Location
Park Perfect
Many venues come at a steep price, eating up roughly 30% of an average wedding budget, according to wedding planning site The Knot. Not to worry. For an eclectic range of down-to-earth locations, Milwaukee County Parks has you covered. Rental offerings range from German-style beer gardens to rustic lodges. Here are five unique spaces that are quintessentially Milwaukee.
South Shore Pavilion
Address: 2900 S. Shore Dr.
Vibe: Historic charm, with exposed brick, leaded glass windows and an unbeatable view of Lake Michigan
Capacity: 210
Cost: $1,216 for four hours
BYOB: Yes
It’s time to pick your Milwaukee favorites for the year!
Hubbard Park Lodge
Address: 3565 N. Morris Blvd., Shorewood
Vibe: A cozy, rustic 1930s log cabin
Capacity: 175
Cost: $1,000 for 6 hours
BYOB: No
Whitnall Park Beer Garden
Address: 8831 N. Root River Pkwy., Franklin
Vibe: Very casual setting laden with picnic tables
Capacity: N/A
Cost: No fee on beer garden, but $1,000 food and beverage minimum
BYOB: No
Humboldt Park Pavilion
Address: 3000 S. Howell Ave.
Vibe: Cathedral ceiling lends elegance, and the woods are enchanting.
Capacity: 120
Cost: $545 for four hours
BYOB: Yes
Mitchell Park Domes
Address: 524 S. Layton Blvd.
Vibe: 1960s-era lobby space, plus access to the three themed Domes
Capacity: 275 seated; 500 cocktail-style
Cost: Inside space, from $800-$2,450 depending on month and day of the week
BYOB: No
A Sense of Place
Everyone’s been to a wedding in a ballroom. But what if you invite guests to celebrate your big day at a treehouse, wine bar or former firehouse? Now that’s original. Here are four such recs.
Indulge
RENTAL AVERAGES $600 FOR FIVE HOURS
This sleek, brick-walled former wine bar on Milwaukee Street is a good choice for smaller weddings (50 seated; 65 cocktail-style).
Classic Lanes
$750 FLAT FEE
This Oak Creek bowling center features the 150-person Maple Room. It also offers its own prepared food, and the buffet option is an affordable $20 per person.
Story Hill FireHouse
$350 AN HOUR WITH FIVE-HOUR MINIMUM
Host dinner in the former engine bay at this bungalow-style 1927 firehouse in Milwaukee’s Story Hill neighborhood – one of five erected in the city.
Treehouse
$132-$280 PER NIGHT
Included with this one-bedroom, one-bath Racine treehouse Airbnb are a screened-in gazebo with space for eight to dine, plus a two-level deck. Three proposals and an intimate wedding have taken place here – proof it’s a romantic spot.
Case Study: Backyard Bliss
Gathering items borrowed or bought economically, Milwaukee photographers Sara Stathas and Joseph Picciolo transformed their home’s outdoor space into the wedding venue of their dreams.
Stathas (in a nontraditional dress bought on sale at Nordstrom) and Picciolo (ensemble courtesy of Banana Republic) exchanged vows in their backyard, capping off the festivities with a meal for 12 (featuring Sicilian spiedini and Greek pan-seared saganaki) that they prepared themselves. Guests dressed casually, and string lights glowed under an overhead tent. The couple set the tables with candles inside canning jars, potted succulents, the bride’s parents’ china and their own silverware. All told, she says, they spent roughly $3,000. The wedding was “simple, familial, intimate,” says Stathas. In short, it was a direct reflection of them.
Here are Stathas’ thrifty tips for the perfect backyard affair:
➻ Set the mood. The couple arranged home-made paper bag luminaries – brown paper lunch bags filled part-way with sand and IKEA tea lights – in their front yard for more glowy illumination. “So cheap and so pretty!” says Stathas, who estimates that each cost less than $1.
➻ Shop second-hand. For a traditional Greek toast with Metaxa liqueur, Stathas scooped up a dozen aperitif glasses – to the tune of $5 – at an area Goodwill.
➻ Accept help. A friend volunteered to set out appetizers, do last-minute food prep, wash dishes and clean the kitchen, among other tasks. “This was the best thing ever!” says Stathas. “Our kitchen was not a disaster at the end of the night.”
➻ Factor in a splurge! For this couple, that was the 10-by-20-foot tent, purchased on Amazon for $475. “It’s sturdy, well-made, and we can use it again.”
Booze Budgeting: Stathas and Picciolo cite alcohol as the single biggest area of savings in their backyard wedding. If you’re renting an event space, look for one that allows you to BYOB, then head to Costco or Trader Joe’s for your wine and bubbly.
Food & Desserts
Five Ways to Save
You want to serve a delicious meal, but how can you when the cost of everything these days is so high? It means looking at the meal a little differently and smart-strategizing your way to a cost-effective celebration. Using tips like these from area wedding planners can help you win the budget battle:
➻ Instead of passed appetizers, consider a buffet of light, simple apps. You’ll save on the serving staff.
➻ Note that red meat and seafood are typically more expensive. For a less costly protein alternative, try pork or chicken. To scale back even further, opt for vegetarian, rice-based dishes or pastas.
➻ Serve the entrée family-style at the table. Don’t assume a buffet is your least expensive option. Even buffet tables still need some waitstaff, and you may end up spending more on food than you expected because you’re guessing how much you need.
➻ Have your coffee and dessert at a self-serve station. No need for catering staff to stick around.
➻ Serve a late-night snack. It’s all the rage these days and can fit into a budget. Keep it cost-effective and fun with a buffet of takeout pizza (served in the box) or your favorite fast food.
The Pros of Brunch
In food costs alone, you’ll save big-time by serving brunch instead of dinner. Think scrambled eggs, French toast and waffles. You may even be able to spring for a caterer you didn’t think would fit in a small budget! For instance, Black Shoe Hospitality, the parent company of local brunch star Blue’s Egg, offers brunch buffets for 10 to over 100 guests. An example cost breakdown is $17.95 per person for one entrée, one stuffed brown and one side.
Think Small
Is unconventional more your thing? Here and there, you’ll find a Milwaukee homegrown restaurant equipped to handle a small wedding reception. Take Palomino (2491 S. Superior St.). The quirky Bay View bar-resto can host up to 100 people (60 seated) and offers anything from its own menu and that of sister restos Comet Café and Honeypie. Cost estimate: $35-$75 per person, which includes food, drinks and space rental.
The Case for Costco
Here’s one of the best budget wedding dessert ideas out there – serve sheet cakes from Costco. The frosted cakes are surprisingly tasty and at $25 for a half-sheet (serves 48), they’re hard to beat. The cakes are offered in two varieties – white and chocolate, both with a mousse filling.
No More Tiers
Maybe a formal cake just isn’t your style – and if there were ever a time for something to be just your style, it’s your wedding! Doughnuts have been trending for a while now, and they’re still an economical and delicious choice. All of Grebe’s Bakery’s fried beauties – from glazed to chocolate iced buttercream filled – run $1.15-$1.50 each. Churros, the fried cinnamon-dipped Mexican pastry, are also a fun, unexpected, delectable option. At El Rey Foods, they sell for $1.29 each ($1 each for orders over 100) – or get their huge, rod-shaped creations in halves (2 for $1.29). Is your heart set on serving pies? At $5.99 per full-size pie (10 slices), Metro Market’s are a great value – and come in flavors like apple, cherry and blueberry.
Desserts on a Dime
As jaw-dropping – in a good way – as multi-tiered wedding cakes are, they will cost you. A three-tiered creation serving 100 guests, made by Aggie’s Bakery in West Allis, will set you back $300. That’s $3 per serving. Slash that cake budget by asking your baker for a small, bling-y cake just for you and your sweetie. C. Adam’s Bakery, for example, offers cutting cake starting at $32.
For your guests, opt for cupcakes that can be stacked into an Insta-worthy tower. An advantage of this approach is that you can choose to offer many types of cake. Try National Bakery and Deli, whose regular-size cupcakes run just $1.45 each and come in yellow, chocolate and chocolate with buttercream filling.
Do it Yourself
Tips from a Florist
Christine Nelson, owner of Designs Etc., has been a wedding florist for 30 years. One saving strategy she employs is repurposing arrangements, such as incorporating bridesmaid bouquets into the table decorations. Thinking creatively and being open-minded help, too. Trusting a florist’s recommendation for anchoring designs with in-season varieties, weaving in lower-cost alternatives (like carnations) and using lots of greenery in centerpieces can keep costs manageable.
Flowers for Less
Working with a florist, local brides can expect to spend at least $2,000 on flowers for a traditional wedding, says Nelson. If that falls outside of your comfort zone, consider forgoing the pro and doing it yourself.
Use these tips to get started:
➻ Order ahead from a wholesaler and make your own arrangements. Skip the time commitment by enlisting a friend to help. For a good selection of colors and varieties, try Costco, which sells 50 roses for $50 (among other varieties) and pre-matched flower bundles starting at $100. An average bridesmaid bouquet requires about 25 flowers (so about $25 per bouquet).
➻ Ring in a design expert for help. Flowers
forlessmke.com offers bouquet and centerpiece design workshops to help you achieve your DIY goals. They’re also a great resource for pre-ordering flowers in bulk (roses, for instance, run $2 per stem and come in boxes of 100).
➻ Pick up fresh bouquets from local farmers markets. Scout the markets ahead of time and ask the floral vendor if they can create your bouquet. Many area markets take place on Saturday mornings from early summer to late fall, but for more lead time, try a weekday market in Thiensville, West Allis or South Milwaukee.
➻ Go faux. To find artificial flowers that look as good as fresh, wedding planner Nilsa Tremaine of Tremaine Weddings recommends My Dream Centerpiece for renting bouquets ($20) and arrangements ($25-$100) and Amazon store Ling’s Special Moments for buying faux-quets for as low as $30.
➻ Get crafty. Consider a bouquet of Sola Wood Flowers, made from the wood of a marshy plant. Rather than stiff and hard, these flowers are soft and pliable, so they can be stemmed, dyed and fluffed. Bridal bouquet kits start around $40 and centerpiece kits start as low as $10-$12.
Second Time Around Gown
With the average bridal dress totaling $1,800, according to a 2021 study by The Knot, the gown can eat up a good chunk of your budget.
Broaden your search to previously owned – likely, worn once – wedding dresses and you’ll knock off a large portion of your costs. Pre-owned duds generally sell for 30%-60% of their original price, depending on condition and rarity, says Jessica Brittingham, owner of Milwaukee’s SPRUCED57 thrift and consignment store. Most local resale shops don’t often carry large selections of wedding dresses, she says, so an online search may be more fruitful. National shopping sites like Poshmark and preownedweddingdresses.com often have bridal and bridesmaid dresses available for as low as one third of their original price. Goodwill’s online selection – purchasable via a bidding system at shopgoodwill.com – can range from $30 to $350 for designer dresses.
Want to keep your search local? Nilsa Tremaine, of Milwaukee’s Tremaine Weddings, recommends joining a local Facebook community created for repurposing wedding items, including dresses. Her picks: Milwaukee Area Wedding Items for Sale and Wisconsin Wedding Center – All Things Weddings.
Strong Suits
While men’s wedding apparel costs generally don’t climb quite as high as women’s do, being mindful of how and where you’re spending money can ensure you’re getting the biggest bang for your buck. The cost to rent a tuxedo for a weekend can range $100-$250, but many wedding parties today are finding more value in purchasing suits (or tuxedos), rather than renting them. Off-the-rack suits can range from $250-$450 at retailers like Men’s Wearhouse and Jos. A. Bank. Custom suits individually tailored to your choice of color, style and fit up the cost, but can be a worthwhile investment. The Third Ward’s NL Suits offers custom options starting at $495. nlsuits.com
I Tried It: DIY Wedding Makeup
News flash: You don’t have to drop a couple hundred dollars on a makeup artist to achieve a fresh, flawless look on your wedding day. All it takes is a DIY wedding makeup tutorial video, some beauty products and a little practice, and even someone who usually wears very little makeup – me! – can look like a beauty queen. It was not only doable but fun!
I watched a video by YouTuber Allie Glines called “The PERFECT wedding makeup (& it’s all drugstore),” and I can see why it had 961,000 views – the look was beautiful and easy to follow. It’s soft, simple and natural, and if you want to do something more complex, a perfect base to add onto.
It took around an hour to complete, so I recommend grabbing a chair and a hand-mirror and getting comfortable as you dive in. I didn’t have all the brands she used, but I followed the techniques and suggestions she gave throughout. It turned out great!
Doing your makeup for your wedding day gives you control over details, and you can figure out which variations you like best. I recommend practicing a few times to make sure you feel confident and know exactly what you want for the real deal.
All the Rest
The Music
Bargain Option #1: Hire a DJ
You can book a DJ for less than half of what a live band would cost – roughly $2,000 and up. Here’s what to look for.
➻ Flexibility: They should have access to a vast selection of songs, cater to diverse musical tastes and be able to pivot quickly when the crowd isn’t responding. Most of all, you want to be able to trust them to play the music you’ve discussed with them. (DJs have been known to go rogue!) Ask them to provide recently wed couples you can contact for reference.
➻ Charisma: The ideal is a personality that can engage with the crowd, help make the reception fun and serve as emcee, if needed. Make sure they have mic experience.
➻ Preparedness: That doesn’t just mean having a backup system in case there’s an equipment failure. They should also know the logistics of the wedding venue ahead of time.
➻ Professionalism: Grooming and conduct are important. So is keeping the attention on the wedding couple (not on the DJ). And as the night goes on, you want someone adept at handling requests from tipsy guests in a gracious manner.
Bargain Option #2: DIY Playlist
If a DJ is not in your budget, create your own playlist. These pointers will help you get everybody on the floor.
➻ Slowly work the crowd into the mood to move during dinner with big band or light pop tunes.
➻ Get the traditional dances (like father/daughter and anniversary) out of the way by 9 p.m.
➻ Bump up the tempo. Local DJ Scott Schubert says his method is to play five to 10 songs in the 120-130 beats per minute range, or higher, before working in a slow tune. (For reference, Michael Jackson’s “Beat It” is 138 BPM.)
➻ Crank the bass. Scientists who studied an audience’s reaction to very-low-frequency sound concluded that it makes people dance more.
➻ Pick crowd-pleasing dance songs. Some examples, according to Schubert: “Cupid Shuffle” by Cupid, “Shut Up and Dance” by WALK THE MOON and the Caribbean-style “Danza Kuduro” by Don Omar.
Rummage
Sift for gems at Wisconsin’s Largest Wedding Rummage Sale on April 2 at Waukesha County Expo Center. Besides offering “gently used” wedding décor at discount prices, this annual event is a super resource for those still in the planning stage. bit.ly/WIwedrum
The Thrift List
A cost-conscious couple’s guide to shopping secondhand
You’re hardly the first person to plan a wedding. That means there’s a lot of merch out there for the savvy second-hand shopper. Make these two sources your frugal friends.
Facebook Marketplace
Best for: Centerpieces, signage, accessories
Cons: Prices are higher, because people are trying to make their money back.
Pro Tip: See something that matches your wedding’s theme or color scheme? Scour that seller’s other listings – you may have just found your one-stop shop.
Goodwill
Best for: Vases, frames, dishes, linens
Cons: Matching sets are rare, so look for an eclectic mix.
Pro Tip: Go regularly. The stores are restocking daily, so if one doesn’t have everything you need on that first trip, it might in a couple of days. Impatient? Try tracking more than one location.
Case Study: Budget Beach Wedding
When Milwaukee’s Courtney Cowan and Scott Conrad were married on a white-sand beach in Gulf Shores, Alabama, the ceremony was witnessed by just their core family members. A month later, they celebrated at a reception with 150 guests at South Shore Pavilion in Milwaukee. Their budget? Less than $10,000.
Here’s how they did it:
➻ Ceremony: The couple chose a spot on the beach “and got married right there, no permits or anything,” Cowan says. Joined by 10 close family members, they traveled from Milwaukee by car and stayed in a couple of rental houses on the beach. The “short and sweet” ceremony was performed by an officiant they found on Google – the photos were taken by the officiant’s wife – and was capped off by dinner at a favorite Gulf Shores restaurant. The bride bought her “maybe $300” dress from David’s Bridal before the trip, popped into a Gulf Shores salon for hair styling, did her own makeup and completed the look with a bouquet purchased at a local grocery store.
➻ Reception: Their Milwaukee reception was casual, with “an emphasis on party,” says Cowan, adding that they chose South Shore Pavilion because it was “one of the few that allowed us to bring in our own food and alcohol, and that was a big saver for us.” Guests dined on a BBQ buffet (made by an Illinois restaurant operator the family knew) and Honeydip doughnuts for dessert. “We brought our own kegs and wine and had guests serve themselves – a huge money saver,” says Cowan. Entertainment was a mix of the newlyweds’ Spotify playlist and a couple rounds of trivia a pal cooked up about the couple. Another friend pitched in as photographer.
➻ Advice: Reach out to friends for help! “Connections are so important,” says Cowan, “and this is the day that everyone who loves you wants to help make perfect. We would not have been able to do this on such a small dime without our amazing and talented friends.”
