I know zero about Orthodox weddings, but we did have a nice wedding for very little cost. The photographer was very impressed, and we got a lot of compliments. Some things I am sure would not apply to Orthodoxy. And I think it was great advice to decide what's important to you, and anything else doesn't have to be there.
What we did to save money ...
My dress came from eBay - simply gorgeous designer dress for not much at all; the alterations cost several times what the dress itself did
He bought his tux from the rental place as they were selling it very cheaply (slightly more than a rental), and we used the "points" from the purchase to buy the shirt and all that was needed to go with it
The cake was made by a friend of a church member and she refused to let me pay more than $65 (the cake shop was going to charge over $500 for the same cake). I had it decorated with real and silk flowers and ribbons which brought the cost down considerably
The church was decorated with simple plants and flowers that I took home after and used (probably not an issue in an Orthodox church?)
The church hall was decorated with things the church had and the members loaned, everyone helped me do it - chairs slipcovered and tied with small silk bouquets cut from a garland, tables covered with cloth (all that belonged to the church) - candleholders and glass vases on the tables, decorated with lace appliques loaned by a friend - I bought candles and glass stones at the dollar store.
The flowers were done by a dear lady in the church. She had a license and got them cheaply. We paid for the flowers (in season) and she made the bridal bouquet and groom's buttoniere (and I just remembered, I did have a little crown with simple flowers, lol) - she also provided stems for the tables
The reception utensils I bought at party stores on sale, and the dollar store - nice but cheap
We provided a little food, but church members brought some as well
I cut way down on photographer's costs by paying him to just take the photos and give me a CD (at the wedding). He edited one photo and emailed it to me. His costs were 3-5x higher to edit all the photos and provide a small book, so by editing and printing my own I saved a lot
I recorded music for the reception myself and paid a gratuity to the church music person to "DJ" for me
A young lady who was aspiring to do makeup, etc. professionally did my hair and makeup for free, but I gave her a gift in thanks
Our rings were not in the traditional style. I chose mine for meaning and look - there is quite a bit of symbolism to me in the design, but it has 3 aquamarines and 7 tiny diamond chips, and cost only a small fraction of what a larger diamond ring would and suits me much better
The pastor gifted us back the fee for the use of the church, since we had become members by then and went through his pre-marriage course. We did give he and his wife a small gift.
And I think that was the extent of our costs. Including everything, I know it was far less than $2K. The biggest expenses were the dress, rings, and photographer. And we wanted a wedding that looked like a wedding. Of course almost none of those expenses are really necessary (except a marriage license), but we received many, many compliments on how nice it all was. It really was elegant, but simple at the same time. I was pleased.
It suited us well.
We saved our money for the honeymoon too, which was worth it.
