Wedding Blog
Congratulations to AOEBuckeye, LisaK, Rose, and KEM - each of you have won a copy of the Rich Bride Poor Bride Planner! Thanks to everyone who entered!
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Today we have 4 copies of Rich Bride, Poor Bride: Your Ultimate Wedding Planning Guide to give away! Based on the international hit reality tv series of the same name, this 224 page book is chock full of great tips from the featured planners on the show. And like the show, it really focuses on budgeting - one of the most important aspects of the wedding planning process for every brides!
To enter, please share a budget saving tip from your own wedding in the comments below by 8pm tonight! Good luck!
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My favorite wedding/budget tip - Use a frequent flier credit card to pay for all wedding expenses. Chances are you’ll be able to fly free to your honeymoon with all your earned miles!! At the minimum you’ll be well on your way to free airline tickets - maybe to celebrate your first anniversary!
Once you decide on your wedding dress/bridesmaid dress, visit your designer’s website for a list of all stores that carry your designer in the area. Then hit the phone calling these stores for quotes! You can always use this price as a great bargaining tool at the store you actually will order your dress from.
Similar to jilian - I’m getting a lot of cash back on my credit card due to wedding purchases. Good extra spending money for the honeymoon. Now just to decide whether we get the massages or dinner on the beach…
Make a budget and continue to save as much as possible by putting money in an ING/high interest account, but use cash for smaller expenses when you can - BM/GM gifts, favors, etc.
After/closer to the wedding - you’ll have extra money in the savings because you used cash for so many smaller things you budgeted/saved for!
My tip… Do your research, Sometimes DIY isn’t cheaper. Price out all your costs before starting a project to make sure you’re not over budget in the end. I learned that one from my DIY invites.
We’ve started to cut coupons for everything. Every little bit helps, right?
We’re having the ceremony and reception in a place that requires little extra decor and using an iPod instead of a DJ or band. We’re putting all the money we would’ve put into flowers and music into more food and an open bar for our guests.
From my early planning- do research for prices online- for dresses, favors, anything! And, my personal favorite- eBay! There’s no way I’m spending $140 on a birdcage veil, I found one for $30 on there and I can embellish it however I want, if I want to. No offense to anyone who wants to buy one full price, I just can’t. 
think..do I really need that? in 15 years or 15 months will I rather have £300 or chair coverings?
Register with someone who has a completion program like Crate and Barrel. You get 10% off after your wedding date on items still left on your registry. Even if you know no one is going to buy you that couch you’ve been eying, why not put it on the registry and get it at 10% off later!
From my early planning- do research for prices online- for dresses, favors, anything! And, my personal favorite- eBay! There’s no way I’m spending $140 on a birdcage veil, I found one for $30 on there and I can embellish it however I want, if I want to. No offense to anyone who wants to buy one full price, I just can’t.
If this enters twice, I just received an error, wasn’t trying to cheat!
Use your friends/family! No, not in a bad way! People are usually willing to help, or even looking forward to helping. You just have to be willing to ASK. Be humble and don’t expect anything. I have a lot of talented friends and family members, and had no fear asking for their assitance. This has saved me TONS on various aspects of the wedding
Negotiate negotiate! Use the prices vendors post online as a starting point. But most vendors are willing to work with your budget. This is especially important when booking your venue.
Even if the vendor doesn’t throw in freebies, you can customize it to your needs. Do more passed hordourves and a smaller plated dinner. Or with your photographer, take out the photo albums to lower the quote and DIY instead!
Find uses for your flowers again. For example, you can use centerpieces to decorate your aisle or pew and then move them into the reception room on top of a vase, and if having a chuppah you can use it in the reception as a focal point for your table.
Use your friends/family! No, not in a bad way! People are usually willing to help, or even looking forward to helping. You just have to be willing to ASK. Be humble and don’t expect anything. I have a lot of talented friends and family members, and had no fear asking for their assitance. This has saved me TONS on various aspects of the wedding
ditto as above, got an error, not trying to enter twice!!!!
We live in a fairly expensive area to plan a wedding. To save money, we moved our wedding location to Tulsa, OK, and I have found great savings with every vendor. The ‘use a vendor in another state’ method helped to save me $300.00 on my fabulous wedding dress as well.
We’re doing everything we can to stretch our dollars. Including:
- using our MC’s computer and playlist for reception music
- taking advantage of internet retailers who have low overhead and therefore lower costs (I found my dress $300 cheaper online! - try bestbridalprices.com or netbride.com)
- since we wanted handtied bouquets anyway, my mum and I took a floral class at the local college, and ordered our flowers online. 600 stems for less than $400 (try farmstogo.com and americanfloraldistributors.com)
- shop online using ebates.com - I get a percentage back on things I was going to buy anyway, attendant gifts, fabric for tables, etc.
Instead of hiring a full-fledged band, I hired a Beatles cover band! A band would have ran me upwords of 2k while the cover band (for two two hour sets and a half hour break) cost me $900!!! When they are resting, we are going to have an ipod dock set up. Consequently, it will be the same time that dinner is served so there wont be any dancing at the point either!
I totally recommend finding a non-wedding band. If you and your spouse have a favorite band (The Beatles!!!), then try to find a good cover band. It’s a great visual treat for the guests and makes the wedding more personal! Plus, it saved me over 1k.
Oh, and as for my dress, I work at a college theater where I know a ton of tailors. My college friends who work in the costume shop is taking a white dress I found at JcPenny for $40 and making it into a completely beautiful wedding dress for $100. My suggestion would to be to call around the local colleges (especially the theater) and ask if they can recommend a seamstress or designer. I plan on donating to the theater for all the help they gave to me as well, but you cant beat a personalized dress for 140!
Bouquets tend to be one of the most expensive parts of the flower budget. If you pick up your own flowers at your local supermarket (Most will order the flowers for you) and make your bouquet yourseld you can save a bundle. Theya re not hard to make at all and if you or someone special to you makes them it can make it that much more special. I’m planning on making the boquets with my bridesmaids and having some girltime at the same time. i made all of the ones for my friend’s wedding and with 6 bridesmaids it adds up. I think it ook me about 1 1/2 hours total for them and I didn’t have any help.
If you can stand the wait of a long engagement it can definitely save you money because you have time to wait for great deals! I bought so much stuff after every holiday season (especially Christmas and Valentines Day) when it was 50-75% off that I probably saved at least $10,000.
FI and I did/doing several ways to save or cut cost.
-We set an amount on how much we want to spend on each vendor. When we interviewed the vendors we like, we screened them over the phone for their prices so we don’t meet with someone who is out of our budget.
-I set an amount on how much I want to spend on my dress. So I didn’t try any dress above my budget.
- We use our cooking/baking night as a date night instead of going out to eat. We still go out to eat but instead of every weekend we made it once a month
-We started buying movie tickets at Costco.
-We decided we’ll pay everything in cash. If we don’t have the cash in our bank account we’re not having it at our wedding.
My favorite money-saving tip is websites like WEDDINGBEE! All the great posts with tips, hints and links have taught me how to save bundles on my wedding. Thanks everyone!
Use an iPod instead of a DJ and upload all your favourite songs. Get a friend to man the iPod for the First Dance, Cake Cutting, etc.
Try to sell off wedding items that were never used or are still in great condition after the big day is done! Try wedding message boards and online classifieds.
Cash back or miles redeemed from wedding purchases is the best!!
Cash back is the best!
Sell your wedding gown online after the big day so you can recoup some costs. You can always save the veil if you want something to pass down to your daughter.
Get out of the city. Major Metro areas have much higher prices - go to the country for a more intimate and affordable wedding.
PS - I love this show. I TIVO it on WE to watch later at night.
*DIY DJ
*DIY Invitations
*DIY Flowers
*Hire a photographer who doesn’t have a studio (they charge less because they work out of their home)
*Use a bridesmaid dress in white as your wedding dress
*Find a caterer that includes everything (linens, china, food, service, etc) without extra fees
*Serve only beer and wine (or just beer) for alcohol
*ONLY INVITE THE PEOPLE WHO KNOW YOU!!! KEEP IT INTIMATE!!!
*Have your ceremony and reception in the same place (saves $$ on transportation)
I could go on for days.
Use your connections, and if necessary, your family and friends’ connections too! We’re having my graphic designer brother make our website, invitations, and STDs as our wedding gift. A family friend is doing all the alterations for my dress and the BM dresses. And our good friend with a background in broadcasting is acting as our reception emcee/Ipod DJ coordinator. It’s all about who you know and what you ask!
My fiance and I are both in the Navy, so we’re saving ALOT of money by having him, his dad, and all the groomsmen wear their dress uniforms. That way, we don’t need to pay for tuxedos, and they don’t wear boutonnieres in uniform either. We also don’t have to worry about a cake cutting knife-we both have our swords.
Re-think your ceremony start time. If you have your wedding after lunch you can serve cake and appetizers. If you have your wedding after dinner you can serve cake and cocktails. Food is a major blow to any bride’s budget
we just started our planning but I plan to DIY everything!
We made sure to find a venue that would let us bring in our own alcohol, for two reasons: we need to bring in our hometown brew, which is not available in this state so we have to bring it ourselves; and my brother works for a liquor distributor and can get us our alcohol at wholesale, which is a GREAT DEAL! Even if we didn’t have the wholesale hookup, Costco and shopping around yourself for alcohol is cheaper than nearly any venue- or caterer-provided setup. So we get the exact brands and quantities we want at a fraction of the cost!
We are saving by having a family members bake our wedding cake and other desserts. Then showcasing a full dessert bar.
we’re having the wedding in delaware, rather than pennsylvania, so we don’t have to pay taxes on anything! this alone is saving us thousands of dollars!
To save money, we are not having centerpieces. We would cut people from our guestlist to save more, but our friends and family are our life and we can’t exclude anyone else. So the nonessential things get cut instead.
We have a venue that we can bring in our own liquor…that is saving us a bundle. We are alos cutting out a lot of extras: favors, flower centerpieces, etc.
I live in a really small town, and it seemed like we only had one option for linens - which would have cost almost $2,000! Instead of sticking with them, I did some research online and found a great company who’s price came in $1,200 cheaper. In this age of internet options don’t limit yourself to what is available in your zip code!
When looking for a venue, make sure to price everything out because it might turn out that the venue which requires you to rent tables, chairs, linens etc. is more expensive than a hotel or country club where everything is included. Additionally, make sure to get a full quote of all costs to be charged before booking the venue to avoid any last minute surprises.
Use your own talents to exchange for other services! If you are a web designer, video editor, or good with computers, trade with someone who can do something that would otherwise cost more.
If date is not important to you, book 6 months before your desired month at a favorite location. You will definitely get a GREAT deal doing this since most receptions are eager to book their dates. It does really work!
Have your wedding on an off day, such as a Friday or a Sunday. Think of having a brunch reception instead of dinner.
If someone in your family is especially talented at something, have them help. My mom is making my wedding cake.
Using talented friends/family as much as possible!
We’re having family friends to bouquets & boutonnières, two experience friends videotape the whole shindig, and five musical friends provide music for the ceremony, along with doing an Ipod/laptop reception.
It’s a little thing, but every little thing helps:
Don’t spend money on RSVPs because most people don’t RSVP anyway. You’ll save on envelopes and stamps. You can have people RSVP by phone and if your wedding is on the smaller side, you’ll know who is and isn’t coming anyway.
Prioritize! Know what things aren’t worth as much to you. My fiance and I decided not to decorate with flowers and instead chose a venue that was already pretty so we didn’t have that added expense. We also decided to rent a mixing table and use an ipod and friend to play all of our favorite and much more meaningful songs.
To avoid cake cutting/platting fees go with cupcakes! Saved me $250!
My Fav. Budget tip:
Instead of hiring a florist, choose the flowers you want. A week before the wedding, go to Costco and tell them, “in a week, I want to buy 200 dozen red roses.” The price is drastically lower. Then make arrangements yourself! DIY!
DIY flowers and buying wholes sale online iw a way to save money and also make anything like invitations yourself…use centerpeices as wedding aslie decor and if you live in a big city go to a suburb I have found the savings are 7 to 15% savings just for taking an hour drive.
Give make-overs to wedding items that others no longer use. I’m going to use my sister’s wedding cake servers and flower girl basket but change the ribbons to my colors. I plan on hitting up some yard sales this summer to see if I can find some more things to alter.
I will also be borrowing a few things–a friend’s veil and crinoline, baskets for programs and favors, and other things I would never use again and don’t want to buy—like candelabras and arches.
I bought a wedding dress that I can wear again once I have it cut. 
I bought a wedding dress that I can wear again after the wedding (after I get it chopped shorter). We are also saving money by making our own invitations and programs and I’ve hired several friends of mine to supply the music for my wedding - the music will be a wedding gift from them.
We’re using flowers from a supermarket to make our own centerpieces and bouquets.
We also used a credit card with rewards for all wedding related purchases, even though we had the money so we can get as many rewards as possible!
And we’ll be DIY the makeup!
I’d have to say having a cupcake wedding cake vs. an actual wedding cake, would save tons, especially if you attempt to make them yourself! It’s VERY do-able and just as yummy (and pretty!)
My mom and I are going to buy an inexpensive wedding dress to use as a base, and then embellish it with some ideas that we are “borrowing” from other designers. This way, I can have the avant-garde, completely original dress that I have in mind without having to spend thousands of dollars. Plus it will be a fun project for us!
Craigslist has been great. Not only are you able to fine wedding decor (like 120 votive holders for $10) but you can also find local vendors that are a fraction of those that are mass advertised. And after your wedding, post everyting back to help other brides. Not only does it save you tons of money but you are recycling.
My fiance and I (total oenophiles) are using the red wine from the bar as our centerpieces. We’ve printed off nice sticky labels with the table number and our monogram, slapped it on the wine bottle, and presto: directional and drinkable, all in one!
I am in the early stages of planning my wedding, and have found that one can save a tremendous amount of money by having an ‘off season’ wedding. Also by finding venues that aren’t necessarily ‘wedding venues’, you could save yourself and arm and a leg. Planning a wedding in a friends fabulous back yard, or having the reception at a favourite restaurant that has fond memories for the both of you.
Two tips:
1. Use a rewards credit card when making your purchases. Not only do you have recourse if there is any issue with your vendor/item, you get rewards to use down the road!
2. Book good and creative people who are have a firm foot planted in the industry but still charging introductory prices. My photographer has raised his rate to $2400 for the day (we got him for $1200 for the day PLUS a TTD and e-photos!) and my DOC has raised her rate to $1000 (we got her for $500) since we signed with them!
I would have to agree with everyone that research is the key to saving money. Going the extra mile to put a lot of thought into things, but not so much that it drives you nuts.
Also, networking with friends and family. You’d be surprised at to who knows someone one who knows someone who can give you a good deal.
I have read and researched everything….hit the bridal shows to get discounts or win wedding things. They are constantly raffling off their services. I have won gift certificates to Bed, Bath and Beyond as well as my gown preservation. I am doing my own invitations as well as centerpieces to save money.
Become a DIY Bride; make your own favors, invitations, and centerpieces to save some significant money.
list out your wants vs your needs. and then budget accordingly. see what the priorities are, so that you can splurge a bit in those areas. and the rest, save for your vow renewals. haha.
I work at a card store and they have to throw away all the cards after the holidays, but they can save the envelopes. I am making my own invitations, so to save money on envelopes I chose a pretty standard size invitation (5X7″). Then I just took home a couple hundred envelopes after Christmas when they threw out their cards, so the envelopes were free… I know that my store will let people take envelopes if they need them for something. I’m not sure if all stores do this but it is something worth checking out if you are making your own invitations.
My Fiance and I are paying for our wedding ourselves, so we really rely on our research to get the best deals for our money.
I know DIY can save money, but do your research! You definitely need to take into consideration CONVENIENCE vs. TIME. Often times, you’ll end up saving a little bit, but end up having a huge headache worrying about the little details that go into your project.
Another tip, I’d suggest is utilizing your friends and family and all their talents! That’s what they’re there for … your girlfriend who’s a graphic designer can help you design your save-the-dates - then you have it printed somewhere like http://www.vistaprint.com for way cheap .. or that crazy aunt who wants to help - have her help welcome guests to the reception.
You’ll be surprised with who wants to help, and how much money you’ll save from their kindness with helping you out!
Doing our own invitations, the internet research for best prices and a miles credit card…our wedding is in 7 months but we already wracked up enough miles to fly to Cabo this Friday for our joint birthday!
All I have to say is DIY!!! It’s helping us in so many ways.
Being REALISTIC, NO you do not NEED every possible wedding related product just because it is cute! Recognizing there is a huge $$$ difference between “need” and “want” and that once the wedding day is over while you may appreciate the pictures and the memories, unfortunately they will not pay your bills 
But do not underestimate the wonders of RESEARCH! Utilizing resources like wedding bee and bridal magazines to find suggestions for quality products at discount prices is an invaluable budget tool!
Have what I call “floral flexibility” - choose your favorite flowers for your bouquet, but when it comes to the costly centerpieces, don’t be afraid to skip the pricey flowers (hydrangeas, calalilies, orchids) in exchange for more affordable but still gorgeous flowers (roses, snapdragons, alstroemeria lilies).
DIY- but get the family or friends involved. Take people up on their offers to help, just make sure to delegate responsibilities appropriately. The fewer people you have to hire to make your wedding dream a reality, the more money you will save!
Skip the favors, your guests won’t remember them anyway.
2 things that saved me money:
1) I bought a sample size dress…the bridal consultants at the store didn’t show me too many samples, but my mom went thru the racks and found a gorgeous dress, in my size, and MUCH cheaper than ther others i was trying on.
2) Shop the after holiday sales! Craft stores have huge discounts on ribbon and we got very cheap charger plates at target.
1. We’re having a brunch buffet reception, which cut down our food pp from over $100 to $45!
2. My best friend from high school is a pastry-chef in her spare time and will be baking/designing our cake.
3. I purchased a designer sample bridal gown at 20% of its’ original $5200 cost.
4. Shopping online (and checking WeddingBee for sales) helped me to score Ann Taylor bridesmaid gowns for $60 a piece.
1. I’m making all my table linens and napkins instead of renting them. I’m using bolts of affordable fabric. After the wedding, I’ll sell the linens and should be out very little for the cost of linens.
2. I pay as many wedding expenses as possible on my Airline-based credit card. This should get airline tickets for free. This does work!
We are getting married at a Botanical Garden to save money on flowers at the ceremony.
Definitely keep a lookout for coupons on online coupon websites (retailmenot, thebargainist, and so on)
If you can’t afford lots of flowers, think about renting colored linens and just use simple table decorations.
We’re looking into getting married at a local state park. It’s really pretty, we wanted to get married outdoors anyway, and the $ is so much more reasonable than the area’s “weddingish” venues.
We saved a lot of money by renting a cake, instead of having one specialty made. It saved so much in the long run, and no one is the wiser!
Also, we’re getting a lot of our linens, tableware, etc. from our cater at no cost because it’s a restaurant. Check your local restaurants for deals and specials.
Use a cash back credit card to pay for wedding expenses. The benefits are twofold: you get cash back for certain dollar amounts you spend, and, your purchases can be traced if you ever run in to contract problems.
I wanted modern, unique invitations but to go to a custom designer would be more than $1000, which I could not justify. We ended up ordering our invitations from a “book” at a stationary store, but we made them modern/unique by using a charcoal gray font color, 2 great fonts (print and script) and a nice flourish that will be present on everything. This way, I saved money but do not have “cookie cutter” wedding invitations.
I have a couple of things I have done to help save money…
1. We are getting married on a military base, with my father as the even sponsor. The reception is also going to be held on the base. It is significantly less expensive than to pay for a reception near the expensive Oceanfront (during tourist season).
2. I bought my dress at Bridal Mart. It saved me lots of money, and is a unique dress. So unique, that you can’t find pictures of it online or in magazines.
3. I have simplified my floral centerpieces and bouquets. By using the same flowers throughout in smaller centerpieces, it saved me a chunk of money.
We’re using our ipod as a dj, and I’m buying my dress on ebay. We’re also combining the wedding invitation and the favor (a cd with our favorite love tunes and the cd booklet is the invitation), and we’re not having a bridal party, which cuts a bunch of miscellaneous expenses, including the program.
Purchase with a credit card that gives you miles… that’s how we’re getting our honeymoon.
I bought my dress off the clearance rack! Saved me quite a bit of money.
I haven’t really come across this particular issue much since it involves a specific minority–my fiance and I are Jewish and observant. For us there is no question that we have to serve kosher food. Because of this requirement, there are limited options to make it cheaper. Lots of people aren’t aware that many synagogues have in-house caterers and utilizing them for your wedding can eliminate many extra fees associated with using an outside caterer–like paying for a mashgiach (someone that oversees food preparation to make sure it’s all kosher) for example is typically a big added expense because it’s paid at an hourly rate!
Basically we’re just paying for food and labor like you would for any other caterer. We’re also doing dairy only which is usually also cheaper and means you can have yummier desserts!
When you go to try on dresses, ask if they have any sample sizes you can try out. (This is especially great for smaller ladies, as the sample sizes tend be smalller.) I bought a discontinued style off the rack in the sample size. My all silk dress was originally $3000 and I got it for $600 including alterations. Since I was buying it off the rack, I also got the shop to include a cleaning of the dress in the price. They had it dry cleaned and looking as good as new when I went in for my first fitting. I couldn’t be happier with my dress or the price.
I think we have been able to save the most money by our photographer. We did LOTS of research, and nearly fell over when we found out a “good” photographer could be at LEAST 3k or many thousand more!
With a total budget of about 7k from our own pockets, we knew this wouldn’t do. Our best tip was to find someone experienced in photography, but who was new to wedding photography (another tip was to find an art student in photography).
We found a great photographer, that when we booked him, we got the package for:
Unlimited Wedding Day time
Engagement Photos
Bridal Portrait Session
for $475.
Since then, he’s bulked up his wedding portolio, and charges double (just a few months later!) at the current time. We locked in a great price, a GREAT photographer for our price range without settling.
1) Getting married on a Sunday
2) Getting BM dresses from Pearl’s Place or Netbride
3) Buying gently used items from Bees & Knotties
4) Cutting one hors d’oeuvre selection
5) DIY, DIY, DIY!!!
We’re going to use potted plants as centerpieces. It will save money on flowers and guests can keep them.
how about craigslist? I found a great photographer to do our engagement pictures for free (ended up sending him a $100 GC). The pictures turn out wonderfully. I would have hired him for my wedding if not for having it in a different state all together!
If you are having a destination wedding (like I am), book the ceremony on a weekday like Monday. Guests will need to take some time off anyways for the trip, so you might as well take advantage of that by booking your wedding on a day when vendors, hotels, etc. might be slightly cheaper. There is also a greater chance your preferred vendors will be available that day, too!
We wanted to have our first dance choreographied, however private dance lessons were expensive, so we took dance lessons though a local community center. It only cost us $40 each for 12 weeks! Plus, we got some of our bridal party to sign up too!
my tip is to drive a hard bargain with vendors and research good deals. see if you know someone who used a particular vendor in the past; mention their name and see if the vendor will give you a discount since you were referred by a friend. our photographer knocked off a percentage of his normal package price for simply mentioning that we were friends of his previous clients. you can also do this with people such as florists, bakers, and if you are Asian and having traditional wedding wear made, bargain with them. if you stand firm, they’ll usually bend to meet your needs.
when it comes to doing research, keep your eyes open for good deals. i fell in love with some Bari Jay bridesmaid dresses from Nordstrom’s website and was more than willing to pay full price for them. but i held off for awhile and checked up on the site often, and one day, they were on sale for half off! so i purchased them right away! about a week and a half after i received them, i was on the site again and noticed the price had dropped even lower, so i called and asked for a price adjustment. they more than happily obliged. above all, just drive a hard bargain, but make sure it’s within reason!
Just one money-saving tip? Create your complete wedding songlist on your ipod. Hire someone or ask a friend to be your emcee. You will need to rent or borrow some good speakers and at least one microphone.
Spreadsheets, spreadsheets, spreadsheets. Yes, I am a nerd. But when you are inundated with vendor information - be it, receptions site, caterers, photographers (especially photographers), florists, etc. - in price packages or a la carte services, you need a uniform way to compare each provider. It really has helped with the photographer search. I have found a lot of hidden costs that some have not advertised and if I had not seen it in another vendors offerings, I would not have asked so early in the game. I stand by my spreadsheets!
Instead of fresh flowers, I purchased “real touch” flowers in bulk and are using them as the site decoration. They can be sold after the event.
Have a set budget and stick with it!, and for me that meant bargaining with my vendors . . . I was able to talk down (in cost) my photographer, day of planner and convince my reception site to provide us with a 4 course meal at the same cost of the 3 course. Also we are having a Friday money which saved us money right away.
Spend ALL of the money you have allotted for flowers on the ceremony flowers, and use a cheaper centerpiece–perhaps candles–for the reception. This way, your ceremony will have a “oomph” factor!
trust a family member to do the cake, its saving us hundreds
You can save money by having a non-Saturday wedding, or off-season date. Also, don’t be afraid to ask vendors to throw in some extras before you sign a contract with them. For example, chargers are often owned by the venue, so it doesn’t cost them anything extra to provide.
sample sales, diy
My favorite tip is in photography.. instead of paying 2000 for a pro that I may not be satisfied, one of my friends is a photography students… $200 for enagement and wedding day photos!
ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS negotiate! My venue started at $2000 site fee and $125 per person for catering, but by getting them to drop passed hors d’oeuvres (but keeping the stationary) the per person cost dropped to $118 instead. And then the next day we held out and said we needed another discount before booking, so they dropped the entire $2000 site fee! For our approx. 100 guests, that’s a savings of nearly $3000!! Just for asking!
So while we were going to do an iPod wedding at first, now we can afford to get a kickin band and beef up the floral budget. Rock on!
Find a local farmer that grows cut flowers to provide flowers for the ceremony/reception! It’s saving us a bundle, and we even have input in the types of flowers to be grown!
Flowers: costco has really cheap flowers, learn how to make bouts, boutique, centerpieces, and displays to save you TONs of money on flowers.
Thanks for all these great tips–so helpful in the planning process!
My greatest tip is to just do your research and be open to alternative solutions. You dont have to have the fanciest favors or centerpieces. Do what works and what is tasteful, while spending as little as possible.
Have a luncheon instead of a night reception.
We’re making our own cupcakes!
I live in the south and there has been such a drought, we are using nice plastic wear and utensils instead of paying for dishes and silverware
We are saving money by catering it ourselves. My fiancee is a wonderful cook and plans on sharing that with everyone on our special day.
Also we are buying our own alcohol which is saving us over $300!
specifically requesting to your fiance that you do not want an expensive engagement ring - or getting an heirloom e-ring (i did both!)
Never forget to ask your vendors if they have any tips or can save you $$ anywhere. Sometimes they’ll bend over backwards too!
i am lucky to have lots of crafty friends & family, we’re trying to keep everything as DIY as possible and not go overboard with little details that most people won’t notice.
instead of spending money on a cake, our dessert will be smores as marshmellows. chocolate and graham crackers bought in bulk really help out on the price, while we get to share our favorite dessert!
we also constantly search the internet & blogs, like weddingbee, to find the best deals possible & to find suggestions on cutting costs.
Go to city hall. In lieu of one big gradiose party, use the money and travel and have several little ones. Have the first party - dinner at restaurant or home - with the families. Have the second party with local friends at a local joint. Start travelling to other locations where family/friends live and perhaps others can make it a weekend and travel to meet up with you.
We are having both the ceremony and the reception at the country club; they are doing the catering as well. Sounds really ritzy, and in fact it is - but as a member-owned club is a not-for-profit enterprise. So the catering and bar costs are surprisingly low, and as long as we spend $5000 on food and drink they close down the whole clubhouse for us. They also have a fabulous chef, who has worked with us to put together a custom menu (rather than just choosing from the regular catering menu) and their own event coordinator, who comes free with the package, helps plan, and serves as the day-of coordinator. Since my FI has been a member there for years, we know all the staff and they are really excited for us. We have been having monthy “planning lunches” at the club, and any staff on the premises come over to see the latest photos and ideas!
My advice - give yourself plenty of time to look up vendors. Find the best deals. Book by then end of the year of engagement. Have a wedding in the off-season or on an off day of the week. DIY what you can (when it’s cheaper).
we booked a couple of weeks earlier then we had planned just to have our wedding during off peak time~! saved us at least $20/head for the reception
Anything to help witht he budget!
I like the idea of doing ones own flowers and using an altenative to flowers for the centerpieces. Like luminaries or a vessel filled with stones or snad holding spray painted branches or architectural branches.
use frequent flyer miles and hotel points for honeymoon, try “one stop shopping” for a vendor that provides flowers, hair/makeup, photography, if your company that you work for uses restaurants for catering it doesnt hurt to mention it and lower the food minimum or get a discount.
Have an off-season wedding. Not only do you get your pick of venues and vendors - they’re more likely to work with your budget and still give you everything you need (or want)!
Our February wedding would have cost us 50% more if we had married in September.
Get married on a Friday or Sunday. Most of the time you’ll get great discounts from most of your vendors!!!
when friends/family offer to help…take them up on it. i have a very good friend who is a graphic designer..when her and her husband offer our “paper goods” as part of their gifts to us, we couldn’t believe it..we just finished out save the dates and they are so beuatiful..and we all had a great time one night eating sushi and assemblying them.
Reuse your wedding flowers!
My ceremony decorations will be used as decoration at the reception. This is saving me at least $1,000!
Credit card miles- use one card to pay for everything and use the miles for your honeymoon!
Take advantage of after Christmas sales! I got my bm dresses for $50 each (they were originally $150 each!) from whitehouseblackmarket, then I found some online coupons for the place and ended up getting them for under $40!!!
We’re having our wedding in a beautiful university alumni building, and since we have friends that are alumni, we get the discounted rental price!
We’re also having the wedding on a friday evening, so we don’t have to meet any food minimums
If your friends offer to help say yes! It will definitely help you out!
Before renting a photobooth (can be anywhere from $600-$3000!! for just a few hours) check with your photographer to see if there is an assistant they know of that could man the camera at a make-shift one. You don’t sacrifice the quality of the pictures, the photographer gets experience working closely with people and you still have a fun reception attraction.
We have been using the same credit card for everything (the cash back has been great - especially since we booked the honeymoon using that card!). We also started an ING account with a fixed amount going to it each month.
I also HIGHLY recommend trying to put your feelers out to see who in your family might be involved in something you’d need a vendor for. We’re using friends and family for the band and our flower shop! We’re getting a live band from another state for cheaper than a DJ because of this!
Instead of printing or having printed individual menu cards or wedding programs, make a plaque that you can display on an easel instead. This saves a great deal of cost and is much more eco-friendly.
search the boards for other brides that may be interested in ordering the same thing you want. you may be surprised to find that you can get some great bulk order discounts if you order together!
we’re using the bridesmaids’ bouquets as reception centerpieces — we got some lovely round vases at the Crate & Barrel outlet to set them in!
Pay cash! And save taxes. We have 12,88% taxes here in Quebec, and by paying cash, we save a huge amount!
Flowers - buy ‘em from Costco! Free shipping, lovely flowers. My total flower bill is less than $500!
Book early! Prices always go up the next year! Photographers, venues, DJs often increase their prices for the new year.
I’m thinking/planning on getting a friend to grow a lot of the flowers for me. It’ll be way cheaper that way.
My bridal party and myself are making the centrepieces…growing wheatgrass!
Have partial catering. Hire your favorite restaurant or caterer to provide the main/meat dishes, and then have guests bring side dishes in a potluck style. Not only do you save money, but you get to taste some of your childhood favorites at your wedding.
We also had no programs, limited floral since our venue was beautiful on it’s own, favors for couples instead of individuals, and asked and received help from family and friends.
We’re using our vast collection of itunes and CDs for our wedding music and my cousin as the photographer as he’s a professional. I say use the expertise your friends and family have!
Having a brunch reception cuts down on the cost per guest AND cuts out your cocktail hour, so no need for additional musicians.
To decorate the ceremony and dinner tables, we we are using herbs (lavender/rosemary/thyme) that we are growing in our own backyard.
If time permits, be sure to do as much research as you can before signing any contracts or major purchases.
I tried on my wedding gown at this well-known bridal gown store. (The larger bridal gown stores, have many more sizes to try on). I fell in love with my dress, but it was pricey - $1190.00 I was reading one of their signs and it said that offered price matching. I researched online, and found a store in Louisiana (I’m from California), who also offered the same dress, but for $650.00! I gave the info to the store manager, and they verified the information with the store in Louisiana and offered me the $650 for my dress!!
Our wedding reception - after we visited many places and took down all their prices and what they offered, I made a spreadsheet to compare all the venues and prices. It made things way easier to see it in front of me instead of trying to remember little details. PLUS, the hotel we decided to go with offered us 2 FREE NIGHTS, instead of the usual complimentary one night free. It doesn’t hurt to ask!
search ebay and craigslist for designer dresses that people are selling for much cheaper than retail prices.
Lots of researching and then asking recent brides for their suggestions.
We saved money by keeping it local. We planned a destination wedding for about a month, and then decided that it was more important to us to have the event we wanted with our loved ones there.
(1) research, (2) save on a cake by having the bakery make a smaller cake or decorate a fake cake and then serve sheet cake to the guests, (3) book everything ASAP and lock in this year’s prices!
I purchased a sample dress and saved 80%. We are also limiting the guest list to our closest family and friends to save on everything (meals, centerpieces, favors, etc.)
Hopefully have some very very talented and skilled friends!
But really, do a lot of research and look for discounted costs and coupons for things you can purchase online.
Calling to book vendors ASAP to lock in this year’s prices can be a HUGE money saver! So far I have saved about $1,000 for our June ‘09 wedding.
One of the best ways we saved money was having our wedding on a Sunday in March (we got discounts for having it on a “non-Saturday”!). So far it has saved us over 50% off our venue rental, caterer, photographer, videographer, and linens!!! It was the best thing we could have ever done!
I haven’t done it yet, but I am going to get my veil off eBay. $20 for gorgeous veils - What a deal!
I’m also considering fake flowers. It depends on if the real ones are within our budget or not!
Personally, FH and I made a list of three things that are really important to us and our wedding. We made a pact not to be extravagant on anything other than those three things. We leave the list on the fridge and in our planners as reminders and so far it has worked! We are taking our time planning as well so as not to make any rash (and expensive) decisions.
Lots of research on everything! DIY invitations. Shop the after xmas sales for accessories. I scored an awesome pair of shoes for 70% off!
like sandra lee says (of food network fame): keep it beautiful, keep it simple, keep it semi-homemade.
work who you know…..i scored my dj by talkign to my aunt whose bil just happended to be a dj.
i’m getting my dress altered by a bridal seamstress who is a member of my dad’s church.
visit lots of possible vendors, shop around!! Once you find your perfect dress call around for the best quote. Borrow a veil to save money and try your best to stick to your budget.
Yeah, I second the ALWAYS ask around for help. My talented friend is going to design my invites, and my cousin is going to play the processional music. Every little thing counts.
I’m also setting up an email address for most RSVPs (older folks are getting the stamp).
1. Our destination wedding drastically cuts the guest list down to 1/3 of what it would be if we were local.
2. We using reward points for hotels and airfare.
3. I chose the most expensive package from our hotel because it included a lot more things (i.e. bouquets, musicians, chairs, decor, etc) that ended up saving over $1K.
4. Sample sale dress.
5. Custom made BM dresses and veils (quotes are less than a store bought dress.
6. I’m willing to DIY what I can that is cost effective.
With our wedding we decided to slowly buy all the things we want for our wedding. We put our wedding date two years away so that we could slowly buy and put money down on and pay off all our wants for our wedding to have the wedding of our dreams with out the debt of our nightmares.
We had asked our guests to sponsor our honeymoon rather than spending money on typical gifts. Our honeymoon ended up being paid for and we had extra spending money to have fun with! What a great idea! There are several honeymoon registries out there right now you can look into, honeyfund is a good one!
Consider a brunch time wedding and reception and serve a beautiful breakfast buffet with mimosas…aaaaaah how classic. Do a Breakfast at Tiffanys theme and Viola!
Reuse the large floral arrangements from the ceremony to decorate the entrance way of the banquet hall, this saves quite a bit on the flowers.
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