE AS EXPENSIVE as a $35, 000 wedding on a per person basis! This was actually an expensive wedding where the cost was brought down by having very few guests!

[ruchashah]

Meghan - You are setting such an example of minimal wedding for the world! You looked adorable on your wedding day 😊 Wish you happy married life 😍

[Phoenix-bgxt]

I have been married for 48 years, 15 people huh, boy things sure have changed in most families ( that I knew) 150 to 200 was considered an intimate wedding, we had what was considered as a small wedding 500 people, back then the woman elders done all the cooking and baking, the men made the wine and sometimes the beer too. Just with my husband's family, my family including all 8 grandparents that was already 68 people. I come from a family of 12 kids my husband's family had 9 kids, not to mention my mom there was 10 kids my dad 8 kids, husband's mom 7 kids and his dad 5 kids. Can one see how quick it got to 500.I think these tiny weddings are harder to pull off, and I think you done a great job. You should be proud of yourself.

[mollydeckman]

This is all so wonderful! My 4 year wedding anniversary is this Thursday the 22nd. We spent about $8, 381 USD on our wedding which also includes the cost of the rental condo we stayed in for our Honeymoon. I did all the flowers myself! All daises, Poms, and baby's breath. I did my own makeup as well. And my friend and roommate from college was our photographer. So we saved tons of money too!

[nsomethings]

I love the personalization (even though it’s a budget wedding). I feel like adding vendors makes the ceremony commercial. I am planning my wedding and I love that I found this kind of inspiration ❤️

[lucyjackson]

Your wedding was beautiful! We also had a small wedding. We actually contacted a local school and they let us borrow the marquees/table/chairs that they use for events for free! Once we put on table cloths etc they looked great 😊 x

[lyndarossi]

Wow!! great job Meghan..you will find this amazing- I got married in 1978, had the reception at a well known venue on a marina, 50 people, rolling bar, band, choice of 3 dishes for guests, nice simple dress and total 1500!!! How things have changed! Congrats on a beautiful wedding day, you will have wonderful memories for sure!

[BreeSB]

I loved this! We got married in Windsor, Ontario so not too far from you :)
We also had a super simple wedding. We rented a Manor which made everything so so easy and made the cost significantly cheaper! It is already a beautiful place so we didn't need decorations, we got married in the garden so no need for flowers. The catering was provided by the Manor and we chose to get married on a Sunday so the rental fee for the Manor was half the price of a Saturday wedding (only $800) We also chose to have a morning wedding with a brunch. The meal was fancy & exquisite and cost about $32/ person but had 4 courses and included lovely cuts of meat. ( The dinner meals started at about $45/ person so the brunch was cheaper) Because it was a 10am wedding we didn't have music and dancing so we saved there, and no alcohol. We used Vista Print to do our invites which cost about $50-$60 I believe. In the end I think ours cost about $5, 500 for 80 people with the meal costing the most at about $2, 600. Our cake was $300 I think, $200 for photography as I just had her there for the vows, and bit of the beginning of the reception. Maybe 1.5 hours total. We had such a beautiful day and 8 years later I still hear people talk about how unique and lovely it was and how awesome the food was! I recommend a wedding venue that is naturally beautiful so it cuts down on not only cost but work! No set up, no clean up! I literally showed up at like 915am and we said our vows at 10am. Ate and mingled, enjoyed the punch and desserts and cake. We were heading to our honeymoon by 2pm!

[juliemarie]

Congratulations! Beautiful! I had a small wedding 26 years ago. It was $5, 000 US. You did an amazing job of creating a beautiful day to celebrate your new life together.

[noelle]

My fiance and I got engaged last Christmas. I just bought my wedding dressing yesterday. I found a gorgeous local church with reasonable price. We saw it yesterday, it felt right. We are estimating we will have about 50 to 70 guests. We are getting married in October. Like the tips

[cstar]

Wonderful, honest video about your wedding. Too many brides focus on the wedding and not the marriage.

[carinevythelingum]

I had a small wedding too, it was really nice to hear all your preparations for your big day . It meant a lot for my husband and I, not to be in debt afterwards. Congratulations I wish you both a happy and healthy long life together.

[KeithEllen]

One of the things I love the most about north America and Europe is how most of people care about the beauty. About make everything looks beautiful intentionally. I am from Brazil and one of the most difficult things to find is backyards houses or even front yards as beautiful as you find there... Man... Even to find a beautiful place to marry here is incredible different. Because there are not thousands of beautiful places (well-taken cared of) and when we find a beautiful place it costs an arm and a leg 🥹🥹🥲🥲🥲🥲

[cristinapatino]

We bought a wedding package that cost us $1600 with photographer, cake and ceremony. My dress was $200 including tips. I did my nails and our hair and makeup was $150. We had 10 guests at that day and zoom. We loved how everything went out. I liked the fact that yours was very small and thoughtfully done. We would like to do another wedding reception in our home.

[vanessab]

We had a small wedding like you. 2 months ago, 15 People with us in the yard of my mum and had a barbecue. Just 300€ we had pay for Food and Drinks and had a lot. 400€ for my dress (asos) and suit 500€. The Rings 1100€…It was our Dream wedding❤️

[eraber]

I loved the feel and look of your wedding! So lovely and intimate! My husband and I had quite a bit larger wedding several years ago, but I think we kept the cost around what yours cost (friends who helped, low venue cost, etc.). One of my favourite wedding purchases was my shoes, a pair of blue Tom's shoes which I have definitely worn over and over since then!

[sav]

What a blessing to hear how much you saved for you wedding. Amazing!!! Beautiful wedding.👍❤️💙💐

[jacquelinecrouthers]

Congratulations on your marriage. May God bless you with many years of happiness. I also bought my wedding dress on Amazon for $145.00 USD. We are planning a small intimate wedding. I thought I was the only person who would be cooking my own food. My son is a minister and will be officiating my wedding. So no cost there. We are looking at a Thursday evening, which will lower the cost. Unfortunately I don't have a back yard, so I am looking a getting married at the park. Over all we are planning to spend less than 2000. We'll see if we make. We are looking at 15- 20 guest.