Planning a 50th Wedding Aniversary Celebration on a Budget

The 50th wedding anniversary is a major, milestone event that is definitely worthy of some type of celebration. But in these trying economic times a catered sit down dinner with open bar and dance band may simply not be an option. However, with a little creativity and advance planning you can plan a memorable celebration for the happy couple without breaking your budget. Here are a few ideas for planning a more affordable celebration.

Romantic Getaway for the Couple

While some couples definitely want to celebrate the day with their family and friends others might be more comfortable with just a romantic getaway for two, especially if they did not have the opportunity to have a honeymoon at the start of their marriage.

Senior discounts are often available through individual cruise lines or through membership in organizations like AAA Motor Club or AARP. And if several family members are willing to chip in to pay for the romantic getaway this can be a very affordable and low stress way to plan a memorable event for your loved ones.

Also, nearby inns or a bed and breakfast can also offer an elegant and affordable getaway. A wonderful resource for finding Bed and Breakfast establishments anywhere in the country is www.bnbfinder.com. It provides a search engine that allows you to check availability and then link to the individual B & B websites, many of which offer virtual tours of their facilities.

Dinner Parties and Receptions

While catered events involving hotel ballrooms or large banquet halls can be quite expensive there are ways to arrange a memorable gathering for family and friends on a limited budget.

Restaurants with separate "party rooms" are often much more affordable than hotels and banquet halls. When my parents celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary several years ago, my sisters and I worked with a local Bed and Breakfast to host a dinner party celebration that was a fraction of the cost for the same number of guests at a luxury hotel. By scheduling our event on a weeknight during a time of year when the Bed and Breakfast had very few regular guests they were able to offer the intimate setting of their main sitting room for appetizers and a restaurant quality sit down dinner in the main dining room. Also, since many of our parents' elderly guests didn't drink alcohol due to various medications, we substituted sparkling grape juice for champagne and opted not to have a bar avoiding the costly proposition of providing a bartender and alcohol.

If your honorees prefer an even more informal setting, hosting the party at their local church or in someone's home as a potluck dinner will be the most affordable option. Or if the honorees live in a retirement community you may be able to reserve the clubhouse there for a nominal fee.

Outdoor Events

For celebrations that will occur in warm weather climates there are a number of affordable outdoor options. A cocktail party with appetizers or dessert, coffee and soft drinks only in a hotel pool or patio setting can be much more affordable than a sit-down dinner in the formal dining room.

You might also want to consider inns at local state parks which sometimes offer banquet facilities in a more rustic setting. Just be sure to check for handicap accessibility, especially if many of the guests will be elderly. And finally, a picnic or barbeque either catered or potluck or an old fashioned "ice cream social" can offer a casual event that has the advantage of allowing a much larger guest list than might be possible for a more formal event.

Other Ideas

For my parents' party my sister used a simple party invitation software program and scanned in our parents' wedding photo to create personalized party invitations and programs at a fraction of the cost of using a professional printer.

Candles and silk flower arrangements are much more affordable than fresh floral arrangements for table centerpieces.

A friend of my shared an idea that allowed her to forego the cost of renting table cloths and table settings. Guests were invited to participate in the party preparations by loaning their own table settings and linens. It gave the couple's friends a chance to show off their rarely used "good" linens, china, silverware and stemware and the mix of each table having a different "look" created a lot of visual interest.

The 50th wedding anniversary is a once in lifetime event, and you can make it special without wrecking your budget.

References:

O'Brien, Sharon. How to Find Outstanding Senior Travel Discounts. http://seniorliving.about.com/od/travelsmart/ss/traveldiscount_9.htm