Words of Wisdom
Feature Launched: July 9, 2007
About: A forum where users share their best advice on various wedding topics.
Words of Wisdom: Budgets
July 12th, 2007 @ 1:23 pm by Words of Wisdom
Budgets are all the buzz these days around Weddingbee. So while the topic is hot, what have you found to be the best tips for saving money in planning a wedding?
28 Responses to “Words of Wisdom: Budgets”
change all of your plans. go for small, personal, and intimate. family only. have a shindig later with you girl and guy pals. i planned my whole wedding in two weeks. pretty much stress-free and beautiful. i’m amazed at the money we’re saving!! it’s totally awesome.
Do all of the stationery items yourself! If you make sure to give yourself plenty of time, you can save a ton of money.
A penny saved is a penny earned, so putting all our spare change in a jar has helped over the last couple of years to fund our vacations. If it can work for a vacation I’m sure the little bit saved can be put a long way for a vacation.
Make a list of what is of all the major wedding related item (food, flowers, dress) and mark them by importance. If something means a whole heck of a bunch to you, you might want to spend a little more than than on say… linens.
Also, enlist your crafty friends to see if they can help replicate items you’ve seen in magazines for lots less! Example: I wanted fans in my ceremony and noticed online they are about 3-5$ a piece. I ended up making my own and came out to less than 15 cents each! Just a little elbow grease goes a long way!
i agree with jen- i made my invites & programs and saved a lot of $$$. i also went for simple centerpices (large fishbowls with a rose, foliage and orchids in water) and that saved a ton with my florist (and they looked really hot!)
DIY and look to family and friends for help. Use items that LOOK expensive rather than ARE expensive. Have a small guest list.
save at least a year in advance.
discuss with the FI what your priorities are (which vendors and details) so that you can allocate your budget accordingly.
also understand that things may not go your way and that your “dream” wedding may need to have some elements that won’t work out exactly as you had planned. just be flexible and hopefully, reasoning will work when you turn bridezilla and HAVE to HAVE that $6 per yard ribbon.
Choose three items to splurge on so you don’t go out of control.
Get quotes for everything you will need done, including those you plan to DIY on. Make sure to negotiate terms that allow you to edit your needs till about a month before the wedding. Do the DIY stuff you can and then subtract those from your needs. My florist quote came in at $1200 but by DIYing it I cut it down to $800. Now I know what I saved and I had a back-up in case I failed on something.
Enlist your talented friends/family!
My mom did the boquets and flower arrangements, my brother (a webdesigner/animator) made the video shown at the reception, friends did our ceremony music, our photographer friend gave us a great deal on photography!
Not only does it save money, but it makes the experience more special because it was a group effort!
Before every vendor booking and every purchase I made wedding related I slept on it. One night I would allow myself to really think about if that price or if that purchase was worth it, would I regret having or not having that in 10 years. Do I really need a $10,000 dress or venue or flowers ect. When I am 75 will I be bummed that I didnt have the dance floor with our lighted initials? I took a step back from each purchase and really thought about.
Also take advantage of ebay! I really saved on ribbon, candles and our cake topper.
Do your own stationary if you are crafty and your own flowers, too.
I can’t fathom spending $2k on invites that will be thrown away by 90% of guests. Sure, some people will keep them be tossed and that’s literally throwing money away!
Of course, cutting your guest list is the most important. After that–stop reading wedding magazines, The Knot, Weddingbee, etc., because they give you too many ideas about cute little things that are “necessary” for weddings. You’ll save quite a bit if you skip elaborate favors, aisle runners, petal cones, fancy programs, “tears of joy”, table menus, wish bowls, bathroom baskets, etc., etc., etc. It’s amazing how much you’ll save that way.
But probably the biggest single savings I had was doing my own flowers. I probably saved $1000 by ordering 400 roses from freshroses.com instead of using a florist. Yes, it was work, but it was worth it, and my roses were gorgeous.
Don’t always think “wedding” when researching options. By BM dresses are from a dept. store not a wedding designer. My reception is in a restaurant, not a hotel salon. My small flower arrangements will double as centerpieces and favors.
Be flexible on the date - Sundays-Thursdays are often much cheaper for sites than Friday or Saturday. We saved about $1000 by getting married on a Sunday evening.
Ipod it! - We spent $250 to rent speakers and have someone set them up and take them down plus we had a microphone for toasts. All of the music was chosen by us and no scary DJ.
Take advantage of your friends and family - I had my mother, aunts, cousins, sisters and a few talented friends do all of the very simple centerpieces (white roses in square glass vases from IKEA - $2.49/apiece) the morning of the wedding. It was a fun way to spend the morning and gave everyone a chance to hang out together.
1) The thing that saved me the most money is booking vendors in the next town over. I live in a fairly expensive city with lots of boutique shops that charge an arm and a leg for everything. However, 15 minutes away is the a very small town with a lower cost of living. Soooo…..I booked my caterer and my cake from this nearby town and was able to get yummy food & cake for nearly half the cost of what it would have cost me in town. The delivery charge was nominal compared to the amount I saved.
2) Try on everything instore and then buy it online. I tried on shoes, jewelry, dresses in bridal shops and then ordered them online. Ebay is a personal favorite.
3) Decorations (like centerpieces) that don’t require fresh flowers (hence the need for a florist) are a great money-saver and can be easily arranged by family and friends
4) Create things that serve more than one function. For example, our programs will be customized wirebound notebooks that will serve as our programs, escort cards, and favors.
5) Craigslist.com
6) AND always….NEGOTIATE, NEGOTIATE, NEGOTIATE!!!
Create your own albums post wedding, so you can spend less on a package with your photographer. Also, you can order bulk from a flower wholesaler for centerpiece flowers. DIY centerpieces always are great and really makes the wedding that much more memorable. You can nix the limo. Have a destination wedding so you don’t have to travel for an additional honeymoon. Create your own programs, use an ipod for the reception instead of DJ, and always check out ikea for cheap decor items.
I have to say Keep your Wedding Party to a MINIMUM! Ours expanded to a total of 16 people.
16 people = 16 flowers
16 people = 16 gifts to buy
16 people = need more transportation 10-12 person limo won’t fly
16 more people for the Rehearsal dinner and their significant others.
You get the picture. Not to mention if you should decide to pay for hair/makeup, little gift bags with flip flops and lotion. It all adds up.
Have a vision for your event BEFORE you plan a single thing.
The theme, and the elements you consider important will stand out when you start envisioning the whole thing - then you can decide what you think is worth splurging on!
Also, if you don’t find personal meaning in a particular tradition - SKIP IT! It can only save you money and grief.
ditto to another commenter on being flexible on date/time. we are getting married in manhattan and by doing a saturday afternoon affair versus a saturday night one, we saved approximately $17,000 on the venue/food/drinks alone !!
I set a budget for 15K and challenge my self to go under by going a DIY route, though I am not a very creative person, I found a way to make them look unique and personal to our wedding.
I second craigslist- we found our photographer and DJ there. I must say our photographer was our biggest bargain and we’re getting a lot more than we expected- because of an ad she had on craigslist!
Ditto to Ebay! You’ll save a ton of money if you buy bulk lots for favors, treats, etc.
Take advantage of the volume you need to buy and negotiate for discounts. Don’t pay full retail for anything that you’ll need 100+ of.
Getting engaged a year before the date gave us time to take advantage of post holiday sales. Our twinkle lights came from post-Christmas sales, the toys for the children’s treat bags were all gathered from post easter sales. I bought silly putty at 2 for 25 cents and and entire box of miniature toys (enough for 20 kids) for less than $1.
Instead of not spending much on items you don’t really care about, I say skip them altogether! We are skipping a videographer and DJ/band for sure in favour of a homemade video shot by our friends (yes I know the quality won’t be the same, but I’ll probably only watch it once or twice, and we have a great photographer) and a playlist from our laptop. We’re also considering skipping printed menus and programs, favours, and maybe even the guest book.
the guest list. Who can i spend a whole day with and not hate them at the end of the day. Also 3 mins to write as many names down and thats how i narrowed down my guest list.
Don’t let other people talk you into stuff you don’t need — and by people I mean your mom, your friends, Martha Stewart, etc.
Take your time — sleep on it and make sure you really like whatever it is you’re picking.
My biggest budget saver was that I kept on reminding myself that at the end of the day, it’s the MARRIAGE — not the WEDDING — that people will be influenced by in years to come. Cheesy, but true!
All the above are great ideas. Here’s another, make up your mind and stick with it…changing you mind can cost you plenty…even little things, a bunch of those all adds up.
Start early and don’t procrastinate - If you start early, you’ll have time to hit all the seasonal clearances looking for great deals.
Pick colors that associate with a season - for instance, red items can be picked up after valentines day & christmas for cheap, blue items can also be found after christmas, pink is common for valentines day as well, oranges & browns can be found after the fall time (halloween & thanksgiving). Buying items on clearance will save TONS of money.
Comparison shop - don’t just buy the first thing you see. Search everywhere for a better deal.
Make a budget and stick to it - it may sound simple, but it isn’t. You may be tempted to purchase a $150 tiara, but if you didn’t budget for it, don’t buy it. You’d be surprised how you can find something just a beautiful for much less. Let your budget challenge you to be more creative at finding a better deal.
Figure out what is most important to you and spend the most on those items. Then, skimp elsewhere. - If photography is important, spend your money there and cut back on flowers.
DIY - Although it isn’t always cheaper, it usually is. Many things can be made for far less than what the wedding sites sell them for.
Ask friends - don’t be afraid to use your connections. Most friends would love to help you with various aspects of the wedding. Just don’t make them feel pressured or rushed. If they decline, then that is that. But, it’s worth a try right?
