So
you’re getting married. Congratulations! Are you planning your wedding
and looking for some time and money savings tips? You’ve come to the
right place. Consider this truth-telling time so that you can avoid some
of the more common pitfalls. Planning your special day can and should
be such a fun experience that you’d repeat if you could. Since you don’t
want to say, “If I had it to do over again I’d…,” consider the
following:
These are just some of the many money saving wedding tips to be had.
With a little time and research you’ll find substantial savings on other
aspects of your wedding such as your photographer (no, don’t use uncle
Bill), transportation (are limos necessary?), ceremony programs, printed
menus, embossed place settings (remember, these get thrown away like
invitations), keeping the guest list small, and more. How do you plan to
save? Mazel Tov!
1. People Will Remember Two Things about Your Wedding: The Food and the Feeling
Years from now (or sooner), no one but you and your spouse are going
to remember what your invitations, flowers, wedding favors, or cake
looked like. So why blow a lot of money on them? In all of the weddings
that I have talked with people about, not once has someone said, “Girl, I
will never forget their invitation.” People WILL remember and talk
about the food and how they felt attending your event. They may not
remember exactly
what they ate, but they’ll remember whether or
not they enjoyed it. They may not remember specific details about the
day, but they will remember if they had a great time and if everyone
seemed happy. If you keep these two things in the forefront and make
them a priority when planning your day, the decisions you make can
enable you to save time and money.
2. Beautiful Invitations Eventually End Up in the Garbage Too
So don’t spend a lot of time obsessing over them or paying a lot of
money. If you saw the movie “Bridesmaids,” you probably remember the
scene when the main character Annie Walker received an invitation to her
best friend’s Paris themed bridal shower. It was a fancy pink striped
box that held a candle, statue representing the bride and groom, the
printed invitation, and best of all a small box that when opened had a
butterfly that flew out and “kissed” her. That invitation package
clearly cost some bucks. Of course most invitations aren’t that
elaborate, but the point is people are spending a lot of money on
something that will eventually end up in the garbage. At least in
Annie’s case there was a pretty box to save, and a candle to burn.
Today’s invitations not only set the tone for the wedding, but allow
couples to show off their unique style. It should be a fun process, but
not one that breaks the bank because no matter how lovely, most of your
guests will eventually dispose of it. That’s good money in the trash.
Luckily, there are so many options available that can literally save
you hundreds of dollars. From kits that can be purchased at arts and
crafts stores, to online retailers like Ann’s Bridal Bargains, there’s
something lovely for every budget. Designed your own? Keep costs down by
using a discount printing service like Vista Print. Want to design your
own, but don’t know where to go? Use a site like Fiverr to get your
dream design for less. Want to save even more money? Do away with the
paper entirely and send electronic invitations. Sites like Evites
provide a number of free and paid options. Better yet, use a site that
offers multiple services because…
3. A Good Wedding Website Can Help You Save Time and Money
They can be super easy to set up and personalized to reflect your
individual style. More importantly they can keep you organized by
storing everything in one place – which will be a real time saver. Even
better? There are a lot of FREE options! A good site will allow you to
accept and track wedding RSVPs, display a map to your ceremony site,
reception venue, and/or lodging, store vendor information, create a
seating chart, maintain a ledger of costs and payments, track gifts and
thank you notes, and provide a central location for contact. Sites like
Wedding Mapper provide this for free. For couples who want additional
amenities, paid upgrades are available. Having it all in one place can
save money on aspirin too because there will be fewer headaches. You’ll
both know where everything is and you can review it at a glance. To make
sure it remains a timesaver, don’t go overboard with the
personalization. You know, the telling of your story with pictures,
videos, stories and anecdotes. It’s cute, but what people really want
from your wedding website is practical information such as directions,
and where your registry is located.
4. There are So Many Ways to Get the Dress for Less
Did you know that the average cost of a wedding dress
is $1300? That’s a lot of money for something you’ll be wearing once.
I’m sure you’ve heard it before but it’s true! Whether you plan to go
the traditional route or not, there’s no reason to pay that much, as you
can have your perfect dress for so much less. For instance, you can
rent a dress for as little as $75 from sites like Rent the Runway. One
challenge with rentals is that you can’t alter them, so consider other
awesome options like buying a pre-owned dress. Brick and mortar
consignment stores that specialize in wedding gowns, as well as online
shops like
Preownedweddingdresses.com
offer a great selection and an even greater savings. Retail stores like
Black House White Market and J. Crew have gotten into the wedding dress
game, offering great styles at fantastic prices. Many brides have their
dream dress made overseas for as low as $200! Intrigued? The book,
“Bridal Bargains: Secrets to Throwing a Fantastic Wedding on a Realistic
Budget,” by Denise Fields describes how to do just that, along with
tons of other money saving wedding tips. If you can bear to part with
your dress after the wedding you can recoup some of the cost by selling
or consigning it for another bride to wear and love. I purchased my
dress (pictured above) from a consignment store for $250 and I LOVED it.
5. Avoid Bridal Magazines & Television Shows
The first time I actually looked at a bridal magazine was after I
purchased my dress, shoes and accessories. I was thrilled with my
choices as they were “me.” I hadn’t decided on the hair 100% and thought
I might find inspiration in a few magazines. All I can say is that I
was over the moon happy that I had already purchased everything because
the magazines did what they were designed to do – make me ooh, ahh,
salivate and desire, regardless of the ridiculous prices. There was even
a moment, a tiny one but still, where I doubted my dress and wished for
one in the magazine. Don’t go down that rabbit hole. Magazines and
shows about dream weddings will clue you into things that you would
otherwise never, EVER, have thought about “needing” or wanting –
promoting a false idea of what a wedding is
supposed to be or
should have. More choice is not necessarily better in this case. Pearl
encrusted bridal bouquet holder. Beautiful? Oh, yes. Ridiculous and
completely unnecessary? Absolutely!
6. Beautiful, Money Saving Wedding Flowers are Possible and Make a Lot of “Cents”
Wedding flowers cost an average of $1200.
Say what?! Someone please explain why so much money is spent on wedding
flowers. To keep costs down while still having beautiful flowers,
consider the following. Buy flowers that are currently in bloom,
otherwise you’ll pay a premium for your dream flower that’s out of
season. If you’re using a florist, don’t tell them that you’re
purchasing for a wedding, at least until your final price is locked in.
It’s like roses on Valentine’s Day. The price will go up.
If you’re willing to design the arrangement yourself, consider using
an online flower wholesaler like Fifty Flowers. Wholesale clubs like
Sam’s Club and Costco are also great choices for pretty flowers for
less. Or you can do what we did and showcase the flowers as accents as
opposed to the primary décor or centerpiece. My husband and I scouted
three locations, two supermarkets and a farmer’s market, that had
beautiful and inexpensive flowers. We chose three so there were options
if one had a bad day. The day before the wedding we bought what we
liked and spent $100, including the $5 DIY bridal bouquet. It’s amazing
what a few bottles, vases, and ribbon will do! Pictured above is one of
the flower accents used during the outdoor cocktail hour. Not only did
we save a ton of money, we saved time as well because we limited our
choices to what was available and on hand.
7. Wedding Décor Can be Totally Sharp, Classy, AND Inexpensive
Many couples use flower arrangements as their table centerpieces
which can add a lot to your budget’s bottom line. You can slash your
budget significantly by being creative and using an almost infinite
number of options for your centerpieces and décor. How? Three words:
Coupons, Ebay, and borrowing. Craigslist counts too. For the DYIer, arts
and crafts stores like Michael’s provides inspiration, as well as 50%
off coupons. White string lights which are practically a holiday time
staple and are probably sitting in your basement, or can be borrowed
from family and friends, can create a magical dreamscape. Tea light
candles, even flameless ones, in decorative holders add romantic drama
and can be had by the dozens for twenty to fifty dollars on eBay. Still
want flowers? Use them as accents as shown in the photo above. Not only
will you save money, but your guests will be able to see each other over
this lovely centerpiece.
8. You are Not Limited to a Specific Caterer
Since the food (and drink) is one of the things that will stand out
in your guests’ memory, you want to get this one right. It’s not about
your budget, per se because done well, hamburgers and hot dogs can be
great wedding food. All things being equal however, if your goal is to
provide a fancy-ish catered meal and it comes down to choosing between
“lesser quality” food options so you can, let’s say buy the fancier
decorations, spend the money on the food. It will feel worth it when
people ask when they can expect to be invited back for your next event.
As far as I know, no one has ever asked for a repeat invite because of
pretty decorations. With that said, these money saving wedding tips can
help you have the menu that you want and eat it too.
Yes, you can definitely save money on food by holding your reception
during less popular times (think Friday night or Sunday brunch). It is
also true that buffets are generally less expensive than sit-down meals.
However, the biggest food money saver occurs when you hold your
reception at a venue that allows you to cater with whomever you wish.
Doing this one thing will allow you to control everything from your
price point to all of your food choices. Finding a venue that will allow
you to do this may take a little work, but the savings can be immense.
When working with a caterer, do not tell them that you are
planning a wedding
menu until your menu and price has been locked in. As with the flowers
example above, wedding packages may very well be priced higher than
other options.
My husband and I saved a ton of money by using a company that
specialized in college dining services. Many college food service
operations are contracted out to specialized companies that may also
have catering arms. Your memories of college dining hall food may not be
fond, but you may be surprised at how well they do fancy. Set up a
tasting to see. It could very well be the biggest cost saver of your
wedding. Other tips include renting table cloths, china, tables and
chairs from party companies because it may be less expensive than
through the caterer. Also, sometimes buying the table cloths is even
cheaper than renting and you can sell them and recoup some of the cost!
9. Your Wedding Cake Doesn’t Have to be Large Enough to Serve Everyone
Heck, it doesn’t even have to be a cake! The wedding industry
certainly knows how to get us to buy into whatever they are selling. The
cake is no exception. To hear them tell it we need a specially engraved
cake knife and server, as well as a floral bouquet for the knife.
That’s right. Flowers. For the knife. That cuts your cake. Seriously?
Novelty options such as cupcakes, small pies, ice cream sundaes,
Viennese tables and more can be marvelous options which on the face of
it sound like they would be less expensive than a fancy cake. Just make
sure that they are. If you need to have a wedding cake, consider a small
one, appropriate for the two of you to enjoy and have your yummy, yet
less expensive sheet cake in the back ready to be sliced and served.
Believe me, no one is going to wonder or care how all of those square
slices came from a small round cake. Tip: Order a cake for half the
number of guests attending and serve half slices. If you’ve ever been to
a wedding you’re sure to have seen all of leftovers from partially
eaten slices that were then just thrown away. By now people are up and
mingling.
10. You Could Spend Forever Selecting the Perfect Wedding Favor
Go through this link and save 10% OFF on Wedding Flowers & Gifts @ FTD.com!
For once, the issue here isn’t as much about money as it is about
time. There are so many cute wedding favor ideas (that your guests will
actually enjoy) that you could devote hours, no days poring over all of
the options. The best way to insure that your party favor doesn’t set
you back a lot of money is to be open to the possibilities. People who
are locked into an idea, and inflexible regarding what they will
accept, incur the greatest cost. Sites like
TheWeddingShop.theKnot.com
have everything from personalized chocolate covered pretzels, to olive
oil, chap stick, mints in decorative tins and more for prices that will
make you smile. If you can live without personalization you could save
even more. For instance, we bought milk chocolate heart-shaped lollipops
(pictured above) that were on sale on the Godiva website for $2 each
with free shipping. Some folks “oohed” because it was Godiva, but for us
it was more like, “Yummy. Awesome price. Order it. Done!” Make a pact
for how much time you will spend making your favor decision and stick to
it. That’ll be one less thing on your to do list.
11. There’s Such a Thing as an Ipod DJ!
Live Band or DJ? Neither, since the average price of a live band is $3,000 and a reception DJ is $1000,
thank-you-very-much. Thanks to rentable Ipod DJ equipment you can have
great wedding music for $500 or less. Locate a rental company that
carries this type of equipment. The rental cost could be as low as $65 a
day. Rent some speakers appropriate for the size of the venue. You
could even bypass the Ipod DJ equipment totally by renting speakers that
allow you to connect your Ipod directly to them. Either way, plug in
your iPod and you’re good to go! Okay, so it’s not quite that simple.
You have some choices to make. Will you develop your own playlist or pay
a DJ to record a dance set for you? With some time you can pretty
easily develop your own pre-ceremony, ceremony, cocktail and dinner hour
playlists. The dance playlist can be a little trickier as you want to
include songs that will appeal to everyone as well as have the right mix
of fast and slow songs. If you’re confident in your abilities then what
you spend in time you will definitely save in money. As far as the
duties that a DJ usually handles such as introducing the bridal party
and the speeches, etc., and pushing the play button on your electronic
DJ, ask and assign someone in your wedding party to handle those
responsibilities.
