- Andria and Nicolaas DeGroot got married in Brooklyn, New York, for only $9,272.
- The wedding ceremony was at City Hall in Manhattan, and their reception with 63 guests was at an army base in Brooklyn.
- Their best deal was on the venue, which only cost $4,700 including food, wine, beer, well liquor, and even cake.
- Here's how they spent every last dollar on their wedding — from the dress to the flowers to the photographer.
Andria and Nicolaas DeGroot had been together for nine years when they decided to get married.
"I said to my husband, 'We're only getting fatter and our hair's only getting thinner. If I can pull off a wedding for around $8,000, would you want to do it?'" Andria, a somatic therapist and administrative assistant, told INSIDER.
They ended up pulling it off for just a little more than that.
The New York City natives got married on November 3, 2017, at City Hall in Manhattan and held their reception at Fort Hamilton Community Club on the US Army base in Brooklyn, New York. Only a few close friends joined them for the ceremony at City Hall, but 63 guests celebrated with them at the reception.
They ended up spending $9,272 total, just slightly over their budget — a remarkable feat considering the average Manhattan wedding costs $76,944, according to The Knot. The national average is $33,391.
Andria's father gave the couple $4,000 to spend on the wedding, and she and her husband covered the rest.
The bride walked INSIDER through how she and her now-husband spent their money on every detail of the wedding.
Venue and decor: $5,417
Andria said her first choice of venue was the Army base, which she had previously visited for another event.
"I live four blocks away, and the views of the Verrazano [Bridge] are gorgeous, and I knew the hall, so it was my first choice," she told INSIDER. "After calling different halls and going through Thumbtack and going through wedding website after wedding website, it actually turned out that it was the most affordable."
The community hall on the Army base cost $4,700 to held their reception, which included food, cake, beer, wine, and well liquor, with a premium liquor cash option.
"For example, if you ordered a whiskey and Coke, you'd get a whiskey and coke," Andria said. "But if you said you wanted Jack Daniels and Coke, Jack Daniels would be considered premium so they would pay cash for that liquor, but we were on the Army base so there's no tax. So the drink itself was like $4."
The food options included Swedish meatballs, empanadas, vegetable samosas, mozzarella baked ziti, penne vodka, steak, and two kinds of chicken, Andria said.
The couple decided to forego a traditional wedding cake for a chocolate sheet cake provided by the venue.
"We didn't have a wedding cake because basically, when you have a wedding cake, they cut it, they take pictures, but they actually serve you sheet cake," Andria said. "Or you're paying a bunch of people to cut it and hope it doesn't fall over."
When it came to decor, Andria said she it to be simple and elegant. For the table centerpieces, she bought everything from IKEA and Dollar Tree, and her friends helped the venue staff assemble them.
Ceremony venue: $0 (Ceremony was at the court house.)
Reception venue: $4,700
Flowers: $550 (The bride's bouquet was made of artificial flowers from Afloral. Real flowers were used for the table centerpieces, boutonnieres, and tosser bouquet.)
Other decor: $167 (The other decor included centerpieces and a DIY welcome sign mounted on a ladder.)
Cake: $0 (They skipped a traditional wedding cake. Sheet cake was provided by the venue.)
Food and drink: $0 (Included in the price of the venue.)
Favors: $0
Lighting: $0
Attire: $2,567
Andria bought her wedding dress online at Dressily Me for $280.
"They basically make dresses based off of designers," she said. "But you want to get yourself professionally measured so you can custom order it, because the alteration on a wedding dress is so expensive that you want to get it as close as possible when you order it."
Andria got her measurements taken by her local dry-cleaner, who didn't charge her.
The groom bought his suit at Black Lapel in Manhattan for $600.
"They measure you and they bring you out so many options that you wouldn't even think of that really make your body style look great," Andria told INSIDER. "You walk in and all the people helping you are dressed so freakin' posh, you know you're in good hands."
Andria got a discount on her hair styling by using Thumbtack, a website to find various types of professionals in your area.
Dress: $280
Bride's shoes: $15 (from Amazon)
Hair: $180 (Andria got a friend discount on her hair styling by Hayden Kings Salon.)
Makeup: $220 (Andria's makeup was done by Devon Cass for the Thumbtack price of $110. They also did a trial beforehand for $110.)
Accessories: $35 (a DIY headpiece with materials bought from Etsy)
Groom's attire: $600
Groom's shoes: $93 (from Amazon)
Wedding rings: $849 ($599 for her ring set and $250 for his)
Vendors: $800
Andria and Nicolaas' photographer went to high school with Andria.
"I wish we were better for the photographer," Andria said. "We were late, we were non-compliant people. You want to do the photographs really just yourselves before anybody else shows up... It's really hard to focus when you aunt is like, 'Oh my god, you look so beautiful!' right next to your ear."
"I think I would've spent more on the photographer's time, like I would've had him for six-and-a-half or seven hours," Andria said.
The only other thing she regretted not splurging on was a day-of coordinator.
"The day of, I was really stressed out because I felt like I had to do that," she said. "I didn't end up doing that. I really didn't. My 'A-Team' really took care of it."
The "A-Team," which consisted of friends Alanna, Angela, Amanda and Annemarie, was a substitution for bridesmaids.
"They were fantastic," she said. "I didn't know there were any problems. I had no idea if anything went sideways. They took care of it."
Photographer: $800 (They got a discount because the photographer was a high school friend of the bride.)
Videographer: N/A
Photobooth: N/A
Wedding planner: N/A
Day-of coordinator: N/A
Band/DJ: $0 (They played a Spotify playlist on speakers that came with the venue.)
Other entertainment: N/A
Wedding officiant: N/A
Miscellaneous: $488
Andria and Nicolaas paid $35 for their marriage license and a $25 fee to get married at City Hall.
Their biggest miscellaneous expense was a $300 tip for the manager of the reception venue.
Apart from perhaps spending a little more on the photographer and a day-of coordinator, Andria said she was happy with how much money they spent on their wedding.
"Personally, I think that going into debt over a wedding is silly," she said. "After the day is over — it goes by so quick — and you're paying it off for years? It doesn't balance out."
The DeGroots didn't take a honeymoon, Andria said, because they're "frugal people."
They started saving up about nine months before the wedding, according to Andria.
"We had some money saved up, but we set a goal and we saved toward the budget," she said. "We went a little over [the budget of $8,000], but that was OK. We came close to breaking even with the generosity of the guests and gifts and things."
Wedding insurance: N/A
Invitations: $78
Postage: $50
Website: $0
Wedding program: N/A
Marriage license: $35
City Hall ceremony fee: $25
Transportation: $0 (They live within walking distance to the venue.)
Hotel: $0
Bridal party gifts: $0
Other expenses: $300 (Tip for the manager of the venue)
Total Wedding Cost: $9,272
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