Weddingbee Blog

I like saving the monies too!

I’ve already told you how terrible at math I am. It is bad. I will put a little bit of effort into a mathematical equation but then eventually give up and guess. Anyone from Mass reading this? To put it in perspective, I passed the Math portion of the MCAS by only 2 points. Yeah, I’d probably still be in high school if I didn’t have exceptional guessing talents. So, when it comes to a formal budget with percentages and allotment,s I was lost. I actually didn’t even know there was such a thing as a budget calculator until I stumbled upon Weddingbee—roughly 7 months into our engagement. I was just happy saving money any way I could. Where I lack in mathematical skills I make up in bargain hunting.

This is not to say that I can spend money willy nilly on the wedding. We’ve got a house and student loans to pay off. Without further ado, my tips on saving yourself some duckets…yo.

Negotiate: There is always room in a vendors budget to barter. Only fools pay the sticker price. I found the easiest way to negotiate was to lead in with a, “We really love you but you are a little outside of our budget. Is there any way you can work with us?”

The biggest way we’ve saved money is by having an off-season wedding. I walked out of a vendor meeting because a photographer was trying to convince me that there is “no longer such a thing as off-season.” Bull shit. Vendors are begging for weddings in the off months. It’s our wedding or nothing. We saved the most money without losing any perks due to off-season discounts. Sure, I’ll miss out on gorgeous pictures like the one below but maybe I’ll have something slightly unique in its place.

ZOMG! Look at that TREE! swoon.

Everyone knows the quickest way to save money is to cut the guest list but seeing that I have double face palm, epic failed on this one—I can’t comment in-depth.

Do it a la cart. We cut our pasta course at The Biltmore in order to save money on the plates. If a vendor can’t negotiate initially, start cutting some services that you might not need.

Perhaps you thought your friend’s florist was the cats meow of florists. Tell them! Wow you did such a great job at so-and-so’s wedding that I just had to hire you. Flattery will get you everywhere. Then hit them with the “but you’re a little out of our budget” line. 60 percent of the time it works, every time.

Zeb’s sister and I were booking vendors at the same time for each of our weddings. We occasionally did a two-fer meeting and saved some money by booking the same vendor. Find a bridal buddy and do the same!

Yeah, yeah, I know. If you have to attend one. more. bridal. show. your head (and your email box) will explode. I get it but that’s where you can get some great discounts, coupons, deals, what-have-you. I won a free chocolate fountain (mmmmm chocolate) at a venue that I almost booked. It’s crazy what they offer at those things. Make a junk email address, print out labels with your name and address, and get in, get off, get out.

DIY, DIY,DIY! I haven’t tallied up what our invitations cost but I am fairly certain we would have paid more if we’d ordered them. We’ll see, I guess. For things like the ring bearer pillows, garter, etc., I made them myself with fabric I had lying around. (I know… I’ll show you soon, promise.) I consider those free because I didn’t buy any of it with the wedding in mind. Those costs are associated with college, in which I am still paying off. Anywho. Don’t pay $100 bucks for something that will be thrown down the aisle by a toddler.

Think outside of the box. Have you been to Things Remembered for something wedding related? That place is crazy expensive! Look, I’m not interested in paying $70 dollars for engraved champagne flutes. Chances are, Zeb’s not even going to drink champagne. Maybe I’ll even get super classy and drink it straight from the bottle. I’d do that before I paid that much for something I won’t use again. The same goes for the cake cutter and the unity candle holder. They are all things I’m most likely only going to keep for nostalgia. I searched high and low at various Marshall’s around and finally found a cake cutting set for $10.00! I also found two glasses for our table for a grand total of $5. It doesn’t have to survive the plague—it just needs to cut your wedding cake…once. The other thing about Marshall’s is they’ve been selling wedding stuff recently. I’ve seen Bride’s invitation kits and even Martha Stewart Pom kits lately. You just have to be willing to find a good deal.

Good luck Bargainistas! I hope this helps you save some of that precious, precious, cold hard cash.