Potluck Sign Up Sheet Template: Fill & Download for Free

I got married for less than $2000, all paid for by myself and my husband. Further, we had some unusual conditions that made wedding planning a little atypical — we decided on a date less than two months from that date (I do not recommend this for everyone; careful planning was key). We were eager to get married and saw no need for a longer engagement than we already had. If we had more time, some things would have been done differently but costs would have been similar. Our style is a little more, ah, rustic/bohemian than what most would consider a proper wedding, but it was beautiful, classy, and fun for everyone. I don’t recall how many people we invited but I think we had about 70 show up, including kids. With that, here’s what we did:InvitationsI’ve got training in graphic design and made my own invitations as 5″x7″ single-sided cards. I had them printed at FedEx and bought colored envelopes for cheap on Amazon. If you’re not confident in your own graphic design skills, there are places where you can buy a beautiful template for cheap.ClothesI wanted a dress that I could wear over again, with pockets, which meant no ‘proper’ wedding dress for me. I had a linen dress made for $45 by a shop in Thailand, and had an embroidered belt made by my grandmother. If I wanted something fancy, local thrift shops regularly had nice dresses for sale for cheaper. My husband, who had no nice clothes at all, bought his outfit for a similar price at an outlet store.RingsBuying rings from a box store was never a thought for us. We went straight to Etsy, did some browsing, and found rings that were perfect for us. Our rings together cost less than $500 and were one of the biggest purchases we made. The rings were custom-made, of high quality, unique, and beautiful. I’d recommend this option every time.Wedding/engagement rings costing months’ of income is retarded and the idea was originally proposed by the diamond companies; buy rings, or other jewelry, that you love, not what society and culture and your friends are pressuring you into buying. Don’t be a shill: buy smart, small, and local.We did not do engagement rings (I was/am adamantly opposed to useless jewelry and who really needs two rings on the same finger?), but my husband did propose with a beautiful necklace, another Etsy find.VenueLocal parks are cheap! I rented a beautiful park and covered building for less than $200. Our time at the venue was limited, no alcohol was allowed, and our sound system couldn’t be disruptive. We borrowed some chairs from my parents’ church, but most people had blankets on the grass for ‘picnic’ seating. This worked well for us. None of our families or friends need alcohol to have fun, and my husband and I don’t dance (lack of skill more than anything), so the park’s limitations were no issue for us. We did not have a second option in case of rain, and just hoped that our usual dry spring weather held out.Churches are often free or cheap, too, often with the added bonus of having a kitchen with a room for a reception attached.Other options we considered were my folks’ backyard, the city botanical garden, the natural history museum, and a beautiful boardwalk over a marsh. None of these are ‘official’ wedding venues, but if the guest list is limited to immediate family and the officiant, who’s to say you can’t drop in, say the vows, and dash off? We had too many people on our list to make any of those work (we’re travelers and the need for community at this personal event was important to us), but if situations had been changed, we’d have totally risked an impromptu wedding at someplace unusual and hosted a reception elsewhere.ReceptionWe had a potluck reception. Part of my invitation included a blank recipe card that I designed and printed myself and a request to bring a favorite dish (protip: nobody makes recipe boxes that fit 4″x6″ cards). I organized a very casual sign-up sheet online for people to note what they were bringing in one of three categories (main dish, side, and dessert, I think). It was amazing and the food was delicious and plentiful, and the handwritten recipe cards we received are cherished. Despite what one may hear on Quora, I received no complaints about the potluck reception and instead was enthusiastically encouraged in this by everyone I consulted.We didn’t have a cake because in our rush to get things done, we forgot one. I think the plan was to just have a Betty Crocker cake mix made, with sprinkles, because store-bought cakes are gross. In the end it ended up being missed and folks brought their own dessert anyway. To make enough cake for everyone, I think we would have spent $15–20?A family friend who did catering on the side very generously set up our tables and brought real ceramic dishes and glasses and everything for free; had she not volunteered herself, we would have used nice plasticware which would not have cost much.DecorationsTable decorations were reused mason jars with things in them. My sisters took this upon themselves and I think they just found rocks and wildflowers and things from the garden to put in the jars, alongside various picnic blankets on the table — I honestly don’t remember much about this, but no money was spent here. Not everyone likes moss and rocks and wildflowers, but decorations don’t have to cost much.Because we were at the park and opportunities for decorating were limited, the only other thing we had were windchimes around the wedding site and the path to it. I do wish there had been more flowers, but for the life of me I don’t know how they would have been incorporated.PhotographerI hired a friend who does wedding photography semi-professionally. This cost $600 and was our single greatest expense. Don’t skimp on a skilled, professional photographer.SoundMy dad is a musician and had a big speaker that we lugged up the hill to the wedding site. I made a wedding playlist on Spotify, had a friend hit the selected song for my entrance and then again for our exit, and that was that. Dad did do a trade with some musician friends of his, a saxophone/piano duo, to play at the reception but they weren’t part of our budget or plan and we could have used the Spotify playlist and speaker again there if needed. I don’t know how much it would cost to rent a speaker, but we found no need for a DJ.MiscellaneousPrinting costs were a little over $100. My sisters did my hair and makeup (I have no idea how to do this stuff myself). We did not have attendants, due to both of our best friends living abroad at the time of the wedding; also, what’s the point of them? If we had attendants, they could have worn whatever they wanted with no extra cost for us or them. I already had the extra jewelry I wore, with exception of a pair of belled anklets that my mother-in-law made for me. We did buy a bouquet, a boutonnière for my husband, a flower crown for myself, and little flowers for my mom and mother-in-law; it all cost maybe $60. The rehearsal dinner was hosted at my in-law’s place.In the end, we had a lovely wedding that was put together in less than two months. Everyone I talked to afterward loved it, and it went off without a hitch. It was simple, but nobody attends a wedding for the stuff. Don’t get bogged down by things you or your kids or your friends think you need, and know that if it’s tagged as ‘wedding’ then it’s going to come with a significant mark up.