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Times are tough!
What one thing did you do that saved you LOTS of money in planning your wedding?
Please share your best tip so we can help out brides who are in a pinch with $$.
Thanks!
-Lori
My #1 tip (and I say this only half jokingly)... Don't go window-shopping while you're wedding planning!
Our biggest money savers have been minimizing what we have to rent (dishes, tablecloths, tents, etc.) by borrowing or buying them for less than it would have cost to rent and having family friends cook a milk can dinner rather than hiring a caterer. It probably saved us a couple thousand dollars. Unfortunately, I don't think most people will be able to do the same. We got lucky with our situation.
I work within a strict budget. I have an excel sheet where I track incoming and outgoing funds for everything -- bills, fun expenditures, everything. I save my receipts every week and total them on Sunday. That way I track all my spending. Then, at the end of each month I use the excel to calculate my savings and then I go deposit it before I can find something to spend it on!
use stuff you already have. i have all sorts of crap lying around my house that's coming in handy for this wedding!
Have your wedding near a holiday or on a Friday. Also, negotiate! negotiate! negotiate! most vendors have expensive prices just because most brides will pay without asking... now, that's changing. So you can negotiate a price that's within your budget, and more likely than not, they will work something out with you :)
The biggest money savers, I put two since they both saved us about the same amount of money.
1. Didn't buy a dress from a traditional bridal shop. My first dress was from a Chinese manufacturer, second (reception) dress came from the affordable Davids Bridal online DB collection.
2. We're not doing floral centerpieces and all the bouquets are silk.
Using friendors! Our photogs are friends of friends, just starting out their business (but with an already fab portfolio), and they're giving us the friend's price: 2 photogs for 8 hours for $700.
And we're having a tallented musician friend play acoustic guitar for the ceremony (saves $400) and he'll DJ for us too (saves ~$1100). All he wants for payment is a pair of headphones that my company makes (cost to me = $0!).
im doing a blurb album to save. i got a good photographer, so even if i dont have one of those fancy, leather-bound thingamabobs, the photos inside will be great, and ill know i saved a bundle on it. and if i totally hate the book, who says we cant get a fancy one made after the fact when we actually have money again ;)
I know it's not a fun one, but invite less guests. That cuts down everything from the number of invitations you buy to the food & alcohol you'll serve at the wedding. While it's so nice to be able to invite everyone, see if there's a way to narrow it down to just the people you really care to see on your big day.
reception - Only paying $300 since it will be at the church that we are getting married.
flowers - Order them in bulk and having a family friend do the bouquets, centerpieces for way less
Check out photographers that are just starting out, I was able to score mine for $750 inclusive of 8 hour coverage for the wedding day, 2 hour engagement shoot, all images on a disc, and travel fees for a 12 hour round trip car ride. Also, look into having your wedding during off-season and on Fridays or Sundays. Often times, vendors will throw in discounts because weddings don't normally occur during those times.
Cut coupons! You can save so much if you use coupons from Michaels and many online stores have coupons now that can be found on retailmenot.com and other sites. A little internet searching can save you 20-40% on things you might have just bought outright anyway.
reception / ceremony: we found a place that looks great (it has a view) and comes with tables/chairs/plates/etc so we're not renting anything. the only additional decorations are the centerpieces and ceremonial flowers.
flowers: no flowers for family / wedding party. just bride's bouquet and groom's bouttoniere.
photos: we splurged on a photographer but are not getting a professional album. we'll print the pictures we want and put a scrapbook / album of our own together instead.
invites: we designed our own and took it to a local print shop (not specializing in weddings) to print. that cost us less than 1/2 of what professional invite shops had quoted us.
other than absolute must-haves, we haven't bought anything fun / just because outside of wedding related things
Biggest money saving tip - destination wedding!!
Having our wedding out of town significantly cut down on the number of guests we had. If it was in our hometown, we probably could have expected to have around 300 guests, some of which we probably wouldn't know or have time to talk to. But because we did a destination wedding that was all weekend long, only the people that really wanted to be there came and we were able to spend a lot more time with everyone. We ended up with 60 of our closest friends and family there and since our guest list was small, we were able to really spoil everyone. It was great!
Look for pieces that may work for you in places you may not expect, then watch for them to go on sale!
One of my colors was silver, so we got a lot of decorative pieces and serving pieces at Target after Christmas. We watched for the pieces (candleholders, serving platters, etc.) to go on sale, then purchased them at 50-75% off. We didn't get as many of our serving dishes at the stores near us, so we contacted family members in other towns and asked them to visit their stores (after we did an online search to confirm they had pieces). We got so much more than what we could have afforded otherwise and received so many compliments. Several members of our family (myself included) are dividing up the pieces for personal use, but we will always be able to borrow the other pieces later if needed.
So far, changing our ceremony location. The ceremony location we were losing sleep over was going to cost $1,000+. Now we're having it outside in a town park and it's costing around $100. Plus we can do whatever we want with the space. I'm so excited :o)
I've got a couple handy things, that are pretty common sense but have helped me out..
1. Always look in multiple places for the thing you want. I found my dress much cheaper at another store than where I originally found it. They're also throwing in great deals for my mom's dress.
2. DIY everything possible! Obviously within limits...my engagement is a year long and I'm doing as much as possible early on so I have time to look for sales and get the best deal. I'm making my invitations and save the dates and my centerpieces and all other paper products.
My save the dates I'm ordering from Vistaprint. When you sign up you get all sorts of emails about deals but it really is worth it. I'll be ordering 100 for free and only paying shipping which is about $6.00 and I designed them to look exactly how I wanted. Best part: shipping costs less than for an envelope =]
I'm using a bunch of the tips listed above b/c FI and I are paying for everything.
-DIY Invites - projected savings of 300.00
-DIY Flowers (silk) - savings 1000.00
-Friendor photography - Cost - $200.00
- Friendor DOC - FREE
- Friendor make-up - savings 150.00
- Dress through Chinese dress maker: Cost w/ shipping 300.00
- No favors
We also shop lots of thrift stores and resale shops for misc. things - we got our toasting glasses for 4.00, a guest book for 2.00 and so on. I spent about 5.00 on rhinestones and ribbon to "doctor" them up.
Keep those ideas coming... :)
I second the friendors!!!! aside from getting a good deal on catering...we are employing all friends who are professionals to help us...dj is a friend of FI, photog and videog are friends of mine...that alone saved us at least $4500 dollars
another tip...sign up for bridal expos...my DOC gave me a discount because I found her at one of those ...
Our reception location has a park next door where we can get married for free! Plus, the reception location offers great food at VERY reasonable prices and has all the plates, linens, glassware we need, so no renting.
My FI's mom works for a company who owns a wonderful plantation house and we have been given the best wedding present of all by being allowed to use the house and grounds for our wedding, for free!
So my advice would be to talk to everyone you know and see who has what types houses/yards and find someplace that will work for your wedding! Think out side of the box and you ever know what could come your way...
DIY Invites! I found mine by accident at a card outlet store. I was shopping in there last summer, before I ever got engaged. They were marked down to ONE DOLLAR per box of 50! Needless to say I stocked up! We're doing silk flowers from Michael's (using a 40% coupon each time - I've been buying them each week after the coupon comes out in the Sunday paper). Also, I stocked up on "Forever" stamps before the price went up - we're using those for our thank-you's and our reply cards. I found my wedding bubbles at Dollar Tree - each box of 9 was $1. We are considering not even doing favors in order to save more $$$.
At the reception, we are serving one entre instead of giving people a choice. We were told that is what most people do who have receptions there. It cuts waaaaaay down on the cost per plate!
Another thing that will help - after the wedding I'm going to have a garage sale or advertise my wedding stuff to sell. I won't need all of this stuff and it could help someone else.
Oh thought of something else! Try looking at local colleges with good photography programs for your photographer. We are looking into hiring a few photography students to shoot the big event in addition to my wonderful cousin (a pro photographer).
I also thought of another one, brideshare!
Another bride and I hooked up through weddingbee and realized we were practically planning the same wedding so we joined forces. That pretty much cut my costs for shepherd's hooks, glasses, plates, tablecloths, etc. in half! And I made a new friend. Winning all around!
grocery lists
library card
no window shopping
these three things alone have helped me stay afloat!
All of our vases have been made from wine bottles that we have cut. We bought a $30 cutter and got the bottles from a local restaurant.
Hiring bartender's but providing all of our own alcohol and we can return whatever we don't use.
Hair and make up by friend and sister.
DIY - programs, menus, and thank you cards
Starting early - planning with a clear vision - shopping for bargains.
* Reception and Ceremony site was less than $400 and includes tables and chairs, has an okay kitchen, and good bathrooms for a state park!
* Universal Life minister!
* BBQ buffet for a casual reception!
* Gma and Mom making cheese cakes for dessert (much cheaper than a vendor!)
* Friend is making me a dress (I only paid for materials)
* Doing potted plants and bamboo for decor (much cheaper and longer lasting than flowers).
* Buying things that I can find homes for or sell as much as possible
* Tons of DIY
* Researching all possible options (no hasty decision making)
* Buying things on sale over the year (just bought 99 cent vases)
Tons more I can't think of!
Finding a venue that is free or close to it. Our ceremony is at one of the beautiful gardens at the college where I teach and it is costing us nothing to use it. My niece got married at Hershey Gardens and it cost her $3500 to do so and that included NOTHING.
Lots of things are saving us money, but the biggest thing is Google! Lots of research and finding out a cheaper way to do things without losing your vision or having the wedding look like the .99 store. And:
@CaliValley82 I second friendors! Our photographer, officiant, violinist for ceremony music, band for cocktail hour are all friends and are giving us these things as wedding gifts.
DIY invitations, programs
Nixing fresh flowers--we're doing lavender instead
Going with a venue that allows you to bring in your own catering, cake, and alcohol
Cupcakes!
Recycling (part of our centerpieces are glass bottles we would normally recycle).
It's kind of a combo, but choosing to have a late lunch reception and choosing a venue that does not regularly do weddings. We're having our reception at my father's club (a country club type place without the golf course). It doesn't have the wedding markup that typical reception sites do. Also, by having lunch instead of dinner, we're saving about 50%. By the time that the guests get done with the appetizers, salad and filet mignon, swordfish or portabella steak, I'm sure that they won't care that the portions are a bit smaller.
Cake - I'm not having a wedding cake. It's not really important to me, so instead I'm asking my aunts to bake cakes and getting regular cakes from a really good local bakery. It's meaningful to me to have my aunts bake, not to mention cheaper.
Flowers - My cousin is arranging my flowers - we're ordering them wholesale and she will put together bouquets for us.
Decor - We're using my dad's bonsai trees as centerpieces instead of paying for them. Also, I'm going to order paper flowers from paperplatypus on etsy to use as additional decoration - MUCH cheaper than real flowers, and they can serve as favors too.
Dress - I found my dress at a store in the mall, NOT a bridal salon. It's perfect for ME, and I knew it when I found it, because I had spent time at a wide variety of salons, from really fancy to more affordable. So I knew what was out there, and had the discernment to know that this one was better for me than the more expensive dresses. I highly reccommend going to a really really nice place, just to check it out. I LOVED my experience with this, and while I did fall in love with a dress that was 50% of my budget, it was never a possibility, so it didn't break my heart not to buy it.
Man, I'm wordy today.
Don't be afraid to talk to your vendors, and negotiate with them. You'd be surprised what kinds of deals you can make.
Think outside the box about everything. Your location, venue, decorations, everything.
Be flexible. You love the flowers that have to be imported from Holland and cost $5 per stem but can't afford it? Ask the florist what looks similar for a better price.
Have the wedding on an "off" day or time. I'm getting marrie d on a Wedneaday evening. I realize that doesn't work for everyone but I got fantastic prices because they wanted my business on what would have been an otherwise slow night.
Always keep your eyes open for a bargain. you never know what you're gonna find. I bought a 300 ft. roll of black and white damask wire edged ribbon right after Christmas last year at Sam's club for 90% off. I found a helium tank and balloons at the grocery store.
Re think the idea of giving favors. That is one area that you can save a lot of money if you have a lot of guests.
Do postcards for save the dates and RSVPs. You save on postage and envelopes.
If you're anything like me, jealousy immediately hits me every time I look at other brides' diy invites. I always wanted to make my own, but nearly fell over when I added up everything I would need to make 100 invites. It just wasn't going to work with our budget. I was pleasantly surprised on a weekly trip to Target to see they now have stationary! There wasn't a huge selection, but the palm tree invitations fit perfectly with our beach wedding. The best part? I was able to purchase 100 invitations for $40. We went from expecting over $4.00 per invitation to just $0.40 each! I was also amazed by the number of compliments we received too!
I also agree with missomally. The destination wedding has really saved us A LOT of money!
Three things that saved us a ton:
- My dress was a BM dress in white. I paid $250 for it, with tax and shipping, and it was a designer dress by Priscilla of Boston.
- Skip the flowers, and only have them for bouquets and bouts. We have no flowers in our centerpieces or in any decor, and it saved us probably close to $500, if not more. We used lots of candles instead.
- If your wedding is small-ish, skip the DJ and use a laptop. Some people worry about all the music being wrong, but with careful planning, it's really easy. Our DOC is ensuring our music cues for the first dance are correct, and after that, we're just letting it play all night. AND we don't have to worry about a DJ playing stupid songs.
...and that's how you have a 75 guest wedding in Miami for under $12K while making it look like a million bucks!
While DYI -ing everything is fun and all, all the supplies can add up. The hardest thing for me has been to just say "no" to something all together. My vision is a classy, intimate wedding that feels indulgent but simple. Thus I've splurged on the venue (heritage home for ceremony and reception) and arranged catering from a cooking school that trains chefs for five star restaurants but costs way less. I've said no to:
- save the dates (instead I sent personalized emails)
- professional make-up (doing it myself)
-programs, menus (do people really need to know who everyone is in the ceremony and who wrote what standard reading about love?)
- live music (we'll just play oldies on the ipod)
- a big wedding (we are having 70 guets altogether)
- no guest book, photo booth, special entertainment etc. (instead we'll have croquet and bocce on the garden lawn during the "cocktail hour")
- no special handmade frames for photos of us or handmade vases for the flowers (we are just borrowing some from our mothers)
- no special transportation (everything is at the same venue and we aren't planning a special exit - we will just call a cab)
We did dyi the invitations but solicited phone or email rsvps intead of a reply card. As others have said we are bringing in our own booze, using potted plants at certerpieces (we will give these away as gifts to friends/family members who've helped with the wedding), borrowing table cloths to cut down on rental costs, making fruit punch ourselves as a non-alcoholic option, having wine and beer (the latter from a keg) only, having a friendor as a florist (bouquests and boutonnieres only), having a friendor photographer for only 3 hours (just the ceremony and some set family portraits), having a friendor hairdresser (and no trial) going with the caterer's dessert instead of a wedding cake, having a shorter wedding and reception (shorter hours means less cost with an open bar). I'm also wearing my mother's wedding dress and we are only having four other people in our bridal party.
I agree that negotiation is key.... everyone is hurting out there with the market, and so many companies are willing to give you deals to capture business. We have paid up front for discounts, and just told one vender that we prefer their services, but budget is a major consideration and we have better options. I got one caterer to drop 1500 off her quote... and another to throw in 3 free appetizers for 300 people.
Another way to save - skip the fancy cake, and just serve sheet cake. It still tastes great so guests probably won't even know. I can't tell you how many weddings I have been to that I never even saw the cake, let alone remembered it.
Print your own invitations...ours were very nice and easy to assemble and we bought them off Ebay for about $30! You would've never known and we loved them!
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